Clubs let New Mexico balloon festival spectators float above the crowds

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.

Source

Seniors ascend above Aiken

More than 20 senior citizens recently went airborne over Aiken.

Residents at Cumberland Village, a senior living community, seized the opportunity to participate in hot air balloon rides Thursday afternoon. Hot air balloon pilot Randy Russell took residents up for a free thrill ride.

Two at a time, the brave seniors ascended into the skies onboard Russell's balloon. The balloon was tethered to the ground so drifting away wasn't a possibility, but the excitement from the seniors reached beyond the clouds.

Before the ride, Jerry Carnes, 75, said, "I have never been up in one before. Now is my chance. I am eager to get to it. I am not afraid; if it breaks and we float away somewhere, I don't care - they always come down. I can't believe it really is a basket."

During his ride, Carnes hung over the side of the basket waving to his friends on the ground with a smile that stretched from ear to ear.

"It was so much fun. I just wish we could go higher. I wouldn't mind floating in one across the meadows. I could feel the flame warming my hair; it's a good thing I left my oxygen here," he said.

Close friends Eleanor Cannon and Mildred Knight went up together. It was the first time for both and a long-awaited trip for Knight.

"I was supposed to go up in one in Oklahoma about 17 years ago, but it rained that day and it was never rescheduled. This is my first chance since then," Knight said.

While the balloon was being filled for takeoff, Cumberland Village residents gathered in the parking lot to take in the excitement. For many, it was the first time they had ever been so close to a hot-air balloon.

"I have never been up before, and I feel good about it. I have never been exposed to this before," Genie Harvey said.

"It's something I have never tried, and I thought I would give it a try," Phil Cozad said.

"I knew right from the start, I was going to do it. I am a go-getter," Helena Schilling said.

Everyone who went up in the hot air balloon came down with a smile.

"I enjoyed it, but I was a little frightened. I am glad I had my granddaughter with me. She protected me. I'd do it again," said Harvey, who went up with Brannon McComb.

Source