Twenty-five Years of the Sunflower Festival
This year will mark the 25th year of Mountainair’s Sunflower Festival. Anne Ravenstone, one of the organizers of the Sunflower Festival for the Manzano Mountain Art Council, looked back to 1998 and that first Sunflower Festival. “In the beginning, there was a Sunflower Hat Contest,” Ravenstone explained, “with local artist booths inside the Dr. Saul Center. You know, it was a small, local festival with a few galleries in town having special events.” (The Sunflower Festival took two years off for the pandemic.)
Within a few years, Ravenstone said, public interest in the festival grew, and vendors started coming to the Sunflower Festival from all over the state. “There was a juried art show of artists inside the Dr. Saul center,” Ravenstone said, “and bands were added to help celebrate the day. Local poet Dale Harris organized the annual Poets’ and Writers’ Picnic at the Shaffer Hotel.”
During the first 15 years of the Sunflower Festival, Ravenstone explained, the event was held at the Dr. Saul Center. MMAC members were giving hundreds of hours of volunteer work. Ravenstone recalled that she worked with organizers like Karen Smith, Mary Schultz, Dianne Doan, and Nancy Stone. Volunteers beyond MMAC were also involved. Students at the Mountainair Elementary School created sunflower art to decorate local businesses. The Town of Mountainair municipal government joined as a partner of the Sunflower Festival, managing stage and tent set-up, along with the free use of the Dr. Saul Center.
“At first, it was only locals - area residents - who were attending,” Ravenstone said, “but the number of attendees grew to the point where more space was needed. Food vendors needed area to set up, and art vendors wanted to be away from the generators and the smoke. Patrons needed a place to sit and eat. So, the event was moved to Monte Alto Plaza and Mustang Square.”
Ravenstone described the expanding footprint of the Sunflower Festival by explaining that the town blocked off the area in front of the Shaffer Hotel for bands and the wine and beer garden. “[It had become] a full-blown statewide festival requiring lots of planning and attention to make things fun, smooth-running, and safe.”
When asked whether the event was a successful fundraiser, Ravenstone remarked that, “It has never been a fundraiser. In most years, early on, MMAC lost money on it. It still is pretty much a break-even affair. No volunteers are paid and all profits go to the musicians, marketing that gets the crowds to come... and to port-a-potties.” Ravenstone chuckled, “There’s more of those every year.”
According to Ravenstone, most local businesses describe the Sunflower Festival as their best day of the year for sales. She stated that MMAC believed that everyone who attends the festival leaves knowing that Mountainair is a great town to visit. “This year,” Ravenstone said, “We’ve added Ace the miniature donkey and the Mustang Club Car Show will be in the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument parking lot.” Ravenstone said MMAC was grateful to all the people over the last 25 years who had made the Sunflower Festival a great event for the community.