25th Anniversary Mountain Man Rendevous, Aug. 5-9, Santa Fe

Our own local Mountainain Man, Michael Brooks, of Lame Beaver Trading Company, crafter/supplier of authentic equipment, will most likely attend this event. Visiting the Trading Company, 7545 NM 55 North, would be good way to start learning more about mountain men, their history and traditions, as well as other contemporary rendezvous groups and events to prepare yourself for the upcoming Santa Fe event. If you can't make it to that renderzvous, then drive out to between mile markers 73 & 74 some summer evening or weekend. For more information and to schedule your visit when the Trading Co is open, email lamebeavertradingco@gmail.com or call 505-847-2694

Cross posted from NM History Announcment list, links & formatting for emphasis added:

Mountain Man Rendezvous returns, celebrating 25 years of hunting, trapping, bartering and living off the land, featuring noted Western author Johnny D. Boggs on the Mountain Man in popular culture

Press Release: Santa Fe, NM (July 20, 2009) - Tough economic times hardly faze the folks ready to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Mountain Man Rendezvous in the Palace of the Governors Courtyard. From Aug. 5-9 (see daily schedule below), craftspeople, re-enactors, authors and musicians will share a wealth of know-how on the "simple life" of another era - the early 1800s, to be precise.

As a special addition to this year's lineup, award-winning author Johnny D. Boggs will speak at 2 pm Sunday, Aug. 9, on "Mountain Men in Literature, Film and Pop Culture." Honored by three Spur Awards and a Western Heritage Wrangler Award, Boggs, a Santa Fe resident, is an engaging interpreter of the American West. His lecture, in the New Mexico History Museum auditorium, will examine the popularity of Mountain Men from early dime novels in the 1800s to serious literary studies of the 20th century, from movies like The Big Trail and Jeremiah Johnson to the rise of buck-skinning festivals and reenactments. (For more on Boggs, go to http://www.johnnydboggs.com/.)

Among the earliest Anglos to reach America's West, Mountain Men were hunters and fur trappers whose rugged lives left Rocky Mountain legends from roughly 1820-1840. Their survival skills, including trading with Native Americans (and sometimes evading them), built a foundation of knowledge for the settlers who followed on the Santa Fe Trail. Among the 1,000 who roamed the West during the fur trade's heyday were folks like Kit Carson and Jedediah Smith.

The tradition of the rendezvous started in 1825. A gathering to exchange pelts for supplies and reorganize trapping units evolved into a month-long carnival in the wilderness. According to one observer: "Mountain companies ... make as crazy a set of men I ever saw." There were horse races, running races, card games, checkers, target shooting, singing and gambling. Whiskey drinking, not surprisingly, accompanied it all.

While the Museum's rendezvous won't include alcohol, this family-friendly event - free but for the opening morning's preview - includes period music, the display and sale of authentic and reproduced items, and games and hands-on activities for children. From 10 am to noon on Friday, Aug. 7, visit the touch table and "discovery box" for a true feel of the everyday items used by these pioneers - as well as a few slick, furry and flat-out hair-raising ones.

Michael Combs and his son, Dependable Hickory Strongheart, will perform traditional Mountain Man music from 5:30-7 pm on Friday, Aug. 7. Rooted in the songs and dances of their birthlands - Scotland, Quebec, England and more - Mountain Men accompanied their tunes with banjos, fiddles, concertinas, clapping, stomps and improvised dance steps.

On Saturday, Aug. 8, from 10 am to noon, Scot Bol from the Wildlife Center, New Mexico's only wildlife hospital and education center, will show off some of the birds that sail our Western skies.

Enter for free through the Blue Gate, just south of the History Museum's entrance at 113 Lincoln Avenue. Or add a visit to the History Museum and the Palace of the Governors, where children 16 and under are always free. Admission for NM adults is $6, $9 for others.

Mountain Man Rendezvous schedule:

