Governor Susana Martinez and the New Mexico Arts Commission have announced the seven artists and art supporters who will be recipients of the 2013 Governor’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts.

“New Mexico’s culture is anchored by our rich history of beautiful artwork and creativityThe talented artists and dedicated art supporters recognized as 2013 Governor’s Arts Awards honorees enrich the quality of life all New Mexicans enjoy.” – Governor Martinez

The Mimbres Region Arts Council (MRAC) of Silver City is recognized as a Major Contributor to the Arts. Led by long-time director Faye McCalmont, MRAC has served the Grant County community and surrounding areas for 32 years, providing quality arts programs, including artist shows, art walks, and lecture series. The local arts council’s annual Blues Festival features well-known national performers and emerging New Mexico artists, drawing thousands of visitors to Silver City each year. The nonprofit arts council provides a number of exemplary programs for youth in the area including Fine Arts Fridays, which provides hands-on workshops by New Mexico artists for K-5 students, giving them an extensive introduction to dance, music, drama and visual arts. The local arts council’s Youth Mural Program pair professional artists with educators, historians, and at-risk youth to plan, design, and create mural for the region. MRAC’s youth programs reach more than 4,700 students annually serving the geographically isolated and ethnically diverse Grant County region. The arts council also acts as mentor and fiscal agent for fledgling arts groups, such as Southwest Festival of the Written Word and the Virus Theatre. MRAC spends more than $200,000 annually on arts programming for the Grant County region and its hundreds of volunteers contribute more than $50,000 in in-kind services. The Mimbres Region Arts Council is credited with transforming the arts and cultural offerings of Grant County.

The 2013 Governor’s Arts Awards recipients are: Edward Gonzales of Rio Rancho, Painter and Printmaker; Darren Vigil Gray of Santa Fe, Painter; Jenny Vincent of Taos, Musician; Jim Wagner of Taos, Painter/furniture maker; Frank Willett of Santa Fe, Ceramics/Potter; Aria Finch of Roswell – Major Contributor to the Arts; and the Mimbres Region Arts Council of Silver City – Major Contributor to the Arts.

The 2013 Governor’s Arts Awards ceremonies will be held on Friday, September 27th at 5:15p.m. at the St. Francis Auditorium in the New Mexico Museum of Art in Santa Fe. The ceremony is preceded by an afternoon reception and exhibition opening, 3:30 – 4:30 p.m., in the Governor’s Gallery, 4th Floor, State Capitol. Both the awards ceremony and gallery reception are free and open to the public.

This year marks the 40th annual celebration of the Governor’s Arts Awards, which were established in 1974 by Governor Bruce King and First Lady Alice King to celebrate the extensive roles – both economic and cultural – that artists, craftspeople and arts supporters play in the life of New Mexico. A diverse and noteworthy list of painters, weavers, sculptors, dancers, musicians, storytellers, poets, actors, playwrights and potters have been honored by the governor’s arts awards, New Mexico’s most prestigious arts awards. Past awardees include: Maria Martinez, Tony Abeyta, Glenna Goodacre, Tony Hillerman, Georgia O’Keeffe, Patrick Oliphant, N. Scott Momaday, Tammy Garcia, Catherine Oppenheimer, and Robert Redford.

The whole town and lots of visitors will be at Silver City’s biggest party Memorial Day weekend, and I really can’t wait. As my friend Annie says, “Holy Cow!”.

I can’t begin to describe the variety and caliber of The Blues being presented, so here’s a link to peruse: Silver City Blues Festival

This is our reward for working and studying hard all year. Along with two days of amazing music that’s absolutely free to everyone, this time there will be a block long array of vendors, with the usual sinfully good festival foods, and makers of beautiful jewelry, clothing and other crafts.

I’ve heard the town is springing for shaded picnic tables down the middle of the block, so when you feel like you can’t dance another minute, relaxing, with a cold beverage, eating and showing off the treasures gleaned from the craft sellers will be a nice break.

Tie dye and/or biker’s leathers seem to be traditional dress for this party, but what ever you wear, a hat and dancing shoes are must-haves. Everybody eventually succumbs to the blues, grandmas and pre-teens, babies, bikers and bankers; we’re all dancing together.

How this little town manages to party this big is a mystery, and one I’m grateful for! Thanks, Mimbres Regional Arts Council and about a zillion hard-core volunteers.

