Red River changes Memorial Day celebrations after deadly shooting

RED RIVER, NM – For the first time in 42 years, Red River will not be home to thousands of motorcyclists on Memorial Day weekend.

The mayor said it was a big decision that she felt needed to be made this year.

“We had a big, important trigger that caused us to do this,” Red River Mayor Linda Calhoun said.

That's how Calhoun describes the shooting on Main Street last year that left three people dead. Police say the shooting occurred between rival motorcycle gangs.

Calhoun says the city is not holding a rally at all this year because of the violence. Instead, the “Mayfest in the Mountains” takes place there. She says it's a more family-friendly event.

Calhoun says instead of thousands of motorcycles lining the streets, there will be things like fishing, food trucks and live music.

“We welcome motorcyclists. We don't want to scare them away and we don't want to make anyone feel unwelcome. But it won't be the typical downtown vendors that wear leather and tattoos and other things that attract other people,” Calhoun said.

Calhoun acknowledges that not letting 20,000 people enjoy the Red River for three days has its downsides.

“So we know it will be difficult because we are not expecting as big a crowd as usual, and after the off-season, after the ski season, everyone is looking forward to the memorial weekend, which will bring a big economic boost.” “We driving for the summer,” Calhoun said.

The hotels in the city say they are pretty fully booked, but they are usually sold out by this point.

“I think it will probably impact business because everyone looks forward to Memorial Day. It will be different because every year the memorial rally happens and this year it will be a different occasion,” said Tanya Mantego of WorldMark Red River Guest Services.

Safety is everyone's top priority. A spokesman for the New Mexico State Police said the agency will have officers on scene but does not expect any problems.

“We're not really doing much differently on the city side. We're still sending the same number of police officers, we have extra EMS and backup. So everyone is a little bit uncertain and just doesn't know what's going to happen. The question is what it's going to be like, and we don't know that. But we're prepared for anything that could happen,” Calhoun said.

Calhoun says they might consider restarting the rally in the coming years, but it's too early to tell.

Memorial Day events begin Friday morning. The traveling Iraq and Afghanistan Memorial Wall will be in town this weekend.