• Aug. 5:
  • 8-10 am: Preview, Palace Courtyard, $10
  • 10am-4:30pm: Courtyard events; free with entry through the Blue Gate on Lincoln Avenue
• Aug. 6: 9am-4:30pm: Courtyard events; free with entry through the Blue Gate
• Aug. 7:
  • 9am-4:30pm: Courtyard events; free with entry through the Blue Gate
  • 10am-noon: Touch table and "discovery box" offer a chance to learn about trade items, pelts and more; in the Courtyard
  • 5:30-7pm: Michael Combs and Dependable Hickory Strongheart perform Mountain Man music; in the Courtyard
• Aug. 8
  • 9am-4:30pm: Courtyard events; free with entry through the Blue Gate
  • 10am-noon: New Mexico Wildlife Center displays the animals of the American West; in the Courtyard
  • 2pm: Beading and flintknapping demonstration by Charlie Acuña, in the Courtyard (For more on Acuña, go to http://stonedge.com/)
• Aug. 9
  • 9am-3pm: Courtyard events; free with entry through the Blue Gate
  • 2pm: ** SPECIAL EVENT ** Western novelist Johnny D. Boggs on the role of Mountain Men in literature, film and music; New Mexico History Museum Auditorium; free with Museum admission (free to NM residents on Sunday; free always to children 16 and under)
    

Media contact: Kate Nelson, Marketing Manager
New Mexico History Museum/Palace of the Governors
(505) 476-1141, (505) 554-5722 (cell)
kate.nelson@state.nm.us, http://www.media.museumofnewmexico.org/

State of the Arts - News About Arts & Culture

State of the Arts is the Arts Alliance's twice monthly newsletter with news about the arts and culture scene in the greater Albuquerque metro area (which, oddly includes, Mountainair) and beyond - trends, people and what makes the arts industry tick. It's all State of the Arts.

View the complete newsletter online. If you like what you're reading, subscribe by clicking here and share newsletter and subscription information with your friends too. In the interest of minimizing mailbox clog, better to send links to newsletter and for subscribing... maybe a brief excerpt (see below) as a trailer to whet their interest.

SoA wants to hear from us too. Send your art news, tips and suggestions. But don't send calendar listings - those go to Something To Do

Arts Essential, Under Seige

Times are tough and charities have a lot of demands. But an LA Times blogger argues that the arts are essential -- and they are under threat. Last month, the results of the U.S. Department of Education's National Arts Report Card revealed that only 16% of the eighth-graders visited a museum at least once last year. That's down from 22% in 1997. The percentage of adults who visited a museum decreased too, from 26% in 1997 to 23% last year. The performing arts are experiencing steadily declining audiences. And arts education in schools is being cut drastically. Why should we care? Because experiencing and creating art is a crucial part of developing young people who can understand the world's complexity and tackle its problems with a full range of tools. To read more, click the headline.

Sunflowers around the World: Hungary

sunflowers bowing their heads
Originally uploaded by gdraskoy

It's time to start thinking sunflower - less than a month the annual Sunflower Festival. There may or may not be a "sunflower gap." If there is, what are you doing to bridge it? Growing your own? Making sunflower art?

Every year Mountainair Arts does its bit by posting sunflower pictures, sunflowers in art, links to Sunflower Festivals past & around the world, sunflower oddities and other sunfloweranalia.

Flickr's "blog this photo tool" is perfect for blogging pictures of sunflowers from around the world. "Sunflowers bowing their heads" hails from Hungary.

Do you have a favorite sunflower image to share with us?

Santera Art at Botts Hall

Arlene Cisneros-Sena, internationally acclaimed NM Santera will be talking about and showing her work on August 1, 2009, 1:30 - 3:30 PM, at Botts Hall, adjacent to the Albuquerque Public Library Special Collections, on Central and Edith

The Special Collections Library of the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Library System houses research collections on genealogy and New Mexico history and culture. The 1925 Pueblo/Spanish Revival-style building is a registered Albuquerque landmark in the historic Huning-Highlands neighborhood.

Free but reservations are recommended. For info call 505-848-1376

More web sites with information about Santera Art and this Artist:

• http://www.tfaoi.com
• http://www.nmsantos.com
• htpp://www.spanishmarket.org/awards
• http://www.libraryartshop.com
• http://www.spanishmarket.org
  

Proposed Firing Range Raises Concerns

From the East Mountain Telegraph, Ashley Bergen, July 23

A firing range proposed by the Mountainair gun club is getting some heat from neighboring landowners....After those opposed to the location spoke, the gun club met to discuss the concerns....The gun club is keeping an open mind. Members are interested in finding a location that will work for everyone. Once a location is secured..., the club will go through Torrance County Planning and Zoning.

[Gun Club president Jim] Greene said, "...we're going to take the time and look this over. Is this the best place? It's the best we've seen so far and we've looked at several pieces of land."

Proposed Firing Range Raises Concerns

Blogged via AddThis

Salinas Pueblo Missions: Lead Story in NPS Digest

Mort Sullivan, NPS Ranger at Salinas Pueblo Missions, writes:

Inside NPS is a daily intranet news page for Park Service employees. The public version of it is called NPS Digest - just the news without any of the intranet links.

