November 1-10 | 11-17 | 18-24 | 25-30 | December
DECEMBER
Friday 01
Silver City/Grant County
Steve Smith and Hard Road—Bluegrass, gospel and modern folk, blending in original instrumental and vocal works to create modern/retro sounds. $15 members, $20 non-members. 7:30 p.m., Pinos Altos Opera House. Mimbres Region Arts Council, 538-2505, www.mimbresarts.org.
Las Cruces/Mesilla
A Laura Ingalls Wilder Christmas—Through Dec. 3. Friday and Saturday 7 p.m., Sunday 3 p.m. St. Paul's, 255 W.Griggs Ave., 526-6689.
Annual Holiday Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony—5:30 p.m., Albert N. Johnson Park, corner of Main Street and Picacho Ave., 541-2200.
Annual Old-Fashioned Holiday La Casa Christmas Bazaar—Through Dec. 3. Friday 7 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Dickerson's Event Center, 3920 W. Picacho Ave., 526-2819/524-1222/523-4286, khancock@lacasainc.org.
Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol—Through Dec. 17. The real story behind Dickens' "A Christmas Carol"—Jacob Marley's heroic behind-the-scenes efforts to save old Scrooge's soul and in the process, save his own. Aided by a Bogle, a malicious little hell-sprite with an agenda of his own, their hilarious journey takes them from the Jaws of Death to the Mouth of Hell and beyond! Fridays and Saturdays 8 p.m., Sundays 2 p.m. $8, $7 students, $5 children under 6. Las Cruces Community Theater, 313 North Downtown Mall, 523-1200, www.lcctnm.org.
Lady Vengeance—Almost Midnight Film Series. Free admission. 9:45 p.m. Fountain Theater, 2469 Calle de Guadalupe, 524-8278, www.fountaintheatre.org.
Las Cruces Symphony—Through Dec. 3. Corey Cerovsek on violin, Lonnie Klein conducting. Friday 7:30 p.m., Saturday 8 p.m., Sunday 3 p.m. NMSU Music Center Recital Hall, 646-2421, www.nmsu.edu/~music/.
NMSU Aggies Men's Basketball Lou Henson Classic—NMSU Pan American Center, University Ave., 646-1420, www.nmstatesports.com.
Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles—Through Dec. 7. Ken Takakura stars as Gou-ichi Takata, a taciturn resident of a remote fishing village. On learning that his estranged son, Ken-ichi (Kiichi Nakai), is dying of cancer, he boards a bullet train for Tokyo, only to be rebuffed at the hospital room. Given a videotape by his distraught daughter-in-law, Takata discovers his son's passion for the folk opera of rural China and sets off on an odyssey of reconciliation. He arrives at a village in Yunnan Province to search out Li Jiamin, the star of the masked opera that gives the film its name, whom Ken-ichi wished to film before illness sent him home. Li has since been jailed for his participation in a drunken brawl, but with the help of a sweet-natured guide, Takata charms the local bureaucracy into allowing him access to the prisoner. Nightly 7:30 p.m. Sunday matinee 2:30 p.m. $6, members $4, students and seniors $5, matinees $5, Wednesdays $4. Fountain Theater, 2469 Calle de Guadalupe, 524-8278, www.fountainteatre.org.
Saturday 02
Silver City/Grant County
26th Annual Mimbres Hot Springs Ranch Studio Sale—Through Dec. 3. Artists offer unique handmade gifts for your home and holiday giving. Live music, food and door prizes. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Six miles south of San Lorenzo off Hwy. 61; follow signs 2 1/2 miles to MHSR.
Gila Valley Artisans Craft Fair—Through Dec. 3. Local artisans, food, door prizes, music and fun for the family. Community Center on Hwy. 211 in Gila. 535-2151.
Melodrama Theatre—8 p.m. Pinos Altos Opera House, 388-3848, www.pinosaltos.org/melodrama.
Las Cruces/Mesilla
A Laura Ingalls Wilder Christmas—Through Dec. 3. 7 p.m. St. Paul's, 255 W.Griggs Ave., 526-6689.
Annual Old-Fashioned Holiday La Casa Christmas Bazaar—Through Dec. 3. 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Dickerson's Event Center, 3920 W. Picacho Ave., 526-2819/524-1222/523-4286, khancock@lacasainc.org.
Annual Trail of Lights—Warm your hearts and your souls with a cup of free hot cocoa and cookies. Enjoy the sounds of music under the glow of 3,000 luminarias along the historic Downtown Mall. 6-8 p.m. 541-2288/505-528-3204. ohennessey@las-cruces.org.
Dona Ana Modular Railroad Display—Through Dec. 3. Saturday 9 a.m.-8 p.m., Sunday 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Good Samaritan, 3025 Terrace Drive, 532-1751, troeller@zianet.com.
Everyone Their Grain of Sand—This award-winning documentary reveals the struggles of the citizens of Maclovio Rojas in Tijuana, Mexico, as they battle the state government's attempts to evict them from their homes to make way for multi-national corporations seeking cheap land and labor. Filmmaker and guest Beth Bird followed the fiercely determined residents for three years as they petitioned the state for basic services like running water, electricity and pay for their teachers, only to be met with bureaucratic stonewalling. Eventually, several community leaders are targeted for persecution, and one is arrested while others are forced into hiding. $3, free for Mesilla Valley Film Society members. 1:30 p.m. Fountain Theater, 2469 Calle de Guadalupe, 524-8278, www.fountaintheatre.org.
Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol—Through Dec. 17. See Dec. 1. 8 p.m. $8, $7 students, $5 children under 6. Las Cruces Community Theater, 313 North Downtown Mall, 523-1200, www.lcctnm.org.
Las Cruces Symphony—Through Dec. 3. See 1. 8 p.m. NMSU Music Center Recital Hall, 646-2421, www.nmsu.edu/~music/.
NMSU Aggies Football vs. Louisiana Tech—1 p.m., NMSU Aggie Memorial Stadium, Payne St., 646-1420, nmstatesports.com.
NMSU Aggies Men's Basketball Lou Henson Classic—NMSU Pan American Center, University Ave., 646-1420, www.nmstatesports.com.
Steve Smith and Hard Road—$12 advance, $15 door. 8 p.m., Black Box Theatre, 430 N. Downtown Mall, 525-0559, www.desertnight.com.
Alamogordo
COPE Benefit—7:30 p.m., Flickinger Center for Performing Arts, 1110 New York Ave., 437-2202.
Deming
8th Street Marketplace—Farmer's market and craft fair. Crafts, food, drinks and produce. Every Saturday, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Historic Baker House, 8th and Spruce St., 544-0548/544- 9029/546-7686.
Sunday 03
Las Cruces/Mesilla
Annual Old Fashioned Holiday La Casa Christmas Bazaar—9 a.m.-4 p.m., Dickerson's Event Center, 3920 West Picacho Ave., 526-2819/524-1222/523-4286, khancock@lacasainc.org.
A Laura Ingalls Wilder Christmas—3 p.m. St. Paul's, 255 W.Griggs Ave., 526-6689.
Dona Ana Modular Railroad Display—9 a.m.-3 p.m. Good Samaritan, 3025 Terrace Drive, 532-1751, troeller@zianet.com.
First Sunday Library Reading Series—Bobby Byrd and Michelle Holland read from their recent work. 3 p.m., Dresp Room, Branigan Public Library, 521-9314.
Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol—Through Dec. 17. See Dec. 1. 2 p.m. $8, $7 students, $5 children under 6. Las Cruces Community Theater, 313 North Downtown Mall, 523-1200, www.lcctnm.org.
Las Cruces Symphony—See 1. 3 p.m. NMSU Music Center Recital Hall, 646-2421, www.nmsu.edu/~music/.
The Flying J Wranglers Annual Christmas Show—A show of music and good clean family-styled laughs. $30 advance, $35 door. 7 p.m., New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum, 4100 Dripping Springs Road, 522-4100.
Columbus
Columbus Christmas Festival—Information, 531-2236.
