In the midst of Albuquerque's seasonal transition, there are so many things to do with all the time the fall season has to offer. Albuquerque has a variety of fall events coming up, along with events for those who celebrate Halloween as well. The Daily Lobo has put together a list of things to check off of your bucket list before fall 2018 comes to an end.
Terry Davis, the marketing manager for Popejoy Hall the past 20 years, is passionate about musicals. He has been involved in the arts since the fourth grade, the beginning of a lifelong devotion sparked by playing the drums. A co-producer of the New Mexico High School Musical Theatre Awards, Davis spreads support for theatre through New Mexico high schools. He encourages students to delve into theatrical texts and enjoy the creative storylines developed with artistic flares. Here, Davis shares his top five musicals.
On Thursday, Sept. 27 from 8:30 p.m. to 11 p.m., Silent Lights 2018 will be held on the Smith Plaza. The event is a silent disco that will feature six DJ’s throughout the evening with three DJ’s playing at a time. All of the music will be color coordinated for ease of syncing the sound to your headphones. Changing the channel on your headphones connects you to a different DJ on stage. For example, if you want to hear what the green DJ is playing simply switch channels and you’re listening to that music as your headset glows green.
Third year graduate student Zac Travis is the latest artist to occupy the John Sommers Gallery at the University of New Mexico. Travis is a student in the art department at the University of New Mexico in the photography area and is the visual artist and creator of Content Nausea. “My primary inspiration for Content Nausea resides in our persistent and almost absent minded use of technology,” Travis said. Travis utilized artificial intelligence (AI) to create text phrases calculated by an AI algorithm. Travis said he is interested in the idea of algorithmic processes and the way they are handled by corporate businesses.
The University of New Mexico kicked off Wolfstock Homecoming week with “Peace, Love and Puppies” a dog kiss, furball-filled event Monday at Smith Plaza. Students could play with dogs from Southwest Corps of Canine Volunteers. There were nearly 10 dogs of all shapes and sizes, all of which were licenced therapy dogs. According to Sue MacEchan director of UNM Alumni Relations, this is the first time homecoming week has involved a dog therapy event. However, Southwest Corps of Canine Volunteers has come to UNM campus before on multiple occasions. UNM Alumni Relations is one of the groups in charge of organizing homecoming week along with other groups across campus. The idea fit in really well with the wolfstock theme too, MacEchan said.
On Sept. 25 Lobo Spirit brought the second annual Neon Skate event with a glowing roller skating rink to campus for the University of New Mexico’s 2018 homecoming week celebration. “It’s like going back to the days were you were a little kid learning how to skate for the first time and then just bringing the neon theme to that with the black lights, I think it’s a great experience,” said Adam Biederwolf, director of Lobo Spirit. Lobo Spirit partnered with Neon Entertainment to bring a neon skate rink with complimentary roller skates for students to use. Lobo Spirit used black lights and music to set the environment for the portable roller skating rink that was set up in the ballrooms of the Student Union Building. Apparel such as glow sticks, glow bracelets and glow necklaces were passed out to the attendees to bring in the neon ambiance.
The University of New Mexico will be putting their own twist on the 1969 Woodstock festival for this year’s week-long Wolfstock, homecoming celebration. Starting Sept. 24, the UNM Alumni Association will work with campus staff, faculty and student organizations to put on events everyday starting at 11:30 p.m. that will continue throughout the week. Students can participate in 50 different homecoming week events.
President Garnett S. Stokes is the first female president of the University of New Mexico. Over the course of her life, Stokes earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from Carson-Newman College in Tennessee and her master’s and doctoral degree in industrial and organizational psychology from the University of Georgia. Previously working for the University of Missouri, Florida State University and the University of Georgia, Stokes has received renowned praise for creating transformative academic environments. Stokes is also a fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, the American Psychological Association and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology.
On Sunday, the Veteran’s Memorial Park offered a look inside a culture over 5,000 miles away. The Aki Matsuri Festival, meaning “Fall Festival,” annually incorporates a variety of diverse elements within Japanese culture. On Sunday people from out of state and fellow New Mexicans gathered to see the cultural demonstrations that took place at the sunny, outdoor venue. The Japanese American Citizens League has been hosting Japanese culture festivals since the 80s, and has been a collective effort from all those involved to make the event a success.
Dozens of children, students, activists and peace advocates joined together Sept. 21 at 4 p.m. on Johnson Field to create a human peace sign. In honor of the International Peace Day and Albuquerque Peace Week, this was the first human peace sign done in Albuquerque. Sponsored in part by the United Nations Association Albuquerque chapter, the Albuquerque Center for Peace and Justice, GenUN at The University of New Mexico, the UNM Peace Studies Program and Campaign Nonviolence, the event was created in solidarity with several other events around the world encouraging peace.
Aerie brought its campus pop-up tour to the University of New Mexico on Sept. 17 and 18 to promote the brand’s new fall collection and new wireless push-up bra, as well as to spread a message of body positivity to students. This was the first time that Aerie has done a promotion at UNM, since it’s opening at the Coronado Mall in 2017. “I’m not a big fan of the mall, so I like pop-ups,” said Bethany Rivera, a psychology major at UNM, when explaining the appeal that the event held for her.