Salinas Pueblo Missions made the lead story today (7/23). I'm kinda surprised; I just submitted the article the day before yesterday.

Anyway, it is a big deal - most of the 20,000 NPS employees all over the world (there are National Parks in US Territories, too) will see this today. Here's the link:

Salinas Pueblo Missions Celebrates Its Centennial (NPS Digest)

Salinas NPS Centennial float
Mountainair Firecracker Jubilee Parade, July 4, 2009

Blogged with ShareThis

Poetry Matters: Mountainair on the map

Poetry puts Mountainair on the map; we've been Vectorized! Monday, 7/20/09, Broadsided Press responded to my request to participate in their Broadsided Project. In particular, I wanted to know if I could "blogside" (broadside virtually by blogging), with perhaps occasional hard copy broadsiding with reader cooperation. They liked the idea and put Mountainair on their map. Broadsided: Poetry, Prose & Art on the Streets as Modern Broadsides Each month, Broadsided publishes an original literary/visual collaboration for participants to download, print on letter-sized paper, and post locally. "The Space Traveler and Wandering" July Broadside, click to view larger version. Download pdf to print & post Dear Vanessa, Towns like Mountainair (small communities without the resources to bring in big fancy art projects etc) are just why Broadsided was started. We're so glad to mark it Vectorized (we actually heard from another Mountainair resident this week -- I think you must know each other?). [note: indeed we do - Tamra Hays is the other Broadsider] Let us know how the virtual Broadsiding and the bilingual Broadsiding goes? We'd love to see what you do. Also, would you mind if we used your email in our newsletter (not your address or name, just the text - unless you don't mind our using your first name)? It so perfectly captures the inspiration for this project. Please feel free to write to us with ideas, suggestions, and -- especially -- any stories or pictures from your Vectorhood. We're always hungry to know what's going on out there on the streets. I've put your Vector location on the site... and on the Vector map. Broadsided is also on Facebook: Thank you for helping us get literature and art out there, into our daily lives.

Arts Alliance Calendar/Newsletter

click image to view online newsletter

Once again, Arts Alliance rides to the rescue, deferring crisis of ambivalence & geas of speaking truth to power to another day - or at least another post.

HOW TO: See the Longest Solar Eclipse of the Century Online

HOW TO: See the Longest Solar Eclipse of the Century Online

Tomorrow, on the 22nd of July 2009. the longest solar eclipse of this century will occur; it will last over six and a half minutes, and it will be visible, among other places, in parts of India, Butan, Nepal, Bangladesh, China, Japan, and the Marshall Islands.

It is an extraordinary event; the next solar eclipse that will last that long will occur on 13th of June, 2132. If your location doesn't permit you to see the eclipse directly, worry not, as you can still follow it online. Mashable has gathered resources where you can find information about the eclipse, photos, and live video streams from various parts of the world.

Blogged via AddThis

Cowboy & Route 66 Exhibits at Los Lunas Museum

EXHIBITS AT LOS LUNAS MUSEUM 251 Main St. SE, Los Lunas, NM 87031, 505-352-7714 CURRENT In place through July 25, 2009 "Through the Eyes of a Cowboy" honoring Bob Lee (from The Westerner), artist, athlete, legislator and grandson of Oliver Lee will be in place through July 25th, 2009 A Little Hope in the Big Dry COMING August 8 to October 31, 2009 "Historic Rt 66 in Valencia County and the Depression Era: Their Impact on the Local Area." Otero's 66 Service, Los Lunas Description and Historic Context for Pre-1937 Highway Alignments: excerpt from "Route 66 Through New Mexico: Re-Survey Report" by Dr. David Kammer, March 2003. Prepared for the New Mexico Historic Preservation Division through grant funds from the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program of the National Park Service Patty Guggino, Historian Coordinator, Oral History & Preservation Program email: heritage@loslunasnm.gov Los Lunas Museum of Heritage & Arts PO Box 1209 251 Main St. SE Los Lunas, NM 87031 Hours of Operation Tuesday - Friday 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Sunday - Monday Closed Summer calendar 505-352-7714 heritage@loslunasnm.gov

50 years ago

That's 1/2 century, 1959-2009, which should make me feel old and tired but does not.

