Balloominaria 2021

Above, the crowds enjoying Balloominaria in Gallup. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Part of the weekend's festivities around the Red Rock Balloon Rally in and around Gallup, New Mexico included a Christmas parade and the Balloominaria at the Rio West Mall. 

I didn't go to the Christmas parade, but I did go to the Balloominaria. This is where people in the community has a chance to get up close to the balloons involved in the Red Rock Balloon Rally.

I missed the one in 2019 (this was when I first heard about it) and last year's events were cancelled due to the pandemic.

It got cold outside pretty fast once the sun went down. I normally shun wearing a mask, but it actually came in handy to keep my face warm. Being near the hot air balloon burners also helped to warm me up.

I got to the site of the Balloominaria early, about an hour before its start time, and wandered around watching the various balloon crews get their balloons inflated. At that time, there weren't too many people there.

Once the event started, crowds started coming in and it got pretty crowded. One guy had his balloon basket with burners available for people to have their picture taken in the basket as he fired up the burners. A lady with another crew invited me to take photos of the inside of their balloon with the burners going.

All in all, it was a fun event with well-behaved crowds. I am looking forward to next year's Balloominaria.

Here's some photos from last night: