Albuquerque, New Mexico (KOAT) — More than 500 pilots are expected to participate in the Balloon Fiesta, with 59 joining for the first time.
One of those first-timers was 20-year-old Marissa Vereb. She received her license in October last year in Albuquerque outside the airfield. Vereb has been involved in ballooning for as long as she can remember, with her father showing her the ropes. “Burn flame flame flame hold your redline down,” her father instructed.
Vereb remembers growing up watching her dad attend balloon tethers and waking up early to go ballooning, inspiring her to start flight training as a sophomore in high school…