Balloon Fiesta has a sensory station: here's what you need to know

The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is taking measures to make the festival more inclusive to all visitors.

Between the cold mornings, large crowds and colorful balloons filling the skies, Balloon Fiesta has no shortage of things to do and see. Though the event can be exciting, sometimes it can be overwhelming.

But there is a solution. KultureCity, a nonprofit based in Birmingham Alabama, offers a sensory trailer to provide Balloon Fiesta visitors a break from everything. KultureCity was created by two parents with a son who is autistic. They noticed a lack of safe spaces for their son when they were in public and decided if they didn’t have access to a safe space, they would make one.

“We work with people who have sensory needs like autism or PTSD or any other disability, and we go to a lot of different events and make them sensory inclusive by providing some sort of mobile version of a sensory room,” said Isabel Stilwal, event specialist with KultureCity.

Stilwal, who started with the company as an intern, said the room has equipment to help relax people who are overstimulated at public events.

“There’s sensory on the walls, some air tubes on the wall, and it’s a quiet place people can step into when they’re overwhelmed,” she said.

The mobile sensory station is designed to relax guests. Small beanbags sit on either side of the room for visitors to take a rest between walking through crowds and waiting in line for breakfast. The walls are decorated with interactive activities to help a person refocus. The room is dark inside except for the soft, neon lights generated from air tubes that create a relaxing light show for its visitors.

KultureCity also provides sensory bags for people. Among their contents: noise reducing headphones, a variety of fidget toys, strobe reduction glasses, a visual cue card so nonverbal people can point on the card to indicate things they need or feel, and a weighted lap pad. Guests are able to keep all the items.

Stilwal said guests at the Balloon Fiesta last year were appreciative of the room .

“People definitely use it,” she said. “It varies event to event but I feel like it makes a difference being here because people will step in here multiple times, stay here for a while and grab a bag. And for a lot of people it’s more than a bag. There are a lot of essential tools to keep people safe and happy.”