The slogan on the bumper sticker sums up the 1991prevailing attitude as the Balloon Fiesta entered its 20th year. The Balloon Fiesta was headed headed now a mature event, with most of the into town to into town to large pieces of the event we know participate in what participate in what today now in place. The weekend mass had become New Mexico’s had become New Mexico’s ascensions, the Balloon Glows with biggest parade. The balloon teams fi reworks, and the Special Shape Rodeo decorated their trucks, and many crews would all expand in the coming years, paraded in costume in an event that but that solid core was there to build on. also featured fl oats, bands, and other However, 1991 was the end of the line community entries. This huge parade, for one institution that had been part with hundreds of entries, had become too of the Balloon Fiesta since 1973 and much for both the city and the Balloon the World Championships. On the fi rst Fiesta to manage. It is still remembered Saturday of the event after fl ying, pilots fondly by balloon enthusiasts and local and crews loaded up their trucks and residents alike. In the early part of the 1990s, Balloon Fiesta sponsoring and marketing eff orts 1992underwent a major overhaul, largely through the eff orts of the dynamic Jodi Baugh. In a very short time, through Jodi’s and others’ eff orts, Kodak became the Balloon Fiesta’s fi rst title sponsor, a distinction which continued for a decade. In this pre-digital era, shutterbugs went through a lot of fi lm at the Balloon Fiesta, which to this day is considered to be the most photographed event in the world. These and other marketing eff orts began to put Balloon Fiesta on a more solid fi nancial footing. Among the new events to Balloon Fiesta in 1992 were the Manfred Radius Glider Show, the Parade of Lights, and – well, not quite a new event – the Dawn Patrol. The fi rst Dawn Patrol fl ight ever took place at Balloon Fiesta in 1978, but it did not become an offi cial part of the event until 1992. The Dawn Patrol pilots have specially-approved aircraft lights that allow them to fl y while it is still dark outside, and their fl ights are a sort of “balloon glow in the sky.” Their fellow pilots launching later in the morning watch the Dawn Patrol to get an idea of wind direction at various altitudes. OFFICIAL PROGRAM 157