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.

The Resort at Sandia Village: More than Just an Apartment

At The Resort at Sandia Village, we make apartment living fun! Our property, located near Paseo Del Norte in Albuquerque, is a residential community offering extensive amenities, service, and great people! We offer 2- and 3-bedroom apartments at competitive rates...but that’s not all you get!

With an apartment at The Resort at Sandia Village, you also get access to our refreshing pool, our 24-hour new fitness center, and close proximity from lots of shops, restaurants, and entertainment.

Our units are also equipped with lots of great features you’d expect if you were a homeowner, including:

●      Washers/dryers

●      Patios and balconies

●      Granite breakfast bars

●      Energy-efficient appliances

●      Dishwasher and garbage disposal

●      Gas fireplaces

Our community also features assigned parking spaces, free cable (including HBO!), a playground for the little ones, and more!

To learn more about what The Resort at Sandia Village has to offer or to schedule a visit, click here.

And be sure to follow us on social media, on Facebook, Twitter, and, and Google +!

Local Preservation Project Keeps Iconic Theater in Tact

One of our favorite parts about being in Albuquerque is its distinct visual aesthetic. When you walk down the streets of downtown, there are always lots of eye-catching signs that seem to have remained from another era.

Some of the most recognizable buildings in Albuquerque are its historic movie theaters, and looking forward to the next few decades, it looks like they’ll not only stay there, but stay the way they are!

New Mexico’s MainStreet Historic Theater Initiative actively invests in rural downtown theaters to preserve them and their places in their communities. Among the theaters benefitting from the project is Albuquerque’s iconic, 100 Year-Old Luna Theater:

You might have noticed the winking sign out front, part of the facade’s restoration! Here’s some background on The Luna theater’s famous facade:

The Luna -- originally known as the Mission Theater – has a colorful past. Prosperous merchant and rancher Morris Herzstein built the theater and adjacent business block in 1916 after a disastrous fire wiped out his headquarters mercantile store. Built in a unique fusion of Classical and Mission-style architecture, the theater’s facades survive intact, while the generous recessed entry foyer boasts an ornamental ceiling laced in gold paint....The State of New Mexico also provided additional funding for essential upgrades, such the digital projection equipment and surround sound system. Several community members were trained in digital projection, computer server operation, and internet delivery and monitoring.

Above it all shines the iconic marquee, restored early in the process by the Town and Clayton MainStreet, and which remains one of New Mexico’s most beloved street signs.

The Luna Theater is located at 10 Main Street in Clayton, NM. To read the full press release on the MainStreets Luna Theater projct, click here.

“Fall” into Discovery at Explora Science Center

With several universities, a space shuttle training program, and countless other scientific projects in Albuquerque, it’s quickly becoming a hotbed for science research and discovery. Okay, so maybe you’ve settled into your current career path and can’t exactly re-configure your life so you can be an astronaut or marine biologist...and that’s okay! At the Explora Science Center, starting in just a few weeks, you can help your child and yourself become a citizen scientist by taking one of their semester-long programs and camps.

Among the programs coming up in late August are the Growing a Scientist program and the Science to Grow On program:

Aug. 28 to Dec. 21, 2013
Growing a Scientist™ offers transactive experiences for children ages 2½ through 5 together with their adult companions. Preschoolers and adults pair to learn about science by questioning, experiencing and investigating.

Aug. 31 to Dec. 21
Saturdays 9:30 – 11:00 am
Science to Grow On™ is an opportunity for transactive experiences for children in kindergarten through third grade. In these classes children learn about science by questioning, experiencing and investigating. Participation of parents or adult caregivers is encouraged, but not required.

To learn more about Explora Science Center’s fall programs for children and their parents, click here.

“Don’t Call ‘Em Minor!”

If you’ve lived in Albuquerque for a while, you know that the Albuquerque Isotopes are anything but “minor.” Sure, they’re a minor league baseball team, but the city has never been a hotbed of major professional sports—we do just fine with our amateur and college teams, thank you very much!

Isotopes Park was built in 2003, and the team has been quite successful financially since then. In fact, Forbes Magazine recent listed the ‘Topes at number 7 among the top minor league baseball franchises. According to Amanda Goodman of KRQE:

According to the write-up in Forbes, the team itself pulled in $9 million in revenue alone and all that cash is coming mostly from where one might expect. 

"Ticket sales, merchandise, sponsorships, food and beverage, those types of things," said Isotopes General Manager John Traub. 

Traub said since opening their gates again at the new park in 2003, they thought they would do well based on the past success of the Dukes. 

However, he said, they had no idea how big the team would become. 

"It's been very humbling 'cause our staff works their tails off to make sure that our fans' experience at our ballpark is second to none," Traub said.

If you haven’t been to an Isotopes game, you should check them out! Tickets are relatively inexpensive, and the team is quickly becoming an part of the city’s cultural fabric—just don’t call them “minor”! To read more about the ‘Topes success, click here.

Getting to Know ABQ311

Running a city isn’t simple—there are bound to be some non-emergencies that still require the city’s attention. Fortunately, Albuquerque residents no longer have to figure out who to call for these requests.

Albuquerque’s new 311 Citizen Contact Center is a simple, centralized call center for the entire City of Albuquerque. Citizens may contact the call center by dialing “311” from any phone in the city, by email, or by downloading the ABQ311 app (available for both iPhone and Android devices).

According to the city’s website, the following are examples of issues you should be reporting to 311:

• Graffiti
• Lost Animals
• Large-item garbage pick-up
• Missed trash pick-up
• Weed complaints
• Pothole
• Abandoned vehicles
• Residential trash container request

Here’s a video on how to use ABQ311:

ABQ311 is in service Monday through Saturday (6 am to 9 pm) and Sundays (9 am to 6 pm). For more information, click here.