Bean Day drew thousands to area
Every Labor Day weekend, the sleepy village of Wagon Mound comes alive with concerts, dancing, rodeos, mud bogging, and of course, the Bean Day barbecue.
This year marked the 108th time revelers gathered in Wagon Mound. The four-day event kicked off Friday night with the cleaning of the beans, followed by a street dance. Saturday’s highlights included a car show, rodeo, and a performance by Al Hurricane Jr. Drivers in the mud bogging competition were in the spotlight on Sunday, and the event was capped off with Monday’s parade and free barbecue in the park.
“It went pretty good. We had a lot of people coming in,” said Luis Lopez, a Bean Day organizer. “We had a pretty good crowd on Monday, and all weekend. People enjoyed everything. The rodeo, the mud bogs, the dancing. Everything.”
With a theme of “Wagon Mound Goes Hollywood,” this year’s parade had more than 30 entries, and included the 2017-18 Reina de Las Vegas Gabriella Tafoya, 2018-19 Princessa Sonia Castillo, Fiesta Queen Gabrielle Garduno, and La Reinita Justina Maloney.
The parade also drew supporters from several political campaigns, including Attorney General Hector Balderas, U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, Second Judicial District Court Judge Briana Zamora, candidate for State Auditor Brian Colón, and U.S. Senate candidate Mick Rich.
Some candidates even made personal appearances, such as Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, and U.S. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who is running for governor against Rep. Steve Pearce.
While Lopez didn’t know the exact number of people who came out to enjoy Bean Day this year, he said it was about the same as recent years.
“I hope we get more people next year,” he said. “A lot of times you get a lot of people, then the following year you get half of the people you get before.”
Bean Day is held every Labor Day weekend, so if you missed out on the fun this year, be sure to mark your calenders for next year.
