Harvest a Good Time This Weekend

Looking for a fun community event this weekend? Head over to the Corrales Harvest Festival, in beautiful Corrales, New Mexico!

A family friendly event that benefits community businesses and non-profits, the festival celebrates local farmers and businesses that make Albuquerque a great place to live:

The Corrales Harvest Festival is a two day event that takes place each year throughout the village of Corrales during the last weekend in September. The Festival had been held continuously since 1986 and has ranked as one of the favorite festivals in the Albuquerque area.
 Harvest Festival is organized by the Kiwanis Club of Corrales and staffed by all volunteers from our many local non-profits. This annual community event is in support of the club's mission of ".. people working together to build a better tomorrow..", thus the event proceeds from business sponsorships and individual donates are re-invest into the community in the form of grants to our local non-profits. 

There’s a great variety of events throughout the festival, including a Kids Korner, a wine tasting with wines from local wineries, a hootenany to benefit Corrales public safety, a farmland walking tour, lots of live music all day, and you’ll even get to see a pet parade and the naming of a Pet Mayor!

Click here for a full list of events for the festival.

Getting Ready to Take Flight

It’s that time of year again! The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta just a few weeks away, starting on October 5 and running through October 13.

Held at Balloon Fiesta Park in Albuquerque, the event will feature lots of themed sessions and events, both balloon related and non-balloon related. In addition to the iconic “Mass Ascension” of hot air balloons into the Albuquerque sky, there will also be a chainsaw carving competition, fireworks shows, a rodeo, and more. You can view the full Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta schedule here.

According to the festival’s website, this year’s event should be yet again the world’s largest ballooning event, though it hasn’t always been that way:

From its modest beginnings in 1972 with 13 balloons launching from a shopping mall parking lot, the Balloon Fiesta has grown to multiple events launching year-round at the custom-designed, 365-acre Balloon Fiesta Park. Our signature event remains Balloon Fiesta—which, with over 600 balloons, is the largest ballooning event on earth, the most photographed event on earth, and the largest annual international event held in the United States. 

 ... 

 Since crowds for some of our events are in excess of 100,000 people, arriving sooner is better. For weekend events, plan to arrive at the park by 4:30-5:00am. During evening events, try to be at the park by 4pm. Gates open at 4:30am and 3:00pm. 

 Because of our 38-year safety record, we are one of the only balloon (aviation) events where you are actually able to walk among the balloons and talk to the pilots. We are a hands-on event, but please be courteous to hot air balloons and do not step on or over any.

For a comprehensive review of all that the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta has to offer, click here, and remember to follow @balloonfiesta for updates on the event!

New Mexico State Fair Underway!

Just because summer’s over doesn’t mean the fun has to be over! The New Mexico State Fair is underway, and will continue until through September 22. This huge event is one of the biggest state fairs in the nation, currently in its 75th year.

Organized by Expo New Mexico, the event will feature tons of food, art, entertainment, activities, and more. Here are some more details on the fair, courtesy of the Albuquerque Convention & Visitors Bureau:

Located in the heart of Albuquerque, the New Mexico State Fair is one of the largest fairs in the nation with PRCA rodeo and nationally known country recording stars, plus and Indian and Spanish villages. Visitors can explore art, agriculture, animals, entertainment, food, carnival rides, exhibits and shopping all in one place.

Parking & Admission

• General Parking is FREE once again this year in the Gate 1 and Gate 8 infield parking lots. Limited Preferred Parking is available inside Gate 1 for a $20 fee.
• Admission prices are the same as they were last year: $10 adults, $7 seniors and $7 children.

Hours

• Exhibit Buildings: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily
• Manuel Lujan, Jr. Exhibit Complex: Sunday thru Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday & Sunday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
• Entertainment Stages: Monday thru Friday, noon to 9 p.m.; Saturday & Sunday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. (times may vary by stage)
• Carnival: Monday thru Thursday, opens at 2 p.m.; Friday thru Sunday, opens at 11 a.m.

Discount Days

• Monday, September 16 - $1 admission before 1:00 p.m. (regular admission prices apply after 1 p.m.)
• Tuesday, September 17 – “Two-Fer Tuesday:” 1/2 price gate admission and 1/2 price all-day carnival ride wristbands all day (or two for the price of one)

Concert Schedule:

September 14 - Zendaya with Trevor Jackson
September 18 - Chris Cagle
September 19 - Robert Earl Keen
September 20 - Aaron Lewis
September 21 - Eli Young Band

To read more about this year’s New Mexico State Fair, click here.

An Action-Packed Art Gallery

A new art gallery in Albuquerque is presenting a different kind of fine art to local enthusiasts.

The Metropolis Comic Art Gallery (located at 1102 Mountain Road NW, Suite 202 in Albuquerque) is showcasing comic book art in a gallery environment--a first in Albuquerque. According to the owners, Michael Borin and Jody Masters, their goal for the gallery was to create a community where local artists and comic book lovers can learn new skills, display their work, and improve upon it.

Borin, a long-time comic book fan, collected lots of them as a child, often keeping them in sealed plastic bags. And when his father-in-law years later asked him why he had all these comic books that he wasn’t even reading, he became interested more in comic art.

This unique gallery was a collaborative project, according to The Daily Lobo:

"We both have a love of art and comic art and we like things that are a little out-of-the-box, so it was fun trying something no one else was doing,” Masters said. 

“We had a long conversation and I realized for me I didn’t enjoy the comic interior so much as I enjoyed the art of comic books, the exterior,” Borin said. 

“I’m very open. I don’t know what this is going to look like … But I hope we create a community that sees the comic genre as more of a form of art and not just this thing for kids,” Masters said.

For more information on Metropolis Comic Art, click here.