Marcia Abramson
Now the Albuquerque International Balloon Festival has grown into the largest balloon event in the world, attracting participants and observers from every corner of the earth including many Long Islanders. Actually this is an entire week of races. I am told by the locals that if you've never seen the Balloon Festival up close and in person, you're missing out on quite an exciting experience. Once the sun rises, you can see more than the 700 brightly colored balloons ascending gently over your head, you will feel that you're dreaming. The sky above is filled with amazing color. During the Fiesta there will be morning races and unbelievable balloon shapes to nighttime balloon glows that are unforgettable. You will also be able to see the balloons take off right along with the pilots as they fill up their huge creations with flames of hot air, and will not be separated from the action in bleaches, but right up front where the action is. Albuquerque has the perfect weather for ballooning and can have a sky filled with unique shaped balloons like dinosaurs, bumblebees, a space shuttle, a cow to mention just a few.Additionally this fall will also mark the opening of the Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum. It will be located just south of the balloon launch field. Visitors will experience some spectacular views on the north side of the building. They will see the colorful array of the balloons lifting off with the mountains providing an awesome backdrop in addition to being on the field.. Upon entering the museum, don't be surprised if you feel that you are looking into a balloon being inflated with hot air. This is an interactive museum with an educational, creative and technology focused on a wide variety of ballooning experiences, particularly for those of us who don't want to leave terra firma or mother earth for a ride on a flying balloon.This is the year that the city of Albuquerque will start celebrating its 300th birthday through October 2006. The city will emphasize its historic traditions, culture and progress. As part of the tri-centennial celebration, a new gallery at the expanded Albuquerque Museum of Art and History will display three historical eras of Spanish art from the Baroque Masters to the early 21st Century. The Albuquerque Museum is the first venue in the United States to display these exhibitions. This Spanish art exhibition runs through November 27th and is called the Prelude to Spanish modernism from Fortuny to Early Picasso. The featured artists worked during the later half of the 19th century and reveal the richness and importance of that era. The final Spanish exhibition will highlight the diversity of early 21st century of Spanish Art and includes examples of cubism, surrealism, constructivism and geometric abstraction. On display will be the works of Goya, Pablo Picasso, Joan Miro, Salvador Dali, and Julio Gonzales, plus paintings from the Prada Museum of Madrid.Albuquerque is one of the few cities in the United States that began as a small settlement along the banks of the Rio Grande 300 years ago in 1706 to become a town rich in history and awe-inspiring beauty. It is no wonder that New Mexico is enchanting to people with its expansive vistas and dazzling sunsets and attracted many Native Americans and Spanish settlers to make this city and state their home. The Native American architecture of ancient cliff dwellings, and petroglyphs surround Albuquerque. dating back hundreds and perhaps thousands of years in this city's history. One of the first buildings erected in the Old Town, the San Felipe de Neri Church still stands and is an extraordinary example of early Spanish architecture.I particularly enjoyed my visit to the pueblo at Acoma, the City in the Sky, just a short drive from Albuquerque. A new Sky City Cultural Center and Haak'u Museum is planned to open this fall to house the first -ever tribal archives. It's planned to help preserve the ancestral remains and other artifacts of the Acoma people. There will also be a permanent exhibit of the world famous Acoma pottery and other Native American tribal textiles. For more information you can visit www.itsatrip.org/tricentennial or your local travel professional.
© Copyright by Marcia AbramsonE-mail:mascribe@verizon.net
