SANTA FE, N.M. – It may seem like a long way away, but folks are already planning for this year’s burning of Old Man Gloom. 

Zozobra is a long-standing tradition in New Mexico, and now there is a push to make sure this year is extra special. 

“This is Zozobra’s 100th year, the centennial year,” said Ray Sandoval, an event chairman.

After a century of burning Old Man Gloom, the Kiwanis organization wanted to make sure this Santa Fe tradition was memorialized. 

“They came up with the idea of why don’t we do a monument and can we look at renaming Fort Marcy Park,” Sandoval said. 

So, Sandoval reached out to Santa Fe City Councilor Signe Lindell to make the proposal official. 

“I’ve done a lot of projects with the Kiwanis and with Ray, and been participating with them since I have been elected, and what a great tradition Zozobra is, everybody loves it,” Lindell said. 

Essentially, the proposal would change the name of Fort Marcy Ball Field to “Zozobra Field at Fort Marcy Park.” 

“We have all been through the controversy of statues and renaming things. So one of the things we decided to do was not come back and change anything or take anything away, rather to add to the tapestry of our city by adding Zozobra to it,” Sandoval said. 

The proposal would also change the park’s sign near the intersection of Bishops Lodge and Artist Road to also include a monument to Zozobra himself. 

“The monument will be constructed with bricks that are purchased so that will offset the cost and no taxpayer money will be used to replace the signage or to construct the monument,” Sandoval said. 

The proposal will be introduced Wednesday night during the Santa Fe city council meeting, and Lindell is confident the city will go forward with it. 

“Traditions create community, and that is what we do here. Everybody belongs, everybody has a place here, and that has been one of the great things I’ve always observed about the Kiwanis,” Lindell said. 

Speaking of Zozobra, the Kiwanis Club and the New Mexico History Museum in Santa Fe wants to hear and see your Old Man Gloom memories. The museum is looking for pictures, vintage merch, or any other type of memory you might have to help celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Burning of Zozobra. 

People can bring that stuff to the museum in person on March 30 and April 1. You can also submit your entry online on the official Zozobra website. Any items chosen will be on loan to the museum, and you’ll get them back once the exhibit ends.

Tickets are now on sale, click here for more information.