~ Silver City Serena

New Mexico True Stories is an extension of the New Mexico True campaign, which was launched last spring in Texas, Colorado and Arizona.

Throughout the state, billboards, TV, newspapers and on-line advertising will ask “Are you New Mexico True?” and direct New Mexicans to the Tourism Department’s website to share their True story.

“We know New Mexicans are all very proud of the place we call home. So now is the time to share your insider’s tips and great undiscovered treasures that make New Mexico True.” – Governor Martinez

Participants simply have to travel the state, take amazing photos, then visit the contest website at newmexico.org. There, they will be asked to upload 6-12 photos and answer a few questions such as favorite meal, outdoor adventure and insider’s tip.

The top vote getter will win a $5,000 cash prize, sponsored by Advanced Presentation Systems. During each of the twelve weekly prize periods, the story with the most votes will win a $450 gas card, sponsored by the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce, the City of Gallup and the Farmington Convention and Visitors Bureau. The Top 20 NM True Stories will be featured in the 2014 Vacation Guide, as the Ultimate New Mexico Insider’s Guide.

“At the Tourism Department, we are always thinking of creative ways to inspire people to travel the state and fall in love with New MexicoX. By sharing your stories, you are giving great insight to the hundreds of people who visit our website in search of adventure and authentic experiences.” – Martinez

To enter your New Mexico True Story, visit newmexico.org. True Story entries will be accepted from May 6 through August 4, 2013. Finalist voting ends August 18.

The race includes two previous winners of  the prestigious Italian race Giro Rosa winners,  German Claudia Haeusler (2009) of Team TIBCO and American Mara Abbott (2010) of Exergy TWENTY16 team who is also a two-time Tour of the Gila champion (2007, 2010); the reigning and nine-time USA Cyclo-cross Champion Katie Compton of Trek Cyclocross Collective; and  the current leader of the  NRC classification Alison Powers of NOW and Novartis for MS.

The field also includes nine of the fifteen participants for the invitation-only third annual Amgen Tour of California Women’s Time Trial Race, Alison Tetrick, Mara Abbott and Kristin McGrath of Exergy TWENTY16;  Alison Powers and Robin Farina of NOW and Novartis for MS;  Jade Wilcoxson and Brianna Walle of  Optum Pro Cycling presented by Kelly Benefit Strategies; Jasmin Glaesser of Team TIBCO; and Katie Compton of Trek Cyclocross Collective.

Notable riders  also include:

London 2012 Olympians

• Rushlee Buchanan (Team TIBCO)
• Jasmin Glaesser (Team TIBCO)
• Joanne Kiesanowski (Team TIBCO)
• Joëlle Numainville (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies)
• Shelley Olds (Team TIBCO)
• Denise Ramsden (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) – reigning Canadian National Road Race Champion

Former USA National Champions

• Mara Abbott (Exergy TWENTY16) – Road Race, 2007, 2010
• Robin Farina (NOW and Novartis for MS) – Road Race, 2010
• Shelley Olds (Team TIBCO) – Criterium, 2010
• Alison Powers (NOW and Novartis for MS) – Time Trial, 2008

Stages for the 2013 Silver City’s Tour of the Gila powered by SRAM  include:

• Stage 1, Silver City to Mogollon Road Race – Wednesday, May 1
• Stage 2, Fort Bayard Inner Loop Road Race -Thursday, May 2
• Stage 3, Dan Potts Memorial Tyrone Individual Time Trial – Friday, May 3
• Stage 4, Downtown Silver City  Criterium – Saturday May 4
• Stage 5, Gila Monster Road Race – Sunday, May 5

The 2013 Silver City’s Tour of the Gila powered by SRAM NRC women’s roster includes the following riders. *Rosters are subject to change

Alison Powers (NOW and Novartis for MS)
Olivia Dillon (NOW and Novartis for MS)
Kathryn Donovan (NOW and Novartis for MS)
Devon Gorry (NOW and Novartis for MS)
Alexis Ryan (NOW and Novartis for MS)
Lex Albrecht (NOW and Novartis for MS)
Robin Farina (NOW and Novartis for MS)
Maura Kinsella (NOW and Novartis for MS)

Joëlle Numainville (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies)
Lauren Hall (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies)
Denise Ramsden (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies)
Jade Wilcoxson (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies)
Janel Holcomb (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies)
Brianna Walle (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies)
Courteney Lowe (Optum p/b Kelly Benefits Strategies)

