Mr. Rio Rancho's vision continues with 19th Sunday is Funday

The "Mayor’s Sunday is Funday" is here.

This year will be the 19th annual "Sunday is Funday" event that brings the community together for an afternoon of family-friendly fun in Rio Rancho.

In 2023, more than 6,000 people attended the popular event.

This year’s event will be noon to 4 p.m. Aug. 18 at Haynes Park, across the street from Intel. Admission is $1 for people over age 12 and free for anyone 12 or younger.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Rio Rancho Kiwanis Club member and event organizer Dave Heil said. “My old friend Tony Popper wanted to make this an inexpensive event.”

"Sunday is Funday" is a joint venture between the Kiwanis Club and the city of Rio Rancho. Popper, the late former city councilor, Kiwanian and community volunteer, started the event as a fun, affordable activity for families.

The kickball trophy is named after Popper, who had the idea for Sunday is Funday in 2005. He wanted a picnic event that provided a fun and budget-friendly experience that all residents and neighbors of Rio Rancho could enjoy.

Popper, who passed away in 2013, was a passionate supporter of his community. Known as "Mr. Rio Rancho,” Popper not only created the "Sunday Is Funday" event. He also worked diligently to promote the City of Vision as it grew, serving as a city councilor and member of New Mexico's Soil and Water Commission. He also helped establish the Esther Bone Library, Storehouse West, Watermelon Mountain Ranch, Pork and Brew and the new Rio Rancho High School. He was a member of Kiwanis and the Elks Lodge. He even played Santa in the Rio Rancho Christmas parade.

The first “Sunday is Funday” event sprouted in 2006 from a campaign promise for an election that Popper lost.

Popper ran for mayor of Rio Rancho and, during his campaign, raised awareness for the need for a community event that all families could afford.

“Sunday is Funday” was the result.

“He felt that the Mayor’s Ball was a great event , but it was too expensive for most of the residents of Rio Rancho,” Heil said. “Even though he lost the mayoral race, he continued to push for an inexpensive community event.”

In 2006, with then-Mayor Kevin Jackson’s strong support, the Kiwanis worked with the city Parks and Recreation Department to hold the inaugural event, called “Mayor Kevin Jackson’s Sunday is Funday,” at the Rio Rancho Sports Complex.

Since then, the Rio Rancho Kiwanis has continued to partner with Parks and Rec and other community service groups to keep the vent growing.

“Tony’s idea has grown from about 800 attending in year one to about 5,000 attendees in 2014. In memory of Tony’s great idea, the show will continue to go on,” Heil said.

The show this year will feature the traditional mechanical bull, New Mexico National Guard climbing wall and fun jumps. The Haynes Park pool will also be open and accessible for free to anyone attending the event.

New attractions this year include the No Limitz Band sharing the stage with youth entertainment groups and the Childrens Entrepreneur Market, a national organization that promotes future entrepreneurs, will be joining with the Rio Rancho Kiwanis Club to provide a youth-oriented marketplace.

“Of course we’ll have many of the expected attractions — rock wall, mechanical bull, multiple fun jumps and musical entertainment,” Heil said. “The Rio Rancho High School Band will lead off the entertainment and the over 150 booth vendors will add to the fun. There will be a variety of food vendors, including budget-friendly food, at this fun family-style picnic.”

This family event will feature games, music, entertainment, food, vendor booths, a raffle, a silent auction and various activities. The theme this year is Community Unity.

“It’s the most exciting event of the year. Get over there, take over Haynes Park, and we’ve got the mayor’s competition and we’ve got so many other things going on,” Mayor Gregg Hull said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun. The pool is open as part of it, reminding everybody that 12 and under are free; anybody over that is a dollar to get in.”

The Mayor’s Kickball Tournament will again be held at the park’s north end where Hull and his Mayor’s Posse team will look for revenge against last year’s winners, The Crash Champions, and to regain the Tony Popper Trophy.

Hull’s team had won the kickball tournament and the Popper Trophy in 2021 and 2022.

“As the trophy holder, you have to come back to defend that trophy,” Hull said. “The Tony Popper Memorial Trophy, there’s a lot of history behind that trophy. There’s a lot of great names, a lot of great businesses, a lot of great winners on that trophy.”

Haynes Community Center will be the site of a raffle.

Sold-out vendor spaces will have more than 150 booths for attendees to browse for information, freebies and games. Local nonprofits will have their own space with the Rio Rancho Regional Chamber of Commerce Nonprofit Alliance.

“Sunday is Funday” is also scheduled to include fire and police vehicles and a medical helicopter.

Restrooms will be available in the community center, and people can also use portable toilets on-site.

For a complete list of raffle prizes and vendors, visit rioranchofunday.com.

Free and handicap parking will be available at designated parking lots. Free shuttles will be available for parking at Intel.

The “Mayor’s Sunday is Funday” is sponsored and coordinated by the Rio Rancho Kiwanis Club and partner community service organizations. Proceeds benefit youth programs in Rio Rancho including clothes and food for children in need, Boys and Girls Club and youth leadership programs such as high school Key Clubs.

“This event has just grown and grown and grown,” Hull said. “I have to say thank you to Dave (Heil) for carrying Tony Popper’s memory and his vision forward for creating this event that really brings the community of Rio Rancho together.”