By Madhuri Dey
Albuquerque, NM, Oct 3, (THAINDIAN NEWS) The world’s largest hot air balloon festival will kick start from today and will continue till the 11th of this month. According to the sources, the 38th annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta will be has sparked up mass expectations of becoming the biggest balloon fiesta of all time.

The balloon extravaganza will feature as many as 550 hot air and gas balloons and 650 balloon pilots hailing from 17 different countries and 37 states. Sources revealed that more than 8,00,000 spectators are expected to witness the grand festival which is regarded as one of the most sought after festivals in New Mexico.

The final preparations for this annual festival were observed till late Friday night. Although the grounds were empty, but the vendors and workers were seen putting on the finishing touches for the 9 day long fest which will kick-start from today. It is quite obvious that the ground will remain jam packed on the wee hours of Saturday. “I am gonna be ready in the morning. We are starting off with breakfast burritos with Hatch Chile, and we do an all-American breakfast: eggs, sausages, juices, hash browns and we go directly into lunch after that,” said Chef Charles.

The Fiesta officials would definitely like to bring the sales up, as last year’s Annual Balloon Fiesta observed a considerable amount of slump in the sales. According to the authorities of the festival the slump was not due to the ongoing phenomenon called recession, but it was the poor weather which played the spoilsport, thereby bringing the sales down. This year it is believed that the festival will be more exciting and colorful than its predecessors. The festival will continue till the 11th of October.