I have been taking my dog, Kiki, to dog parks across the country for all her 9.5 year life. Having a good dog park is a key feature of any place I choose to live. Therefore, the opening of more dog parks is always welcome, and especially ones in urban areas. Such a dog park opened right in the middle of the Cottonwood Mall parking lot in Rio Rancho, New Mexico! Before the ribbon cutting event hosted by the ABQ West Chamber of Commerce I had a hard time imagining how a dog park could be in a mall. Whoever the designers were deserve great praise for making a fantastic dog park, with obstacles, shade and easy access to water for both dog and human alike! I have never seen such a large gathering of dogs with all dogs getting along so well either! We live far from this dog park, so will not be regulars, but when on the west side I look forward to visiting again!
This was my second Red Rally on the UNM campus, which is the burning of the Aggie from rival school NMSU before the football game. It is quite the spectacle because it is not every day one sees something 40 feet go up in flames, and this year there seemed to be a lot more flames for a lot longer! The pyrotechnics team must have learned something since the 2017 Red Rally.
What an event at Floor and Decor of Albuquerque, New Mexico! It seems people did not believe them when they said they really were giving away a brand new 2018 Chevy pickup truck! Well, with sales tax even paid too, they gave it away and Wizard won! I was talking with him just minutes before his raffle ticket number was called to be one of the five finalists for a chance to win the truck. He is a very nice guy and his motorcycle club advocates for children so he is a very deserving winner! This also made it seem more exciting to me having just met him a few minutes prior so it was not a completely anonymous winner to me. There were lots of other prizes, and I even won a Yeti cooler! Amazing job by Floor and Decor. This was one of the top events of the year in Albuquerque!
I have had the opportunity to photograph Albuquerque, New Mexico Mayor Tim Keller many times, including making his official portrait for when he played arena football! The latest time to photograph the mayor was at the 4th anniversary 1 Million Cups ABQ event at Fat Pipe. 1 Million Cups ABQ is a fantastic weekly event every Wednesday morning at 9am where an entrepreneur speaks about her/his business and asks the audience for input. This Wednesday was extra special as not only did we get to hear from Kerry Brennan Bertram of Stride Inc., and not only did we have great cake, but also we got to hear Mayor Tim Keller's plans for increasing volunteerism in the city and more about the One Albuquerque concept. Even though there will not be cake nor the mayor next week, I hope you still join us for the next 1 Million Cups!
I heard about SOMOS ABQ directly from the head organizer of the event himself at a board meeting I was invited to. His passion for bringing affordable entertainment on a large scale to all of Albuquerque was inspiring. At the time I noted this is an event I should attend, and last Saturday I did! The variety on display ranged from flamenco dancers to lace acrobatics to environmental art to music concerts across genres. Right on the streets of downtown ABQ were erected stages and the acts playing really brought it. The EDM stage in particular had the energy of a full on music festival finale! In the photo gallery below you can see a cross section of what was on display at SOMOS ABQ 2018.
The Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce knows how to put on events, and the Hispano Chamber Golf Classic 2018 is the biggest event of the year where 100% of the profits go to educational scholarships. With some 36 foursomes out on the greens, a lot of local students will be benefiting from participants' generosity. My contribution was to go out and make as many photos as I could in the short time I had available to be on the golf course! What did I learn? A lot of dancing goes on at a AHCC golf event!
I have known Aleitress Owens from many networking events in the past year and a half in Albuquerque, New Mexico. When she asked me to sponsor her event, Women's Summit 2018, I said I would be glad to and donated a headshot session. She also asked if I would attend and take a few photos, which I also gladly did. The venue, called The View, had great natural light and very stylish decor with a fantastic layout. This, combined with the women and men in attendance, made for very easy candidevent photography!