Monday 04
Las Cruces/Mesilla
Learning to Love without Pain—Mondays through Dec. 11. See Nov. 6. $8, 7-8:30 p.m., 116 W. Las Cruces Ave., 292-5293, www.meditationnewmexico.org.
Deming
Green Tea—Open house and reception. Deming Luna Mimbres Museum, 546-2832.
Tuesday 05
Alamogordo
An Evening with Groucho—By Burt Broadcasting. $25, $18, $10. 7:30 p.m., Flickinger Center for Performing Arts, 1110 New York Ave., 437-2202.
Wednesday 06
Las Cruces/Mesilla
Border Jazz Quartet—Ages 21 and up. 8-11 p.m., El Patio, 2171 Calle de Parian, 526-9943.
Thursday 07
Silver City/Grant County
WNMU Mustangs Women's Basketball vs. University of Nebraska Kearney—6 p.m., Mustang Fieldhouse. www.wnmu.edu/athletic/w-basketball/sporthome.htm.
WNMU Mustangs Men's Basketball vs. University of Nebraska Kearney—8 p.m., Mustang Fieldhouse. www.wnmu.edu/athletic/m-basketball/sporthome.htm.
Las Cruces/Mesilla
Time Travel at Night by Lantern Light—Through Dec. 9. Take an interactive trip through time and visit people from New Mexico's past. After that, stick around and enjoy music, a hay ride and other good ol' fashioned fun. 6-9 p.m., New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum, 4100 Dripping Springs Road, 522-4100.
Friday 08
Silver City/Grant County
Festival of Trees—Through Dec. 10. An annual community event benefiting Penny Park. Come see the park transformed into a winter wonderland, buy some baked goods and see the Christmas trees decorated by members of the community. Trees are for sale. Friday and Saturday11 a.m.-8 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Penny Park, 1305 Grant St., 534-0261, www.pennypark.org.
Melodrama Theatre—8 p.m. Pinos Altos Opera House, 388-3848, www.pinosaltos.org/melodrama.
Las Cruces/Mesilla
Annual Lighting of the Christmas Tree—Christmas tree lighting ceremony on the plaza in Mesilla and great music. Businesses in Mesilla will stay open late for holiday shopping. Tree lighting 6 p.m., music 6-6:30 p.m. Old Mesilla Plaza, 524-3262, kmedina_tom@comcast.net, www.vivamesilla.org.
Celebraciones de Navidad—Through Dec. 9. NMSU Choirs present a holiday program emphasizing Mexican music, Spanish music and old holiday favorites performed in new and different ways, including a traditional candlelight carol to put you in the holiday spirit. $10, $12, $15. NMSU Music Center Recital Hall, 646-2067. saraorton@comcast.net or www.nmsu.edu/~music/.
Factotum—Through Dec. 14. Starring Matt Dillon and Lili Taylor in two of their best film performances, is a movie about the LA underbelly, as recalled by an expert—Charles Bukowski. Adapted from Bukowski's 1975 novel, the movie spins a yarn that, like most of the author's prolific output, is semi-autobiographical. Bukowski, who died in 1994, was a rough, razor-sharp chronicler of the bum's life, a poet of cheap booze and sex and a master of the pared-down literary style of Ernest Hemingway and John Fante. The title refers to "a man who performs many jobs." And that's what we see Bukowski's literary alter ego Henry ("Hank") Chinaski doing here: floating from job to job, binge to binge. Rated R. "Nightly 7:30 p.m. Sunday matinee 2:30 p.m. $6, members $4, students and seniors $5, matinees $5, Wednesdays $4. Fountain Theater, 2469 Calle de Guadalupe, 524-8278, www.fountaintheatre.org.
Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol—Through Dec. 17. See Dec. 1. 8 p.m. $8, $7 students, $5 children under 6. Las Cruces Community Theater, 313 North Downtown Mall, 523-1200, www.lcctnm.org.
Time Travel at Night by Lantern Light—Through Dec. 9. See Dec. 7. 6-9 p.m., New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum, 4100 Dripping Springs Road, 522-4100.
Alamogordo
Flying J Wranglers—A benefit for the Opportunity Center. Flickinger Center for Performing Arts, 1110 New York Ave., 437-2202.
