D e s e r t E x p o s u r e
March 2012
A shower of must see events
Appropriately for April, famous for its showers (even if hereabouts it's mostly just wind), the can't-miss events of the month kick off with a talk and Q&A by local rainwater harvesting expert Van Clothier. If our story on Clothier back in July 2011 ("Letting the Water Do the Work") piqued your curiosity, here's your chance to learn more — April 6, 7:30-9:30 p.m., at the Yankie Creek Coffee House in downtown Silver City.
Another treat for Desert Exposure readers gets served up the next day, April 7, at the Silver City Museum Annex: Moccasins, the latest staged play reading in the New Mexico Ghost Play Cycle by frequent contributor Victoria Tester. (You'll recall her Voice of a Ranchwoman and Going to Palomas series in our pages, both still available in full at our website.)
Music takes center stage on April 12, when the Mimbres Region Arts Council brings Michelle Shocked and her 2012 Roadworks Tour: Roccupy! to the Buckhorn Opera House in Pinos Altos. Shocked, who describes herself as "the most sophisticated hillbilly you'll ever meet," has carved out a 20-plus-year career that has seen critical acclaim at every juncture. In the early 1990s, she famously escaped "major-label indentured servitude," and has continued to release critically acclaimed albums on her Mighty Sound label. Says one critic, "She tackles a wide variety of styles, attaching segments of rock, folk and soul to her biting critiques and affectionate moments."
On April 20, it's the Western Institute for Lifelong Learning's turn to take you back to class, in partnership with WNMU. This year's One-Day University at the Global Resource Center features three talks by WNMU faculty: Curtis Hays on "Crime Causation or Why Do Those @#$#! Do It!"; Alexandra Neves on "Where I'm From: Developing Intercultural Competence Through Students' Poetry"; and Manda Clare Jost on "From Sanskrit Talks to Tarantula Hawks: The Power of Evolutionary Trees." Reserve your spot in the "class" by emailing mcarthur@wnmu.edu or calling 538-6320.
And WILL is just warming up. That same day, April 20, at 5:30 p.m. it brings bestselling mystery author J.A. Jance back to town. The author of mysteries set in the Southwest (and Seattle) will talk on "Tales from the Writing Life" at the WNMU Global Resource Center, and also sign books and chat with readers on April 21 at 10:30 p.m. at the Silver City Public Library. (Read our interview with Jance, "From Bisbee to the Bestseller List," in the March 2007 issue).
Also April 20 and 21, for Sexual Assault Awareness Month, the Buckhorn Opera House will present "A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant, and a Prayer," a collection of monologues by Eve Ensler and Mollie Doyle. The next weekend, April 27, observe 15 minutes of silence for victims of such crimes at Gough Park at 6 p.m.
On a decidedly lighter note, April 21 also brings the Handsome Little Devils in Squirm Burpee Circus, part of the Mimbres Region Arts Council's Performance Series at the WNMU Fine Arts Center Theatre. The Denver-based troupe of Mike Huling, Dave Clay, Cole Schneider and Jason Knauf — all veterans of the stage — promises "an exhilarating, fantastical adventure featuring classic vaudeville comedy, high-skill circus acts and a plot rooted in American melodrama."
Fun for all ages but especially kids can be found April 27-29 in the Theatre Group New Mexico production of Disney's Alice in Wonderland Jr. Audiences will go through the rabbit hole at WNMU's Fine Arts Center Theatre at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and at a 2 p.m. Sunday matinee.
Bicyclists who can't wait for next month's Tour of the Gila can warm up and help a good cause on April 28 at Pedalista 2012 in Silver City's Gough Park. The family-fun celebration of the bike is a fundraiser for The Bike Works, the nonprofit community bike shop.
Making way for May flowers, the month wraps up with the folk-roots-Americana music of Round Mountain, performing the evening of April 28 at the Buckhorn Opera House as part of the second annual New Mexico Music Series. Santa Fe-based brothers Char and Robby Rothschild, a "two-man singing folk orchestra," describe their style as "Americana meets the neighbors."