ALBUQUERQUE – Visitors can cut through the crowds by participating in two exclusive clubs at the world-famous Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.
"We love to take our kids, meet friends and enjoy a wonderful meal with the best seats at the Balloon Fiesta," Renee Lancaster says. "We've brought many of our Dallas friends out to join us."
She and her husband, Robert, Coppell residents, are fans of the Gondola Club at the annual ballooning event, this year Oct. 3-11.
A second option is the Albuquerque International Balloon Museum's Diamond Club.
Each October, Albuquerque hosts the world's largest hot-air balloon festival. Participants from around the globe (and around Texas) marvel at novelty shapes (a flying cow, stagecoach, Smokey Bear and nearly a hundred others) as well as many-colored balloons in the regular shape.
Over nine days, the event draws nearly a million fans, making the low-crowd clubs attractive offerings. Life can't get any better than when you're sitting in comfortable seats, enjoying scrumptious food and watching more than 700 hot-air balloons turn the sky into a kaleidoscope of colors.
With a VIP pass ($100) for the Balloon Fiesta's Gondola Club, participants sit (indoors or out) in a reserved area at field level, have unobstructed views of takeoffs, reserved parking, a buffet, private bathrooms, a collectible souvenir pin and an easy walk to the Fiesta's lively "Main Street." (The Gondola Club provides golf-cart shuttles, if you prefer.)
A few hundred yards from the field, the Albuquerque International Balloon Museum's Diamond Club offers VIP arrangements designed for outdoors, although indoor viewing also is available. Here, you're above the crowds as hundreds of balloons sweep right over your head, so close that you sometimes can talk to the passengers. For the $75 VIP pass, you get preferred parking, a buffet, a glass of wine, indoor restrooms, a souvenir pin and golf-cart shuttle to and from the field. An added bonus is admission to the not-to-be-missed museum with docent-led tours on request.
Early reservations for the clubs are advised.
Contact: Gondola Club, 1-888-422-7277; www.balloonfiesta.com.
Diamond Club, 505-822-1111; www.balloonmuseum.com.
Kay Grant is a freelance writer in New Mexico.
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