D e s e r t E x p o s u r e
June
2009
Summertime, and the livin' is. . . busy!
Curtain calling: Summer isn't ordinarily the season when one says, "Dahling, let's go to the theater," but this June is an exception. First, if you thought you'd missed Theatre For Today's production of You Can't Take It With You in Deming, you're in luck: The spring performance got postponed to June 12-14 and 19-21. Tim McAndrews directs a troupe of 20 local actors in the Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman classic, at the Deming Depot.
In Silver City, the Virus Theater continues its original production of Wheelhouse, at the Wherehouse (corner of Texas and San Vicente near downtown Silver City), June 4-6. And Theatre Group New Mexico stages a special Broadway Night at the ex-Elks Lodge on June 19, where the grand prize will be a Tucson getaway to see the opening of Legally Blonde, the Musical.
Las Cruces raises the curtain on two productions, This Is Our Youth at the Black Box Theatre, June 12-28, and Crazy for You across the Downtown Mall at Las Cruces Community Theatre, June 12-14.
Winston tastes good: It's a lovely month for a daytrip, and the little town of Winston, NM, along with nearby burgs Chloride, Chiz and (marvelously named) Dusty, offers a great excuse to head west of T or C to the 26th Annual WCC&D Fiesta on June 6. The first fiesta was held 26 years ago as a celebration of Sierra County's centennial in 1984. Now housed in and around a new Community Center, this year's fiesta includes a parade, BBQ dinner, cow-chip poker, raffle, craft fair/flea market, live music and a Western dance.
Enviro events: June also brings a pair of events designed (albeit in very different ways) to raise our eco-awareness. First, June 13 in Las Cruces is the 12th Annual Raft the Rio Grande, sponsored by the Southwest Environmental Center. It's a chance to have fun — yes, you, too, can ride the Rio in a giant duck, if that's your pleasure — while appreciating the area's watery resources. Prizes include best use of recycled materials, most creative, "spirit of the river," first to finish and least likely to finish. To qualify for the latter, your "raft" must actually be floating, however briefly, at the starting line, which is on West Picacho Avenue.
Then comes the Viva Verde Expo in Silver City, June 26-28, at the Silco Theater and WNMU Global Resource Center. Programs in this inaugural "green" extravaganza include a Green Government Symposium; "Beyond Sustainability" with Pat Murphy, author of Plan C; "Resilient Habitats" with permaculture guru Ben Haggard; "Energy Efficiency at Home"; and "Animal Husbandry for Beginners" with Doug Fine, author of Farewell, My Subaru (see our March 2008 issue). Plus there will be presentations, hands-on demonstrations, garden tours, an "Eco Film Fest" and a "Recycled Art Walk" in which downtown galleries get in on the environmental consciousness. So park your gas guzzler, don your Earth shoes and walk or bike on down to join in.
Silver screenings: The 20th anniversary celebration of the Mesilla Valley Film Society continues this month with the second of four Hollywood-worthy hoopla events on June 20. First, the Fountain Theatre will screen a CineMatinee double feature, starting at 10:30 a.m. with Mostly Martha, a German comedy-drama, followed by Babette's Feast at 1:30 p.m. That ode to gastronomy was the first film ever screened by the society, back in 1989. Then, Saturday evening, you can help the society celebrate at a dessert and wine gala at Vintage Wines at 6 p.m., followed by (tentatively) a 7 p.m. performance by Jamie the Magic Guy (see our August 2005 issue). After the last rabbit is pulled out of the hat, everybody troops back to the Fountain for The Great Buck Howard, about — you guessed it — a magician who was once Johnny Carson's favorite "Tonight Show" guest, before a long career downslide.
All together now: It's a big month for community-building and supporting worthy causes, starting on June 7 with the 24 Club's 3rd Annual Builders' Series Home Tour. (Read all about the club in our October 2007 issue.) After touring the homes, stop for refreshments at Seedboat Gallery.
The next day, June 8, you can help ponder the future of the Fort Bayard National Historic Landmark at "Ahead to the Past," a summit at the WNMU Global Resource Center. A BBQ lunch and walking tour of the fort follows. (You can prep for the confab by studying our January 2007 issue. Did we mention these back issues are all online at our Web site, www.desertexposure.com?)
Over in Las Cruces, June 19 is the "For the HeART of Animals" fundraiser for the Humane Society of Southern New Mexico, at the Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum.
And on June 24, some of our favorite Las Crucens come to town for a KRWG Community Coffee at the Curious Kumquat in Silver City.
Class is in session: Finally, school may be out for the summer, but that doesn't mean you or your kids have to just loll around playing Xbox. The Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum and Branigan Cultural Center in Las Cruces both have lengthy schedules of classes and crafts — from papermaking to pine-needle basketry to living history — to keep the kids out of your hair. Er, we mean, keep them educated and entertained. (June 14 is also the museum's annual Antique Treasures Day, when you get a rare glimpse inside its Collections Storage Room.)
In Silver City, the Mimbres Region Arts Council's Mural Camp for ages 9-12 will be held June 22-July 3. When the fun's all done, a mural featuring the history of Chihuahua Hill will adorn the Manzanita Ridge store on Bullard. And the Conservatory of Dance offers two dance workshops, by age level, the week of June 22.
You can also occupy the kids on June 6 up at Lake Roberts, at the First Annual Aldo Leopold Kids Fishing Derby and Festival.
Adults in Silver City looking to learn something this summer can join the Southwest Women's Fiber Arts Collective's series of classes, covering topics ranging from dyes to hatmaking. Or learn figure painting in oils with Chris Alvarez at Elemental Arts, beginning June 19.
Las Cruces adult learners mustn't miss frequent Desert Exposure contributor Jay Sharp, lecturing on "Trails and Travelers Before the Railroad" at the Railroad Museum on June 9. You've already read Jay's article in this issue on the Chihuahuan desert, right?