Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta Announces 2023 Photo Contest Winners

November 20, 2023

Honoring Cindy Petrehn’s legacy in the ballooning community

Albuquerque NM – The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta announced the seventeen winners of the 2023 Cindy Petrehn Memorial Photo Contest. The Grand Prize Winner is Richard Gomez from Las Vegas, Nevada, for his photo from the basket of a dawn patrol balloon during the nine-day event. A committee of three judges reviewed the 1,100 photo entries submitted through BalloonFiesta.com.

Cindy Petrehn, a beloved and integral member of the Hot Air Ballooning community who passed away unexpectedly in 2013. To her, photography was "capturing the light in a moment of time and space.. a passion and an obsession." She was an official photographer for the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, and her legacy is honored by this photo contest, celebrated on her birthday, November 20^th.

The panel of judges reviewing the 1,100 photos, submitted by 327 people, includes: Michael Cacioppo Belantara (Cindy Petrehn's son), Toni Paulson (Cindy Petrehn's daughter) and Scott Hughes (an official balloon Fiesta photographer).

This year, there were six categories: Faces of Fiesta, Dawn Patrol/Balloon Glow, Mass Ascension, Special Shapes, AfterGlow Fireworks, and Digital / Artificial Intelligence (AI) Art. Winners were congratulated with cash prizes, Official 2023 Balloon Fiesta jackets, and Official 2023 Event Posters.

Grand Prize:

Richard Gomez

Faces of Fiesta

1^st place: Tiffany Luong

2^nd place: Teresa Rabold

3^rd place: Lacey Jones

Dawn Patrol/Balloon Glow

1^st place: Bruce Wong

2^nd place: Adam Eccelston

3^rd place: Ken Sklute

Mass Ascension

1^st place: Mark Stuen

2^nd place: Susan Coker

3^rd place: Kevin Mak

Special Shapes

1^st place: Steve Cuevas

2^nd place: George Ribich

3^rd place: James Watley

AfterGlow Fireworks

1^st place: Justin Allison

2^nd place: Shelby Brown

3^rd place: Elaine Weisborn

Digital or AI Art winner:

1^st place: Kristian Nerveson

To view all winning photos, visit: https://balloonfiesta.com/Photo-Contest-2023

About the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta

The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, powered by ExxonMobil is a festival of hot air balloons that takes place in October in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. It is the largest gathering of balloons and balloonists in the world. The 2022 event generated $203.19 Million into the Albuquerque and the State of New Mexico economies. For details on events, schedule, entertainment and photographs visit our website www.balloonfiesta.com and follow us on Twitter @BalloonFiesta and Facebook.

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