1959: A Year of Slipping The Leash

George F. Will - 1959: A Year When Everything Changed - washingtonpost.com

Blogged via AddThis

Red's Rodeo Report

Red Kingston, who recently joined the Mountainair Chamber of Commerce representing the Mountainair Rodeo Committee, sends the following update on local rodeo events and plans:

The Mountainair Rodeo Committee joined the Chamber because we are trying to improve the grounds and bring more rodeo related events to town. I am also currently the President of the MGR (Mountainair Gymkhana Rodeo) but that could change from one year to the next. That association is only for holding the local monthly youth series. This year I am also Presisent of the NMJRA but probably will not be next year, although I will probably remain head of the Mountainair Rodeo Committee until someone kicks me out. After this year, we hope to be able to host larger and more frequent rodeo events.

JP Helms Rodeo Grounds, Mountainair, photo by Tamra Hays

It appears the MGR will be as active as usual. For the June rodeo, we had 196 contestants. We started at 8 am and finished around 8pm. From entries received so far, the July 19 rodeo looks like it will be about the same.

MGR Standings through June:

High Score (all-round)

• 0 to 6 age group: 1st Quincy Sullivan, 107 pts; 2nd Jake Orris, 106 pts; 3rd Justin Tapia, 96 pts.
• 7 to 10 age group: 1st Faith Riley, 113 pts; 2nd Roberto Galaz, 110 pts; 3rd Camie Simpkins, 106 pts.
• 11 to 14 age group: 1st Hallie Simpkins, 97 pts; 2nd Jessie Jo Gonzales, 94 pts; 3rd - Bailey Chavez tied with Cody King, 79 pts.
• 15 to 18 age group: 1st Lesey Kingston, 107 pts. 2nd Marissa Knowlton, 103 pts. 3rd Leslie Ramzel, 100 pts
• 19 and over age group: 1st Katie Mechenbier, 110 pts; 2nd Gina Casey, 106 pts; 3rd Colleen Burns, 97 pts.
  

By Event

• 0 to 5 Sheep Riding: 1st Dakota Johnson, 35 pts; 2nd Ezekiel Coch'e, 28 pts; 3rd Joseph Chavez, 26 pts.
• 6 to 8 Calf Riding: 1st Taylor Smythe; 20 pts; 2nd Garrit Haynes tied with Hezekiah Ortiz, 10 pts.
• 9 to 11 Steer Riding: 1st Mathew Sedillo, 19 pts; 3nd Justin Neil tied with Colt Noah, 10 pts.
• 12 to 14 Steer Riding: 1st Cody Site, 20 pts; 2nd Colt Wetterman, 10 pts;
• 15 to 18 Bull Riding 1st Josh Gonzales, 40 pts.
  

The MGR is a family oriented rodeo with mostly youth competitors.

Mountainair Rider @International Youth Rodeo Finals

International Finals Youth Rodeo results
(AP) — SHAWNEE, Okla. - Thursday morning results from the International Finals Youth Rodeo.
BARREL RACING: 1. Carley Richardson, 15.956 seconds, Pampa, Texas; 2. Cheyenne Veatch, 15.962 seconds, Emporia, Kan.; 3. Hannah Beamer, 16.009 seconds, Pinetown, N.C.
POLE BENDING: 1. Hannah Beamer, 19.956 seconds, Pinetown, N.C.; 2. Ainsley Alessandrini, 19.958 seconds, Cleveland, N.C.; 3. Mckenna Galbreath, 20.134 seconds, Rockdale, Texas.
BREAKAWAY ROPING: 1. Lucinda Fletcher, 2.3 seconds, Knoxville, Tenn.; 2. Nicole Sweazea, 2.4 seconds, Mountainair, N.M.; 3. Jacquelyn Gregory, 3 seconds, Lamar, Mo.
GOAT TYING: 1. Jayci Miller, 8.5 seconds, Stephenville, Texas; 2. Camarie Widmer, 8.8 seconds, Deep River Iowa; 3. Samantha Tenpenny, 9 seconds, Topeka, Kan.
CALF ROPING: 1. Cody Griffith, 8.9 seconds, Gilman City, Mo.; 2. Landon Williams, 9 seconds, Midland, Texas; 3. Jesse Clifton, 9.1 seconds, Springtown, Texas.
STEER WRESTLING: 1. Ty Miller, 3.9 seconds, West Point, Miss.; 2. Justin Zwiefel, 4 seconds, Burt, Iowa; 3. Sheldon Field, 4.4 seconds, Morse, Texas.
SADDLE BRONC: 1. Jake Hebert, 69, Egan, La.
BAREBACK BRONC: 1. Taylor Broussard, 75, Estherwood, La.; 2. tie: Tanner Rankin, Paola, Kan. and Dustin Bowen, Fredericksburg, Pa., 72.
BULL RIDING: 1. Dustin Bowen, 81, Fredericksburg, Pa.; 2. Mason LaViolette, 80, Rayne, La.; 3. Tarren Calhoun, 77, Hot Sulphur Springs, Colo.
TEAM ROPING: 1. Bailey Jansen, Purcell, Okla. and Mason Allen, Pauls Valley, Okla. 5.3 seconds; 2. Ethan Shelley, Gila, N.M. and Reno Eddy, Gallup, N.M., 6.2 seconds; 3. Katelyn Like, Odessa, Texas and Rodney Garcia, Odessa, Texas, 7.6 seconds.

