Balloon Fiesta fans remind us how lucky we are
The last lovely balloon has lifted off and floated away from another Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, the eye-to-the-sky feast fest concluding its nine-day run a week ago today.
We locals know, though, that the occasional bright ball of hot air can pop up on nearly any chilly blue morning or calm afternoon around here. Balloons never disappear entirely from Albuquerque skies. It’s one of the quirky blessings of living here.
But, yes, we admit that after 46 (46!) years of the grand air show in our own backyard — or, more precisely, above it — it’s easy to become spoiled, complacent, bored with balloons. Been there,
done that, we say. Our beds are too cozy before sunrise, we whine. And that traffic. Those crowds.
Then the Balloon Fiesta ends and we feel regret. Should’ve gone, we say. It was a good one this year, we say. Next year, then, we say.
This year, my Journal colleagues Nicole Perez and Robert Browman took our Balloon Fiesta coverage live by streaming video in real time on Facebook each morning and at evening events at Balloon Fiesta Park. They posted photos, tweets and comments to their social media accounts. They published daily slide shows and videos on the Journal website, often accompanied by articles reported in the field by other colleagues.
It was the next best thing to being there.
The number of folks who tuned in were impressive — 1.79 million contacts with the coverage; 128,195 likes, comments, shares and clicks; 337,640 viewers of at least portions of the 18 live Facebook video streams and the four nonlive videos.
Responses to the videos came from as far away as Afghanistan and the United Kingdom and from around the country. I suspect some came from cozy beds across the city.
The comments were good.
“It was definitely cool to see how positive people were,” Perez said. “Can’t remember a single a negative comment — which, as you probably know, is extremely rare for our social media and social media in general, I think.”
Julie Vizzini of Colorado Springs, Colo., became a Balloon Fiesta fan.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” she wrote. “That’s beautiful. I’m from Colorado and they never put that many up!”
No one does, Julie. We’re the biggest.
Many of the comments came from former Albuquerqueans. Absence and balloons, apparently, make the heart grow fonder.
“I remember hearing balloons out my window and looking out to see the sky filled with them,” Vanessa Garcia Gennuso of Joppa, Md., wrote. “I miss my hometown.”
“We went to this amazing event EVERY year while living in ABQ,” Desiree Camunez Diaz wrote. “We moved to Arizona last year and this is one thing I miss!!!”
For another Arizonan, there were simply not enough exclamation points to express his thoughts.
“Thank so much for the video coverage !!!! ” Mark Martin exclaimed. “Unfortunately, I am unable to enjoy to annual spectacle !!!! I miss Albuquerque, my Home Sweet Home !!!! ”
Former residents also waxed poetic about other things they missed about Albuquerque. The weather. The breakfast burritos. The Sandias at sunset. Steve Stucker.
“You’re making me homesick,” Craig Busby wrote. “Thanks.”
Patty Mathis of Illinois put it succinctly: “I miss being there so much!”
Sheryl Hennika, a newcomer to Albuquerque, shared her glee when a balloon landed in the parking lot of the Home Depot where she works.
“I’m new here and I squealed with delight — I’m 62 — forgetting I had customers there,” she wrote. “I felt like it was Christmas.”
It felt lovely to Ronald Benavidez.
“I live in Albuquerque and the Balloon Fiesta is a wonderful event,” he wrote.
That it is, Ronald.
It’s no secret that Albuquerque’s reputation has taken quite a beating lately. Our employment numbers are too low, our crime rate is too high. Good news on some days is very hard to find.
But then one chilly blue morning you look up and see a balloon float by. You see two, three, dozens, hundreds, and all those troubling aspects of this gritty city, this perfectly imperfect home seem to float away, at least for awhile.
The Balloon Fiesta is kind of magical that way. Sometimes it takes a few hundred homesick homages on a streaming video to remind us of that.
Next year, then.
UpFront is a front-page news and opinion column. Comment directly to Joline at 823-3603, jkrueger@abqjournal.com or follow her on Twitter @jolinegkg. Go to www.abqjournal.com/ letters/new to submit a letter to the editor.