Veteran’s Creative Arts Festival 2014 in Albuquerque

Typically, Albuquerque’s art scene is associated with the young and hip generation. And that’s fine! But let’s not count out the older folks.

Albuquerque has a relatively large veteran community and no doubt, some of them have great creative gifts to share, whether it’s singing, dancing, sculpting, painting, poetry, or anything else.

The 12th Annual Veterans Creative Arts Fair will be held from February 26 to February 28 at the Raymond G. Murphy Veterans Affairs Medical Center at 1501 San Pedro Dr. SE right here in Albuquerque.

There will be several main divisions for any veterans who would like to share their talents in the following categories: Music, Art, Creative Writing, Drama, and Dance. The Visual Arts entries will be available to view on Feb. 26 and 27 in the Recreation Hall (Building 2), with the Performing Arts competition taking place on February 27 in the Education Auditorium (Building 39). Winners from the Albuquerque contests may be entered into the National Veterans Creative Arts Festival, October 22 to November 2 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin!

Here’s some additional info, courtesy of the Silver City Sun News:

The National Veterans Creative Arts Festival, presented by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the American Legion Auxiliary, is the culmination of a yearlong, fine arts talent competition involving more than 3,000 participants nationwide. The festival is open to all veterans receiving care at VA medical facilities, including NMVAHCS veteran employees.

For applications or more information about the festival, please call Barb Tremmel at 505-265-1711 ext. 4208. Veterans needing information about the Performance Arts can call Liz Apperson at 505-265-1711 ext. 2487. Veterans calling from outside of Albuquerque may call toll free at 1-800-465-8262 ext. 4208. Visit the Creative Arts Festival Website at creativeartsfestival.va.gov/ for more information.

Help Support Local Albuquerque Businesses

In this unpredictable economy, one of the best ways you can contribute to the financial stability of our lovely city is to support local businesses. While there are lots of talented, ambitious business owners in ABQ, they need our help!

Social and demographic research shows the numerous benefits that cities enjoy when residents decide to shop locally. When money stays within our small economy as opposed to national chains, it makes it much easier for business owning families to support themselves and creates greater potential for new, innovative businesses to rise up.

KeepItQuerque - buy local is a local organization that aims to educate Albuquerque consumers about the benefits of buying locally. And now, they are looking to publish a widely circulated educational document that explains why it’s important to buy local. They’ve started a crowdsourcing campaign to help them accomplish their goal, on Main Street Crowd:

KeepItQuerque - buy local celebrated our tenth year by publishing nationally recognized Civic Economics' study(available at KeepItQuerque.org; 'New Survey Shows The Powerful Effect of Shifting to Buying Local First; "KeepItQuerque - buy local" initiative makes a difference!') showing how money recirculates within our economy when spent locally versus when spent at a national chain. While there are differences between retailers and restaurants, the general results are in line with the results from other communities around the USA; a dollar recirculates 2.5 to 3 times more when spent at a local store. By “shifting 10% to local businesses” the Albuquerque Economy will retain $179,000,000 – every year.

Join KeepItQuerque - buy local as we head into our 11th year with plans to provide as many as 175,000 single-family households in the Albuquerque Metro Area a Member Directory. KeepItQuerque - buy local hopes to including Rio Rancho, Bernalillo and Belen.

Using a four-page, four-color directory on 45 lb. paper KeepItQuerque - buy local will publish an abridged version of the Civic Economics study on page 1, a listing of all members divided into basic categories (e.g.: Retail, Dining, Services, Business to Business, etc.) on pages 2 and 3, and the Premier Partners will be featured with their respective logos, slogans, and contact information (phone, address, website) on page 4.

To learn more about the buy local campaign, click here.

How to REALLY Enforce Bedtime

We know we’ve got quite a few parents in our little community here at Sandia Village, and one of the biggest challenges of parenthood is putting your kids to bed. With winter break wrapping up, it shouldn’t be a surprise if you experience difficulty with bedtime as the little ones get back into their daily routine.

However, there are some proven ways, depending on your child’s age, to get them to hit the hay a little faster. Productivity website Lifehacker has assembled a list of tips for parents in this area.

