Good News Roundup: Fiesta cleanup, families receive passes and Albertsons Market fundraiser for local food pantry

Welcome to the weekly good news roundup, bringing you some of the great “good news” from around New Mexico.

A fanatic cleanup: In preparation for the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, hundreds of volunteers descended upon Balloon Fiesta field on Saturday morning to participate in the city’s largest annual cleanup event. Renamed the “Fiesta Fanatics,” this yearly cleanup effort has been going on for roughly two decades. It gives the community a chance to spruce up the joint before the world visits the Duke City for the 2024 edition of the largest gathering of hot air balloons.

Roughly 300 volunteers cleaned up at the field, and the city partnered with 200 neighborhood association volunteers around the city as well to clean up various areas, according to Megan Holcomb, a marketing specialist with the city’s Solid Waste department. The approximately 500 volunteers in total collected roughly 3.2 tons of trash over the weekend.

“It was really exciting to see that many people come out to help the city and make sure it’s clean not just for the visitors, but for the people who live here as well,” Holcomb said.

A free pass: The city’s Department of Arts and Culture has given 100 Arts & Culture family passes to those staying at the Family Gateway (formerly known as the Family Housing Navigation Center). The passes are good for the BioPark, Albuquerque Museum and the Balloon Museum.

“This is a chance for families on the journey to stable housing to create unforgettable memories at our beautiful BioPark and museums,” Mayor Tim Keller said. “Families navigating housing challenges deserve to have more moments of joy with their kids.”

Supporting the Storehouse: Throughout October, Albertsons Market stores in Albuquerque, Rio Rancho and Los Lunas will be running a donate-at-the-register campaign, during which proceeds will go to The Storehouse New Mexico, one of the state’s largest food pantries which feeds over 55,000 people annually. Shoppers will be able to add any dollar amount on top of their grocery bill at checkout as a donation. To kick off the drive, Albertsons Market and Storehouse New Mexico representatives will hold a ribbon-cutting at the 1625 Rio Bravo Blvd SW store on Tuesday at 10 a.m.

Got some good news of your own? Please don’t be shy. It’s time to brag about some of the good things in Albuquerque and beyond. You can email your good news ideas to goodnews@abqjournal.com.

Gino Gutierrez is the good news reporter at the Albuquerque Journal.