Arts Market and Pet Fest Weekend

The free Tijeras Arts Market and Pet Fest on Saturday and Sunday September 4-5, 2010, looks like great family fun. Bring your pooch, parrot, or other pet to the Pet Fest , and hang out to enjoy the live music, arts market, and prizes. Kids will love it, and there’s discounted microchipping too – for the pets, not the kids!

The outdoor Tijeras Arts Market and Pet Fest takes place in the shady apple orchard with music pavilion by the Just Imagine Gallery & Coffee House. They’ve got quite a lot lined up for this Labor Day Weekend event:

• Pet contests with prizes for a wide range of pet categories which could include: dog with the most spots, most unusual pet, best-dressed pet, cutest pet, pet that looks most like its owner, and just about anything else they think up. Contests will be pretty free-flowing, happening whenever there are enough pets present to warrant an on-the-spot competition.
• Live music from Gene Corbin on Saturday; Los Radiators followed by Gary Reynolds & his Southwest Wind Band on Sunday.
• Discounted microchipping for pets (prices unconfirmed as yet, but we’re hearing somewhere around 50% off, although that’s not set in stone.)
• Rescue organization will be on site with dogs available for adoption

And of course, as it is an arts market, you can browse the booths to see work from local New Mexican artists. 

• When:  Saturday and Sunday September 4 – 5, 2010
• Time:  10 am – 5 pm (pet contests as and when there are enough pets around)
• Where:  Tijeras Arts Market, Just Imagine Gallery & Coffee House
• Price: Free!

The evening before the Arts Market and Pet Fest Just Imagine Gallery is holding an artist reception with Ming Franz, splash ink artist and watercolorist, with refreshments. That’s on Friday September 3 at 4:30 – 7:30 pm.

Check the map at the link for directions: The Tijeras Arts Market at Just Imagine Gallery & Coffee House is located in Tijeras, 7 miles east of Albuquerque.

–Tania

Albuquerque on the Cheap This Weekend Aug 28-29, 2010

Looking for something to do on the cheap this weekend? Here’s a round-up of recently posted deals and events and a couple more weekend freebie suggestions to give you some ideas:

Free Place Names of New Mexico Talk this afternoon (Saturday) at Petroglyph National Monument Visitor Center – starts at 2 pm.

Great Southwest Home Remodeling Design Show: Half Price admission with the coupon, Saturday and Sunday August 28 and 29.  

Free Wolf Meet and Greet at Open Space Visitor Center, Sunday August 29.

Shop Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic for 30% off with the coupon. In the Give and Get weekend 5% of your purchase goes to a charity of your choice.

Idalia Road Marketplace: Rio Rancho weekend market with vendors and entertainment.

Enter our Rizzoli and Ives Giveaway – win a T-shirt and a book!

Of course we’d love it if you’d vote for us in Albuquerque the Magazine’s “Best of the City 2010” contest! If you think we’re worthy, please write in “ABQ on the Cheap” in the “People” category under “Best Local Blogger“. Vote for any of your other ABQ faves too on the online form, and then just hit submit! Voting ends September 1.

Albuquerque Museums Free Admission on Sundays:

Albuquerque Museum of Art and History: Free admission on Sunday mornings from 9 am to 1 pm. General admission is free, special exhibitions still require fees.

Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum: Free admission on Sunday mornings from 9 am to 1 pm.

National Hispanic Cultural Center Art Museum: Free admission on Sundays.

And one of my faves: the free Old Town Wild West gunfight show by New Mexico Gunfighters Association. The melodrama is great fun with all the bangs, and funny too. Shows are most Sundays at 1:30, 2:30, and 3:30 pm. The action takes place around Old Town Plaza (usually outside the Rattlesnake Museum on San Felipe when I see it) but they circle the Plaza and give a shout out before the show begins.

–Tania

Place Names of New Mexico: Free Talk August 28

New Mexico has some of the best place names. Truth or Consequences anyone?

If you’re interested in hearing the anecdotes and folklore behind places like Chi-Chi-Tah, Custer Mountain, and Mogollon, then this event has your name on it! (Sorry, couldn’t resist.) And best of all, it’s totally free!  You couldn’t even name a price… oh I’ll shut up now.

Chautauqua speaker Bob Julyan gives a free talk on the Place Names of New Mexico on Saturday, promising plenty of humor (more than you’re getting in this post, anyway) and showing how the names cited in his local examples reflect New Mexico’s history and character. And what a lot of history and character we’ve got, huh?

Place Names of New Mexico talk:

• When: Saturday August 28, 2010

• Time: 2 pm (finishing 3 pm)

• Where: Petroglyph National Monument Visitor Center

• Price: FREE!

No reservations are needed, and there’s no fee to enter Petroglyph National Monument. It’s located on the Westside of Albuquerque on Western Trail just off Unser Boulevard NW.  

