By Laura Nesbitt
Mountain View Telegraph
Many kinds of sunflowers will be out in Mountainair this Saturday during the annual community celebration.
The Mountainair Sunflower Festival will be Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; from noon to 5 p.m. is the 11th annual Poets and Writers Picnic; and beginning this afternoon through Saturday is the Sunflower Poetry Writing Workshop.
"This year, because there's been a lot of rain, tell everybody to be looking for the sunflowers because they're spectacular along the roads," said Mary Schultz who will show the necklaces and earrings she makes from beads collected from various local and exotic locations around the world.
Cibola Art Gallery, a cooperative venture, will feature sunflower images from many of its artists, and many Mountainair store owners will have student art hanging in their windows, Schultz said.
"Visitors can stroll through the historic and charming streets of Mountainair while enjoying the local art, food and music," said Ray Terhorst, president of Manzano Mountain Art Council, which sponsors the event. This is the eighth year for the festival, Terhorst said.
Along with local growers selling fresh vegetables will be food vendors and a chili cook-off with festival attendees as judges.
"Everyone gets a taste and a vote," Terhorst said.
A silent auction with art, free lodging, horseback rides, and a sunflower mosaic are just some of the items to be raffled off, he said.
According to Bert Herrman, who has been with the art council for nine years and is a writer, live entertainment in the town square begins at 10 a.m. with Ten Cats Laughing, a duo who play Americana music. At noon, Amauta, an Andean and world music group takes over. At 2 p.m. the Mountainair Mustang High School band performs along with We Create, a local group that plays folk, jazz, Spanish folk, rock and country.
The sunflower hat contest begins at 2 p.m. with four categories including most beautiful hat, funniest hat, most creative use of sunflowers and best hat by children 12 and under. There will also be "valuable prizes," Herrman said.
The public can also tour Rancho Bonito, just outside town, where Clem "Pop" Shaffer practiced his artwork. Dorothy Cole, past president of the chamber of commerce, will conduct the tours, Herrman said.
The festival will include arts and crafts by local and regional artists, featuring for the fourth year artists from the Santa Fe Spanish Market, Herrman said.
Each year one of these artists creates a sunflower retablo that serves as the festival's logo. This year the logo was created by José Lucero, Herrman said.
More than 35 exhibitors will show their artwork, including Judy Wright with quilts, Celeste Simon with mixed media, Renee Lovato with tinwork, Kathy Baur with original petroglyph prints, and Tomas Wolfe with pottery and mosaic, said Nancy Stone, part of the art council.
"For me it's just fun to see it and have a place where it shows off. The group things are always fun because we work a lot with color and color chemistry. That's my specialty," said Shirley Simmons, an oil painter.
Simmons has been training a group of artists for the past two years called Art Etc. who will show oil and a variety of mediums, pastels and mixed media this weekend.
Featured readers at the picnic are Hakim Bellamy, Gary Brower, Maria Leyba, Lou Liberty, Merimee Moffitt, Connie Rossingol, Miriam Sagan, Charles Usmar, and the Santa Fe Moon Writers poetry writing group. Music is by The Blue Rose Ramblers and LuLu, according to Dale Harris.
For more information about the festival call 847-2205, e-mail mcc@mountainairchamber.com, or check the art council Web site at mountainairarts.org.
For information about the picnic and the workshop, go to poetsandwriterspicnic.blogspot.com or e-mail Harris at poetdale@yahoo.com.
Tuition for the three-day workshop is $125 and does not include meals or lodging, Harris said.
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