Zozobra's centennial still months away, but preparations are heating up

Apr. 13—Move over, Taylor Swift: The hottest event in Santa Fe this year is the 100th burning of Zozobra.

While the event is not selling out quite as quickly as Swift's Eras Tour, as of Friday, 59% of general admission tickets for the Aug. 30 celebration were sold, and premium tickets were gone.

"This is one hot ticket, and they're going fast," said Ray Sandoval, who organizes the annual burning of Old Man Gloom for the Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe.

Admission will be capped at 65,000 for security reasons, Sandoval said.

Along with its usual practice of keeping admission free for kids 10 and under, the Kiwanis Club is working with Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to set aside 5,000 free tickets this year for people who might not otherwise be able to afford to attend.

Sandoval said Lujan Grisham, who grew up in Santa Fe not far from Fort Marcy Park, had reached out to the Kiwanis Club last year to ask what it was doing to ensure families are able to attend.

"She really pushed us to come up with an idea," he said.

The club is also looking into broadcasting and simulcasting the event with KOAT-TV.

"The whole idea was that everybody should be able to participate," Sandoval said. "We want our expatriates and those who just could never walk to the field to be able to feel like they're welcome."

Plans are underway for a number of Zozobra-themed offerings in celebration of the centennial burning, including a Zozobra statue that will be coming to the Santa Fe Community Convention Center in late July or early August.

The Santa Fe Arts Commission unanimously approved the creation of the statue at its meeting Tuesday. The artwork is expected to cost about $35,000. Of that, $30,000 will come from unanticipated lodgers tax revenue and $5,000 from the Arts Commission.

The statue will be created by Don Kennell, a Santa Fe sculptor responsible for numerous pieces of public art around town, including Green Coyote outside Meow Wolf and the Barn Dog sculpture outside the convention center at the corner of Grant Avenue and South Federal Pace.

The Zozobra statue will stand about 20 feet tall and will be placed next to the convention center's loading dock on Grant Street.

The blue and orange statue will be made out of steel welded to look like fabric, Tourism Santa Fe Executive Director Randy Randall told the Arts Commission, and a system of pulleys and weights will enable Zozobra's arms to move slightly, giving it a marionette-like appearance. It will also have electric eyes that light up at night.

The design initially included a small figure of Zozobra creator Will Shuster pointing up at Zozobra. After conversations with the Kiwanis Club, however, the current plan is to place a plaque next to the statue with a QR code linking to information about Shuster and Zozobra and an augmented-reality image of Shuster. Sandoval said the code will also include a flames effect to make the statue look like it is burning.

Also this past week, the City Council unanimously voted to name the baseball field at Fort Marcy Park "Zozobra Field at Fort Marcy Park."

"I want to make one thing perfectly clear: We are not renaming Fort Marcy," said Councilor Signe Lindell, who sponsored the measure.

Lindell said it was impressive for a volunteer-run event to have continued for so long.

"A hundred-year event is without question a terrific tradition," she said.

The field naming will come with the creation of a monument at the corner of Bishops Lodge Road and Artist Road and a time capsule with portions scheduled to be opened in 25, 50, 75 and 100 years.

The city will be responsible for maintenance of the monument, but the Kiwanis Club will fundraise for its creation and will pay for signs with the park's new name.

Work on the monument likely won't start until next year, Sandoval said.

The council also voted Wednesday to approve a contract for a 135-foot special-shape Zozobra hot-air balloon.

The balloon will be created through a partnership between the Kiwanis Club, the city of Santa Fe and the city of Albuquerque, and it will be used to promote what officials described as a "tourism corridor" between the two cities.

The balloon's design is scheduled to be unveiled by Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber and Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller at a May 20 news conference at Balloon Fiesta Park in Albuquerque.

It will first be inflated the morning of the burning of Zozobra, where tethered balloon rides will be offered to children in the early morning, and it will be flown at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in October.

The city of Santa Fe is paying a total of $275,000 as part of a five-year contract, which is coming from lodgers tax revenue earmarked for tourism purposes.

That includes $125,000 for the current fiscal year, $45,000 next year and $35,000 for the final three years. The city of Albuquerque is contributing $150,000 the first year.

Santa Fe and Albuquerque are both paying the Kiwanis Club licensing fees and will not have ownership of the balloon, which Sandoval said will keep taxpayers from being on the hook for any potential liability issues.

The balloon is also scheduled to be flown at the Red Rock Balloon Rally in Gallup, the Animas Valley Balloon Rally in Durango, Colo., and several other festivals in Texas, Arizona, Colorado and Southern California.

Colorado, Arizona and Texas are the three largest tourism markets for Santa Fe. Sandoval said the Kiwanis Club is selecting locations it hopes will help drive more visitors to Santa Fe.

He noted the balloon has already received an invitation to make an appearance at a festival in Japan, but that wasn't an expense the club felt could be justified to taxpayers.

"It was extremely intentional that we continue to put Santa Fe out as a leading place for culture and art, and Zozobra's going to be a way to do that," Sandoval said.