Alex De Vore
If you've been down the the Railyard in the last however- long, you've gotta admit that things are looking up for the wide-open community space—and we're talkin' about the park, too. Featuring anything from live music, arts festivals, the Farmers Market, yoga and free movies to private events, SFR parties and more, what was once a super-terrifying tetanus-threatening dirt alleyway has grown into a community institution. And at the heart of all things Railyard and all things good is Director of Events and Marketing Sandy Brice. In fact, if you've seen, bought or experienced something in the Railyard, you can pretty much thank Sandy for engaging with the community, keeping track of a bazillion things and being one of the most community-minded human beings we've ever met. With summer on the horizon, we sat down with Brice to see what's up this year.
So what're you up to day-to-day while so much is going on?
Well, just today I was fielding calls for a party in the park, finishing permitting for concerts, working with a monthly yoga workshop and the branding campaign for our new Wednesday night in the Railyard. The Farmers Market is going to launch a night market starting June 21, which will happily be in conjunction with the return of the Santa Fe Music Alliance's Make Music Santa Fe concert. We just thought it would be nice to get a little bump during the week.
Is there anything else coming up you're particularly excited about?
Where do I even start? Three things leap to mind immediately, which are the return of the Bike 'n' Brew fest on May 19 and 20. The wonderful new organization and market called SEEDS will be a wonderful three-day Indigenous arts market, and [the organizers] are really remarkable women. We're also thrilled that AMP Concerts was awarded that Levitt grant and will have a more regular schedule every Saturday night. And those are just the highlights. There's also the Currents festival. ... I have a hard time picking favorites because they're all so great now.
So you're saying there's more going on this year than ever?
Oh yeah. We've got 11 concerts and several one-offs; the AHA Festival is scheduled for September. There's [Ukrainian eclectic folk band] DakhaBrakha. Ian Moore is coming. There's Surfer Blood and the Oasis Fest with teen bands. El Ten Eleven is coming too, and we're working with the Railyard tenants to turn all their lights off during that show and there will be a video projection happening at the same time. And just because I have the plaza booked doesn't mean the park isn't available for events. It's that amazing that a lot of people don't realize that's part of the Railyard? We have the same fees and same permitting, same rules as every other city park, it's just that you give me a call instead of the city. It's so great that we're at that point of support; we can program the whole season with confidence.