Claudia Haeusler (Team TIBCO)
Joanne Kiesanowski (Team TIBCO)
Rushlee Buchanan (Team TIBCO)
Amanda Miller (Team TIBCO)
Shelley Olds (Team TIBCO)
Chantal Blaak (Team TIBCO)
Jasmin Glaesser (Team TIBCO)

Mara Abbott (ExergyTWENTY16)
Rebecca Balboni (ExergyTWENTY16)
Jacquelyn Crowell (ExergyTWENTY16)
Heather Fischer (ExergyTWENTY16)
Lauren Tamayo (ExergyTWENTY16)
Andrea Dvorak (ExergyTWENTY16)
Kristin McGrath (ExergyTWENTY16)
Alison Tetrick (ExergyTWENTY16)

Anna Sanders (FCS/Zngine p/b Mr Restore)
Jennifer App (FCS/Zngine p/b Mr Restore)
Lindsay Fox (FCS/Zngine p/b Mr Restore)
Amy McGuire (FCS/Zngine p/b Mr Restore)
Kaelly Farnham (FCS/Zngine p/b Mr Restore)
Marilyn McDonald (FCS/Zngine p/b Mr Restore)

Lauren Creamer (ISCorp presented by Intelligentsia Coffee)
Lorena Vargas (ISCorp presented by Intelligentsia Coffee)
Hayley Giddens (ISCorp presented by Intelligentsia Coffee)
Angie Gonzalez (ISCorp presented by Intelligentsia Coffee)
Valentina Paniagua (ISCorp presented by Intelligentsia Coffee)
Jenn Perricone (ISCorp presented by Intelligentsia Coffee)
Marisol Tellado (ISCorp presented by Intelligentsia Coffee)

Megan Hill (DNA Cycling p/b Plan7)
Kelsey Withrow (DNA Cycling p/b Plan7)
Breanne Nalder (DNA Cycling p/b Plan7)
Anne Perry (DNA Cycling p/b Plan7)

Sarah Sturm (I AM Racing)
Addyson ‘Addy’ Albershardt (I AM Racing)
Kimberley Turner (I AM Racing)

Donelys Carino (INFINITI Cycling Team)
Katherine Compton (Trek Cyclocross Collective)
Nilmarie Gonzalez
Scotti Wilborne (Leborne Development)
Sheila Cousins (Morgan Stanley Specialized)
Alexis Zink (NCVC/UnitedHealthcare)
Julie Emmerman (Rally Sport Cycling Team)
Anne Donley (Rise Above Cycling)
Catherine Johnson (Rise Above Racing)
Lauren De Crescenzo (Team Kenda p/b RACC)
Jenny Lehmann (Trek Red Truck Racing)
Shawn Morelli (U.S. Para Cycling)
Amy Charity (Vanderkitten)
Nicole Mitchell (Winner’s Edge)

For complete race schedule and more information about 2013 Silver City’s Tour of the Gila powered by SRAM, please visit www.tourofthegila.com.

“The bowls are definitely a labor of love. The race is very special for me.” said Parsons who has been creating the trophy bowls every year since the event was first held in 1987. “It’s been wonderful for Silver City and it’s been wonderful for me all these years because it’s kept me going when I had another career.”

When choosing the design and creating the bowls, Parsons and Pineda always keeps the racers in mind. “We think of the race and what it is, it is such an incredible human feat”. A fact that is obvious in her art.

Three-time overall winner Burke Swindlehurst stated that his trophy bowls are the only cycling mementos for his long career displayed in his home.  “They’re incredibly beautiful and unique pieces of artwork from a local artist. I love that someone can walk into my home and admire and appreciate the bowls strictly from aesthetic and artistic point of view. It’s only after they ask where I got such a great piece of art that I end up telling the stories behind each one and turn them over to reveal that they are actually trophies from my favorite race and greatest achievements of my professional cycling career.”

Trophy Bowl for UCI Men

Working together, Parsons and Pineda replicate the designs created by the Mimbres people. The Mimbres Culture, which flourished in Southwest New Mexico from around AD 500 to about AD 1150, produced pottery with fine geometric designs and the figures of humans, animals, birds and insects that were unique for that period.  Bowls are often found associated with burials.

