Thanks for New Year’s Eve on the Plaza
The Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe appreciates The Santa Fe New Mexican for consistently ensuring that its readers are up to speed on all the historic events that make our state of New Mexico and our capital, Santa Fe, in particular, so special. The New Mexican’s start-to-finish coverage of New Year’s Eve on the Plaza was no exception (“Plaza events to mark end of ‘17, welcome ‘18,” Dec. 31).
With all that in mind, the Kiwanis Club would like to offer a sincere thank you to all the generous sponsors who made the festive and family-friendly third annual New Year’s Eve on the Plaza a record success. The enduring partnerships that the Kiwanis Club enjoys with the city of Santa Fe, Tourism Santa Fe and the Santa Fe Arts Commission make events like New Year’s Eve, Fourth of July and Zozobra a privilege and a pleasure for us to organize and execute.
Special Zozobra-sized thanks go out to the Public Service Company of New Mexico. With its expert assistance in engineering the pole, the Zia rose higher than ever, creating a memorably beautiful spectacle. Even more appreciated is PNM’s continued commitment to community involvement, as the company generously allowed the tireless New Year’s Eve event organizer Ray Sandoval, who is a PNM employee, the time away from the office that he needed to put on such a wonderful show.
Kudos to the city of Santa Fe Parks and Recreation Department, which made sure that the Plaza was dressed to the nines for the event, and then stayed to clean, long after the last reveler left.
The powerhouse Meow Wolf arts collective burnished its amazing philanthropic reputation with much-needed financial support, as did the Santa Fe Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce. The Five and Dime General Store generously sponsored the musicians who performed to the crowd’s delight, and AE Productions in Albuquerque ensured that the evening was professionally produced. The hot chocolate truck was a big hit, thanks to the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Local 480, Rivera Family Funeral Home and Cremations, Pristina Water, and the beautiful piñon bonfires that warmed the Plaza and made it glow were courtesy of Rios Wood Yard.
Much-appreciated publicity came from Hutton Broadcasting, KSWV Que Suave Radio and The Santa Fe New Mexican. Both Century Bank and the State Employees Credit Union offered generous financial support, and Phoenix Security Systems was there with physical support to ensure that everything ran smoothly and safely.
Tourism partners including the Santa Fe Downtown Merchants Association, La Fonda on the Plaza, the Inn at Santa Fe, Heritage Hotels and Resorts, Santa Fe Selection Travel Guide, the Greater Santa Fe Restaurant Association and Tomasita’s all stepped up to the plate. Welldone, Santa Fe, well-done. Until we return with the next big party, Santa Fe’s Fourth of July celebration, the Santa Fe Kiwanis Club wishes all of New Mexico a Prospero Año Nuevo!
Judith Moir is a member of the board of directors of the Downtown Santa Fe Kiwanis Foundation.