Available interviewees from Visit Albuquerque:
Tania Armenta, President & CEO
Shawn Buckley, VP of Marketing
Brenna Moore, Communications Specialist
Erin Scott, Social Media & Digital Content Specialist
Other highlights/story ideas during Balloon Fiesta:
• Visit Albuquerque will be filming at Balloon Fiesta as part of its new Viewfinder initiative-an interactive, virtual reality apparatus that showcases Albuquerque's best assets in the form of 360-degree video-providing an immersive experience of the city to prospective visitors.
• Visit Albuquerque launched the #PictureABQ Photo Contest this week to celebrate the beauty of Albuquerque. The grand prize is a hot air balloon ride for two during Balloon Fiesta. The contest encourages entrants to capture a photo that celebrates fall in Albuquerque and tag the photo with the #PictureABQ hashtag on Instagram and Twitter. Albuquerque fans can check out submitted photos and vote for their favorites on PictureABQ.com. The winning photo will be announced on Wednesday, Oct. 5. The winner (and guest) will take their balloon ride on Thursday, Oct. 6 or Friday, Oct. 7 (depending on weather conditions and pilot availability). This year, the organization is also awarding daily prizes (from Oct. 1-9) donated by partner businesses. Daily giveaways include:
• October 1: $25 gift card to Pueblo Harvest Cafe
• October 2: Pair of tickets to Explora's "Party Outside of the Box" event on October 5 (21+ event)
• October 3: Family four-pack to Cliff's Amusement Park
• October 4: A pair of tickets to the Albucreepy Tour, Albu-Quirky Tour and the Duke City Pedaler from the Albuquerque Tourism & Sightseeing Factory (3 winners)
• October 5: Entry for two to the NM Escape Room
• October 6: Family pass to Explora
• October 7: Three pairs of tickets to the Rio Grande Arts & Crafts Festival (3 winners)
• October 8: "Night on the Town" package for four at Main Event Entertainment
• October 9: $20 gift card to New Mexico Piñon Coffee
• We will again invite guests to snap a photo in the Albuquerque Frame-a giant 8' x 8' frame located midfield-with the amazing backdrop of hundreds of balloons at Fiesta. Photos will be seen under the hashtag #PictureABQ on Instagram and Twitter and on PictureABQ.com. We expect each of the news crews to come over and snap a few pictures as well!
• Visit Albuquerque, along with area tourism partners, put together the 2016 Balloon Fiesta Sweepstakes as a way to offer travel lovers a chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. The winner of our Balloon Fiesta Sweepstakes-Charles C. from Farmington-and his g