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Barelas

Barelas

Celebrating Love

Published by communitypublishingabq@gmail.com on February 17, 2016 Respond

By Alex Paramo

Anyone old enough to remember the 1998 movie, Night at the Roxbury will surely remember how the lead characters played by Chris Kattan and Will Ferrell dance ridiculously to the Haddaway song with the title, “What is Love.” But really, what is love? Have you ever thought about it? I have.

With all due respect to everyone’s faith, paradigm, culture, public and personal beliefs (or lack thereof), I believe and teach my 7 year old daughter that God is Love. But what does that mean? A quick perusal on Merriam Websters Online Dictionary comes up with 9 definitions (not to mention all the sub-definitions). Definition number 4 is closest to my personal definition of Love, “unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another.” Personally I would replace: the good of another with the good of all. 

A Labor of Love

The Rail Yards Market has been a labor of love for all that have been involved in taking it from idea to reality. Fueled by our desire to bring life back to the Rail Yards, and inspired to make our community a more vibrant one, volunteers from all walks of life spend their week planning, meeting and working together to make the RYM the wonderful nexus of our city that it has become. On Sunday mornings, we gather at 6:00 am, look each other in the eye and face-down a 11 hour day together! If that is not Love, then I don’t know what is!

Native Health Initiative

The Native Health Initiative (NHI) is a love-funded, love inspired organization dedicated to addressing health inequities through “Loving Service (a human-to-human element of wanting to serve others, volunteerism).”

NHI“Today is a day to celebrate the work in NM that is love-funded, love-inspired, and which uses love as a framework for healing our world and communities. We feel that money/grants/power, etc. lack the transformative power that love holds to address the injustices we find in our state and world. We want to inspire and encourage you today to see the beauty and power that love has to heal our world, hoping that by us celebrating love today we will begin to find new ways tomorrow and beyond to orient our work likewise!”

Love Inspired Community Groups

“A day to celebrate the work in NM that is love-funded, love-inspired, and which uses love as a framework for healing our world and communities. We want to inspire and encourage you to see the beauty and power that love has to heal our world, hoping that by celebrating love we will begin to find new ways to orient our work likewise!

*Read more of my articles here

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Alex Paramo Community Publishing

Alex Paramo

Alex Paramo is a native New Yorker of Colombian descent. He is an Author and Co-Founder of Community Publishing. He currently resides in Albuquerque, NM. Read More about him here. Community Publishing brings local artists of all mediums together in creative collaborations for distribution as Multimedia Books while promoting literacy in our communities.

We are proud to be a community partner and digital marketer at the Rail Yards Market and the Monte Vista Fire Station. Need help with your web presence and social media marketing? Click here to find out how we can help you! 
Community Publishing: From the Community For the Community

 

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Local Produce and the Benefits to our Community

Published by communitypublishingabq@gmail.com on June 7, 2015 Respond

We live in a fast-paced society where moments of contemplation do not arrive with much facilitation. We eat but do we know where our food comes from or how it was produced? From produce to production, most of are clueless to the process and many are not privy to the important role our local food growers play to the health of our city, environment and for the benefit of our planet!

Celebrating our local Growers!

For Growers Day we have Osuna Nursery’s in our STEAM Zone,
Osuna Nursery’s Operation’s Manager, Jessyca, will be demonstrating how to plant and grow herb & perennial plants, she will also be available for questions in-between demo’s.

Albuquerque Public Arts ProgramIn our Children’s Zone Rachel Harris-Huffman from the Public Art Department will be offer make-and-take art projects and coloring based on pieces in the Public Art Collection, and will have a display including a number of works from the collection. The City of Albuquerque Public Art Program is dedicated to inspiring the human spirit throughout our community. Built on the foundation of two City Ordinances, the Public Art Program provides the public with arts and cultural information and services, and Works of Art which result from common goals developed by City government and the community – reflecting the diverse spectrum of beliefs, cultural heritage and traditions, and artistic expressions in Albuquerque.