Here are directions and a map to the Petroglyph National Monument Visitor Center.

–Tania

New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science Free 9/11/2010

Free admission to Albuquerque’s New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science on September 11, and other museum freebies.

My personal favorites at the NM Museum of Natural and Science are (of course) the dinosaurs – especially that big ole scary T-Rex – and the Startup: Albuquerque and the Personal Computer Revolution exhibit with all the clever gadgets to play on.

If you’re planning a trip, hold your horses (or hold your dinosaurs) till Saturday September 11 when every visitor gets free admission to New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science.

That saves you $7 on adult admission, $6 for seniors, and $4 for kids aged 3-12. Round up a party and make the most of the free admission day, but note that you’ll still have to pay the regular charge for the Lockheed Martin DynaTheater and Planetarium.

Other ways to see the NM Museum of Natural History and Science free of charge: 

Active military personnel and their families get free admission every day to the museum until Labor Day September 6, 2010, as part of the Blue Star Museums program we reported on earlier this summer.

New Mexico resident seniors age 60+  receive free admission every Wednesday.

New Mexico Counties free months gives residents from different counties around the state free admission for one month of the year. It changes each month – see the list of counties and months at the link.

–Tania

Free Wolf Meet & Greet

Meet a friendly wolf (or three!) on Sunday August 29, 2010.

This free wolf encounter event is one to note on your calendar for next Sunday if you’re as fascinated as I am by these beautiful and mysterious beasts. Enough with the werewolves and shape-shifters (sorry Jacob Black/Stephenie Meyer), you can meet the real thing for yourself on August 29 from 12:30 to 2:30 pm at the Open Space Visitor Center.

Stephanie Kaylan of the Wanagi Wolf Fund will bring up to three of her wolves or wolf-dogs to the
Wolf Meet and Greet. She’ll also be talking about the animals and our relationship with them in terms of control and care.

The family-friendly event is free, although donations to the non-profit Wanagi Wolf Fund are welcome. Interesting note: Wanagi is Lakota for “The one who guards and protects the spirits of those who have passed onward.”

• When: Sunday August 29, 2010
• Time: 12:30 – 2:30 pm
• Where: Open Space Visitor Center
• Price: Admission is FREE but donations to the Wanagi Wolf Fund very welcome.

Albuquerque Open Space Visitor Center is located at 6500 Coors Boulevard NW. (East of Coors at the end of Bosque Meadows Road, between Montano Boulevard and Paseo del Norte.)

–Tania

Idalia Road Marketplace: Free Weekends Through October 2010

Idalia Road Marketplace in Rio Rancho sounds like a good time for families at the weekend, with entertainment and vendors. This market is new to me, so if it’s new to you too, maybe it’s worth a trip out one weekend! And if you go (or know it already) tell us what you think in the comments box at the end of this post.

Idalia Road Marketplace is open every Saturday and Sunday through the end of October from 9 am to 2 pm with:

• Free live music and entertainment from 11 am – 1 pm. (This weekend, performers are jazz and classical guitarist Chris Livingston and Bear Martinez with classic rock and Native American flute and chants.)
• Free face painting for kids
• Buy fresh organic produce
• Booths for Geo’s Mobile Bistro, Ms. Dorothy’s Bakery, La Quiche Parisian Bakery, plus vendors of clothes, beads, jewelry, and garage sale type items
• Free admission and parking

And I REALLY like this: Idalia Road Marketplace provides free booth space for charities, nonprofit organizations and schools. Cool to the max!

• When: Saturday and Sunday to the end of October 2010
• Time: 9 am – 2 pm
• Where:  Idalia Road, a half mile north of Northern Boulevard, Rio Rancho.

Here’s a link for a PDF map to Idalia Road Marketplace.  No, I didn’t draw it. But it’s cute, isn’t it?

–Tania

Free Family Fun: Sundae is Funday

It’s the Mayor’s annual picnic in Rio Rancho on Sunday August 22, 2010, and everything is free except parking and food (and even they’re cheap!)

Come out to play at Mayor Swisstack’s Sundae is Funday Rio Rancho picnic and this is what you can expect:

• Live music from The Hit Squad, Kathryn Soapes, and Faith Gallardo/Ortiz with Two Year Saga
• Clowns, a magician, fun jumps, rock climbing and other family-friendly activities
• Salsa tasting contest
• Car Show
• Ice Cream Olympics
• Booths and vendors including food vendors (we KNOW Papa John’s Pizza will be there!) 
• And more…

Rio Rancho Kiwanis’ website has a Sundae is Funday Mayor’s Picnic  flyer with more details on activities.

According to the nice event organizer I spoke to, the fun is all FREE - the only thing you have to pay for is food and parking. Parking is $2 per car, and food is inexpensive too, so you can feed the kids without breaking the bank.

