Fresh, Frank, and Fiercely Carnuntum

by Paula Redes Sidore

A small, sweater-clad grade-schooler shimmies up a lamp post in pursuit of something that we, the audience, can’t yet see. The camera pans out on the child’s ascent to reveal a brilliant burst of scarlet as a balloon floats above monochrome Paris streets. Holding tight to the string, the young hero of Albert Lamorisse’s classic 1956 film then goes about his day — his new companion quite literally in tow. Strangers turn to stare, some disparage, some protect; the red balloon inspiring and challenging those it encounters. And, in refusing to conform to the status quo, pushing the boy to grow both creative and nimble. 

Austria’s own vinous red balloon is a winegrowing region known as Carnuntum. Seemingly there from the beginning, yet with an identity forever in flux...

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