Here are some of the tips they have for kids ages 7 to 12:

Maintain the bedtime routine. The routine will likely change when your kid gets older and he's able to put himself to bed, but the basics of going from active to quieter activities, and unplugging from video games and TV still apply.
 Limit after-school activities. Extra-curricular activities are important, but too many of them coupled with lots of homework can push the bedtime later and later. Kids this age still need about 10-11 hours of sleep a day, although the average is only about 9 hours.
 Don't let weekends throw you off. Sleeping in on the weekends doesn't help anyone catch up on sleep and can, instead, throw off our internal clocks. A policy of staying up late "because it's the weekend" could jeopardize your child's sleep the following week, so try to avoid that if you can.

Or, if your kids are a little older, here’s their advice for kids aged 13 and up:

Blue light therapy. Blue light, we've seen before, can boost alertness. So blue lightbulbs or lamps in the morning could help your teen adjust more easily.
 Reserve the bed for sleep only. Advise your teen to have a good bedtime routine (yes, still!), which could include reading, but preferably not in bed, says Dr. Siege: "The act of getting into bed can be used as a final trigger for the brain to say 'I am going to sleep now,' so getting into bed should be reserved for the actual moment when one is going to be actually going to sleep." Good advice for adults too.
 Ban screens the hour before bed. Encourage your teen to keep the cell phone out of the bedroom (don't laugh, anything's possible!)
 Avoid stimulants. Per Dr. Siege: "Caffeine, alcohol, tobacco, and of course other recreational substances can interfere with proper sleep and should be avoided by those struggling with insomnia." 

Click here to see their tips for kids of all age groups!

An ABQ Year in Review

With 2014 right around the corner, it’s time for a year in review! 2013 was a big year for Albuquerque in terms of publicity, economic development, entertainment and more. Whether it’s a new movie or TV show being filmed, a new space facility, or a host of other new business openings, there always seemed to be something exciting going on.

Albuquerque Business First has dug into its web traffic to find the most important local stories from this past year and will poll local experts for their predictions for the city in 2014. But here are some of the most notable stories as chosen by Albuquerque Business First:

NMHIX gets off to a healthy start 

Why it’s important: New Mexico’s health insurance exchange for small businesses and their employees got up and running with few problems. 

 It took New Mexico a while to decide whether to run its own health insurance exchange, but once the decision was made, things moved quickly. 

 ‘Breaking Bad’ bill could lure more TV shows 

Why it’s important: The film industry was worried long-term TV show projects would bail on New Mexico without state support. First, Gov. Susana Martinez vetoed the so-called “Breaking Bad” bill. Then she signed off on its provisions as part of an 11th-hour tax reform package. 

 For the New Mexico film industry, a new set of incentives that increased rebates for television productions in the state was the most important piece of legislation proposed in the last five years. Filming recently wrapped in New Mexico on two television shows, “Breaking Bad” and “In Plain Sight,” that employed hundreds. The new incentives were designed to entice more long-term television productions to the state.
  

“The film industry has been a consistent bright spot for Albuquerque’s economy and the amount of interest is growing as seen by this uptick in activity,” said Mayor Richard J. Berry.
  

Major tax package aims to change game 

Why it’s important: The Legislature passed the first major tax package in a decade.
  

At the 11th hour — some say even later — the Legislature passed the New Mexico Jobs Package at the close of the 2013 session. It was the largest piece of tax reform passed in the state in years. The bill reduced taxes on businesses, added a single sales factor tax policy, included a “combined reporting” provision, amended the high-wage tax credit, phased out the “hold harmless” provision for local governments and included film incentives. 

 It didn’t make everyone happy. But both sides of the aisle seemed to find something in the package that they liked.  

To read the full list of top local stories from 2013, click here.

Creative Gift Wrapping Ideas for the Holidays

One of the best parts of the holiday season is giving a truly unique, special gift. Sure, what’s inside the package is probably the most important part, along with the thought that goes into your gift. But don’t discount presentation! You can turn an ordinary gift into an extraordinary one by wrapping it in unique, creative ways.

