Festival of Cultures draws crowd downtown

Isiah Begay, 11, of Steamboat, Ariz. tastes his cherry snow cone while waiting for Shellie Begay to finish making a second snow cone for him on Saturday morning at the Gallup Culture Day Celebration and Battle of the Bands. [Photo by Matt Hinshaw/Independent]

By Karen Francis
Staff writer

GALLUP — Strong winds throughout the day did not prevent hundreds of people from joining in the annual Festival of Cultures Saturday beginning at noon at the Courthouse Square in downtown Gallup .

The festival was part of the 8th annual Ancient Way Fall Festival, which also includes activities in Grants, El Morro, Ramah and the Zuni Pueblo through next weekend.

The Festival of Cultures is one of Gallup ’s biggest events of the year, where the area’s diverse cultures are featured through exhibits and entertainment. The festival was first held in 2005.

Arts and crafts vendors set up booths as people walked around listening to the music that wafted from the nearby Battle of the Bands contest.

Local bands competed in the contest with fans voting for their favorite by paying $1 a vote. Rolling Tunes delivered the blues while other bands like Foreshadow and Bloodline provided the rock and roll. Country music bands were also a part of the line-up.

Children scurried up the rock climbing wall with ease — undeterred by the winds that whirled about. They were more often than not joined by adults as they made their way to the top of the wall.

The wind carried with it the scent of fry bread and roast mutton sandwiches, which were being sold by nearby vendors.

The handwriting analysis station was one of the more popular exhibits that was available. People lined up to write on a sheet of paper and hear what their handwriting revealed about them.

“It’s great,” Carolyn Herroa said about the festival, the first time she attended it. Herroa, who moved to Gallup 10 weeks ago, was out to familiarize herself with more of what Gallup has to offer.

This was also the first visit to the annual festival for Chris Francis of Gallup, and he enjoyed it so much he said he will probably come back next year.

“It was fun getting my handwriting analyzed,” he said. “I liked the free music. The city of Gallup should sponsor more music events like that.”

John Antonio, the vocalist for the metal band Foreshadow, agreed that the city should sponsor more events like the Festival of Cultures.

“I think we should have more of it,” he said. “It’s a perfect idea. Kids get to know their heritage. Tourists get to see the diversity. I think it’s a good thing.”

Antonio said that the festival was a learning experience for his band and that the city should provide more music events for community members.

“There’s not enough activity going on relating to music,” he said. “I think we can do better. I think we can have something for the people to really just enjoy.”

Foreshadow placed third in the Battle of the Bands, which Antonio said was a surprise.

“We were pretty shocked,” he said. “We got feedback but we didn’t expect to place.”

The activities of the Ancient Way Fall Festival take place in communities near scenic New Mexico Highway 53, a part of the New Mexico Native Heritage Trail that was the traditional route between the Pueblos of Zuni and Acoma and has guided travelers for over a thousand years, according to organizers.