*April Fools’ disclaimer
April Fools’ comes once a year, fools.
Today’s paper is full of satire, nonsense and non sequiturs.
Read up, drink up, shut up, play hard.
For entertainment purposes only.*
The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta rode its last high at its 2009 event.
The fiesta started in 1971, but the Albuquerque Balloon Committee decided the festival was too much of a hassle.
In a statement released Monday, the Board of Directors cited “not wanting to wake up so early 10 days in a row and realizing that it’s just not worth all the sleep-loss,” as the driving force behind the decision.
The board conducted a survey of about 15,000 attendees, all of which said they were probably too busy this year to go to the balloon fiesta.
Mark Smeeth has lived in Albuquerque for three years and said he was happy to have more time to sleep in during the first two weeks of October.
“It just comes down to the fact that when you have to get your ass out of bed at 4 a.m., you’re not going to have a good, productive day,” Smith said. “Although the boost in tourism is good, we just can’t risk it. Locals aren’t only overwhelmed by the boost in business, they’re also severely sleep deprived. And after nine or 10 days of that, you just don’t have an efficient city.”
While many people attend the fiesta as spectators, there are businesses that make a large portion of their profits from vending at the event. Ben Steele of Hobbs said the balloon fiesta should reverse its decision.
“I sell funnel cakes and bratwursts in Albuquerque. So that means I make most of my money at the State Fair and the Balloon Fiesta. That’s bad news for business,” he said.
Student Sara Marshal said she’s gone to the balloon fiesta for the past six years. Marshal said she was having a hard time staying awake at work and going to bed at 7 p.m.
“Don’t get me wrong, I like seeing all the balloons all over the sky during the day, but why do we all go so early? That’s the part I don’t like,” she said.
