Scenes from the 2024 Mountainair Jubilee
Despite the storm and flooding that curtailed the celebration, the Mountainair Jubilee on June 28th and 29th, 2024, was a success, with a high visitor turnout.
Friday Night Dance with Daniel Solis and B&X Sound
The Friday Night Dance with Daniel Solis and B&X Sound - Todd Brogowski/Mountainair Dispatch
Just as last year, Daniel Solis and his band performed cover songs. Most of the audience enjoyed the show from the folding tables bookended by food trucks. This year, seven food trucks participated in the Friday Night Dance: Red Wagon Coffee, Vaquero Kettle Corn, Game Changer Grill, Twisted T's, Brianna's Sweets, Phat Katz, and Ortiz Jerky of Socorro.
The Friday Night Dance with Daniel Solis and B&X Sound - Todd Brogowski/Mountainair Dispatch
Small groups of dancers came up near the stage to enjoy a few turns on the asphalt dance floor. Teenagers spent the evening near the gazebo in Monte Alto Plaza. Three Torrance County Sheriff's Office deputies patrolled the event on foot.
Saturday Morning Parade and Flyover
The pre-flight briefing for the parade flyover - Todd Brogowski/Mountainair Dispatch
The pilots - there were five of them, Jeff Johnston, Harv Martens, John Lorenz, Clay Phillips, and Ken Summers (accompanied by his wife Gail) - parked on the south end of the rough dirt of the Mountainair Municipal Airport as they reviewed their flight plan and what pilots should do if they fell out of formation. Then, they were off. The lightweight airplanes took short transits down the runway before popping up overhead and banking to make their way to the Jubilee parade route.
Departing for the Parade Flyover - Todd Brogowski/Mountainair Dispatch
As the pilots flew up to the parade route from the south, classic cars and first responder vehicles made their way east along US-60. Parade participants threw candy out to the children in the crowd. Nearby, the Friends of Mountainair Animal Shelter held a yard sale opposite Mountainair Elementary School.
Classic cars mixed with modern motorcycles and trucks during the parade; some of the candy foragers followed the parade vehicles, scooping up what kids left behind; political candidates used the parade to display slogans to the audience; and a line of US Forest Service vehicles and wildland firefighters closed out the event - Todd Brogowski/Mountainair Dispatch
The Uncooperative Weather
Just before the start of the fireworks, the National Weather Service warned of impending flash flooding. Fat drops of rain were beginning to fall as the Town of Mountainair announced on Facebook that it would postpone its fireworks show.
Flooding on NM-55; Acoma Street washed out; NM-41 submerged the day after the torrential rains. - Todd Brogowski/Mountainair Dispatch
By the late evening, flooding had cut off the western outskirts of Mountainair from the rest of the town. Mountainair's Fire and EMS Department and Mountainair Public Works rescued people stuck in the flooding. The flooding was less severe in Willard and Estancia, although it submerged NM-41. The town rescheduled the previously canceled fireworks for that Sunday evening.