Trophy Bowl for Women Pro/1/2

“I think of the bowls as a life achievement and so when you’re making them for the races, it feel very much in alignment with the concept of what bowls were given for, it’s something very special. Since they’re on a round surface, it also lends itself to the wheel, the bicycle wheel and so many designs relate to that. And then there are the animal designs which also for the bike racers, they’re riding through this country, the animals that live here. We do our best but we don’t ever feel that we get to where they were on some features. It’s such an incredible variety.” – Parsons

The Silver City’s Tour of the Gila powered by SRAM trophy bowls will be awarded at the end of the fifth and final stage on Sunday May 5, 2013. All the trophy bowls can be viewed in a gallery on the Tour of the Gila website.

The 2013 Silver City’s Tour of the Gila powered by SRAM consists of five stages– three road stages, one individual time trial and one criterium – with approximately 15,000 feet of climbing overall. The race culminates with the Gila Monster road stage – the make or break Queen Stage – with 5,610 feet of climbing and 4,714 feet of descending over 71.8 miles.

Additional teams as well as the final roster will be announced in the coming weeks.  Registration is currently open at bikereg.com. For complete race schedule and more information about 2013 Silver City’s Tour of the Gila powered by SRAM, please visit www.tourofthegila.com.

That progression never fails to thrill me. It starts in February or March with almond trees becoming huge bouquets of heavily scented flowers in the old neighborhoods. Then the wind comes up, along with apricot blossoms, and conversations about the viability of this year’s back yard fruit crops are heard at the Post Office, the hard ware store, and favorite watering holes.

Soon by ones and twos and threes and then entire teams, riders begin to slip in for training. Looking like they’re built completely of hard muscle, these are men and women devoted to cycling and determined to do well in one of the most grueling set of races ever, the Tour of the Gila.

The nearly constant roar of the wind starts to lose its intensity, and is replaced by that sweet zzz-zzz-zzz of thin tires on pavement. The cafes and grocery stores are crowded with spandexed riders searching for calories. Once the hotels and B&B’s fill up, private homes are opened to cyclists, and become temporary hostels. Life-long friendships have been built upon offering a spare bed and use of the shower to riders.

Last year over 600 cyclists registered for a variety of race events – I wonder if this, the 27th Tour, will draw even more. Races through down town on Saturday start early in the morning, and get wilder and louder as the day progresses, including races for locals and little kids. Sunday is the Gila Monster Road Race, and it is a monster!

See you at the finish line!

~ Silver City Serena

“You’re driving down a road. You pass through a small, rather despondent town by the name of Hurley. The only thing of interest that catches your eye is a mural on the side of a long, low building. You turn around, go back. Get out of the car, take the pics, get back in the car and zoom off. Nice artwork.

But when you get home and go through the pics, get ready to post them, you do a little due diligence on the ol’ “Local 890″ cited in the mural. Maybe there’s a little blurb in a local paper about the mural, its artist, and a bit of history of a union group that used to be, and that probably is no more.

You Google on “Hurley, NM” and “local 890.” Nothing of interest comes up. So you broaden the search to “local 890″ and “New Mexico.”

What a story!”

Read the rest of the story at Living Rootless: Grant County, New Mexico: A Revolution in the Middle of Nowhere

“Passionate Creativity!”
by Jean Eisenhower

Tre Rosat (tray roh-saht) is Albanian for “three ducks,” referring to the original owners – long-time friends, brimming with passion for cooking since their childhoods.

Since they moved their restaurant to the newly-renovated, light-filled Bullard Street location, they’ve drawn steady crowds and rave reviews.

One popular menu item is the mediterranean lamb burger of ground lamb mixed with currants and spices, grilled to perfection and served on a light focaccia roll with red pepper relish, house-made remoulade, lettuce, tomato, onion, and house-made sweet potato chips. (Actually, every condiment except mayonnaise is made in house.)

A favorite dinner item is the thick-cut house-brined pork chop. Served in different variations, it is currently served with creamy garlic mashed potatoes, local kale, and swiss chard.

For dessert, their signature mouse cake, created by owner King Crowder, features a light fluffy chocolate cake with a layer of rich chocolate mousse, topped with chocolate ganache and raspberry “caviar.” The plate is decorated with raspberry coulee, crème anglaise and a sprinkle of freeze-dried raspberries.

