By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper.
Sandoval County has never had a Pride celebration. That changes June 6.
Rio Rancho will host its first-ever Pride festival June 6 at Haynes Park — the result of a grassroots effort that took shape after the Sandoval Signpost reported last May that New Mexico’s third-largest city had no Pride events, proclamations or celebrations of any kind.
“Rio Rancho deserves something like that,” said organizer/municipal liaison Deb Dapson. “When that article came out, I went, I can’t mull anymore. This has to happen.”
The free, family-friendly festival runs 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is entirely community-funded — no taxpayer dollars involved. While Dapson is a sitting city councilor, this is not a City of Rio Rancho-sponsored event. Organizers lined up vendors, food trucks, live entertainment, a Rainbow Roadrunner car show, face painting, a photo booth, a bouncy house and performances by the New Mexico Women’s Chorus, the New Mexico Gay Men’s Chorus and Encantada, New Mexico’s Pride Band. Sign language interpreters will be on site and private security has been hired.
How it came together
The effort traces back to organizing director Ericka Van Eckhoutte, who co-founded the Rio Rancho Pride Facebook group in 2022 after moving to the area and finding no visible LGBTQIA+ community presence.
The organizing group includes donation coordinators Brian Rasmussen and former Democratic Party of Sandoval County chair and former mayoral candidate Alexandria Piland, entertainment chair Madigan Ray, Dapson and communication coordinator Jack Slosar — each bringing different strengths to the effort. They coordinated through Discord, tracked logistics on shared spreadsheets and spent months reaching out to businesses to gauge support. Some declined, Van Eckhoutte said, but the response from others exceeded expectations.
“There’s a lot of excitement out here in the community,” she said. “And that’s just a very small fraction of what’s really here.”
Community backing and pushback
Rasmussen connected the group with THE BLOCK and the Imperial Sovereign Court of New Mexico, a nonprofit that raises money for health, education and social service organizations serving LGBTQ+ and broader communities statewide and beyond. Both became central to the fundraising effort.
Two Drag Bingo fundraisers at THE BLOCK — April 24 and May 13 — drew large crowds and raised a combined $6,900-plus. When protesters organized to boycott the venue over its support for the events, THE BLOCK doubled down and became the festival’s presenting sponsor.
“Shout out to the protesters who showed up at the last Drag Bingo and made THE BLOCK so mad that they gave us more money than anyone else,” Ray said.
Piland said the reaction underscored something the organizers already knew: the LGBTQ+ community has long been part of Rio Rancho’s fabric, even without a public celebration to show for it.
“They have been here. They have been spending money, buying houses, sending children to school,” she said. “We know this community has been here for a long time and will step out when they’re welcome.”
Van Eckhoutte said she felt that at the first Drag Bingo — looking around at a huge crowd and realizing what was taking shape.
“It’s really happening,” she said. “It’s surreal.”
What’s next?
Looking ahead, organizers view the inaugural event as the first of many, establishing it as the first annual festival with long-term growth in mind.
Ray expressed hope that the event will continue to expand, eventually rivaling major local celebrations like Sunday Funday. Future community building and fundraising efforts are already underway, including confirmed plans to continue the successful Drag Bingo events throughout the year in partnership with THE BLOCK and the Imperial Sovereign Court of New Mexico.
The organizers have taken steps to ensure accessibility and appropriate entertainment. The stage program will feature professional sign language interpreters. Attendees can expect an all-ages, family-friendly entertainment lineup featuring drag performers. Ray noted that the costumes and performances are modest, stating they are “no more risque than typical cheerleader competitions.”
To sustain the grassroots effort, attendees can visit the Sandoval County Pride booth under the pavilion to purchase official festival merchandise, including stickers, buttons, and flags.
Sandoval County Pride Festival
Date: June 6 Time: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Location: Haynes Park, Rio Rancho
Admission: Free | Family friendly | Rain or shine
Updates: facebook.com/groups/prideinriorancho