You will most likely be walking around much of the time - there is so much to see! And it will keep you warm to walk, sitting will chill you.

There is seating near the food concessions, at picnic tables. I suppose you could sit there, but trust me, you will be walking around a lot. Other than that, there are no chairs provided, except in VIP area.

You should be able to bring food in, a thermos for sure. But part of the experience [especially for a first timer] is to have a breakfast burrito and a cinnamon bun from the food concessions!

I would not bring blankets, you would get stepped on, alot! Stadium chairs maybe but again, walking around to see all the balloons as they inflate is where the action is - just sitting really limits you. So, unless you have a need to sit, just come as you are and walk!

Bring a flashlight. It will be very dark to start and it will be helpful. Dress in layers, as it usually warms up as the sun comes up.

One last tip - do not just plan on attending one morning as you make your plans. Try to be flexible as the balloons don't go up if the weather isn't perfect. So you could find yourself missing the mass ascension and that would be a shame.

Wow, thanks for your quick reply. That's great to know. It was kind of hard to tell from the Balloon Fiesta schedule if there would be "down time" in between events, so it's good to know we should plan on walking around most of the time and that there are places to sit down and eat.

We'll be in ABQ for three days and our schedule is flexible while we're there, so hopefully we'll have at least one good weather day to see both the morning and evening events.