COUNTY NEWS RELEASE
Join Los Alamos County and other partnering organizations on Aug. 11- 13 for exhibits, the Friday Night Concert, the parade, a fair at Ashley Pond Park, Arts & Crafts Fair at Fuller Lodge, the Rodeo at Brewer Arena, and much more!
County Fair exhibits, organized by the NMSU Cooperative Extension office will kick off the weekend with a special needs session for viewing the exhibits on Friday, Aug. 11 at Mesa Public Library, from 4 p.m. – 5 p.m., and will open for the general public from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Then plan to head over to Ashley Pond Park for the Los Alamos Summer Concert Series, featuring Brandon Saiz. The Summer Concert series starts at 6 p.m. with opening acts and runs until 10 p.m.
Saturday morning, Aug. 12 is full of activities starting at 9 a.m. with the festival and fair at Ashley Pond, and the Summer Arts and Crafts Fair, organized by the Los Alamos Arts Council, at Fuller Lodge’s east lawn. Don’t forget to claim your spot on Central Avenue for the Parade, hosted by Los Alamos MainStreet, which starts at 10 a.m.
This year’s Grand Marshal is Kurt Steinhaus. Kurt was born in Los Alamos and graduated high school as a Hilltopper with college scholarships in music. He has a Doctorate, from the University of New Mexico, in Educational Leadership and Organizational Learning. Most recently, Dr. Steinhaus retired as Secretary of Education for the state of New Mexico. Upon retirement, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said: “I am deeply grateful to Secretary Steinhaus for his lifelong and tireless service in pursuit of improving educational outcomes for every New Mexico student. As a seasoned educator, his relationships with districts around the state have enormously benefited the work of the Department. Under his leadership, New Mexico teachers are now the highest paid in the region and educators have more tools to do what they do best – teaching New Mexico Students.” Kurt has been married to retired teacher Jo Beth for 46 years. He is deeply grateful for a lifetime of support and partnership. They are fortunate to have wonderful children and several granddogs. Daughter Valerie is a software engineer at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Their son Kent, married to Katy, is a hydrology engineer and Katy is an electrical engineer.
The Northern New Mexico Royalty Court competition was held in June of this year and judged by the reigning New Mexico State Fair Queen Tonantzín Candelaria, and the former Sandoval County Fair and Rodeo Queen Courtney Gurule. This year’s Royalty Court is Queen Aspen Jaramillo, Jr. Queen Shea Archuleta, and Princess Jewel Jaramillo.
Aspen Jaramillo is a 17-year-old upcoming Senior at Los Alamos High School, who is an active student-athlete, meaning she maintains a 4.0 GPA while competing for the Los Alamos NJROTC Precision Air Rifle Team as well as NJROTC Academic Team. Aspen lives in the Jemez Mountains where she enjoys many activities such as hunting, fishing, and most of all volunteering with the La Cueva Volunteer Fire Department. Aspen is a certified Wildland Firefighter and has just recently finished her first responder EMS class at UNM. After graduation, she hopes to use her volunteer experience to apply for the Los Alamos Fire Department. Aspen would like to think her parents Kevin and Vera Jaramillo and her sister Jewel, for supporting her and everything she does, and above all else she’d like to give all glory to God for being her rock and her inspiration for everything she does. Aspen feels blessed to live in such a beautiful place and proud to live in the greatest nation! Her goal is to keep this beautiful place one nation under God.
Shea Archuleta is the Northern New Mexico Fair and Rodeo Junior Queen. Shea lives in Cebolla, NM with her parents Felix and Tyler Archuleta and brother Trey. She is a Freshman at Escalante High School in Tierra Amarilla. She is an honor student as well as a member of the volleyball, basketball, and track teams. When Shea isn’t practicing her team sports you can find her enjoying the beauty of our Northern New Mexico mountains. She loves riding horses, camping, four-wheeling, snowmobiling, and chasing our beautiful New Mexico sunsets, but her true passion is hunting and helping her dad with his outfitting business. Shea is an all-around cowgirl and not afraid to get a little dirty but really loves all the cowgirl glitz!
Jewel Jaramillo is a 14-year-old incoming Freshman at Los Alamos High School, who plays JV Softball and has recently made the varsity Cheer team. Her parents are Vera and Kevin Jaramillo and her sister is this year’s Royalty Court Queen, Aspen Jaramillo. In the future, Jewel would like to attend cosmetology school, pursue Rodeo and the Queen title, and possibly start a small business. Jewel believes anything is possible with God.
To complete your Saturday, fill the afternoon with the Rodeo starting at 2 p.m. at Brewer Arena on North Mesa and conclude the evening with the Cowboy Dinner and Dance starting at 5p.m. at the Los Alamos Sheriff’s Posse Lodge, also on North Mesa.
Rodeo Weekend continues on Sunday, Aug. 13 starting at 9 a.m. with Stroll the Stables, at the North Mesa Stables. And the Rodeo continues at 1 p.m. Are you tough enough to wear pink? Well, the cowboys who entered the Rodeo on Sunday are wearing pink, so don’t forget to wear your pink for the day to show your support!
Additional information and a schedule of events are available on the Los Alamos County Recreation Programs and Events website, in the Summer Activity Guide, the Los Alamos County Community Services Facebook Page, and flyers at the Los Alamos Summer Concert Series, and various booths over the Fair and Rodeo weekend.