Much like her work in the arts, Kathleen Clawson’s taste in books is unique and dynamic. She is a professor in the University of New Mexico’s Department of Theatre and Dance, where she directs shows, teaches classes in musical theatre and serves as the director of publicity for the department. Most recently, she directed the UNM production of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” Along with her work at UNM, she is also part of the staff at the Santa Fe Opera where she provides direction and vocal training. Here she describes her current favorite books which provide guidance and inspiration for her daily life.
Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller unveiled a new business initiative to invite pop-up vendors to fill vacant business spaces downtown. This initiative is part of the One Albuquerque: Engage campaign and will feature a variety of local businesses and artisans to occupy spaces at 505 Central Avenue. This plan for economic development is aimed showcase the potential for these spaces and aims to encourage public safety. “We’re really looking to fill vacant spaces to affect the whole environment,” said Director of Marketing and Innovation Carlos Contreras. “More feet on the street and more eyes on the street. Just a more engaged area... we think that we can affect public safety and our local economy fairly positively in one effort.”
The six-part documentary series “Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story,” made its dramatic close on Monday, Sep. 10. The series recapped what occurred during the 2012 trial for the murder of Trayvon Martin, and how George Zimmerman’s defense team played a crucial role in his acquittal. One of the trials that took the nation by storm occured only six years ago. UNM students were present during this evocative moment in history, and were either touched by the case through the television, social media or protests. This nationally broadcasted trial ultimately led to the creation of the Black Lives Matter movement. “The whole movement of young people becoming active started with that not guilty verdict,” Reverend Al Sharpton said in an interview on the show.
This past weekend at El Rancho de las Golondrinas, a history museum and historic ranch in Santa Fe, the eleventh annual Santa Fe Renaissance Faire was celebrated. The fair grounds were separated out into sections based upon activities or people who inhabited those areas. At the Royal Pavilion, one could meet the king and queen of the fair as well as their court. A town crier would announce activities from in front of their tent, these activities were from a long list of scheduled out plans for each area of the fair.
For a few of Albuquerque’s beekeepers, a Saturday morning involves prying planks of one-inch wood apart from each other to check up on the health of the hives at the Open Space Visitor Center. Among the six beekeepers were two members of the University of New Mexico’s Beekeeping Club who attended the monthly beekeeping mentoring session. One of the attendees was Elizabeth Lake, former club secretary and president. Lake said that the responsibilities of a beekeeper are adding and taking away space for the bees as the colony grows, eliminating pests and keeping them healthy.
American Horror Story has returned to FX netflix for its eighth installment, “American Horror Story: Apocalypse.” The TV series premiered on Wednesday, Sept. 12 at 11 p.m, bringing forth Ryan Murphy’s dystopian vision of how the world will come crumbling down. Fittingly, the first episode, titled “The End,” is set in Los Angeles, and opens to sirens and missile warning threats on people’s cell phones across the city. News broadcasts covering the devastating revelation then disclose that they too must evacuate, and that is when true panic starts to settle in. Within minutes of the evacuation warning, citizens are already killing one another to get out of L.A., and the audience follows a young socialite escaping on her father’s private jet with her hair stylist, her hairstylist’s grandmother and personal assistant.
On Sept. 12 at Wells Park Tractor Brewing Company, the 22nd annual Albuquerque Slam Poetry Championship was held. Ten poets competed for the right to go to the Individual World Poetry Slam in San Diego, CA. This is a festival and competition of the greatest poets across the country and world who compete for the title of best poet. The ten poets competing were — Lydia Andrews, Cathy Cook, Reina Davis, Adam Gutierrez, Jessica Lopez, Sophia Nuanez, Cat Reece, Bianca Sanchez, Jack Tapestry and Brooke Von Blomberg. Five judges were picked at random from the audience present. These judges critiqued the poets on several categories, then individually give them a numerical value on a scale from one to ten.
Sept. 6 marked the first day of the 80th annual New Mexico State Fair at Expo New Mexico. Visitors were immediately greeted with the sights and smells of fair foods and brightly lit carnival rides as they walked through the entrance. Vendors lined the main street of the fair as their displays enticed people to look at their homemade goods, from t-shirts to custom wood-burned signs. Some vendors even prompted people with a challenge of physical strength. UNM professor Jonathan Eldredge was in attendance on the fair’s opening day and was accompanied by his daughter Gabriela. The two have had a father-daughter tradition of attending the fair every year since Gabriela was a child.
The Albuquerque Museum’s exhibit “Buried Cars and Other Stories” displays the colorful photographic works of Patrick Nagatani. Nagatani’s work is known worldwide and his photographs show places far and wide. Joseph Traugott, the Albuquerque Museum guest curator and longtime friend of Nagatani, said the exhibit is a compilation of Nagatani’s life work. The exhibit consists of over 50 pieces of his work and includes multiple series. “Patrick was a photography professor at UNM for 25 years and was well loved by many,” Traugott said.
Solutions by The State News