Our entertainment lineup is anchored by legendary New Mexico band Felix y los Gatos! Find our complete entertainment schedule by clicking here: 

Local Food is Just Better!

According to a recent report roughly 3% of the food produced in New Mexico is used to feed New Mexicans. The benefits of shopping from yours local farmers are many: Local food is better for you, Local food is safe, Local food supports local families, Local food builds community, Local food benefits the environment and wildlife, Local food is an investment in the future! Read further into these benefits and learn more about other benefits by clicking here.
See you Sunday!
*****
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Alex Paramo Community Publishing

Alex Paramo

Alex Paramo is originally from NYC and is of Colombian Ancestry He is an Author, Co-Founder of Community Publishing and Marketing Coordinator at the Rail Yards Market in Albuquerque, N.M.

Community Publishing brings local artists of all mediums together in creative collaborations for distribution as multimedia eBooks while promoting literacy in our communities. #JoinOurCommunity at http://communitypublishing.org We are proud to be a community partner in the Rail Yards Market.

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How to Build a Community in Less than 2 Weeks

Published by communitypublishingabq@gmail.com on May 29, 2015 Respond

By Alex Paramo

*Originally published in April 2014

There are less than 2 weeks until the grand opening (May 4) of the Rail Yards Market and everyone involved is ramping up their efforts, doing their part, to make it the overwhelming success it is going to be.

But Why? What drives our desire to belong to a community?

Belonging

Humanist psychologist Abraham Maslow developed the concept of a “hierarchy of needs” in his 1943 book, Motivation and Personality. This hierarchy suggests that people are motivated to fulfill basic needs before moving on to other, more advanced needs. One of those needs is the need to belong which gives us a sense that we belong, we matter, we contribute. 

Are there measurable benefits?

Community

In 1986, social psychologists McMillan & Chavis formed the theory that has become the most widely accepted understanding of how communities work and why. They called this theory, “A Sense of Community.” A community of people thrives because it is based upon care. Community members care about each others well being because they know that each individual is essential for the survival of the whole.

Beyond the personal, communities foster:

  • Greater participation in civic responsibilities thereby enhancing our democracy
  • An increase in shopping local which benefits the local economy
  • Giving a louder voice to group concerns brings important issues the attention they warrant

How do we build a community?

NM Musician Keith Sanchez

Artist Ana Romero Sanchez and Musician Keith Sanchez

One person at a time. At the Rail Yards Market committee meetings, we are encouraged to bring people with us. Whoever might be interested in participating, whether they are established artists/musicians or someone that only has time to give, all are welcome: every contribution is appreciated.

Update

Thanks to your help the 2014 season was a rousing success! We welcomed over 120,000 people, and vendors generated over $450,000 in business all with the help of over 16,000 volunteer hours! Our amazing story continues in 2015 and we welcome your help with open arms! If you are interested in volunteering, donating, partnering, sponsoring, educating, or participating in any way please visit our website for more info: http://railyardsmarket.org

Building Community

Anything you can contribute is greatly appreciated and goes a long way toward revitalizing our community!

*Cover Illustration by John Barney. All rights reserved.
*****
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Alex Paramo Community Publishing

Alex Paramo

Alex Paramo is originally from NYC and is of Colombian Ancestry He is an Author, Co-Founder of Community Publishing and Marketing Coordinator at the Rail Yards Market in Albuquerque, N.M.

Community Publishing brings local artists of all mediums together in creative collaborations for distribution as multimedia eBooks while promoting literacy in our communities. #JoinOurCommunity at http://communitypublishing.org We are proud to be a community partner in the Rail Yards Market.

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Full Steam Ahead at the Rail Yards Market!

Published by communitypublishingabq@gmail.com on May 2, 2015 Respond

By Alex Paramo

The Rail Yards Market is back and better than ever. Opening Day 2015 is Sunday May, 3rd (fb event page)! Still free to attend and enjoy the wonderful sights, sounds and aromas emanating from the Blacksmiths Shop in Barelas NM (777 1st Street). This season they are focused on diversifying their offerings and increasing their outreach to the community. They will be welcoming back  some old friends and giving the All Aboard to many new ones!

More Vendors

gauchito catering

Gauchito Catering

This season they have expanded their vendor number and offerings from roughly 65 in 2014 to close to 100 this year. Among the familiar food folks are: Santa Fe Honey Salon, Senor Tortas and Gauchito Catering! New food folks include: Street Food Asia, and Maggies Micro Greens.

Returning artists/artisans include: Sean Wells, the 111 Media Collective and Ozzyana Felix. New artists/artisans include: High Desert Flame Works, Meltdown Studio  and Spindle and Sparrow.

Arts/Education

jane malone

Courtesy of Jane Malone

The Children’s Zone promises to rock the socks off of the small feet of your little ones! Leading our Cinco de Mayo celebration is Copper Enamel Artists David Snow, who will be leading the kids in Maraca making. Bring your kiddo-artists to craft an amazing instrument from recycled materials!

In the Art Zone, Jane Malone will be demoing her Dia de los Muertos inspired art to one and all. Jane is native to Albuquerque, New Mexico, and as such she has been steeped in the art and culture of the Southwest. She earned my degree at The Art Center Design College (back when it was still AC/DC), specializing in graphic design and illustration.

“My illustrations are done in inks and resin on canvas. They’re all handmade and one-of-a-kind originals. I will use any media, but I have a special love for inks. I use Sharpie, Bic, Marks-A-Lot, Speed ball and India, as well as mixing a lot of my own pigments. The resin is an aqueous resin with a UV protectant, as I’m always trying to keep the original ‘wet’ ink sheen. To set the resin I use a blow torch, so all of the pieces are tested-by-fire before they’re cured. It’s a beautiful way to bring the bubbles out of resin, and I get to use a blow torch.”

Entertainment

Continuing with their theme, entertainers include singers, dancers and musicians:

Please click here for ABQ Guitar Lessons very own Jacob Reinhardt’s “The Rail Yards Notes” article for more in-depth coverage and a multimedia sample of the Entertainers for this week!

Community

With the goal of increasing diversity and reaching out into the community/neighborhood(s) they have brought on board a Community Outreach Coordinator to communicate more closely with the surrounding neighborhoods residents and the city at-large. If you are interested in volunteering please contact them at RYMvolunteers@gmail.com

holding handsThe RYM will be accepting WIC/SNAP and participating in the Double-Up Food bucks program. If you are interested in participating as a vendor/partner/sponsor at the RYM please click here.

The Rail Yards Market is more than just a market. Their responsibility is to you all, residents of Albuquerque and beyond. The community helped us get started and keep it going. Together a more vibrant place to work and play in. See you Sunday. All Aboard!
*****
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Alex Paramo Community Publishing

Alex Paramo

Alex Paramo is an Author and Co-Founder of Community Publishing. Community Publishing brings local artists of all mediums together in creative collaborations for distribution as Multimedia Books while promoting literacy in our communities.

We are proud to be a community partner at Rail Yards Market. #JoinOurCommunity at http://communitypublishing.org

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Rail Yards Market 2015

Published by communitypublishingabq@gmail.com on April 9, 2015 Respond

 

By Alex ParamoRYMheader_2015

Authors Note:
My involvement with the Rail Yards Market began early last year when my publishing company, Community Publishing, was called upon to program the Kids Zone at the RYM. Along with co-founder Yvette Sandoval, artist Vanessa Martinez and artist/educator Stephanie Galloway, we were able to provide educational programming for the first months of the 2014 season. 

The RYM is more than just a farmers market, arts/artisan market or a venue for entertainers or educators. The RYM has the potential to serve as a sanctuary where folks from the community can come enjoy and/or participate in a paradigm shift. A shift that includes the belief that we as a community of people are empowered to change our city, our society a just, equitable place that puts the interests of the people ahead of profit. If we bond together in mutual support we can take the power out of the few and give it back to the many for the benefit of all of us.
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The Rail Yards Market (RYM) is excited to announce that we are back and better than ever! The 2015 market opens on May 3rd and will run most Sundays from 9AM-1PM through October. We aim to continue and improve upon this community-powered movement to stimulate local economic growth in Albuquerque and expose the community to local artists and educators.

Highlights of the 2014 Season

The Albuquerque community really made our inaugural season a rousing success. Due to your support we:

  • Welcomed over 120,000 folks through our doors in 2014
  • Generated over $500,000 in local business revenues
  • Amassed over 16,236 volunteer hours
  • Provided a platform for 730+ vendors & artists
  • Amassed over 11,000 fans on Facebook

Additionally we featured dancers, poets, fortune tellers, bike valet, a FUSION Theatre production of Princess Marisol & the Moon Thieves, high-wire acts, and information from various community health care organizations.

Diversity

NIF

National Institute of Flamenco

Diversity is of paramount importance to us at the RYM. Therefore this season we will be welcoming more vendors on the day of the market and more vendors in total. Artisans and Artist will be rotating to allow for us to give more opportunities to our talented community members. In addition, our Educational Zones will include more community organizations and will be focused toward a specific theme.

While we will be bringing back some favorites from last season like morning exercises, poets, and flamenco dancers, we will also be diversifying our entertainment options. Musically we plan on mixing up the lineups we have to include traditional New Mexican music, Latino and African American music artists, Native American acts as well as music offerings from all around our local community and our international community.

With an eye toward expanding our culinary offerings, we are reaching out to our Asian American restaurateurs. Continuing with the theme of reaching deeper into our community, the RYM is hiring a Community Outreach Coordinator who will be tasked with forging connections and creating alliances with neighborhood groups around the vicinity of the RYM and beyond. Their duties will also include fundraising and the disbursement of our RYM tokens throughout Albuquerque.

3 Things to Look Forward to in 2015

1. More Vendors: we have increased our vendor numbers to roughly 100 every Sunday.
2. WIC & SNAP: we will start accepting WIC (Women, Infants, and Children Supplemental Food Program) as well as SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) funding. Participants can use their SNAP “double up food bucks” at the RYM to buy double the produce for half the price.
3. Monthly Newsletter: we will publishing a monthly newsletter that will contain information and discounts. Be on the lookout for signups shortly!

Participate

Hands

The Rail Yards Market is focused on building a resilient, sustainable local economy that we all love to work and play in. Through food, art, and music, we hope to bring our community together in an atmosphere of fun, learning, and creativity.

We are a community-run, volunteer-powered organization and we always welcome your participation. We are holding Community Forums open to the public where we welcome your input. To volunteer, partner, sponsor or for more info please visit http://railyardsmarket.org today!

This article originally ran in the City of Albuquerque’s AVCB’s website ABQ365.
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Alex Paramo Community Publishing

Alex Paramo

Alex Paramo is an Author and Co-Founder of Community Publishing. Community Publishing brings local artists of all mediums together in creative collaborations for distribution as multimedia eBooks while promoting literacy in our communities.

We are proud to be a community partner and digital programmer at Rail Yards Market. #JoinOurCommunity at http://communitypublishing.org

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Building a Sustainable Environment at the Rail Yards Market

Published by communitypublishingabq@gmail.com on August 2, 2014 Respond

By Alex Paramo

Alex Paramo Community Publishing

Alex Paramo

Serious conversation regarding the gradual degradation of our environment no longer centers around ‘if’ but ‘when’ or in other words, ‘how long.’ How long do we have until our planet can no longer sustain our species, Homo Sapiens-Sapiens. How long can the planet sustain the damage that we have done to it and still provide us with the gift of life? At the Rail Yards Market we have discussed and implemented some eco-friendly initiatives with the goal of sustainability at their core.

Getting Rid of the Bottleneck

Osceola EnergyOne such initiative is the move from bottled water to having a water refill station using compostable cups! For one dollar, visitors get a cup and they are entitled to unlimited refills. We are also excited to announce that the forward-thinking folks at Osceola Energy are powering our main stage using  solar energy! Osceola Energy is a local company specializing in Electrical Contracting and Renewable Energy Systems.

Educational Zones

SustainabilityAt our Sustainability Zone we welcome the NM Watershed Resources Network. The NM Watershed Resources Network is a “coalition promoting sustainable solutions for communities through green infrastructure and watershed restoration.”

The Children’s Zone features the irreplaceable Artist/Musician/Educator Stephanie Galloway leading the kiddos in hat-making using Newspapers, feathers and other craft supplies.

At the Live Arts Zone is proud to present a native New Mexican Artist, Deana McGuffin www.mcguffinboots.com, for an all day set on August 3rd! Deana has been making custom cowboy boots for 25 years. Deana’s grandfather, C. C. McGuffin, was 27 when he left Texas to set up his own boot shop in the Roswell, New Mexico courthouse square in 1915. His son L. W., Deana’s father, showed early natural artistic ability that turned him into one of the southwest’s finest and most sought-after leather-craftsmen. Father and daughter have demonstrated their craft at the Smithsonian, at New Mexico Folklife Festivals, at the University of Wyoming Art Museum in Laramie, the Gathering of Gear in Elk, Nevada, and were featured in the “Sole Mates” exhibit at the New Mexico Museum of Art in Santa Fe in 2010. Join us on Sunday to see how the best of the best gets those Boots a Walkin’!

Entertainment

As usual we present Albuquerque’s top Poets, Musicians, and Entertainers on both our Community and Main Stage. This Sunday at 2pm we are excited to present the world-renowned dancers from the National Institute of Flamenco on our Main Stage. Full schedule can be found by clicking here. 

As part of our commitment to the local economy and our community at-large, we will have our usual variety of food, vendors and growers to choose from with a mix of some new folks!

At the Rail Yards Market we know that our efforts alone cannot begin to address the critical condition of our environment. Our aim is to help educate our community to work together to promote a sustainable city that can serve as a model for communities around the country. See you Sunday!

Alex Paramo is an Author and Co-Founder of Community Publishing. Community Publishing brings local artists of all mediums together in creative collaborations for distribution as multimedia eBooks while promoting literacy in our communities.

We are proud to be a community partner and digital marketer at the Rail Yards Market.#JoinOurCommunity at http://communitypublishing.org

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Fundraiser for the Rail Yards Market

Published by communitypublishingabq@gmail.com on July 10, 2014 Respond

Fundraiser

The Rail Yards Market (RYM) is a Sunday market (9 am to 3 pm) that occurs in the Barelas neighborhood of Albuquerque, NM. It is a community powered event that occurs due to the incredible effort from a team of volunteers. Community Publishing is proud to serve as the Marketers for the RYM!

Fundraiser In the Spirit of Giving

Giving is at the very core of the RYM. The RYM provides economic opportunities for local growers and vendors, educational opportunities for the community, a platform to showcase their arts for local artist of all mediums. In the spirit of giving, Raven & the Sweet Potato Pie Band is having a fundraiser tonight (July 10) 6-9 pm at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. The band is a wonderful mix of blues, soul, and rock. Join our community, see you there tonight!

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Celebrating Inter-Dependence Day

Published by communitypublishingabq@gmail.com on July 5, 2014 1

Each time this year, as parades and fireworks fill our 4th of July celebrations, we celebrate
America’s birth as a nation. However, the Rail Yards Market (RYM) would like our community to consider celebrating this holiday by considering our Inter-dependence on each other and appreciate the holistic nature of our community, society and world.

Interdependence

One Market, One Community, One World, One Love

Lets think of how we treat other, how we treat the earth and natural resources, how nations interact with one another with the the realization that we are all connected. Think of how we can celebrate our freedom as a nation through working to improve our communities, our state, and other parts of the world, knowing that if they suffer, we suffer as well. Let’s celebrate knowing that we can all prosper together as a global community, a society and an interconnected community here in Albuquerque at the Rail Yards Market.

