Leaping Lemurs Everywhere

 Lemurs, Lemurs Everywhere!  Lemurs have moved into the ABQ BioPark Zoo.  Come see the lemurs during the cool morning hours, and learn about this endangered species.

Lemurs have moved into the ABQ BioPark Zoo. A pair of black and white ruffed lemurs and a pair of blue-eyed black lemurs are now on exhibit near Nightwatch across from Koala Creek. The lemurs are most active in the cooler morning hours. Join us to welcome the lemurs and discover why these mammals are famous world-wide.

The lemurs arrived from the Bronx Zoo in New York in late July and have had several weeks in quarantine, getting to know their keepers and exhibit. These popular primates lived at the Zoo in the past, and animal care staff knew they would be a great fit for the exhibit that opened up when the tree kangaroos moved into Koala Creek earlier this year. The lemurs eat fruits, veggies, greens and a primate biscuit that is specially-formulated to keep them healthy and active.

"The Zoo staff is very excited to work with lemurs again and tell their unique stories to our guests," said Lynn Tupa, Zoo Manager. "Both of these species are endangered in the wild, and we can all do our part to conserve resources and protect their habitat in Madagascar."

Lemurs exist only on the island of Madagascar, off the east coast of Africa. They are vulnerable to deforestation, poaching, and killing for the bush meat trade. Seventeen lemur species are endangered; several others have declining populations.

Although lemurs can walk on four limbs, they prefer to leap, hopping on long hind legs over great distances. Lemurs are an ancient family of primates, with evidence of ancestors dating back 40 million years ago. Long separated from Africa's mainland, the lemurs developed the unique structures and characteristics seen today.

For more information see ABQ Bio Park Zoo.

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Albuquerque Latin Dance Festival

Dance, music and culture are displayed at the Albuquerque Latin Dance Festival.   The main event starts on August 25th with dancing, music, and food at the Plaza Mayor at the National Hispanic Culture Center.  There will also be dance workshops and dance parties so you can participate in the dancing.

This event showcases performances, social dancing to live salsa bands, weekend dance workshops and films and lectures on the subject of Latin music, dance and culture.


 
ABQ LDF 2012 has something for everyone! This 3rd annual Latin dance festival is bigger and better than ever & offers every subset of salsa and Latin dance style for the absolute beginner to advanced dancer during the four night/ three day festival last week in August.

The not-to-miss dance party is the Main Event Saturday night August 25! It is the pinnacle of outdoor events with dancing under the stars on the biggest outdoor dance floor in town. The National Hispanic Cultural Center is host to ABQ LDF 2012 during this Saturday night dance and concert with performances along with food and beverages on their Plaza Mayor at the NHCC. They are host to all three days of workshops and the final two evening dance parties among the many beautiful buildings and plazas on their gorgeous campus.

Timbalive is the featured live music group for Saturday August 25th at NHCC. Full of energy, life and musical brilliance this band and its musicians represent the best of the best. What sets Timbalive apart is not just that this group is one of the most popular Timba/Cuban Salsa bands anywhere in the world... but also the caliber of the music they play. Based in Miami, the group is made up of Cuban musicians who received unsurpassed training in the national Cuban music schools. Timbalive's recent album was nominated for CubaDisco, (the Cuban Grammy Awards) representing the first time a group based outside of Cuba has ever been nominated for such an award!

In order to appreciate Timbalive fully you must see them perform. Their two CDs, “From Miami A La Habana,” and “La Timba pa’to el Mundo” are great in their own right. Indeed tracks from these two recordings can be heard regularly in top salsa clubs from Chicago to Paris and Rome. But while some groups might not sound as good as their recordings, Timbalive outplays their CDs anytime they perform. There is something about the energy of the singers, the flash of the horn line, the syncopation of the percussion, the groove of the bass that is impossible to fully capture until you have seen and heard it for yourself.

The third annual ABQ Latin Dance Festival offers over forty Latin dance workshops such as Salsa, Bachata, Cumbia , Cha Cha, Folklorico, Flamenco, Rueda de Casino, Tango, Samba, and Afro-Cuban dance classes. Classes run from Friday through Sunday from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. each day. These are generally one hour classes geared toward the casual dancer on up through the most challenging curriculum for advanced dancers. There Is something for everyone. Again this year we are offering a three-hour Salsa Boot Camps for ultra beginners who want to learn and get dancing same day.

