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Thursday, October 11, 2007

Annual Fiesta Celebrates the Bean

By Laura Nesbitt
Mountain View Telegraph
    The annual Moriarty Pinto Bean Fiesta returns— bigger than ever— on Saturday at Moriarty City Park.
    More vendors have signed up this year, and many more inquiries have been made about the festival, said Debbie Ortiz, executive director of the Moriarty Chamber of Commerce.
    The festival, marking its 21st year, began in celebration of the pinto bean.
    "Estancia Valley was known as the pinto bean capital of the world in the 1940s," said Don Schwebach, who has been growing pinto beans in the valley since the 1970s.
    Dean Schwebach, Don's son and owner of Schwebach Farms, said his farmer's market just sold out of pinto beans on Saturday.
    "We had a really good season," Schwebach said. "We had a really wet winter and spring ... but one of the hottest, driest summers I can ever recall."
    Some of the events included in the Pinto Bean Fiesta this year:
   

A pancake breakfast from will be held from 7-9 a.m. at the Lions Club building.
   

The Pinto Bean Fun Run starts at 8 a.m., but sign-up begins at 6:30 a.m. To participate, just show up at the Moriarty High School track or pick up a participation form early at the chamber. The entry fee is $25 for 5K and 10K runs and $15 for the one-mile run-walk. Each participant receives a Bean Fiesta T-shirt.
   

The parade begins at 10 a.m. and runs along Old Route 66 from Tillery Chevrolet to just west of Lisa's Truck Stop. Parade entries will be judged. The grand marshals of the parade are former dry-land pinto bean farmers Bill and Mary Rodgers.
    Interested costumed participants can gather in the parade line at 9 a.m. behind Tillery. The theme is "an alien being" or, if you prefer, "an alien bean."
    Events at City Park, including live music, food and vendor booths, run from 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
    Don Chavez and Alma y Corazon will play country-western, Spanish music and oldies from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Then Debra Jean Parker and the Buckerettes play a variety of music like cowboy/cowgirl western and swing from 1-3 p.m.
    More than 60 vendors have signed up, including local businesses Shorty's Bar-B-Q, El Comedor de Anayas and Sierra Blanca Brewing Co. The brewing company will offer root beer floats and nonalcoholic cider, Ortiz said.
    United Blood Services will hold a blood drive from its mobile unit. Donors receive a $5 gift certificate and a free gift. Log on to www.bloodhero.com and enter the code "pinto" to reserve a spot.
    State Police will conduct a DWI awareness campaign, and participants can try to drive a golf cart through an obstacle course while wearing special goggles designed to simulate driving while impaired by alcohol.
    Bennett Amusement Inc. will set up carnival rides for the day south of the park.
    Finally, a benefit rodeo begins at aproximately 12:30 p.m. at the Heritage Rodeo Arena. The rodeo is sponsored by the Moriarty High School Rodeo Club to benefit Sky Chavez, a 17-year-old local bull rider who was seriously injured when a bull stomped on him in Arizona in August.
    Mayor Adan Encinias will induct six youths into the Walls of Fame at the arena. Sky Chavez, Jake Chavez, Lesley Kingston, Jamie Thomas, Rayshell Fulfer and Brittanie Brayman are the six inductees.