Family Nights revived at the Socorro Plaza

What started as a simple idea among friends to bring life back into the heart of the city has quickly grown into a full-fledged community movement in Socorro.

“We noticed the plaza being more vacant of kids and just people in general,” James Gallegos, an organizer, said. “We got tired of looking at each other and saying, we need to bring kids to the park.”

About a month ago, Gallegos and a group of longtime friends began reaching out to city officials, local business owners and rounding up volunteers to do more than just talk about bringing kids to the park, and actually make it happen. They pooled resources to buy pizzas, hot dogs, popcorn, cotton candy and shaved ice, serving more than 100 people, for free. A donated projector and screen turned the evening into an outdoor movie night, and the response was overwhelming.

“Kids were laughing, families were thankful — nobody complained, nobody asked for more. They were satisfied,” Gallegos said.

Now, the group is preparing for its second event on Sept. 27, with even bigger plans.

The City of Socorro, Socorro County, and local organizations such as the Socorro Electric Co-op and SCOPE have partnered in support. Roads around the plaza will be closed for safety, and the evening will feature free food, music, outreach booths and another movie showing on the gazebo once the sun sets. Gallego said he’s also invited a local boxing club and martial arts school to bring their students to demonstrate their sports.

The volunteers, who emphasize they are “just friends” and not yet a formal group, say they are working toward nonprofit status to sustain the effort year-round. Plans include hosting monthly gatherings and moving indoors during the winter to keep family nights going.

Organizers stress the effort is about more than food and fun. They want to provide a safe, drug- and alcohol-free space for the community to come together and start bridging gaps between neighbors, resources and generations.

“My wife’s an educator. So are all her sisters, so with that shedding off on us, we want to do better as men,” Gallegos said. “Right now there’s so much havoc going on. We’re choosing to model helping each other, not hurting each other.”

Lorenzo Valenzuela, another volunteer and organizer, said as a grandfather and an elder in the community he feels like it’s his responsibility to help create opportunities for the younger generations to socialize and have fun in a safe, sober setting.

Those interested in donating or volunteering can call Gallegos at 575-517-6309.