Burque slid the crimson and ginger pastels to the west as dusk swallowed the landscape from the mouth of the looming Sandias, providing cover to those that embraced the swathe of night.
Under the cover of darkness and the shelter of the I-25 overpass, the North Diversion Channel served as a guerrilla amphitheater and host to the unlicensed mixed-art event, Arroyo Stomp.
The event, planned two months prior by a team of organizers and artists alike, featured a diverse spread of performers, ranging from folk bands to an adult children’s book author and also included a breakdancing battle.
Arroyo Stomp ran for four hours before being discovered by a single APD officer who parked on the eastbound shoulder of I-25 and climbed over the Jersey barrier to find the arroyo full of people, a rudimentary stage and stage lighting, band equipment rather than runoff water.
The officer called for backup and they subsequently dispersed the group, saying that the event was illegal and unsafe due to its location in a major diversion channel.
Kate Michalske, an event organizer, stated that the one of the officers affirmed he would use his Taser on any lingering Stomp-goers.
The crowd of pedestrians and cyclists was estimated by local writer Mike Smith to be 200 people.
