By Rodd Cayton
Fall in Bernalillo means residents and visitors will have to work really hard to stay bored for the next few weekends. Parties and events of all types are coming to the town, coinciding with everything from Halloween to the Centennial of the Mother Road.
Saturday includes the fourth Enchantment Games, a fundraiser for the Albuquerque Sign Language Academy. Economic & community development director Christina Jones told town councilors this week the school has expanded to serve students with other special needs. The games run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Rotary Park, 202 Rotary Park Road, and will include kickball, bocce ball and cornhole tournaments, a skateboarding exhibition, food trucks, a beer garden, puppy yoga and other attractions and activities.
Also Saturday, Chicky’s Coffee, 240 S. Camino Del Pueblo, will host Nightmare Before Halloween, a spooky craft market featuring vendors, live local music, a costume contest (paying out cash prizes!), from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Bernalillo Fire Rescue is hosting a Sept. 28 groundbreaking ceremony for the new Donato Sanchez Fire Station No. 1. That’s scheduled for 10 a.m. at 842 Camino Don Tomas.
The Mountain West Fall Fest is from 1 to 8 p.m. Oct. 4 at Loretto Park, 237 S. Camino Del Pueblo. It will include music, vendors, beer and a kids area. The first 200 people in the park will each receive a free Route 66 mug and apple cider. The Sandoval County Employee Appreciation Committee is putting on a car show at the adjacent Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Anyone wishing to pre-register may contact Theresa Carrillo at 505-803-7046 or tcarrillo@sandovalcountynm.gov.
The Spartan Booster Club, which supports Bernalillo High School athletics, is hosting the second Spartan Showdown Cornhole Tournament at 1:30 p.m. Oct. 11 at Rotary Park. The double-elimination tournament will see teams vying for cash prizes in beginner, intermediate and competitive classes. The club is inviting community members to “bring the whole family for an afternoon of cornhole, vendors, food, competition, and Spartan pride.”
The Town of Bernalillo hosts the free Fiesta de Musica y Cultura from 2 to 4 p.m. Oct. 17 at Bernalillo Recreation Center, 307 Rotary Park Road. Organizers promise “music, food and fun.”
The Bernalillo Police Department is participating in the Oct. 24 Take Back Day, in partnership with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration The event offers residents an opportunity to safely and anonymously dispose of expired, unused, or unwanted prescription medications from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“We kind of have a busy October going on, and then I’m already taking registrations for the (Nighttime Christmas) parade,” Jones told councilors.