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Four Corners Metal Fest

This weekend make sure to check out the Four Corners Metal Fest.  Different bands will be playing on two different stages all night long for the low admission price of seven dollars.  The performances start at 5pm at Farmington's Top Deck Nightclub.

On August 19, Farmington’s Top Deck Nightclub presents the Four Corners Metal Fest! The event consists of 12 bands playing on two stages. Bands will play back-to-back, meaning that while one band is on stage performing the other will be getting ready to take the other stage. Each band will play for 30 minutes. Doors for all-ages show open at 4:00 p.m., with the first band taking the stage at 5:00 p.m. Admission is only $7!

Check out this killer roster: Paranormal Slaughter, Haddonfield, Butcher the Sheep, Fatally Dying Within, Cheap Times, Lights on for Safety, Tribus, In My Distress, Creeping Puppets, Until Chaos, Ethnic De Generation, and Crepitus.

 

 

Formed in 2008, Farmington’s Paranormal Slaughter play blackened death metal. The band is currently working on its debut CD, titled Shadows of Darkness. They also happen to run Studio 18, an underground venue based in Farmington that has attracted local, national, and even international talent.

New Mexico’s Butcher the Sheep play a blistering combination of brutal deathcore and grindcore, so bust out the mouth guards when listening to these dudes. Butcher the Sheep are working on securing more and more shows and plan to work on a demo soon.

Shiprock’s Lights on for Safety play a combination of melodic hardcore and pop punk.
Formed in 2001, Tribus play a blistering combination of thrash and death metal. Band influences include Sepultura, Paradise Lost, and Iron Maiden.

Farmington’s In My Distress are inspired by various genres, including metal, djent, progressive, and even hardcore. .

Hailing from Arizona, The Creeping Puppets play metal “that delivers speed, precision, and style influenced by the likes of Metallica, Megadeth, Lamb of God, DevilDriver, and much much more!” The band’s Dead Dog Demo II is out now.

Albuquerque’s Until Chaos play heavy metal laced with Southern-styled rock. play heavy metal laced with Southern-styled rock. They have released an EP titled Together We Rise. The band is currently in the studio recording new music.

Hailing from the Navajo Nation in Arizona and Gallup, New Mexico, Ethnic De Generation play metalcore.

Farmington’s Crepitus play a combination of thrash and death metal. As the band says, “Sickening sounds and morbid fixations play the soundtracks to our lives.”

Farmington’s Top Deck Nightclub is located at 515 East Main Street. Get more info by calling 505-327-7385.

For more information please go to TheExaminer.

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Extreme Trampolining Coming to Albuquerque

Everyone looks for a new way to work out.   Trampoline is a new extreme sport that is coming to Albuquerque this November.  A new park is coming to our city with tons of trampolines for anyone to work out on and try new tricks.  A old business building will be converted into the park with the world class trampolines for everyone to try.

Albuquerque will soon be home to an extreme sports park made up of 10,000 square feet of trampoline.

Gravity Park will be built inside a now-empty office building off of Eagle Rock Road NE. It will soon be bustling with New Mexicans diving, jumping and flying off trampolines.

"These are definitely world-class trampolines," said Zane Hansen of Gravity Park. "They can take a lot, and the bounce on them is quite strong."

The Duke City was selected because there are so many extreme sportsmen and women.

The park will open in November, and each person must sign a liability waiver. 

Read more at KOAT.

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Lobos to Get A New Field

The University of New Mexico Lobo Football Team will be lucky enough to have a brand new football field when their season starts in a month.  The new field will be artificial turf and it will be named Branch Field.  This is in thanks to the generous donation of Margaret and Turner Branch.   This is the second largest donation in the University's history and counts towards the various campaigns that are going on for the school right now.

The University of New Mexico Lobo football team will be playing on a new artificial turf surface this season that will now be named “Branch Field.”

Margaret and Turner Branch, owners of Albuquerque’s Branch Law Firm, have contributed $1.5 million to UNM athletics for the naming rights to the football field at University Stadium.

UNM officials said the donation is the second-largest gift ever made to UNM athletics by living individuals and counts toward the $75 million goal of the “Lobo Leap to Excellence” capital campaign for athletics, as well as the university-wide comprehensive campaign, “Changing Worlds: The Campaign for UNM.”

UNM will recognize the Branches during halftime of the season opening football game on Sept. 1, when the Lobos play host to Southern University.

Turner Branch is a 1960 graduate of UNM, where he served as president of the student body. Margaret Branch earned her law degree in 1978 from the UNM School of Law.

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