Saturday 09
Silver City/Grant County
1st Annual Hurley Christmas Parade—Meet Santa. Vendors and food. 10 a.m. Hurley Community Center, 537-2124.
Festival of Trees—Through Dec. 10. See Dec. 8. 11 a.m.-8 p.m., Penny Park, 1305 Grant St., 534-0261, www.pennypark.org.
Melodrama Theatre—8 p.m. Pinos Altos Opera House, 388-3848, www.pinosaltos.org/melodrama.
WNMU Mustangs Women's Basketball vs. Chadron State College—6 p.m., Mustang Fieldhouse. www.wnmu.edu/athletic/w-basketball/sporthome.htm.
WNMU Mustangs Men's Basketball vs. Chadron State College—8 p.m., Mustang Fieldhouse. www.wnmu.edu/athletic/m-basketball/sporthome.htm.
Las Cruces/Mesilla
Celebraciones de Navidad—See Dec. 8. $10, $12, $15. NMSU Music Center Recital Hall, 646-2067. saraorton@comcast.net or www.nmsu.edu/~music/.
Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol—Through Dec. 17. See Dec. 1. 8 p.m. $8, $7 students, $5 children under 6. Las Cruces Community Theater, 313 North Downtown Mall, 523-1200, www.lcctnm.org.
The Last Picture Show—$3, free for Mesilla Valley Film Society members. 1:30 p.m. Fountain Theater, 2469 Calle de Guadalupe, 524-8278, www.fountaintheatre.org.
Time Travel at Night by Lantern Light—See Dec. 7. 6-9 p.m., New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum, 4100 Dripping Springs Road, 522-4100.
Alamogordo
Father B Hay Holiday Show—7:30 p.m., Flickinger Center for Performing Arts, 1110 New York Ave., 437-2202.
Deming
Rockhound State Park Festival of Lights—View more than 1,000 luminaries that line the Visitor Center and Native Gardens of Rockhound State Park. Live music, caroling, conversation, hot cocoa and traditional cookies are available for sharing. Rockhound State Park, 546-6182, jmranch@vtc.net.
8th Street Marketplace—Farmer's market and craft fair. 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Historic Baker House, 8th and Spruce St., 544-0548/544- 9029/546-7686.
Radium Springs
Stars-N-Parks—Neptune and Uranus visible, fall sky becoming prominent, Orion rises by program's end. $5, 6:10 p.m. Leasburg Dam State Park, 527-8386/532-1486, jgilkiso@zianet.com, www.Astro-NPO.org
Sunday 10
Silver City/Grant County
Festival of Trees—See Dec. 8. 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Penny Park, 1305 Grant St., 534-0261, www.pennypark.org.
Las Cruces/Mesilla
Annual Our Lady of Guadalupe Fiesta—Through Dec. 12. Twelfth pilgrimage to Tortugas Mountain, 13th celebration religious fiesta in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Indian dances and ceremonies throughout the day. 526-8171.
Annual Virgin de Guadalupe Feast Day Celebration—Through Dec. 12. St. Genevieve's Church, 100 S. Espina St., and Parish Hall on Las Cruces St., 524-0623. nmelon@earth-comm.com.
Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol—Through Dec. 17. See Dec. 1. 2 p.m. $8, $7 students, $5 children under 6. Las Cruces Community Theater, 313 North Downtown Mall, 523-1200, www.lcctnm.org.
Nancy Ritchey—Mesilla Valley Chorale special concert. 3 p.m., Rio Grande Theatre, 211 N. Downtown Mall, 647-2560/523-6403, daac@zianet.com, www.zianet.com/daac.
New Horizons Symphony Orchestra—3 p.m. NMSU Music Center Recital Hall, 646-2421, www.nmsu.edu/~music.
Truth or Consequences
Ash Canyon Hike—The Sierra Club will have a hike in Ash Canyon along the east side of the Caballo Mountains. Meet at the US Forest Service office parking lot in Truth or Consequences at 9 a.m. Free. Non-members welcome. 740-2927/744-5860.
November 1-10 | 11-17 | 18-24 | 25-30 | December