WHEELS Museum Events
March and April 2025
All events are at WHEELS Museum 1100 Second Street SW
Phone: 505 243-6269
Speaker Event
Donatella Davanzo
“Route 66 Connected”
Saturday, March 29, 2025 at 10 AM
Admission is Free, but donations are gladly accepted.
Dr. Donatella Davanzo, Italian American cultural anthropologist, is a scholarly photo
ethnographer and instructor of visual anthropology.
“Route 66 Connected” by Dr. Donatella Davanzo is a multimedia exposition that proposes an innovative evaluation of the historic American highway on the eve of its centennial. By examining existing original resources in operation along the contemporary road in New Mexico, the presentation will enrich the public interest in the “Mother Road” history through a detailed photographic documentation and personal interviews. A variety of narratives concerning the heritage of Route 66 will uncover how the road still conveys its significance and its multicultural nature as a legacy that preserves the distinctive cultural richness of New Mexico as well.
Music Event
Jose Ponce
Saturday, March 29, 2025 at Noon
Admission is $10.00
Jose has hundreds of stories from a lifetime in music and film. With tons of songs in his repertoire, he can play anything; country, jazz, blues, folk and more. Jose's shows are entertaining and crowd pleasing. Jose continues to write and sell his music to national and international artists, film and TV. Through the New Mexico Music Awards, he works to promote New Mexico musicians as artists globally and to film and television.
Music Event
Doug Figgs
Saturday, April 5, 2025 at Noon
Admission is $10
Doug Figgs is a Western music singer/songwriter from Lemitar, New Mexico. His musical influences include Country, Western, and Southern Rock. He performs solo, as a duo, or as a trio as “The Cowboy Way”. In 2023 Doug Figgs was named IWMA Entertainer of the Year. The Cowboy Way trio was named 2023 Group of the Year. His album, Yellow Horse was named 2022 IWMA Album of the Year and The Cowboy Way was named IWMA Group of the Year for the 5th time. In 2021 Doug was honored with IWMA Male Performer of the Year award and The Cowboy Way received the IWMA Group of the Year award. The song El Caballo del Fuego, written by Doug Figgs, Floyd Beard, and Mariam, was awarded the prestigious Wrangler Award from the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. Check out https://www.dougfiggs.com/
Storyteller Event
Diane Rossbach
“The Circus in New Mexico”
Saturday, April 12, 2025 at 10 AM
Admission is Free but donations are gladly accepted.
From the Speaker:, Working trains quickly capture visitors’ attention, but I also discovered a wonderful, small, glass-enclosed cabinet on the western wall filled with colorful Circus related curios like miniature carriages, animals, and zanies. Now, I’m a Circus nut, so right then and there I knew I needed to dedicate some Saturday WHEELS Museum time to The Circus in New Mexico. Did you know that when the first Circus came to Santa Fe, by train on a spur line of course, that to exercise the Circus elephants they walked them around Santa Fe Plaza? What a shock the altitude must have been!
As an oral, tale-spinning spoken word artist, Dianne Rossbach has told tales throughout the Southwest and Hawaii. She enjoys sharing generational histories, origin stories, and traditional folktales. Her stories are integrated with her abiding interest in family, nature, and the power of a good tale well told. Her tales are sprinkled with creativity, humor, and cultural history as she invites listeners to discover ways that the past can bring meaning to the present. You can reach her at rossbachd@msn.com.
Speaker Event
Addison Fulton
“The Social Animal”
Saturday, April 12, 2025 at NOON
More information to follow
Speaker Event – Book Review
Jon Ghahate
Book Review of 'The Railroad and the Pueblo Indians: The Impact of the Atchinson, Topeka, and the Santa Fe and the Pueblos of the Rio Grande”
Saturday, April 19, 2025 at 10 AM
Admission is Free but donations are gladly accepted.
Jon will speak based on the book The Railroad and the Pueblo Indians: The impact of the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad by Richard. H Frost.
Jon Ghahate (Guu Wahd Dzee [Keres]/Keshshi [Zuni]) was the former Museum Cultural
Educator at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center and has developed presentations
on the histories, the cultures, and the narratives of NM Pueblo communities and
the ancestral Indigenous communities that resided throughout the US Southwest,
such as Chaco Historical Cultural Park, Mesa Verde National Park, Bandelier National
Park, Gila Cliff Dwellings, and many other historical and cultural sites.
Author Event
Michael Perlin
“Albuquerque’s Butchers, Bakers and Candlestick Makers” about early businesses in Albuquerque
Saturday, April 19, 2025 at NOON
Admission is Free but donations are gladly accepted.
Michael Henry Perlin is an author and illustrator of five published books about the history and architecture of Albuquerque. Albuquerque's economic growth and cultural diversity was shaped by the arrival of many newcomers. His fourth book, Albuquerque's Butchers, Bakers & Candlestick Makers contains some accounts of unknown or forgotten pioneers of the city's retail history. The illustrations feature well known landmarks but few people know of or remember the pioneering tradesmen responsible for creating those businesses. Butchers, bakers and "candlestick makers" literally and figuratively formed the very backbone of this community.
Speaker Event
Ronn Perea
“The Ernie Pyle Story”
Saturday, April 26, 2025 at 11 AM
Admission is Free but donations are gladly accepted.
Ronn, a favorite speaker and storyteller at WHEELS, will present a pictorial story about Ernie Pyle. Pyle lived in and loved Albuquerque. At the time of his death in 1945, Pyle was among the best-known American war correspondents. His syndicated column was published in 400 daily and 300 weekly newspapers nationwide. President Harry Truman said of Pyle, "No man in this war has so well told the story of the American fighting man as American fighting men wanted it told. He deserves the gratitude of all his countrymen”.
Music Event
Gary Costley
Ukele Perfomance
Saturday, April 26, 2025 at NOON
Admission is $10
Gary Costley plays a mix of humorous religious and pop culture tunes on the ukulele. He also plays “rapulele” songs and medleys. His influences include Weird Al Yankovic, Ray Stevens and Roger Miller. https://www.gigsalad.com/gary_costley_albuquerque
