From 2010 (YouTube Edition): Balloons Are Crafted Using ALL Kinds Of Images Now... and Here's How They Do It!

The sight of a stereotypical balloon is immediately recognizable... and somewhat iconic... but what's happened to this sport over the last few decades would have shocked the folks who pioneered this industry... with balloons now crafted to take on all manner of topics, figures, faces and images.

It's hard to imagine what it takes to make something as immediately recognizable as the Energizer Bunny or Darth Vader actually FLY... but Cameron Balloons' Andy Baird and his team have probably been behind more aerial double-takes than anyone in the history of lighter-than-air flight. Repeat after me, folks... WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT that just flew past???

Aero-TV looked into the amazing craftsmanship and technology behind today's "Special Shapes" balloons while enjoying a LONG and visually stimulating week at the 2010 ABQ Balloon Fiesta... The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta has been going strong for nearly four decades.

Guests from all over the world come to Albuquerque to celebrate ballooning. Literally hundreds of balloons take flight from the Balloon Fiesta Park each year. From its modest beginnings in 1972 with 13 balloons launching from a shopping mall parking lot, the Balloon Fiesta has grown to multiple events launching year-round at the custom-designed, 365-acre Balloon Fiesta Park.

Their signature event remains Balloon Fiesta -— which, with 700 balloons, is the largest ballooning event on earth, the most photographed event on earth, and the largest annual international event held in the United States.

The 2011 ABQ Balloon Fiesta is scheduled for October 1-9, 2011... be sure to look us up... ANN will be there.

FMI: www.cameronballoons.com, www.balloonfiesta.com, www.aero-tv.net, www.youtube.com/aerotvnetwork, http://twitter.com/AeroNews