Friends and Lovers
Friends and Lovers Balloon Rally
The Friends and Lovers Balloon Rally happens near Valentines' Day each February and has been a fun rally since 1975.
Originally called the Albuquerque Cloudbouncer Balloon Rally, it was started as a way to spark interest in the 1975 World Hot Air Balloon Championships and the 4th Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta which was moved from February to October that year. According to the January 1975 Cloudbouncer, a hare and hound and possible flight over the Sandia's were planned. Also on the agenda was an "all in fun special social" was planned for Saturday night.
BTW, the first day of the rally featured a hare and hound event from the State Fairgrounds. And did we mentioned it SNOWED? Sunday apparently brought great weather for flying.
Read more about it in the January and February-March 1975 Cloudbouncers. And come back to this page as we get closer to February 2022 for all the details on this always fun event.
Friends and Lovers Balloonmeistern
Note, 1975 was called the Cloudbouncer Balloon Rally and was designed to bridge the gap created when Balloon Fiesta moved from a February event to an October event.Note we are missing a few. Let us know who was Balloonmeistern those years.
| Year | Balloonmeistern | Year | Balloonmeistern |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Sid Cutter | 2001 | Melissa Bond |
| 1976 | Greg Wilson K & Diane Terry | 2002 | Carolyn Grantham |
| 1977 | Craig Landon & Tim Thorsen | 2003 | Jacque Jacobs |
| 1978 | John Lynch | 2004 | Jeanne Schroeder |
| 1979 | Marge Ruppenthal | 2005 | Jennifer Greenwood |
| 1980 | Charlotte Kinney McMahon | 2006 | Rolina "Sam" Tzamaloukas |
| 1981 | Neida "Mom" Courtney | 2007 | Barbara Fricke |
| 1982 | Sheri Bachelle Moore | 2008 | Susan Collins |
| 1983 | Gay Jensen | 2009 | Faye Godfrey |
| 1984 | Mary Beck | 2010 | ??? |
| 1985 | Doni Bird | 2011 | Cookie See |
| 1986 | Kathy Myrick | 2012 | ??? |
| 1987 | Glenda Watson | 2013 | ??? |
| 1988 | Sheri Bachelle Moore | 2014 | MaeBell Pendelton |
| 1989 | Pat Brake | 2015 | Carol Bair |
| 1990 | Carol Bair | 2016 | Janie Jordan |
| 1991 | Michelle Siebert | 2017 | Barbara Fricke |
| 1992 | Terry May | 2018 | Jennifer Garcia |
| 1993 | Anna Nalley | 2019 | Elisa Bustamante & Pat Mezzancello |
| 1994 | Cheryl Goettsche | 2020 | Lynda Crispino |
| 1995 | Martha Keyser | 2021 | None-Non Event Flying only due to COVID |
| 1996 | Jeanne Tolman | 2022 | TBA |
| 1997 | Carla Devaney | ||
| 1998 | Stephanie Johnstone | ||
| 1999 | Jamie Gardner | ||
| 2000 | Ann Piper |