Our 1 Year ribbon Cutting Ceremony

A most beautiful day in the East Mountains...

sweet SA BBQ in the air; the cheer and laughter, the community in our hearts- about sums it all up!

(there's more...)

Centered, Dame Brown (Owner), left from center, Martha Doster (Martha's Body Bueno), right from center, Carla Ward (Tinkertown Museum), far left/right, Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce Ceremonial Team, rear right, esteemed community member and neighbor- everyone standing in the parking lot, at the entry to Enchanted Soul.

Alignment

On October 1, beneath a sky that felt unusually intimate for the East Mountains—soft light, cooperative air, and a quiet that seemed to listen—Enchanted Soul Art | Creatives’ Gallery & Shop marked its one-year anniversary with a ribbon-cutting ceremony that unfolded as a carefully built crescendo.

This was not a hurried affair. It was deliberate. Every voice, every pause, every gathering moment had been intentionally placed—designed to prepare the room for what was to come.

Neighbors arrived first. Artists. Elders. Retirees. Those living quietly, those living boldly, those who prefer the road less traveled and those who live at the highest elevations of comfort.

A community often described as sleepy or reclusive revealed itself instead as deeply creative, observant, and present. This is Cedar Crest (echoing to the frequency of the East Mountains): small, polite, layered, and bound by unseen threads—where everyone knows someone through someone else, often through Dame.

Architecture of Community

The ceremony opened with Martha Doster, whose presence alone carries the weight of lived proof.

Opening her first business at just 25 years old in 1975 with no prior experience, Martha went on to build a 32-year legacy rooted in self-care, mentorship, and community stewardship. Her influence—particularly through her work with the Main Street Program—helped transform Nob Hill into one of Albuquerque’s most prominent and beloved neighborhoods.

Her remarks were generous and grounding. She spoke not from myth, but from memory—of uncertainty, of learning the hard way, of keeping doors open without knowing whether anyone would come. She reminded the gathering that communities are not revitalized by singular ambition, but by collaboration, patience, and the willingness to pool resources and belief.

Her words did not rush Cedar Crest forward. They anchored it—affirming that growth does not require erasure, and that precedent exists for places that choose cooperation over competition.

With utmost gratitude,

and much appreciation!

Living Practice

The ceremony continued with remarks from Carla Ward, steward of the iconic Tinkertown Museum, a beloved East Mountains institution that stands as a testament to art’s capacity to shape place, memory, and imagination.

Speaking from lived experience, Ward reflected on how creativity—when nurtured with care and consistency—can grow from a personal passion into a cultural institution that serves generations.

Tinkertown, which has welcomed tens of thousands of visitors from around the world, was offered as an example of how authenticity and heart can keep a community firmly on the cultural map.

Her words affirmed Enchanted Soul’s mission to showcase art that “moves the soul,” reminding those gathered that art is not static—it is a storyteller, a spark for wonder, and a catalyst for participation.

Orchestrating Awakening

What followed was not motivational rhetoric. It was an atomic offering.

Speaking as a first-time storefront owner and new business owner in Cedar Crest, Dame acknowledged the difficulty of the year—but refused to center struggle. Instead, she named the truth many felt but had not articulated:

That in this moment in our lives, community is no longer optional.

She drew a distinction between sharing land and sharing culture—between proximity and connection—and introduced the concept of cultural wealth as Cedar Crest’s greatest, yet underutilized, resource.

With clarity and composure, she contextualized the East Mountains within New Mexico’s booming tourism economy, citing record-breaking visitor spending and the surge in international travel. Opportunity, she made clear, is already moving through the Turquoise Trail corridor. The question is whether Cedar Crest will be prepared to receive it—on its own terms.

Her invitation was radical precisely because it was protective:

growth without gentrification, prosperity without loss of soul.

She called for collective preparation—for strategy, coordination, and pride—so that when change inevitably arrives, the community meets it awake, aligned, and intact.

Her final call to action—to establish a Cedar Crest Community Development Committee—was not met with noise, but with stillness. The kind that follows recognition.

Crossing the threshold

After the final words settled, no one rushed.

There was a pause. A wait.

Then the ribbon was cut.

Applause followed—not performative, but earned.

And as the formal ceremony gave way to fellowship, the scent of SA BBQ, one of Albuquerque’s most celebrated food trucks—in support of this event—filled the air. People lingered. Conversations deepened. Art was revisited. Plates were shared.

Nothing about the day was incidental.

Every element—the speakers, the sequence, the setting, the weather, the food—had been astronomically curated to reflect the ethos of Enchanted Soul itself: intentional, soulful, and deeply human.

Inception to Intention

One Year In

Enchanted Soul’s first anniversary was not a look back—it was a declaration.

That Cedar Crest is not asleep.

That its artists are many.

That its elders carry wisdom.

That its future can be prosperous without surrendering its values.

And that when vision is offered with care, a quiet community will listen.

The ribbon has been cut.

The table has been set.

And the invitation—to imagine together—remains open.

Report abuse