Featured
'Joy and magic for the season': families celebrate Balloon Fiesta eve with Albuquerque Aloft
Published
Modified
Roosters crowed, the sun crept up and the fresh fall air was crisp and cold as Principal Kathryn Ramsey, of Mountain View Elementary School, readied herself.
She was preparing for parents, children and a pilot to arrive for an event marking the eve of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.
鈥淚t鈥檚 my favorite day of the year. It鈥檚 literally the most magical day 鈥� just to see families outside, gathering, enjoying the view, being together, running around,鈥� Ramsey said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 nice for families to be able to meet other students that their kids play with; it鈥檚 just one of those open events that everybody can take part in. There鈥檚 something about the balloon that just brings joy and magic for the season.鈥�
Since 2005, Albuquerque Aloft has been taking place at schools across the area as balloons are inflated 鈥� and sometimes take flight 鈥� in front of students, celebrating the day before the biggest annual event in the city begins.
Because of the school鈥檚 proximity to the Sunport and the large power lines and transformers surrounding the campus, balloons can鈥檛 take off from Mountain View, which sits along Second SW, south of Rio Bravo.
Still, Cyndie Ives, a balloonist who has taught at Mountain View for a decade, advocated for a balloon to be brought to the campus.
鈥淎t the time, one of my friends was the pilot coordinator for Balloon Fiesta. So I said, 鈥楥an you please think about coming out to our school?鈥欌�� Ives said. 鈥淪o that鈥檚 how we got a balloon here in the first place.鈥�
Even though the balloons that come to Mountain View don鈥檛 take flight, Ives feels it鈥檚 important that the students experience one being assembled in front of them each year.
鈥淲e have a lot of homeless kids, we have a lot of kids that have a hard time with financial situation(s),鈥� Ives said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no way they can get out to Balloon Fiesta and to even get close to the balloons 鈥� so this is definitely a fantastic opportunity for them.鈥�
As the balloon was inflated, dozens of parents stood in line for doughnuts, coffee and hot chocolate. Many of their children ran around or played soccer on the artificial turf behind the school鈥檚 gymnasium, mostly avoiding the expanding balloon laid across the middle of the field.
Mountain View is a Title I school, which means 60% or more of its students are living in poverty. It鈥檚 also a community school 鈥� something Ramsey fully embraces.
鈥淎ny opportunity we have to bring families together,鈥� Ramsey said, 鈥渨e take advantage of it.鈥�
One of the parents in attendance was Kayla Chavez, who enjoyed watching the balloon get inflated when she dropped off her son.
鈥淟ast year it was too windy, so it (the balloon) couldn鈥檛 really go up. So this year it鈥檚 perfect weather to see it come up,鈥� Chavez said. 鈥淚 love it. I look forward to it all the time.鈥�
She added that she and her family will try to attend the actual festival this year.
A common Balloon Fiesta tradition is pilots handing out cards sporting their balloons to children. However, Barbara Montoya, the school鈥檚 art teacher, decided to flip the script on the pilots and have her students design their own cards to give to them.
鈥淚 thought it would be a way to thank him, thank them for coming to our particular school and, yeah, the kids seem to love it,鈥� Montoya said. 鈥淗e said that he鈥檇 never gotten them before, so he had a whole pile there in front of him in that balloon, and he鈥檚 like, 鈥楾his is awesome!鈥欌��
That pilot was Mike Brennand, a local balloonist who operates the rainbow, mosaic-patterned, Milagro balloon. Friday marked his first visit to Mountain View.
鈥淭his is actually one of my favorite parts of fiesta,鈥� Brennand said. 鈥淚 really enjoy getting out; the community is such a big part of ballooning.鈥�
