By Alex Paramo

Alex Paramo

The benefits of shopping local are well documented and publicized. For example according to the organization Keep It Querque, “Your dollar recirculates 254% more when you spend it with a Local Retailer. When you dine at a Locally Owned Restaurant your dollar recirculates   287% further.”  Therefore a 10% shift would add an additional $179 million to the local economy each year.

Local Motion

The Rail Yards Market (RYM) is committed to promoting local businesses and boosting the local economy by  giving small, locally owned businesses increased exposure both at the RYM and outside of it. Vendors are rotated regularly with the emphasis on keeping the RYM fresh and vibrant and exposing visitors to the amazing locally grown produce, food products, arts and crafts. Local produced items, many using local materials, are often created on the spot while you wait. Click the image on the right for more info.

Education Zones

Live Arts Zone celebrates Shop Local Day on Sunday, August 10th, with two SUVA studentArtists! The Southwest University of Visual Arts will be represented by Samantha Griego, a Sophomore pursuing a BA in Studio Arts; and Carlos Vargas, a Junior pursuing his BA in Graphic design . Samantha will be printing her own T-shirts and bandanas using silk screen printing techniques. Her creations will be offered for purchase to support her mural project here on the SUVA campus. Carlos is an accomplished Graffiti artist and he will be demonstrating those skills live as an inspiration to other young artists who may not realize that Graffiti can be approached and created as an art in its own right. Samantha and Carlos will also be working together in collaboration to create unique Rail Yards Market inspired art-on-the-spot.

At the Sustainable Zone, OffCenter will lead a variety of activities revolving around recycled art projects, and some print-outs about how to do them. OffCenter’s mission is to “promote positive self identity and resilience through art making by providing a safe environment for creative social interaction with an emphasis on enhancing the lives of those most marginalized in our community.”

At the Children’s Zone, über Artist/Musician/Educator Stephanie Galloway is joined by the community group Powerful Parents! “Powerful Parents is a community organization that provides parent education in areas such as child development, communication, behavioral strategies, parent involvement, and collaborating with the community. We strive to find and focus our parent leaders with hopes of building a strong community.”

The Pop-Up Art Gallery is proud to feature the work of Jo Ann Harper. Jo Ann was born in Temple, Texas but raised in Tucson, Arizona. She presently resides in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Jo Ann is a found wood sculptor and an artist of mix-media art; which includes fabric wall-hangings and assemblages of recycled materials. Art has been a very intuitive process for Jo Ann, focusing on nature’s powers of creativity and her innate ability to work with the forces of the materials being used.

On the Community and Main stages we have our usual assortment of Albuquerque’s best poets, dancers, musicians and entertainers and activities including:

• Morning/Creative Movement with Reba: Yoga and stretches for adults and kids alike o
• Latin Dancers that will be featured at the Latin Dance Festival will be performing
• Local band Asliani will be performing their unique style of music

Community Benefits

There are many misconceptions when it comes to shopping local such as having to pay more for goods. These are mostly false. Additionally, your patronage allows for local-shops to keep their prices down. Click image to the left for more info. The benefits of shopping local go far beyond the economic benefits to the consumer and shop-keeper. Benefits such as building personal relationships with your neighbors, building a sustainable environment, building a more intimate community, building a vibrant community of friends and family knowing that your patronage improves the quality of their lives and yours as well. Remember before you decide where you shop, ask yourselves, what’s your Local Motive. See you Sunday!
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Thank you to Keep It Querque for data and graphics! Additional Contributors: April Parrish

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 marketer at the Rail Yards Market.
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