• When: Sunday August 22, 2010
• Time: Noon to 4:30 pm
• Where: Loma Colorado Park, 555 Loma Colorado Drive, Rio Rancho
• Parking: Rio Rancho High School $2 per car

 

–Tania

Old Town Salsa Fiesta 2010

There’ll be a hot time in the Old Town tonight… or rather this Saturday August 14, 2010, when the sixth annual Salsa Fiesta returns with salsa of both the dipping and the dancing varieties. It’s a free event – we’ve just spoken with the organizer and have the latest saucy scoop…

Celebrating all things salsa, the annual Old Town Salsa Fiesta kicks off at 1 pm on Saturday August 14, with salsa bands and dancers on the gazebo and throughout Old Town, kids’ activities, and of course (drum roll) the Best Homemade Salsa contest.

Competitors make their salsa on the spot in front of everyone, and we, the people, get to taste and cast our vote for the winners. This is the ONLY event with any charge – it’s $4 to buy a wrist band that allows you to taste all the salsas in the contest and then vote for your fave. According to the organizer there are 71 entries competing this year. Yes, 71. That’s a lot of hot.

There are also free salsa samples for all from commercial salsa producers including El Pinto and Gardunos.

The Salsa Fiesta schedule includes:

• 1 – 6 pm: Salsa Bands and dancers provide free entertainment throughout Old Town
• 1 – 6 pm: Kids’ arts and crafts activities, face painting and games in Plaza Don Luis
• 7 pm: Mayor Berry announces the Homemade Salsa winners

Live entertainment:

• 1 – 2 pm : Changui Son
• 2:15 – 3:30 pm: Latin Stars
• 3:30 – 5:15 pm:  Picoso
• 5:30 – 6:45 pm:  Salsa Dancers demonstration by Latin Dance Festival performers
• 7:15 – 8:15 pm:  Ivon Ulibarri & Café Mocha
• 8:30 – 9:30 pm: 8 y Mas Salsa Band

Some Old Town restaurants will also have specials on the menu and pairings with New Mexico wines.

The annual Albuquerque Salsa Fiesta is a free family-friendly event and it’s extremely popular, so be prepared for bustle and probably some waiting in line.  If you go, send us a photo!

Salsa Fiesta takes place in Albuquerque Old Town.

–Tania

National Parks Free Admission: August 14-15

If you’re already tired of Monday and looking forward to Next Weekend (capital N, capital W) you might want to take a trip to enjoy National Parks Free Entrance Days.

Over 100 national parks that usually charge admission fees are free for all on August 14 – 15, 2010.

The next round of park free entrance days are on:

• September 25, 2010
• November 11, 2010

That includes free admission to New Mexico National Parks on this list:

• Aztec Ruins National Monument
• Bandelier National Monument
• Capulin Volcano National Monument
• Carlsbad Caverns National Park
• Chaco Culture National Historical Park
• El Morro National Monument
• Fort Union National Monument
• Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument
• Pecos National Historical Park
• White Sands National Monument

Participating parks may vary for future dates, so before you get your hiking boots on, it’s probably best to check nearer the time at the Free Entrance Days in Your National Parks link.

Or of course, make sure you subscribe to ABQ on the Cheap – ‘cos you know I’ll remind you!

–Tania

Free Home Buyer Workshop: August 9

Buying property is one of the most stressful activities I can think of (aside from shopping for a decent black mascara that doesn’t sweat off and make me look like a panda after 45 seconds in the New Mexico sun).  Maybe these guys will help… with the property buying, if not with the lashes.

The Home Buyer Circle is a new initative by a local group of real estate and home buying experts to help people understand more about the home buying process. Ultimate aim: simplify the confusing stuff and help buyers feel more empowered to make all the big decisions involved in property purchase, from first steps to closing the deal.

To this end, they’re hosting a free Home Buyer Circle Workshop on Monday August 9 at 6 pm. I’ve checked with Mackenzie Bishop, a presenter at the workshop and a partner in Abrazo Homes (one of the firms supporting the program), and he promises that nobody’s going to try and sell you anything. Of course, if you want to do business with any of the sponsoring firms, I’m sure they’ll be delighted, but I’m reassured that this isn’t one of those ghastly heavy-sell events where you walk out in a daze having bought a condo on the Rio Grande Riviera.

They’re serving light snacks, and everyone who attends will have the chance to win a new Apple iPad and other prizes – you have to be present to win. You need to register in advance for the free seminar and first time buyers or current home owners are equally welcome.

Topics for discussion will include:

• Mortgages
• Credit scores
• Taxes
• Shopping strategies

I’m sure there will be more, and there’s also time for private Q&A after the event.

Register in advance for the free Home Buyer Circle Workshop:

• When: Monday August 9, 2010
• Time: 6 pm (the event runs 90 minutes to 2 hours)
• Where: Albuquerque Marriott Pyramid Hotel

–Tania

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