By Alex Paramo
We’ve done it! 28 solid weeks of arts, crafts, music, food, learning, and community cohesion. Thank you for your support! If you attended the first Rail Yards Market on May 4th, you remember the sight of the other 8000 people filling this amazing space with the buzz of infinite possibility.
From the hard work of so many, we have realized some of those possibilities, but, really, we’re just getting started (yes, we will be having a 2015 season in our beloved Blacksmith Shop)!
Whether you’ve been a regular or have yet to discover the wonder of this event, let’s get together and wrap up our premier season with the celebration it deserves.
Personal Perspectives
Photo: Bruce Hatton
I would like to thank all of the wonderful volunteers and organizers who unabashadly gave of their time, life-energy, resources and intellectual capital to reclaim this empty space. The learning curve was steep, the ambitions great, the work difficult but the desire was unrelenting. With the added help of Sponsors, Vendors, Partners and every day folks we were able to create an event that has become close to our heart, in Barelas, the heart of the city.
Programming Marigolds
Of course I would be remiss if I did not mention this Sunday’s activities planned to celebrate Dia de los Muertos!
The Sustainability Zone celebrates Cycles of Life as they gear up for their next bicycle trip this November 15th & 16th from ABQ to San Felipe Pueblo with students from NACA. Come join them this Sunday and be a part of this youth movement for positive change in our communities! The Live Arts Zone is honored to present the Encaustic mixed media Fine Art of Julie Brokken! At the Children’s Zone we will be featuring Valle De Oro National Wildlife Refuge. They 
will have their, Blue goose mascot and an info booth about Valle de Oro NWR. The kids will be working on Passenger Pigeon Origami and making Pine cone bird feeders.
On our Community Stage and Main Stage we will have our incredible community of entertainers, educators, and poets! We will be featuring:
- Ramla Taal Belly Dancers
- The National Institute of Flamenco
- New Mexico music legends Felix y los Gatos
- The progressively eclectic sounds of Bandwidth No Name (Acoustic Show)
Parading Around
On our the day of the Rail Yards Market finale, it would be an honor to have our young market serve as an early gathering space for the critical mass that will transform into one of Albuquerque’s most quintessential gatherings, the 22-year old South Valley Marigold Parade! There is a park-and-ride nearby at the Westside Community Center for your convenience! We hope you’ll join us before!
See You Sunday!
*****
A special thank you to Robert Hoberg for his contributions to this article
Alex Paramo is an Author and Co-Founder of Community Publishing. Community Publishing brings local artists of all mediums together in creative collaborations for distribution as multimedia eBooks while promoting literacy in our communities.
We are proud to be a community partner and digital marketer at the Rail Yards Market.#JoinOurCommunity at http://communitypublishing.org
