Charlotte Jusinski
Goats are the GOAT
These human and animal kids are the Greatest Of All Time
We are grown adults, but get us anywhere near KidFest and we will straight-up dash to the front of a line of toddlers to be first to feed some baby goats.
Camino de Paz School and Farm,
located just west of Española, hosts the springtime celebration of its new
generation of goats each year to invite the public not only to pet the cutest
creatures ever, but to learn about the school and its mission.
The 20 or so students, mostly from Santa Fe and Rio Arriba counties, help run the school’s dairy, which produces cheese and milk that they then sell at the farmers market. The students know all the goats by name (there are nearly 70 new four-legged kids this year), and while the male goats are raised for meat, one visit to the farm confirms that these creatures live the happiest life that livestock could ask for.
Patricia Pantano, education director at the Montessori school, tells SFR, “We understand that kids from the ages of 12 to 15 really need to be working with their whole personality, their body and their mind, and that hands-on experiential learning is most helpful in early adolescence. The farm becomes a living laboratory, so they can apply what they’re learning in a real way, and make a contribution to the community. … It’s a big boost for their confidence.”
A couple tips: Get ready to get a little dusty and perhaps a little hairy, because the floppy goats love to be held. And bring cash. While this event is
inexpensive, it is indeed a fundraiser, so be prepared to shell out for modestly priced ice cream, food, baby bottles for the kids and carriage rides. (And carpool! Parking is limited.)
And if a particular nameless SFR staffer shoves you out of the way, don’t take it personally. We (I) just really love goats.
(Charlotte Jusinski)
11 am-3 pm Sunday March 31. Free; parking $3 per car.
Camino de Paz School and Farm,
03A Camino de Paz, Santa Cruz,
231-2819
In a Flash
Ministry of Information Photo Division
Kurt Vonnegut famously recounted a bombed-out WWII Dresden as looking like the surface of the moon in 1969's Slaughterhouse-Five. Indeed, the toll of the war's bombings is honestly unknowable, but for lecturer John Gardner, we might catch a glimpse into some of its terror. Gardner was a schoolboy growing up in Birmingham, England, between 1939 and 1945, and now, in his talk "A Boyhood in the Blitz," he leads participants on an illustrated guide of the carnage, destruction and, ultimately, the hope. Presented by the Renesan Institute, Gardner's lecture also covers his exodus to America, where he worked as a writer and director for Sandia Labs in Albuquerque. (ADV)
1 pm Thursday March 28. $15.
St. John's United Methodist Church,
1200 Old Pecos Trail,
982-5397.
New Gallery Alert
Courtesy Ylise Kessler Gallery
"I've worked for other people and I've done my own thing, but what I miss about being a private art dealer is just talking to people," Ylise Kessler says. The arts champ kicks off a new gallery space, aptly dubbed Ylise Kessler Gallery, on Montezuma Avenue this week. There, you'll find an inaugural show of all New Mexico artists, though in a diverse array of mediums—and, when we spoke with Kessler, she was in New York City scouting another batch of artists to potentially import to the new venue. "The Santa Fe gallery is going to be my hub," she tells SFR, "but … I'm also thinking of traveling, doing pop-up shows, having an online presence; salons, where instead of being talked at about art, we talk together." Color us intrigued. (ADV)
Ylise Kessler Gallery Inaugural Exhibit:
5 pm Friday March 29. Free.
Ylise Kessler Gallery,
333 Montezuma Ave.,
930-1039
Chacko-Tastic
Anne Stavely
We really dig on musician Jacob Chacko's band Cult Tourist, so when he announced he'd be branching off into the solo realm (quietly, to us, at a different concert), we knew we needed to know more. But how can we learn when nothing exists yet? We can't, but it's worth checking out on reputation alone. Chacko's an introspective type, musically, but a sharer as well; a bit of a weirdo with high-feeling lyrics and an indie-rock bent that feels more like generosity than emotional vampirism. Of course, that's really just what we know of him from Cult Tourist. Either way, we're excited to check his new jams and feels, because it feels like months of waiting have all come to this. He probably didn't know we cared so much. Sorry if we freaked you out, Chacko. Cult Tourist cohort Will Schreitz performs as well. (ADV)
8:30 pm Saturday March 30. Free.
Desert Dogs Brewery and Cidery,
112 W San Francisco St.,
983-0134.
