New Mexico State University’s new hot air balloon, “Aggie Up”, made its first appearance at Pat and Lou Sisbarro Community Park on Thursday, Sept. 26 during the ASNMSU Burning of the Lobo pep rally. This event collaborated with many organizations, student alumni, food vendors, and sponsors. All of these supporters embodied the energetic NMSU spirit, one of the many reasons the debut was successful.
Brad Rice, an NMSU alumnus, had the honor of piloting the balloon. He’s an associate under the Rainbow Ryders and grew up around the hot air balloon community in Albuquerque. He took his first flight when he was just six years old, and got his student license at 14. Rice was ASNMSU President back in 1993.
“It’s great to be down here with the balloon for New Mexico State,” Rice said. “This was actually the first time that this balloon ‘Aggie Up’ has been out of the bag.”
His son, Carson Rice, an NMSU student studying mechanical engineering, worked with the crew at the event.
“I was pretty much raised with it, like my dad … he had his balloon before I was born — so I grew up with the crew,” he said. “I’ve been doing this as long as I can remember.”
ASNMSU Advisor Samuel Worley (left) and ASNMSU President Ala Alhalholy (right) watch the “Aggie Up” balloon inflate. Sept. 26, 2024. (Leah De La Torre)
Brad Rice said his favorite balloon is his own, “Hearts of Fire”.
“It’s a pink and red balloon that’s got hearts around the equator,” he said. “I’ve had that balloon now for 20, 30 years. Because she’s mine, she has to be my favorite.”
Damain Kirson, the general manager of Rainbow Ryders, has also been on a balloon crew for many years and took his first hot air balloon flight when he was eight years old. He said their company’s marketing department and designers spent a year in collaboration to make “Aggie Up”. The balloon itself only took three months to build.
“Everyone’s been super ecstatic about the full operation,” Kirson said.
Caia Ortiz, Executive Director of Activities for ASNMSU, helped plan the Burning of the Lobo and “Aggie Up” balloon glow. She was proud of the turnout at this year’s event.
“Honestly, it’s the most rewarding thing no matter how hard the days were, no matter how many tears were shed, no matter how many times we stapled our fingers,” Ortiz said. “Seeing all the students out here — it genuinely is so worth it, because we beat attendance by 300 from last year … So seeing that up in attendance, seeing more students come out, and seeing what we did to fix things to make the event come together. It really showed that it made the event a lot better from previous years.”
Derek, a videographer for NMSU Marketing and Communications, reflected on the importance of the balloon to the NMSU community.
“I love it — it brings everything New Mexico has to offer,” he said. “It’s got the Zia, the crimson, it’s got the the green, it’s got the white, it’s got the logo … so, much better than our previous balloon. [It was] like a green balloon with a little tiny logo … we just slapped our logo on someone else’s balloon. It will be exciting to go to the Fiesta this year and see NMSU be represented!”
Christine Casillas, a Las Cruces local and an NMSU engineering alumna, is an organizer for the Mesilla Valley Balloon Rally. She noted that “Visit Las Cruces” is funding the organization back into lift off.
Las Cruces folks should keep their eyes in the skies Jan. 17-20, as Mesilla Valley Balloon Rally makes a return to Las Cruces by welcoming “Aggie Up” into the skies. The event will debut 20 hot air balloons from Albuquerque’s Balloon Fiesta Park. The event is free and open to all!
Debbie Boucher • Oct 12, 2024 at 12:40 PM
Saw the NMSU balloon at the Albuquerque Balloon Festival this year! What a great design and vivid colors! Proud to be an Aggie Alumi.