© 2009 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

How a small town resembles Facebook

This article from High Country News is way more fun than the digital immigrants vs digital natives, social networking, sociology of Facebook articles I've been piling up to blog.

How a small town resembles Facebook, by John Clayton, Writers on the Range in High Country News

"The unusual aspect of this small-town rumor-mongering [described in the previous paragraph] was its location. We weren't in a traditional gossiping spot such as the post office... We were on Facebook... slow to reach my rural Western town, but now that it's here, I'm struck by how its success comes from mimicking our ancient social patterns."

So possibly more relevant as well. Less work too - or perhaps just be the influence of writing tweets and status updates. I spent today words in emails. Some of those I should post if only to show the skeptical that I do self-edit.

But hey that's nothing compared to pre-season politics - Election season sparring gets an early start in New Mexico by Cally Carswell, from HCN's Goat Blog
Blogged via AddThis

Jubilee follow-up: Salinas Centennial Car Show

One Hundred Years of Automobiles Celebrated in Mountainair, by Scott Albright in The World's Word

Mountainair Car Show

Car show results and lots of pictures, including carnival and music at the Activity Complex

Blogged via AddThis

Jubilee follow-up: carnival & rides

219/365
Originally uploaded by tamra hays

Although the carnival, Bennett's Amusements of Moriarty, was a new addition to Jubilee this year, it's something we've wanted to add for years. I remember Glenn talking carnival back in 2000. No doubt carnival wishes go back further. A hit to be sure, kept Jubilee foot traffic moving through the Activity Complex and, hopefully, did well for Bennett's that they will want to come back.

Thanks to Tamra Hays for taking this picture (and others of Mountainair & environs while I'm at it). Now I'm waiting on pictures of music performance, car show and other features anyone took pictures of ... hint, hint....

Quilts and Poetry

This is the first installment in a new blog series: Poetry Matters. The series is partly to promote the upcoming Poets & Writers Picnic, August 22, concurrent with (but predating) the annual Sunflower Festival.

As for the rest of the (why run this series) story: poetry does matter. It has come to my attention that perhaps not everyone sees value in poetry or appreciates what cultural assets the Picnic and Sunflower Writing Workshop (August 20-22) are to both community and Sunflower Festival.

I used to inflict poetry on readers but have been remiss since moving poetry posts to their own plog (short for poetry blog). Hopefully, this series will address all of these ... without putting you to sleep.

Quilts and poetry by Arlington resident on view at Boston College - Arlington, MA, story by The Arlington Advocate

"Frigid Morning" is one of the many quilts Monique Cerundolo created as part of a project at Boston College

Her exhibit, "Finding God: A Visual Journey from Grief to Hope" is comprised of original poetry and visual art created and presented by Boston College School of Theology and Ministry graduate student and Arlington resident Monique Cerundolo as part of her master thesis in pastoral ministry.

Blogged via AddThis

Community Garden & Online Resources

cross posted from iCreate mailing, advance apologies for duplication annoyance...

Community Garden Workday - 3 pm today at Mojave Rose and every Saturday, same time, until further notice. Come for a weeding party. We're actually thinking of having one of those for an Open House. I'll keep you posted and even try for more notice...

free stuff / swap & trades
Looking for something? Need to get rid of something but want to spare the landfill? Check out the FreeCycle Network. http://www.freecycle.org/ There are two nearby NM networks - East Mountains and Belen/Los Lunas. Offer something before you ask for something. I suggested this to someone as a place to look for gardening tools and supplies, only to be asked to do the posting. No way - that's not how it works - you have to join the Free Cycle group and do your own posting.

