Learn more about this year’s Mesilla Valley Balloon Rally in Las Cruces

It’s eyes to the skies as the Mesilla Valley Balloon Rally takes off over Las Cruces from Friday, Jan. 16, through Sunday, Jan. 18.

Christine Casillas, lead organizer, helped bring the event back in 2025 after a 14-year hiatus, following its run from 1977 to 2011.

Last year they focused on the basics, pilots and vendors, she said. This year, the rally expanded more into the community.

“We started reaching out to some more of the nonprofit community organizers,” Casillas said. The rally wanted to help showcase Las Cruces for eventgoers.

“One of the things that I hear a lot, especially in Las Cruces, is that there’s nothing to do out here,” Casillas said, “and that drives me crazy, because there’s so much out here. It’s just a matter of getting that information out to everyone.

Casillas grew up with the Mesilla Valley Balloon Rally, and when she moved back to Las Cruces, she was sad to learn it had come to an end. When Visit Las Cruces was looking for new organizers, she raised her hand to volunteer.

“It’s been a wonderful experience to be putting it together again,” Casillas said.

“One of the reasons why I think it’s so important is that we are a joyful, colorful community,” Casillas said, “and I think this is just a representation of what we can do when we come together as a community.”

She said ballooning culture had been slowly dying in Las Cruces and it has been exciting to see it rekindled, especially because the New Mexico ballooning community as a whole is so tight-knit.

Casillas said the range of balloons at the rally gives people of all ages an introduction to ballooning culture.

“We have our RC balloons coming, and that’s really accessible to the younger generation, like your second-graders and younger, because the big balloons can be intimidating to the younger kids,” Casillas said.

Alongside the RC balloons, there will be 17 full-sized balloons, including the Visit Las Cruces balloon making its debut and Zozobra. Casillas said this will be Zozobra’s first foray into southern New Mexico.

She said the flat land around Las Cruces makes for an ideal landing and flying space for balloons.

Elizabeth Secor is an arts fellow from the New Mexico Local News Fellowship program. You can reach her at esecor@abqjournal.com.