I must start by telling you all about the Eddie Awards. During this third edition of the contest we broke every record by having sixty-two personalities of the Arts & Crafts of Puerto Peñasco being nominated to be awarded.

Diseños Casa y Jardín as an interior design turned twelve years and we had a great party at the Eddies. As you read before, the contest rewards the work done during the prior year (2014) and the extent of it, some of artists had a huge global impact not only here in our community.

The winners were:

Youth Promise: Rabel Durán – in 2014 he had a singing contest of his own and he also produced his own concert.

Group: Destiny Dance Academy – in 2014 they went back to dance in Disneyland for the second time, being the only Mexican dance group accomplishing that!

Consolidated Artist: The Sand Man exhibited in 2014 his work in Paris, in the Baja and in the USA, his name, Manuel Martínez.

Cultural Promoter: Luis Lugo organized and produced several concerts in Rocky Point bringing different singers from other parts of Mexico.

The Eddie for the Artisan of the year was given to Alma Yanes for her tremendous and artistic work in teaching and repurposing reciclying materials like tires, see and purchase some of her art at the Marmaid Market at the shrimp plaza.

Lifetime Achievement Award: Amaranto Celaya Celaya – Celaya, originally from Altar, Sonora where he was born November 4th, 1944, has served in various capacities in Puerto Peñasco including as administrator with the CFE (Federal Electricity Commission), Mason, baseball player – coach and aficionado, journalist, poet, writer, and visionary.

Fan Favorite (voted on through Facebook): Angélica Sotomayor, Hawaiian dance instructor who has contributed greatly to youth activities and involvement in Puerto Peñasco.

Visiting Artist in 2014: Canadian filmmaker Lisa Ovies provided an intense week in Puerto Peñasco of sharing her craft through workshops for adults, as well as visits to area schools, press conferences, and the presentation of both a short and documentary that she has produced.

With the exception of the fan favorite one all these Eddies were given by a panel of judges, namely, Gabriela Solís, Azucena Mazón, Shandra Keesecker and Victor Alemán.

There were two honorary Eddies this year for which the judges have no word, it is only up Eddie Wharez to say who earns them.

The backbone of the contest has always been the promotion of our Port, whoever lives and loves Rocky Point wants the world to know how beautiful and peaceful our town is, we want people to know our place is fun and safe to come to. I believe everything we do or say has a positive or negative impact on the minds of others, the artists with their work convey a positive message and there are others that do the same thing with their everyday work.

I was very happy to announce during the Eddies gala that one of the recipients for the honorary Eddie was The Rocky Point Times, Mrs. Sandra O’Hare was amongst the public and was happy to receive it for their twenty plus years of promoting our dear Puerto Peñasco.

The second honorary Eddie was given to Mr. Socorro González, co-founder and coordinator of Cine Club Primera Toma, a film club that plays a major role in what art has to do in town, without Mr. González and his wife Nina Mier a lot of workshops, courses, conferences would not be happening for the benefit of us all.

Honorable Mentions by the judges:

Artesanos en Movimiento (Wendy Fregozo, Alma Yanez, and Ricardo Monjaraz) for their drive in 2014 to envision a group for artisans to support each other while making it possible to participate in different events locally and outside of Puerto Peñasco. Each of these three artists were nominated separately in the Artisans category.

Cultural Promotors – Russ & Naomi Black were recognized for their tireless efforts of promoting local artisans in Puerto Peñasco through creation of the Mermaids Arts Market, as well as the numerous ways they have both provided support for the arts in town. Naomi’s own “upcycled” garments and seaside art were also prominent throughout 2014, including presentation of her flamenco dresses at the Annual Tucson Flamenco Festival. Both Russ and Naomi had been nominated separately for an Eddie as Artisan (Naomi) and Cultural Promotor (Russ.)

Congratulations to all and see you at the Eddies in 2016!

Lifetime Achievement Recognition

Rosalina Mendoza Pérez – painter

Amaranto Celaya Celaya – writer, journalist, chronicler (Eddie 2015)

Jesus Mata Bustamante – painter

Valdemar Arrieta Romero (RIP – In 2013 the Eddie Awards were dedicated to this beloved musician)

Now let’s go back to business! As you can see in our ad this month we have consolidated everything we do under one roof as E&E Enterprises, housing:

Diseños Casa y Jardín by Eddie Wharez® ~ our interior design center & furniture store.

E&E Exceptional Events® ~ I have been a certified Wedding planner for almost three years, so it only made sense to start advertising this business more fully specially since I have already been helping friends and customers with their events.

E&E Exceptional Events® also offers the concierge/catering service of private dinners, a romantic idea that can be held at the beach or inside a venue of the customer’s choice, this subsidiary business is called Dinners by the Sea® and supplies with everything you need for a great celebration, rental furniture, accesories, table cloths and the like, of course E&E Photography® also plays a major role in making your event a true success!

Regal-Arte® ~ gifts and gift wrapping for any occasion (it even carries a line of baby dolls, come and check it out!)

At E&E Botanicals® our motto is ‘Making beautiful flowers a part of your life!’ We have flower arrangements upon request for special events like weddings and so forth. Our goal is to have fresh flowers every day, we’ll keep you posted!

For you who know the quality and taste of the goods we are so used to deliver have the certainty that we are going to make your event or dinner by sea something truly special, we realize the importance of time and money invested on planning a celebration. At E&E, we know an event lasts a day yet memories last forever!

Reach us at our design center on Rodeo Drive or at 602 324 93 28 from the USA or locally at 3838633.