Inter-Dependence Day at the RYM

SUVARail Yards Market Live Art Zone sends a warm welcome out to the Southwest University of Visual Arts (SUVA)’s Junior student Torri Lester joining us on Sunday, July 6th, for our Market Day of Learning, Inspiration and the Live Demo Beauty of Oil Paints meeting the Canvas. RYM is proud to kick off our Suva Sponsorship presence with the artistic talents of Ms. Lester. Let yourself flow with us at RYM and the Spark of Creation that reflects our Interdependent ways of living. See you there!!!
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The programming below is not affiliated with SUVA

Giving with Joel DavisAt the Pop-Up Art Zone we will be featuring the art of Joel Davis. “A re-­‐occurring theme in my work is the duality that occurs within nature and Society. I feel that everything we perceive and interact with contains opposing Truths. Using predominantly recycled materials such as Tile, Stone, Steel, Trash, And reclaimed wood, I attempt to create work that shows alternative perspectives To Social, Political, and Environmental issues. The other side of my creative process is just simply making an effort to create Art out of materials others have discarded. Often the found object Suggests the finished piece.”

RYM_NMARB.jpg

The Children’s Zone is bringing in Keith Sanchez, internationally recognized singer-songwriter, who will be giving free lessons to the kiddos! Bring your own guitar and meet Keith at the Community Stage at 10!! Keith is the founder and lead instructor at the New Mexico Academy of Rock & Blues. Spots still available for their summer camp, please visit their website (http://www.nmarb.com) for more info. Keith is also an educator, has worked on movie and theatrical scores and is a creative collaborator at Community Publishing. 

NM OrganicsThe Sustainability Zone brings the everyday chemical-free products of NM Organics! “We are a local small company focused on our lead product No Mo B.O pit cream! This is a natural deodorant made from organic products that contains no aluminum. Most deodorant has aluminum as the main ingredient as anti-perspirant. We also make a natural cleaner, laundry soap,lip balm and some other hand made products. We love to keep our family safe and want to do the same for you.” We welcome NM Organics into our RYM community!

PETriotic Animal Adoption

PETriotic Event

Attention Rail Yards Market community and animal lovers everywhere, on Sunday, July 6, we are hosting Animal Humane New Mexico for a PET-riotic Adoption Event! In partnership with Albuquerque Animal Welfare and ASPCA, they are bringing lots of adoptable dogs & kittens that are looking for homes! Kiss 97.3 will be broadcasting live. Come on down this Sunday and find your new best friend! Please share to help spread the word and find these animals a loving new home.

Fundraising at the RYM

Raven & the Sweet Potato Band will be hosting a fundraiser for us at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center on Thursday July 10 (6 pm-10 pm). Additionally, they will be performing this Sunday at the market! Tickets for the fundraiser will be available at the Information Booth at the market & by emailing railyardsmarket@gmail.com Local musicians supporting our local market: Whats your #LocalMotive

More Entertainment

As usual we will have our usual slew of entertainers, poets, and talented folks including but not limited to: Andean Flutes, Angelo Maresco, Dakari, and Georgio O’Neil,  For the complete schedule please click here

Inter-Dependence Day

As a global society moving toward an uncertain future, we can gain comfort in knowing that together we can overcome any obstacles and climb any mountains. Let us take this holiday to celebrate Inter-dependence, and then to act according to the timeless dictum: Unus pro omnibus, omnes pro uno – One for all and all for one!
See You Sunday!!

Alex Paramo is an Author and Co-Founder of Community Publishing. Community Publishing brings local artists of all mediums together in creative collaborations for distribution as multimedia eBooks while promoting literacy in our communities.

We are proud to be a community partner and digital marketer at the Rail Yards Market.
#JoinOurCommunity at http://communitypublishing.org

Thank you to contributing writers: Anthony Fleg of the Native Health Initiative and independent Healing Artist April Parrish

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