Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta sees downturn
Posted at: 10/21/2011 5:46 PM
| Updated at: 10/22/2011 7:25 AM
By: The Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - Organizers of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta are blaming the weather for a dip in the number of people who visited the event this year.
The fiesta released the attendance numbers on Friday.
This year's estimated attendance for the nine-day event was 737,466 visits.
That number was more than 811,000 last year, but organizers say rain and wind forced the cancellation of events on two mornings and two evenings toward the end of this year's fiesta.
This year marked the 40th anniversary.
There were 563 balloons registered, including 98 that fell into the special shapes category and another eight gas balloons.
More than 40 states and 21 countries were represented at this year's event.
(Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
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