However, you can also post an announcement in Mountainair Announcements @ http://mountainair-announcements.blogspot.com. Just send the copy you'd like posted to vcrary@yahoo.com

gardening groups
There are a number of community gardening groups @ both google & yahoo groups. Most, however, are for specific locations and community gardens/

Indoor, Patio & Other Gardening groups

• http://groups.google.com/group/indoor-gardening-and-urban-gardening has useful information on and links to container and patio gardening, herbs and other topics
  

• http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/IndoorGardeningUrban/ News About Indoor Gardening, Urban Gardening, Global Warming and Environment Issues, the Ecosystem, Urban Agriculture and Relevant Information about Agriculture, Horticulture, Parks and Recreation in Urban and Other Settings
  

• Indoor Gardening http://indoorgardening.jiglu.com/
  

• Make Compost http://composting.jiglu.com/ (membership required) Space about turning garden waste into compost and the equipment and techniques used to make it. Open to private gardeners and small commercial horticulturalists.
  

• Organic Garden http://organic-garden.jiglu.com/ (membership required). WA website/blog created by John Meshna of dirt works for people to interact about issues of organic gardening, food safety, farming and the environment. Everyone with an interest is welcome.
  

A few online gardening resources to look over...

• Sustainable Gardens Information Pages http://www.sgaonline.org.au/infopages.html

• Hydroponics at Home http://www.hydroponics-at-home.com/

• Backyard Gardener http://www.backyardgardener.com/ - Self-described as "one-stop informational resource for all your gardening needs... gardening tips, season-by-season, how to grow information for almost every type of gardening you can imagine." Site includes store, forums (http://backyardgardener.com/forums), seeds, plant index, garden blog (Garden Ideas @ http://gardenideas.backyardgardener.com/), catalogs, articles, free newsletter, section on drought tolerant plants, xeriscaping, design, etc. @ http://www.backyardgardener.com/dry/index.html
  

• use.net groups (alt & rec) and forums tend to be very large and heavy on posts of minimal interest, but are good places to post requests for information or ask where to find something

Olympians Fare Well at State

Oops. Expecting Jerry to send report and pictures like last year, I lost track of the 2009 New Mexico Senior Olympics Summer Games in Las Cruces, May 27-31.

Pictures illustrating a locally submitted report would have been nice, but I'll take reports however I can get them. Here's Harold Smith's July 9 story in MountainView Telegraph. Come to think of it, I've been expecting Shelter Challenge reports too.

Olympians Fare Well at State

Barbara McCune, Nancy Townson and Jerry Melaragno will travel to Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., to compete in badminton at the Senior Olympics nationals on Aug. 1-8. If you see them taking post workout refreshment at Alpine Alley, that's why they are all sweaty and in summer workout garb: the NM Game may be over but they're still in training.

Blogged via AddThis

click image to view the Arts Alliance biweekly calendar for the arts

State of the Arts is a twice-monthly online publication that covers the arts and culture industry in New Mexico and beyond.

You can read Something To Do, the Ethnic Calendar and State of the Arts on the Arts Alliance website and subscribe to any or all by clicking here.

I've been a subscriber ever since starting Mountainair Arts, the blog, ever reminding local organizers to submit news and event information, occasionally submitting events as a courtesy to the organizations, but we remain conspicuous by our absence here and elsewhere in the ether.

There's a cumulative effect when it comes to developing a web presence: the more pages, listings and links we send out, the better. Even links to pages and events not ours, help our own pages and events. That's why I link every local site on the sidebar and load posts with links whether or not they link to me. I may wonder why not but don't let e-networking cluelessness stop me.

Help me remedy this by reminding local organizations and individuals organizing events to submit events to the Arts Alliance and other calendars. They are free. I've always been wlling to share my lists of NM event calendars and other electronic publicity / PR resources.

July 11-12, Santa Fe International Folk Art Market

The Santa Fe International Folk Art Market, a non-profit, tax-exempt organization, is now the largest international folk art market in the world. Its success led to Santa Fe's designation as a UNESCO City of Folk Art, the first U.S. city named to UNESCO's prestigious Creative Cities Network.

Purpose and Mission
The mission of the Market is to foster economic and cultural sustainability for folk artists and folk art worldwide and to create intercultural exchange opportunities that unite the peoples of the world.

What is Folk Art?

The Market fulfills its mission by hosting an annual festive, two-day event on Museum Hill in Santa Fe adjoining Market partner, the Museum of International Folk Art, as well as by implementing related programs

• Learn more about Market programs.

Every July, more than 100 select folk artists from over 40 countries travel to historic Santa Fe where thousands of national and international visitors gather to admire and buy distinct folk art forms that express the world's diverse cultures.

• Learn more about the artists.

Blogged via AddThis

Jubilee Parade 2009

floats, cars, horses, spectators... pictures by Annie (who also took most of those great pics of the 2007 Jubilee parade).

