Month: June 2023

Yes! You are invited! To what, you ask? This Friday night, June 30, RE/MAX is one of several businesses sponsoring the Friday night concert. Yes, I know. The whole state is invited to see the live performance of Ryan Chrys & the Roughcuts. But RE/MAX customers are invited to a special VIP area before the concert with drinks, food, and fun. So join us at 4PM!

Which customers are invited?

ALL OF THEM! Yes! If you were a customer in the past, are currently searching for your dream home or selling your current home with RE/MAX, or you’re looking for a way to meet and greet fantastic real estate brokers, we want YOU in our VIP section.

I’ve been talking quite a lot lately about the Friday night concerts at Ashley Pond. There’s no doubt these are an amazing local event filled with family fun, food, great music, and a chance to chat with your neighbors. RE/MAX is all about supporting local events and we’d really like you to come out this Friday night and say hello!

The line up for this Friday’s concert should be great fun! The Los Alamos Community Winds will kick off the night at 6:00PM. Next is an amateur country showcase from 7:00PM until Ryan Chrys & the Rough Cuts come on stage at 8:00PM. I just did a post recently about the Los Alamos Community Winds. You can check that out HERE. This Friday is going to be a concert that has a bit of something for everyone!

Who is Ryan Chrys?

The Rough Cuts and their front man Ryan Chrys are passionate about their music, their fans, and their grass roots dedication to Modern Outlaw Country. You can learn more about the band HERE. Listen to a sample of their music and you’ll probably be reminded of what we sometimes think of as “old school” country music.

Chrys grew up on a ranch in Montana. His mother was a folk singer and later he moved to Denver to pursue a music career singing the style of country he’d grown up loving to play. The Rough Cuts pride themselves on producing a traditional country sound. There’s a great interview with Ryan Chrys on Voyage Denver’s website HERE. This concert should be a great opportunity to enjoy old country music in a comfortable local venue with friends, food, and our very own spectacular scenery as a backdrop. What could be better?

Once again, this Friday night – June 30 – RE/MAX is hosting a VIP area for our customers with fun, food, drinks, and a great chance to listen to live music. We’re starting at 4:00 PM and will be enjoying the music until the concert ends at 9:00PM! Come out and say hello, grab a beverage, and enjoy the show. The food will be available until it’s gone! And if you’ve ever considered buying or selling real estate in town, give me a call! I’d love to chat with you this Friday by the pond!

With the new Oppenheimer film releasing on July 20, 2023, I thought it might be interesting to take a look back at the rather large number of films that have been shot here in Los Alamos. Since the filming of Oppenheimer was so recent, most of us can recall the excitement of having movies crews, staging equipment, actors, and other film personnel hanging about town. But this isn’t the only large scale film to be shot here, nor were Matt Damon and Robert Downey Jr the “biggest” actors (of their time) who were here on location in Los Alamos.

According to IMDB stats, there are 42 films or filming projects that officially list Los Alamos in their “filming locations”. Some of these include shows like “Longmire” and half a dozen or more documentary series that were filmed here due to our connection to the Manhattan project. In 2017 most of us remember Only the Brave, which was a movie about the Granite Mountain Hotshots. But some of the other films and film projects might surprise you.

Twins

This 1988 comedy starring Arnold Schwartzenegger and Danny DeVito was wildly popular when first released. At one point in the story, the very opposite fraternal twins go in search of their “test tube” origins. They find answers in a very small building at the Los Alamos Laboratory. The building used for filming is the one once located just “beneath” the hospital that was very recently torn down to make way for the new apartments just off Trinity Dr. Residents at that time gathered to gawk at the stars. Of course, many excited fans were trying to get a look at just how “enormous” Arnold’s physique actually was in person! If you haven’t seen this film, it is a funny trip back to the late eighties. The scenes in Los Alamos are tastefully done and the scenery certainly looks genuine, even if those parts of the story were pretty minimal. And, I don’t think anyone here at LANL (or LASL) was ever involved in utilizing test tube babies to create super humans. But I suppose we’ll never know, will we?

Silkwood

This 1983 suspense drama was filmed both in Albuquerque and in Los Alamos. The plot is based on the real life story of Karen Silkwood who worked at a plutonium facility in Oklahoma and was exposed to radiation. The film starred Meryl Streep, Cher, Kurt Russell, and Craig T Nelson as well as many other well known actors. Considering the plot line, I think we can all imagine why they would use areas at LANL as sets for the plutonium facility. It’s still interesting to think that these folks were wandering around town when I was growing up here and I had no idea. But as I think back, we weren’t necessarily as up to date on films being shot on location. Our appetite for celebrity news wasn’t nearly the same in the world before social media.

The Milagro Beanfield War

Also filmed in 1988, the Milagro Beanfield War is a Robert Redford film starring heavy hitters from the time such as Richard Bradford, Christopher Walken, and Melanie Griffith. The story focuses on the difficulties with water rights in a small high desert community. A local tale from that time was that Redford’s horse wrangler was having issues with a horse being used on set up on North Mesa during filming. A local horsewoman helped out by volunteering her own gelding for filming and was thrilled to meet Robert Redford and “work” with him.

