By the numbers: International hot air balloon fiesta to lift off in AlbuquerqueBy Canadian Press on October 2, 2025. The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta kicks off Saturday with a mass ascension at Balloon Fiesta Park. Fiesta attendees can walk among the inflating balloons and talk to pilots while scarfing down breakfast burritos and sipping piñon coffee. 5,073 The elevation at Balloon Fiesta Park, in feet. 78 Acres of grass that make up the launch area, equivalent to 56 football fields.