I'm expecting/hoping more pictures to accompany reports already dribbling in. Short version: new features - Car Show, Leaky Roof, Carnival - resounding successes. Dennis' expanded music program - live music on two stages, local musicians - was also a big hit.

Salinas Pueblo NPS Centennial

.

Mountainair Wired: social networking online

There are something in the neighborhood of 250 MySpace entries for Mountainair. Not all are personal pages/ blogs but the number of local residents with MySpace pages might surprise you. Not all are teen pages either. Nor Dennis' or mine. hahaha.

Mountainair density on Facebook is much lower, although there is a Mountainair Alumni Group on Facebook.

If you have a public page and blog on MySpace or Facebook, let me know. I'll list it on the local blogroll.

As for networks linking to the wider world... we're connected there too. And can work together, if we will, to amp up connections.

Listing in online calendars - with links, none of those minimalist, naked entries please. It's a Trip, the Albuquerque Convention and Visitors Bureau. Jubilee is listed and linked there. Want your event to be considered for monthly printed calendar as well? Submit it no later than the 15th of the month previous to the date that the event will occur. For August, that submitting a listing before the 15th of next month.

In addition to its state wide event calendar, The NM Tourism Dept site also has a business directory section - for tourism related businesses (lodging, quaint NM shopping experiences, galleries, entertainment, outdoor activities, trail riding, dining, and so on)

You can also link local events at whatever social networking sites you belong to. The more links the better. It's win-win, not zero sum.

This Weekend in Mountainair

Jubilee of course ... as we've been reminding you elsewhere on blogs (reminder, pet show, car show, community sale & more), online calendars/event announcements, the Jubilee web page & other sites and flyers about town.

Later than intended (blame it on recent tendency to tire easily & crash unexpectedly), three late Jubilee posts condensed into a single post: photography; music; weekend overview.

Digital Photography Exhibit, Dining/Recreation Hall, MAC
Affordable digital cameras opens the world of photography to everyone, whether as art form, hobby, adjunct to business record keeping or to preserve memories. As barriers of cost and time come down, new photography enthusiasts, some of whom don't even consider themselves photographers, are learning the subtle techniques of composition. This presentation showcases their photographic vision. Enjoy the slide show - also digital. Discover the previously hidden talents of your family, friends and acquaintances.

Exhibitors:

• Aleta Lawrence - landscapes, nature photography, Native American culture, NPS
• Christina Fulfer - weddings, family events, portraiture, some landscape.
• Robin des Jardins - art photography, digital art, events, animals
• Tamra Hayes - travel photography - New Mexico, Egypt, Turkey, macrophotography
  
• teej - candid, dogs, children, facial shots...
• Irene Weinmann - landscapes, scenery (Katy Trail photos )
• Dennis Fulfer - light painting and reflections

Mountainair Makes Music...
Support your local musicians: Jubilee is their venue. This year - more musicians on two stages - popular, traditional, experimental - progressive rock, Spanish, folk, guitar, country/western.

• Stage one:

Pat Autrey - National Anthem
12-1:30 Cognitive Dissidents w/Jack Presley
1:30-2:15 Christian Raphel
2:30-3:15 Debbi Gutierrez - Gerard Bezzeg - Kay Stillion
3:15 - Erineo Ortiz

• Stage Two:

1-1:45 Kay Stillion
1:45-2:30 Tommy Reynolds
2:30-3 Eldon McMath & Dennis Fulfer

This Weekend in Mountainair
(which started Friday with the Leaky Roof Sale at the Methodist Church and a Carnival - rides, games, cotton candy - at MAC)

Saturday

• All day event Firecracker Jubilee (MAC)
• All day event Abo Trading Clearance Sale (Abo Trading)
• All day event Leaky Roof Sale (Methodist Church, 301 S. Sunset)
• 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM Car Show (NPS Visitors Center)
• 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM Exhibit: wood and decorative tin by Anne Ravenstone (Cibola Arts Gallery)
• 12:00 PM - 6:00 PM Horse & Pony Rides (Shaffer Hotel)
• 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM Voices in the Wind (Gran Quivira)

Sunday

• All day event Abo Trading Clearance Sale (Abo Trading, Mountainair)
• 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM Exhibit: wood and decorative tin by Anne Ravenstone (Cibola Arts Gallery)
• 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM Voices in the Wind (Gran Quivira)

It's time to stand up for homemade potato salad

Perfect for the 4th - and a match for the Founding Fathers, Willie Nelson & BBQ cartoon. Garrison Keillor writes,

Come on, people, it's not that hard to make. Do you really think we can't tell the difference?

