By Rodd Cayton
The Aug. 22 Route 66 Centennial celebration is an obvious reason for Tijeras to party, Mayor Jake Bruton said. “It’s always been in the village,” Bruton said. “It’s ingrained in us. It’s who we are.”
Bruton said that while the Village of Tijeras was officially incorporated in 1973, the community has been around for more than 200 years, and the Mother Road has been key to its progress. He called the event, which featured food vendors, a craft fair and several bouncy houses, “a remarkable success,” with both residents and visitors from around the area having a good time.
Photo by Roberto E. Rosales for the Paper
A warm summer day calls for a way to cool off, and among the choices for doing so were snow cones and a dunk tank, which Bruton said was extremely popular. “There was a nice long line of people who wanted to dunk me,” he said, his still-damp t-shirt serving as supporting evidence for his statement.
The celebration concluded with an evening concert by Tripple-X, a local band popular in the East Mountains area. Bruton and others paid tribute to Jeffro Garcia, one of the band’s co-founders, who died earlier this year.
Upcoming events in the village include a trunk-or-treating affair, a Veterans Day program and a winter celebration.