(NEWSnet/AP) — Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta opened at sunrise Saturday in New Mexico, with a drone light show and mass ascension of hot air balloons.

Over nine days, local residents and visitors are expected to be treated to a cavalcade of colorful and uniquely shaped balloons. Balloon designs have featured cartoon animals, Star Wars characters and the polar bear found on Klondike bars.

The annual gathering has become a major economic driver for the state’s most-populous city. Rio Grande River and nearby mountains provide spectacular backdrops to the fiesta, which began with pilots launching 13 balloons from an open lot near a shopping center in 1972.

Nearly 830,000 people attended the 2022 festival. Scheduled nighttime events include fireworks and balloon glows, in which hot air balloons are inflated and lit up from the ground.

The launch window opens Saturday evening for what is billed as one of the biggest events in aviation: the Gordon Bennett competition. Winner of the gas-balloon race is the one who flies the farthest distance.

About 550 balloon pilots are registered to fly this year, seeking to take advantage of a phenomenon known as the Albuquerque box, when wind blows in opposite directions at various elevations, allowing skillful pilots to bring a balloon back to a spot near the point of takeoff.

Attendees also can pay to go aloft for views of Sandia Mountains to the west and Santa Fe farther north.

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