Final Balloon Fiesta preps put in place
Posted at: 10/02/2009 11:07 PM
| Updated at: 10/03/2009 6:55 AM
By: Antoinette Antonio, Eyewitness News 4; Charlie Pabst, KOB.com
First-time fiesta vendor Chef Charles hopes to see plenty of hungry visitors.
The grounds were pretty empty Friday night, with the exception of workers and vendors putting on the finishing touches.
But by the wee hours of the morning, Balloon Fiesta Park will be full of hot-air-balloon and the smell of breakfast burritos in the air.
Chef Charles with Southern Style BBQ said Friday evening, "I'm gonna be ready in the morning. We're starting off with breakfast burritos with Hatch chile, and we do an all-American breakfast: eggs, sausage, juices, hash browns, and then we go right into lunch after that."
He was already smoking that lunch meat—enough for the crowds he's expecting.
A few doors down is Sam Isaac, who will be cooking up breakfast pizzas.
Both vendors are new to the fiesta, and optimistic the numbers will top last year's slump.
Only 700,000 people came through the gates last year. This year, vendors say they're hoping for close to 900,000.
Isaac said, "That's gonna be the largest crowd we ever had in front of our booth."
There's no rest for the weary—these guys are back up and at it before most people will even step on the park & ride.
Souvenir vendor Stuart Fisherman said, "We lay down in bed and run it through our mind over and over and over again— what's gonna come tomorrow, and we're up around 4 o'clock tomorrow to get to Balloon Fiesta Park early, because we do expect a lot of people."
Fiesta organizers say last year's slump wasn't because of the economy. They say poor weather was to blame.
Pinpoint 4 Balloon Fiesta Saturday forecast Chasing a balloon? There's an app for that Vendors prepare for sluggish sales Complete fiesta coverage from KOB.com
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