Depending on what you have on-hand in your apartment, there are lots of options. Country Living Magazine put together a very nice list of some options if you’re looking to add a flair of creativity to your holiday presents this year. Some of our favorite techniques included:

Mix Tape

Graphic designer Joy D. Cho dresses up Kraft paper with festive masking tape, alternating horizontal and vertical strips to mimic ribbon. A snowflake fashioned from frayed candy cane colored paper straws becomes the crowning glory.

Road Map

You need: Maps + cord + buttons

Freebie road maps and atlas pages serve as great graphic gift wrap. Instead of tying a bow on top, thread thin cord through a vintage button and knot tightly to secure. (Red cord, $2.99 for 20 yards; michaels.com for stores)

Artistic

Got a box of crayons? Then you can replicate printmaker/graphic designer Adrienne Wong's abstract print. The designer channeled her inner grade-schooler by sandwiching colorful wax shavings between layers of tissue paper (three on the top and three on the bottom) and ironing them until the wax melted. After wrapping, she adorned the gift with an asymmetrically placed satin ribbon and a cluster of tissue dahlias.

Tag Team
Include a cookie in your gift tag for an unexpected treat. Simply write a message on a piece of card stock cut to size, and insert the card and a cookie in the cellophane envelope. Punch two holes through the envelope with a hole puncher, and loop a ribbon through and tie.

 

To read the full post over at Country Living, click here.

Christmas Cookie Recipes

Although the cold winter weather tends to be pretty sporadic down here, we always find a way to make the Christmas holiday our own. If you’re looking to entertain guests or just relax in the comfort of your Albuquerque apartment this winter, baking Christmas cookies is one of the best ways to take in the smells of the season without leaving your kitchen.

CountryLiving.com featured a list of 27 Christmas cookie recipes - here are some of our favorites!

Sugar Cookie Buttons

Wrapped packages of these treats make thoughtful and delicious DIY holiday gifts.

Recipe

Sugar Cookie Ornaments

Simple sugar cookies go glamorous, thanks to ornament-shaped cutters and colorful icing.

Recipe

Gingerbread Animals

Retire your gingerbread man cookie cutter for a year and have some fun decorating animal shapes with different colors of rich, royal icing.

Recipe

Chocolate Snowflakes

Cocoa, added to the dough, and white-chocolate icing transform plain sugar cookies into edible place-card holders.

Recipe

Click here for the full list from CountryLiving.com!

Holiday Events in Albuquerque

Have family visiting Albuquerque this December? Or just looking to get into the holiday spirit? There are lots of great Christmas and holiday events around Albuquerque appropriate for the whole family.

Whether you’re looking for some high-speed excitement, a serene lights festival, or the lighting of the Old Town tree, there’s bound to be an activity in town you’ll enjoy. 10 Best at USA Today rounded up some of the events, including:

●    Also opening the weekend of Nov. 29 is the first-ever Cliff’s Magical Christmas. Albuquerque favorite Cliff’s Amusement Park opens for the winter through Dec. 29 with a light display, music, holiday food, Santa Claus and amusement rides.

●    The ABQ Biopark’s annual River of Lights is a beloved Albuquerque tradition that wows crowds Nov. 30-Jan. 5 (closed Dec. 24 and 25). Stroll New Mexico’s largest light display as carolers sing and hot chocolate flows nightly 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Hundreds of light displays depicting plants, animals and holiday scenes set the grounds aglow. Admission is $10 (children 3 to 13 are $5; children younger than 3 are free).

●    Old Town gets into the holiday spirit Dec. 6 with its annual Old Town Holiday Stroll and lighting of the tree at Don Luis Plaza, followed by the arrival of Santa Claus. Free concerts begin at 4 p.m., with the lighting at 6:10 p.m. and Santa Parade after. Hundreds of luminarias line the Plaza – a precursor to the thousands that will flicker on Christmas Eve. On Dec. 24, all of Old Town is outlined with luminarias as carolers sing and the hot chocolate flows.

●    The next day, Dec. 7, Nob Hill is awash in luminarias and family entertainment noon to 10 p.m. for its annual Nob Hill Shop and Stroll and Twinkle Light Parade. The parade starts at 5:15 p.m. at the corner of Central and Girard and travels west on Central.

Click here for the full list!