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As I mentioned in the Friday thread, our band played a corporate event Saturday at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. I believe this is the seventh year the band has played for this event. (I'm only been with them for about 4 or 5 of those years.) We were scheduled to play it last year, but Mike, the other guitarist, broke his hand in a motorcycle wreck the week before, so instead we just used my PA system and played recorded music. But this year, everything went great. The weather was perfect, the crowd was happy, the free BBQ was tasty, and we had lots of fun. We got to watch 5 or 6 gas balloons take off, got to visit with the Mayor, had front-row seats to a cool Balloon Glow (which wasn't cut short due to wind, as is often the case), and had a superb pyrotechnics show during our last set of music. Here are a few pics from the day...
Here's my view at the beginning of the event. The gas balloons in the distance are at the center of the balloon field, to give an idea how large the city Balloon Park is. These balloons are participating in the America's Challenge Gas Balloon Race. It's a distance race, and weather permitting, these balloons will be up for several days before landing somewhere east of here. Previous winners of this race often travel over 1000 miles. The record is 1998 miles, set in 2011. Flights of 60 hours are not uncommon, with the record at 92+ hours. They generally have a gas balloon race here every year, but they seldom start as originally scheduled, because they are at the mercy of the weather...not only locally but cross-country. Oftentimes, these races are started in the dead of night. In my 30+ years of coming to the Balloon Fiesta, I think this is the second time I've actually seen the gas balloons launch.
Here's an action shot taken by my wife early in the evening...
Here's our view of the Balloon Glow. This just a few of the hundreds of balloons participating...
Our stage lights are set to randomly fade to different colors every few seconds. Here's shot from my wife where she caught us in a blue phase...
And a shot my wife took of some folks chatting to the left of the stage. Interesting only because the tall guy with the beer is the Mayor. He's a guitar player too, and we've met before. We had another good chat about my guitars du jour, and what he's been up to playing-wise. He's a real personable guy, although not real popular these days due to an unwanted rapid transit boondoggle that he pushed through to be his "legacy". (He's a near the end of his second and final term.) Nonetheless, I like him. Real down to earth and genuinely wants to help the city.
Unfortunately, I was busy playing during the fireworks show so I couldn't take any photos, and all of the shots my wife took came too blurry to use. And nobody got pictures (or video) of the Mayor and his wife dancing to the last few songs we played.
All in all, it was a great time. Unfortunately, it looks like this is the last year that this company will be having their annual party at the Balloon Fiesta. They've moved to a new office near the Balloon Park, so it looks like the party will be at their office instead. I'd say we have a year to get someone else to hire us for their corporate event at the Fiesta next year, lol.
Here's my view at the beginning of the event. The gas balloons in the distance are at the center of the balloon field, to give an idea how large the city Balloon Park is. These balloons are participating in the America's Challenge Gas Balloon Race. It's a distance race, and weather permitting, these balloons will be up for several days before landing somewhere east of here. Previous winners of this race often travel over 1000 miles. The record is 1998 miles, set in 2011. Flights of 60 hours are not uncommon, with the record at 92+ hours. They generally have a gas balloon race here every year, but they seldom start as originally scheduled, because they are at the mercy of the weather...not only locally but cross-country. Oftentimes, these races are started in the dead of night. In my 30+ years of coming to the Balloon Fiesta, I think this is the second time I've actually seen the gas balloons launch.
Here's an action shot taken by my wife early in the evening...
Here's our view of the Balloon Glow. This just a few of the hundreds of balloons participating...
Our stage lights are set to randomly fade to different colors every few seconds. Here's shot from my wife where she caught us in a blue phase...
And a shot my wife took of some folks chatting to the left of the stage. Interesting only because the tall guy with the beer is the Mayor. He's a guitar player too, and we've met before. We had another good chat about my guitars du jour, and what he's been up to playing-wise. He's a real personable guy, although not real popular these days due to an unwanted rapid transit boondoggle that he pushed through to be his "legacy". (He's a near the end of his second and final term.) Nonetheless, I like him. Real down to earth and genuinely wants to help the city.
Unfortunately, I was busy playing during the fireworks show so I couldn't take any photos, and all of the shots my wife took came too blurry to use. And nobody got pictures (or video) of the Mayor and his wife dancing to the last few songs we played.
All in all, it was a great time. Unfortunately, it looks like this is the last year that this company will be having their annual party at the Balloon Fiesta. They've moved to a new office near the Balloon Park, so it looks like the party will be at their office instead. I'd say we have a year to get someone else to hire us for their corporate event at the Fiesta next year, lol.