Murals and music part of midtown association's promotion of Ruidoso

• New barbecue sanctioned competition in March expected to draw visitors and competitors from across the country

A mural on the side of a business at Sudderth Drive and 102 Center Street has developed into a favorite spot for tourists to stop and snap a “selfie” photograph.

The potential of matching up businesses with large blank exterior walls and professional artists to create memorable scenes of the area that will be photographed and sent around the world via social media is just too good to pass up as part of Ruidoso Midtown Association’s promotion of the historic tourist center of the village, Matt Ingram, director of Ruidoso Midtown Association,said  last week.

He went over some of the projects and plans of the association as it moves closer to a hoped-for February date when the local group is inducted as a full-fledged New Mexico MainStreet participant. One of the requirements is developing projects to improve the street scape aesthetically.

“People are lined up out there taking photos of the mural all the time,” he said. “I think there are place in midtown (with) some blank (wall space) we can complement and not get into zoning issues. In my mind, this would be something conducive to our environment, not just tagged up there. They would be the elements of New Mexico and Ruidoso.

“We would let artists and business owners work together. let them develop that.”

A pool of four or five professional artists would be lined up from which to choose. The designs would be subject to approval of the association board and those that move ahead would be eligible for some matching dollars. The goal would be to finish two to three murals each year, if businesses buy into the concept, Ingram said. The murals provide instant visual recognition and could identify some of the businesses in midtown.

“We have some awesome mosaics already in town, but for the first year, we probably will stick with paint,” Ingram said. A contract would be developed to ensure maintenance of the mural for a number of years.

Speaking about his board, Ingram said more members were added, bringing the number to 11, with multiple business owners Eric Vaughn as the new president and Jasper Riddle as vice president; Becky Brooks, Ruidoso Valley Chamber of Commerce executive director, as treasurer; and Justin Huffmon, village tourism director, as secretary-economic vitality chairman.

Ingram said the Midtown Commons Gateway project across from Sacred Grounds Coffee and Tea House presents a 23-feet by 18-feet space within which to create pedestrian amenities, possibly with lighting, seating, sculptures and some sort of user-generated content. He anticipates creating a social media campaign around the project, which will promote the midtown area. To that end, $56,273 was requested by Ingram and approved by the council for a signage project from village capital funds.

“I am here to keep the historical preservation of Ruidoso going,” he said.

He’s learned since returning to the area that instead of changing the appearance when sprucing up a property, it is best to keep it looking the familiar façade.

“I’ve learned it is best to keep that place looking the same, because people have been coming here since the 1950s and they know that building for that color and it has that recognition to it, and it has some historical (significance), better than having a shopping district that all looks the same.”

Branding businesses as “cool and unique” and putting the association’s name on projects also are goals.

Ingram went over planned promotions for the year. including a new Mountain Smoke barbecue competition March 15-16 sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society, expected to draw barbecue masters from across the country. Wine and beer events will coincide at Wingfield Park.

An emphasis on music in midtown also is anticipated, an increase in use of handicapped parking, and a renewed push to encourage businesses to stay open later to accommodate visitors.

Vaughn said he and Riddle have an unspoken competition not to be the first to close their stores’ doors at the end of a day. He’s asked frequently by tourists who want to shop why most stores in midtown close in the evening, he said. He’d like to see more lighting in the district at night to promote store-front strolling.

Ingram said the idea is to promote projects and also convince business owners to buy into them and be involved.

“More and more owners are feeling more and more comfortable with what we are doing,” he said.