July 1, 2009 | I walked the length of the westbound Lake Shore Limited as it left Albany last Sunday, six crowded coaches, and counted three Twitterers and a couple of phone texters, six laptoppers (two of whom were watching movies), four video gamers, and 27 people reading books. Books made of paper! Turning the pages with their fingers one by one, reading the lines left to right, just as people have done for hundreds of years. Ain't that something? I didn't lean down for a close look at the books they were reading -- I was not brought up to do that -- so perhaps bodices were being ripped and stalkers were stalking and meteorites were heading straight for Earth, but no matter. Books were being read!

Along with live theater, monogamy and the bald eagle, the paper book has been despaired over and its demise freely predicted, and yet, among people heading west, it seems to be the diversion of choice. So Dickens and Jane Austen and Flannery O'Connor are not dead yet. And the bald eagle is coming back, along with the gray wolf and the Yellowstone grizzly -- though less attractive endangered species such as the glassy-eyed smelt and the orangefoot pimpleback mussel and various arachnids are still in doubt -- and theater seems as alluring as ever, judging by the number of young New York waiters with large personalities. And as for monogamy, it's there, waiting to be rediscovered.

So let me speak up for an endangered menu item this Fourth of July weekend and that is homemade potato salad.

When the family meets this weekend to hobnob and burn burgers, the family member assigned to bring the potato salad is likely going to walk in with a couple of gallon plastic buckets of yellowish muck bought at a convenience store, the price stickers still on them, and set them down on the table with no apology whatsoever. Or, if they have more disposable income, they'll bring paper containers full of brownish muck from the natural organic sustainable united empathetic co-op.

If you bring garbage to share with your family, the least you can do is tell a lie and say, "I couldn't make the potato salad myself because I am bipolar and my lover left me and my dog has leukemia and I have an oozing leprous sore on my mixing hand."

It is not that hard to make potato salad, people. Take half an hour away from your Facebook page and do the job right. Boil some eggs, chop the celery and chives and green onions, boil the potatoes, make your mayonnaise, maybe toss in a little sour cream, use plenty of dill, and sprinkle paprika on top. The eerie-yellow store-bought stuff in the tubs was manufactured at Amalgamated Salad in Houston by undocumented 12-year-olds from the hills of Michoacan. Worse, it is teaching our children that accomplishment doesn't matter.

A child served yellow slop from a bucket is being told that it's OK to plagiarize a term paper off the Internet just so long as it's poorly written.

What if Thomas Jefferson had been too busy hobnobbing to write the Declaration of Independence so he just downloaded a bunch of stuff he found Googling "independence" and coming up with stuff about indolence, pendants, incontinence, but hey, close enough, and he pasted it together and they all signed it and went out to a movie? Not good.

When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the potato salad that has connected them with another, they will do it, believe me, so why insult us? Just because we're polite, do you think we can't tell the difference? Are we demented? Does this not seem self-evident to you?

Attend to the details. Teach your children manners. Write cogent paragraphs. Drive carefully. And make a good potato salad, one with some crunch, maybe accompanied by a fried drumstick with crackly skin -- the humble potato and the stupid chicken, ennobled by diligent cooking -- and is this not the meaning of our beautiful country, to take what is common and enable it to become beautiful? All our beautiful young people -- so diligent and focused and powered by hope -- you can't tell me those kids didn't have parents who took time to chop the celery and onions and experiment with the ratio of mayo to mustard to achieve a potato salad that is worthy of our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

© 2009 by Garrison Keillor. http://www.salon.com/opinion/keillor/2009/07/01/potato_salad/index.html?source=newsletter

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

JULY 8, 2009 CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: 3rd Annual Short Movie Festival. Any movie 5 minutes and under, any genre, any topic, no commercials, industrials, or explicit adult content. August 1st, 2009 - Festival and Awards Ceremony at the Santa Fe Complex, 624 Agua Fria Street, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Submission Deadlines: Physical - Postmarked no later than July 8th, 2009; Digital - Uploaded no later than July 15th, 2009.

AWARDS: "Best of the Festival" Award. Gold Award. Silver Award. Audience Choice Award. Tell anyone that might be interested. Pass this information on to schools and students. http://www.santafemug.org/Film-Festival.html

The Purpose of Poetry - The Atlantic (January/February 2006)

The Purpose of Poetry - The Atlantic (January/February 2006)

Shared via AddThis