Advanced aircraft to patrol crowds at Balloon Fiesta

 

Worried that the large crowds at Balloon Fiesta could pose a security risk? Don’t be.

“Starting Balloon Fiesta weekend, there is going to be an aircraft in the sky over Albuquerque with equipment so advanced the government uses it for both disasters and inaugurations.

It has been developed by the top minds at the Environmental Protection Agency and FEMA: the Airborne Spectral Photographic Environmental Collection Technology or the ASPECT plane.

Albuquerque air monitoring supervisor Ken Lienemann got a first hand look at it.

"They fly back and forth and back and forth and they map the whole area and see if anything glows," Lienemann said.

He is not kidding.

The powerful technology on board can spot the most dangerous weapons in a sea of thousands of people.

"Radioactive material that could be at the right time exploded with conventional explosives and make sort of a dirty bomb," Lienemann continued.

Why Balloon Fiesta?

Lienemann said the sheer number of visitors is reason enough and it is a big part of why the plane exists.

"They use it for events like Superbowls…probably inaugural events…any place where there's going to be a lot of press coverage and a lot of people who could be exposed to the hazard," Lienemann said.

Lienemann also said the ASPECT plane will be patrolling the skies everyday during Balloon Fiesta with some of the most brilliant people around at the helm.

"A couple of Ph.D scientists and retired navy pilots…they're all experts in what they do," he said. This is not the first time the ASPECT plane has been used at the event, but the crew will still have quite a responsibility. The city is expecting upwards of 800,000 people showing up to this year's Balloon Fiesta.”

Read more at http://www.kob.com/article/stories/s2305534.shtml

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Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta Celebrates 40th Event

Don’t miss this year’s Balloon Fiesta! Read on for a peek at what will be featured this year. 

“The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta celebrates its 40th event with 550 hot air balloons representing 20 countries and honoring the person who started it all in 1972 Sid Cutter, the founder and "Father of Fiesta".

The 40th event will occur October 1-9, 2011 at Balloon Fiesta Park.  New this year will be the Sandia Resort and Casino $100,000 challenge, the richest active prize in ballooning.  It will test pilots' skill and provide great visuals as competitors play an airborne version of ring toss, trying to connect with one of ten poles during the competitive flying events.

The mass ascensions will fill Albuquerque's morning skies with 550 hot air balloons on October 1, 2, 8 and 9.  The 16th America's Challenge Gas Balloon event, a cross country competition, and the popular Balloon Glows (featuring 200+ hot air balloons in static display flickering their burners at sunset and into dusk) will round out the first weekend's evening events.

Opening day at Balloon Fiesta Park will also feature both a balloon version and airplane version of the "Missing Man Formation" balloon launch to honor the so-called "Father of Fiesta" Sid Cutter who passed away earlier this year.

The competitive flying starts on Monday of Balloon Fiesta week with pilots aiming to win the richest active prize in hot air ballooning in the Sandia Resort and Casino $100,000 Challenge.  Competitive flying will continue throughout the week, taking a break on Wednesday for the Flight of the Nation's.  The Flight of the Nations will honor the 20 countries participating in the 40th event, as each flies their nation's flags from Balloon Fiesta Park.

Flying pigs, a giant butterfly and other unique objects are among the 99 special shape balloons that will take to the skies for their own mass ascension and balloon glows on Thursday and Friday at Balloon Fiesta Park.  Additional Mass Ascensions and a Balloon Glow will be included in the final weekend.

The 2011 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta sponsors include Nikon, the official camera for this year's event. “

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/09/14/3909197/albuquerque-international-balloon.html#ixzz1YbNLfcfp

Picture from: http://www.albuquerque.com/attractions/balloon-fiesta.html

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2011 Triple-A Baseball National Championship!

Enjoy some great hometown minor league baseball at Isotopes Park next Tuesday!

The game will pit the winner of the Pacific Coast League playoffs against the winner of the International League's Governors' Cup, in a one-game championship showdown. The contest, which will be nationally-televised on Versus, is the centerpiece of a day-long event that includes a free pre-game autograph session with Dodgers legends, a great giveaway from presenting sponsor Sandia Resort, and a post-game fireworks show.

The excitement starts at 4:30 PM with a free pre-game autograph session on the Isotopes Park concourse with Dodgers greats Steve Garvey, Ron Cey, and Bill Russell, who will be signing autographs and taking pictures with fans until 6:00 PM. The first 1,500 fans will also get a great giveaway item courtesy of Sandia Resort. After the contest, fans will be treated to a spectacular fireworks show, the last one at The Lab in 2011.

For more information, click here. 

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¡Globalquerque! World Music Festival

 

Get ready for the 7th Annual Globalquerque World Music Festival! 

This annual showcase of world music and culture Features events around the state and culminates in a two-day multi-stage festival at the National Hispanic Cultural Center. Join these international performers and help celebrate New Mexico's varied cultural traditions.  There will be food and crafts from around the world, educational workshops, free family fun, dance classes and more.

The fun lasts from September 16th until September 17, 2011.  Check out the full schedule here!

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What Is Labor Day?

 

Labor Day is this Monday, September 5th.  But do you know why we celebrate it?  Check out this historical tidbit:

Labor Day: How it Came About; What it Means

Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

Founder of Labor Day

More than 100 years after the first Labor Day observance, there is still some doubt as to who first proposed the holiday for workers.

Some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, was first in suggesting a day to honor those "who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold."

But Peter McGuire's place in Labor Day history has not gone unchallenged. Many believe that Matthew Maguire, a machinist, not Peter McGuire, founded the holiday. Recent research seems to support the contention that Matthew Maguire, later the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J., proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. What is clear is that the Central Labor Union adopted a Labor Day proposal and appointed a committee to plan a demonstration and picnic.

The First Labor Day

The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883.

In 1884 the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, as originally proposed, and the Central Labor Union urged similar organizations in other cities to follow the example of New York and celebrate a "workingmen's holiday" on that date. The idea spread with the growth of labor organizations, and in 1885 Labor Day was celebrated in many industrial centers of the country.

Check out the full story here.

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