Tiger Eyes

Judy Blume’s book, Tiger Eyes, was set in Los Alamos. You can read more about that HERE. But the film adaptation made in 2012 did quite a lot of on location filming here in town. The film has quite a few deviations from the original story, but is well done and worth watching as a “coming of age” story about a teenager trying to overcome a severe family trauma. Judy Blume and her son Lawrence wrote the script together and Lawrence directed. I love this fact about the film because it means the author was able to have direct input on any changes to her original vision. Judy Blume actually lived in Los Alamos for a few years in the mid to late seventies. I wonder if it surprised her to see how much change had happened between her living here and her shooting her film here?

There are plenty more films shot here in Los Alamos. With our unique connections to history, the dramatic scenery, and in some cases the “time capsule quality” of our local flavor, it’s really no wonder we’re popular that way. The Secret City on the Hill has plenty to offer and so much character! When you’re ready to talk more about Los Alamos, give me a call! I’m your hometown real estate broker and I’d love to talk Los Alamos with you!

It’s summer, so it’s easy to think that the music scene here in Los Alamos revolves around the Gordon’s Concerts at Ashley Pond, which it does. Sort of. You can always get more info about the Summer Concert Series, but you probably have no idea just how many ways there are to get musical here in Los Alamos. And our musicality goes back a looooong way! All the way to 1944 in fact!

From Rosemary O’Connor’s history of the Los Alamos Symphony Orchestra:

During the war years Los Alamos had no organized instrumental group. The residents satisfied their musical hunger with many string quartets, piano quintets, and other such chamber groups. There was also, at that time, a very fine Jazz band which entertained the community weekly.

From January 1945 through 1946, there was a group formed under the direction of Robert Dike, a french hornist. He also wrote special scores for the instrumentation available. The group was comprised of military and civilian personnel. The funding came from the “Special Services” of the Army and was administered by Captain Hugh Martin. Some of the people who performed in this group under Bob Dike were Al and Diz Graves, Moll Flanders, Eric Jette, Robert Richtmyer, Frank Osvath, Frank Bice, Ken Jeusen, Harold Fishbein, Hermond Lacey and Don Lovelace.

Isn’t is amazing to think of the amount of trouble folks went to back then for entertainment? I sometimes feel as if they’d laugh to hear us complain about a lack of “things to do” nowadays! At one point, the Los Alamos and Santa Fe Symphony groups tried to combine to form a larger orchestra. Unfortunately, the transportation up and down “the hill” available in the fifties made that impossible. But the relationship is still strong. And the original spirit of musicians playing for the love of music as a way to share in community has continued forward into more musical organizations than you might imagine!

Los Alamos Symphony Orchestra

These days the Symphony Orchestra includes musicians that are both local and also from Santa Fe. Many of our players belong to the Santa Fe Community Orchestra as well as LASO. LASO welcomes student involvement and hosts guests conductors and soloists from all over. Each year, the Symphony Orchestra awards a scholarship to young musicians graduating from LAHS in an effort to promote music and help the community.

LASO also has a strong connection to the Los Alamos Choral Society, which has been a musical voice locally since 1944. The groups perform a joint concert at least once a year. Whether you like to play or enjoy listening, it might be time to check out the LASO schedule.

Coro de Cámara

Technically a “spin off” of the Los Alamos Choral Society, Coro de Cámara is a premier chamber chorus that performs music from a multitude of eras, styles, and conductors. Singers are from Northern New Mexico, but the group began in Los Alamos and showcases a wealth of local talent. Spots in the chorus are open to auditions and the group performs regularly throughout Santa Fe and Los Alamos.

One exciting bonus of the Santa Fe/Los Alamos relationship is the availability of Santa Fe Opera apprentices for some of the performances. The opportunity to hear and to perform with such talent is usually hard to come by in out of the way places like Los Alamos, but culture is something we do rather well in the Secret City and if you’d like to see Coro de Cámara perform, check out their website for the latest schedule.

The Hill Stompers

Did you play a band instrument for a semester or two in school? Are you looking for an awesome group of folks who just like to play music and enjoy life? Would you be surprised if I told you those two things are all that’s required for you to join the Hill Stompers?

This award winning jazz band ensemble formed in October 2000 just to have fun. They play public venues like bars and parties, participate in parades, and provide music for local events too! Even if you’re just learning an instrument for the first time, you can find a spot in the Hill Stompers.

Los Alamos Community Winds

As I mentioned above, there is a long history of musical ensemble groups here in Los Alamos. As Rosemary O’Connor’s history of the Symphony Orchestra reminds us, many of those original groups were blends of military and civilian musicians who just wanted to play! The Los Alamos Community Winds dates back to those groups from the 1940’s as well!

For those of you who grew up playing in the elementary, middle school, and high school bands, you probably remember Mr. McDonald. Jan McDonald was a conductor in the 70s, 80s, & 90s who often invited students to join the Los Alamos Concert Band. Under his direction, the group played civic concerts during the summer, especially at the Fourth of July Fireworks Celebration. The Community Winds group is the continuation of that tradition. Musicians and music lovers from our local area are invited to join the Community Winds as a player or as an enthusiast! Check their news page for the latest concert information or to find out how to be involved!

I hope you’ve been bookmarking websites and planning your social calendar for the next several months as I run through the amazing list of things to do, see, and experience here in Los Alamos. Whether you’re buying or selling real estate or just chatting about this amazing place we call home, give me a call! I’d love to talk to you!