Tuesday, July 2, 2024
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Doña Ana County hosts Creativity Fest 2024
Doña Ana County will celebrate working artists, area arts and cultural businesses at an inaugural Creativity Fest 2024 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, June 8, at the Doña Ana County Government Center, 845 North Motel Blvd. It is one of 11 live festivals being organized throughout the state.
“Participants include arts businesses like The Hood, art demonstrations and interactive arts activities and entertainment,” said Economic Development Administrator and Creative Industries Project Coordinator Denisse Carter. “Please join us for a symbolic ribbon cutting at 11 a.m. to initiate our six-month creative industries events.”
Creative Industries Week, celebrated from June 3 to 9, is part of statewide activities led and hosted by the state’s Economic Development Department, Division of Creative Industries. Doña Ana County received one of 18 state grants to grow jobs, boost investments in creative industries and launch new economic development initiatives like this one.
This week’s events include creative showcases, workshops, online panels featuring more than 50 speakers representing community leaders, higher education experts, entrepreneurs and economic developers.
“We represent Southern New Mexico and are focused on artists, arts businesses and entrepreneurs from Rincon to Santa Teresa, following the historic Camino Real and Highway 28,” Carter said.
The project is a combination of business and entrepreneurship workshops and trainings; self-guided tours of the county’s public art and historic missions; the creation of a traveling public art piece to visit the County’s 12 community centers; advisory lessons for emerging art businesses; and a series of public events around the county, throughout September and October.
The county contracted artist and arts leader Irene Oliver-Lewis as the artistic director and coordinator of the County’s creative industries project. She is organizing the event in partnership with the County and participation from the City of Las Cruces Public Art Department, Doña Ana Arts Council and Cruces Creative.
The project will employ about 50 artists, entrepreneurs and arts business owners. For information on Creativity Fest 2024 contact Irene Oliver-Lewis at iolewis@zianet.com.
Songs for Us: Join Singing Out Las Cruces for a weekend of live choral music
Singing Out Las Cruces is a local mixed voice LGBTQIA+ & Ally community chorus. The choir is a nonprofit organization that has proudly been performing choral works since 2011.
Singing Out, is an active member of the global choir association GALA choruses and has plans to perform at the Gala Festival in 2028. Singing Out is a non-audition choir that strives to be a safe place that welcomes anyone to join regardless of experience and be a part of the joy of
making music.
Singing Out Las Cruces has an upcoming concert “Songs for Us,” on June 8 and 9. These choral performances will celebrate songs by/and for the LGBTQIA+ community. Attendees can expect
performances of songs such as “Take Me to Church,” “True Colors,” and “This is Me.” The
concerts will take place at 575 N. Main in the Center for Spiritual Living in the Heart of
Las Cruces. Both the Saturday evening concert and the Sunday matinee will not only
include songs but also a silent auction, refreshments, and the opportunity to win prizes
through raffles and games. The proceeds of the concert go to support the continued existence and future endeavors of Singing Out Las Cruces.
For more information visit the Singing Out Las Cruces website at singingingoutlascruces.org.
Fantastic Fantasy! fantasy book group June meeting
Las Cruces Public Libraries invites everyone to join us for Fantastic Fantasy, a group where participants discuss the fantasy novels they’ve been reading and learn about the many sub-genres and tropes under the Fantasy umbrella.
Fantastic Fantasy will meet at 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 15, in the second floor Conference Room of the Thomas Branigan Memorial Library, located at 200 E. Picacho Ave.
In each meeting participants will discuss the fantasy books they previously read or are currently reading. Because there is not an assigned title that everyone reads, it’s more of a fun, easy going discussion of likes, dislikes and recommendations.
Fantastic Fantasy! is part of a new ongoing, rotating speculative fiction book club that meets every third Saturday of the month.
For more information, contact Kat Alexander, Librarian, at 575-528-4073 or by email at kalexander@lascruces.gov.
Good Society: An adventure in time travel
Travel back in time to Regency England with Las Cruces Public Libraries this summer for an experience in group storytelling, with prompts. The group will be gathering at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday afternoons in June and July at Thomas Branigan Memorial Library, 200 E. Picacho Ave.
Good Society is a role-playing game set in the Regency Period in England among the rich, and not-so-rich of high society. Participants will create and bring to life a character, role, who will interact the with player’s characters to build a world filled with romance, drama, and scandal. Participants and their companions will work together to tell the story of their character’s lives.
“Good Society: A Jane Austen RPG” was created in 2018 and has been nominated for and won multiple game industry awards.
Registration is required at las-cruces.assabetinteractive.com/calendar/. Costumes are welcome.
For information, contact Deanna Duffy, librarian, at 575-528-4005 or by email at dduffy@lascruces.gov.
