Drone shows at Balloon Fiesta: What they are, who is involved and where to watch

As the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta kicked off its 51st event on Saturday, a fleet of 500 drones took to the sky before 6 a.m. to put on a light show for an early morning audience. This is the second year that the balloon fiesta has partnered with tech company Verge Aero to produce the 10-minute long spectacle, which appears in the night sky for nine shows throughout this year’s fiesta.

“It’s such a cool thing to see something as timeless as the air balloon and pair it with brand-new technology like a drone show,” Stephanie Allison with FlyLight Drones said. “The union of those two, it’s just been really phenomenal and kind of unexpected.”

Verge is a drone technology company that was founded in 2016 and is based in Austin, Texas. Its shows have been featured in the Macy’s 4th of July celebration, on America’s Got Talent and even performed for President Biden.

The balloon fiesta is one of the larger shows that Verge does, according to Kacey Samiee of Verge Aero.

FlyLight purchases software and drones from Verge, which in turn supports FlyLight with designs, Allison said. The two companies partnered with the balloon fiesta to curate this year’s shows. There are two shows for this year’s fiesta: One to be displayed in the mornings, and one in the evenings.

This year, there were 500 drones involved in the show, an increase from 300 last year. This allows for more visual opportunities, Samiee said.

“When you have larger drone numbers, you can do more 3D content instead of 2D content, so it allows us more design flexibility,” Samiee said.

The morning show featured a rotating globe, for example, which gave the illusion of a full sphere made out of drones.

With an increase in drones came an increase in local volunteers. Anybody is allowed to help out with placing the batteries in the drones and removing them after the show. The youngest volunteer this year was 8 years old, Allison said.

“He was really excited to be out there and help us,” she said. “You just have to show up and take instruction.”

Some volunteers brought knowledge to the table. Dave Novick is a researcher at Sandia National Laboratories, who was one of several laboratory employees that helped out.

Sandia Labs has a drone program and several robotics groups, which Novick reached out to in order to recruit volunteers after he heard about the event.

“We saw this as a unique opportunity to see the drone show from a different perspective,” Novick said.

There were about 20 volunteers from Sandia Labs this year, and this was Novick’s second year helping out. Several of the people that Novick recruited already had backgrounds working with drones, he said.

“That was way less they had to train us or worry about, because we knew how to handle ourselves,” he said.

After the drones land, the volunteers help take the batteries out. The setup and breakdown takes two to four hours, Novick said.

Rachel Sohn is Verge’s vice president of marketing. Although the volunteers and some of the correspondents don’t get the opportunity to see the show from the audience’s perspective, Sohn goes into the audience during parts of the show to capture reactions.

“I’m constantly thinking about behind the scenes technical work,” she said. “And for this moment of really getting up on site and experiencing what it is we do... Hearing (the audience) getting to experience that, it’s really thrilling.”

The shows remain unchanged as the week progresses, Samiee said. It is complicated to work on a show, so once it’s completed, Verge generally doesn’t make adjustments.

Verge’s four founders created the company’s drones and software.

“They started with nothing,” Samiee said.

Verge has since grown into a larger company with about 30 employees and several large clients, both national and international. The company recently launched a new drone called the Verge Aero X7, Sohn said, which features upgrades including tighter flight formations and long flight times. Verge hopes to bring the X7 to the Balloon Fiesta in the future, she said.

“It’s really thrilling. And it’s just kind of overwhelming to know that you get to bring that much fun and enjoyment to the crowd,” Sohn said.

The best place to view the drone show is in the center of the field and opposite the RV park, Samiee said.

“The balloon fiesta is really special. This is a one-of-a-kind thing, so it’s awesome to be able to participate and make content that is just for this,” she said.

For more information on the drone light shows, which will resume on a nightly basis from Thursday through Saturday, visit the balloon fiesta’s event schedule online at balloonfiesta.com.