Tamal Fiesta y Más expands; Mimbres studios open Saturday

By Elena Vasquez

Tamal Fiesta y Más runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Historic Fort Bayard, with 42 food and craft vendors registered for the Santa Clara celebration.

Ogle reported that the Santa Clara community and the wider Mining District will gather to share their culture and food. The fiesta marks four years at the historic Army post and 10 years since Santa Clara took it over from Silver City, following its earlier run on Fort Bayard Street. Ogle reported that the event has grown every year since.

What expands at the parade grounds?

This year’s fiesta covers more space, mainly because of the expanding car show organized by Norman Castrillo. Village Administrator Sheila Hudman said: “The car show is expanding, so we’re moving the whole other process over to the parade grounds this year.”

That shift relocates the wider event, not only the cars, to the parade grounds. Olga Amador, a member of the organizing committee, said 42 food and craft vendors have signed up, and additional sellers always appear on the celebration’s day.

Amador described the year-round committee as small. The village maintenance department has been mowing the site, and crews will arrive early Saturday to block streets and keep drivers away from restricted areas, Amador said. Some vendors also want to set up their tents on Friday. Amador credited Jose Diaz of Bayard with organizing extra help whenever the committee needs it.

Takeaway: The fiesta has outgrown its former Fort Bayard Street setting.

What is on Saturday’s program?

Ogle reported a program of folklorico dancers, mariachis and the Illusion Band, together with a piñata bust, children’s activities, a cornhole tournament and the chancla toss contest. According to Ogle, the Fort Bayard Museum will also stay open all day.

Ogle’s photograph records Aliffandro Villegas, 11, hitting the dummy on both of his chancla throws and earning the plaque for the accuracy contest.

Amador said: “It’s a celebration and a reminder to the Hispanic culture about us.” She added that the event should help people know a culture and its ways, celebrate who they are — not only Hispanics but everybody — and come together to enjoy the hard work behind the fiesta.

Takeaway: The program treats the fiesta as both entertainment and a shared cultural celebration.

Where do Mimbres artists open on Saturday?

The Mimbres valley will also celebrate its arts culture on Saturday with the Silver City Art Association’s Mimbres Studio Tour. This is the tour’s second year, with five artists opening their studios from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Signs marked with red dots on N.M. 152, N.M. 35 and N.M. 61 will guide visitors to those studios, and a guide is available on silvercityart.com. A preview show will run from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday at the Grant County Art Guild Studio, at the corner of Yankie and Texas streets in Silver City.

Takeaway: Five studios and three marked roads give Saturday visitors a mapped route through the Mimbres valley.

Saturday will pair a larger community fiesta in Santa Clara with a five-studio tour in the Mimbres valley. The fiesta’s next edition will show whether the expanded parade-grounds layout can sustain the growth recorded since the move from Fort Bayard Street 10 years ago.