1. Friday Fun Day Tennis starts Friday at 5:30 at Arroyo Del Oso Park and encourages beginners to join in the fun. Vaccination cards are required to participate, and people should bring their own racquets, while balls, water and snacks are provided. The event is steered toward players who want to have fun and unwind and is not meant for competitive gaming. To sign up, go here.
2. Breakfast at the Cinnamon Café with Meetup 87111 Hub group gives people a chance to get to know their neighbors and maybe even find friends nearby. This new group aims to make events bikeable and walkable to those in the 87111 zip code and highly encourages participants to use those means of transportation, although it is not required. It is asked that participants be vaccinated. The group provides events for an active social life with discussion revolving around the challenges of community safety commuting securely around the area. The breakfast event will start at 9:45 a.m. June 18 and to RSVP, click here.
3. The Dinner Detective Murder Mystery Dinner Show is the largest interactive comedy murder mystery dinner theatre now in Albuquerque. Solve the crime while eating a four-course meal. Who knows what could happen as even participants can be named the prime suspect. The show will be at Albuquerque Marriott from 6-9 p.m. Saturday. Tickets start at $62.95, and the show runs every weekend this summer. To reserve a spot, click here.
Additionally, those wanting to get an early start to the weekend can join the Bear Canyon group hike, which will have folks meet at High Desert Park Thursday, June 16 and trek a three-mile excursion through the Bear Canyon Open Space. The walk will start at 7:30 p.m. with an uphill start and end around 9 p.m. with the second half going back downhill. The hike will end at night, flashlights are encouraged, as is water.For more information about this event, click here.
Citywide events
4. Albuquerque is celebrating the newest federal holiday, Juneteenth, Saturday and Sunday at Civic Plaza. The event is intended to look at the uniqueness and resourcefulness of Blacks while educating and focusing on how to change the narrative about Black history, people and stereotypes. Hours are noon to 10:30 p.m. Saturday and 3-8 p.m. Sunday. For a full lineup and tickets, click here.
5. The Great New Mexico Beer Festival runs from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday at Balloon Fiesta Park. The event is the largest gathering of New Mexico breweries with samples and sales of more than 120 craft beers. There will also be live music, movies, silent disco, an arcade, lawn games, an artisan market, food trucks and educational opportunities with sessions at the Beer and Brew U. with Southwest Grape & Grain. Those wanting to get an early start can attend the Brewers Conference and Competition, which also features a keynote presentation and breakout sessions, on Friday. Must be 21 or older to attend to attend any of the events. A full schedule of events and tickets can be found here.
6. Make the weekend a sweet celebration with the opening of Chocolate: The Exhibition at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science. The exhibit, which opens Friday and runs through March 12, will trace the evolution of chocolate, learn the biology of cacao under a life-sized tree, barter for seeds at and Aztec market and follow cacao across the Atlantic as it grows into a global commodity.
7. It’s the final weekend to catch the Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience at the Immersive Pavilion at Sawmill District, 1820 Bellman Ave. NW. Hours are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m.to 9 p.m. Sunday, the closing day of the exhibition. More than 300 artworks are on display, occupying more than 30,000 square feet, making it the largest immersive experience in the country. Works are displayed using cutting-edge projection technology and an original score that breathes new life into the pieces. The experience takes approximately one hour to explore, so final entry will be one hour before close. For more information or tickets, click here.
8. Those wanting a spooky experience in the summer rather than the fall can enjoy Bewitching Cocktails from Boozy Cauldron Tavern. This event is a four-part cocktail experience that entices guests with spooky stories over drinks such as buttered Butternilla Brew. Led by Professor Dolohov Draven and his students, guests receive a truly strange and amazing adventure while enjoying specially themed cocktails. The event will be limited to June 17 and 18 at the Lobo Theater, and cost is $55. To make a reservation, click here.