Other items of note include egg rolls (a different recipe every few weeks), veggie burgers (house-made, of course, of garbanzo beans, beets, and grated vegetables), build-your-own pizzas and burgers, several crostinis, and their wildly-talked-about appetizer: bacon-wrapped dates!

The wine and beer list is an eclectic mix. Most wines are from California with a couple from Oregon and Spain. The restaurant also features wines from La Esperanza Winery in the lower Mimbres Valley. Their beers are also unique with selections ranging from light lagers to creamy stouts.

Tre Rosat purchases locally as much produce and meat as possible and has more delivered from a short distance to create seasonal daily specials. They also make their own pastas, do their own butchering, and cure their own locally-produced pancetta.

Tre Rosat has ten wooden tables with upholstered chairs, all comfortably spaced, plus seats at the dining counter facing the open kitchen.

The dining room is made bright by huge windows and, above them, the original, renovated transom windows, and above those, the building’s original pressed-tin ceiling. Around the walls is natural wood wainscoting with stucco above, where local art is displayed.

The original tile floor is comprised of tiny, uniquely-shaped, grey-and-white hexagons. The original front door is inset off the sidewalk with the original store name, Barker’s written in the tiles.

Dinners are priced from $12 to17 with market prices for pork chops and seafood.

Lunches range from $6 to $14.

Desserts are priced between $4 and $7.

Tre Rosat is open from 11 – 9 Monday through Friday and 5 – 9 on Saturday.

Reservations are recommended and are required for large parties. RSVP online at trerosat.com or call 575-654-4919.

Jean Eisenhower is an award-winning author and journalist who writes only on subjects she cares about – and fine restaurants in her community fit the bill! jeaneisenhower.com

And I’ll admit that the rumor that I would appear dressed as Ixcacao, the Mayan Goddess of chocolate, for Silver City’s Chocolate Fantasia was true.

Note that verb tense; it is no longer true. Given the intricacy of the images I’ve researched and the vast amount of skin exposed, you will see me as The Queen of Hearts.

My BFF and I will be one of many pairs doling out fabulous locally crafted chocolates at various sites around down town. Get your site map and tickets before they’re sold out to avoid the heart break of missing this part of the celebration. We got an early volunteer shift so that we can fully participate in the Parade of Stars.

The Monsoon Puppets will be heading up the parade, and I’ve been told that there will be all kinds of wonderful and strange sights downtown.

Among other activities, earlier in the morning ASPACE Studio and the Lion’s Den will have creative workshops for kids to gear up for the parade.

Call MRAC at 575-538-2505, or go to Chocolate Fantasia at Mimbres Region Arts Council to get the skinny on tickets and other info.

How can a town so small have such frequent and fabulous free entertainment?

See you downtown.

- Serena

Nestled in the rolling foothills of the Gila National Forest, Silver City, NM, invites the visitor to explore the landscape and history of the Old West and as well as arts and culture in the New West.

Downtown, elegant Victorian brick facades bump up against Deco-style theatres and hotels, and Territorial style homes with deep, wrap-around porches dot the adjacent historic neighborhood. An oversized lizard, vividly colored produce, silhouetted children cartwheeling among flowers, and striking prehistoric indigenous Mimbreño images are just a few of the dozens of painted and tile murals that catch the visitor’s eye from the walls of businesses, institutions, parks, and homes, both downtown and in outlying areas.

To find the real Mimbreño pottery, artifacts, and world famous NAN Ranch collection, the visitor can go nearby to the Western New Mexico Museum. Fascinating photos of old Silver City and the astonishing floods that transformed its Main Street into the “Big Ditch” are on view at the Silver City Museum, housed in the 1881 Ailman House, which once also served as the fire department!

Contemporary art can be found in the studios and galleries on Yankie Street, with their colorful facades.

More than the visual arts are found in Silver City, which is home to a bevy of writers, musicians, and theatre groups. On a weekend a visitor might take in a performance of up-and-coming classical musicians, cowboy poetry, blues, or folk music.

On a Main Street sponsored, First Friday, one might bump into Chinese Lion Dancers or the Cat in the Hat. A Saturday might provide a pie competition at the Farmers Market or an international crew of Tour of the Gila pro cyclists racing at breakneck speed around downtown streets, or catch a rodeo.

It only takes a few minutes to leave civilization behind, with a choice of hiking trails a few minutes from downtown. Slightly further afield lies Mother Nature’s “Stonehenge” 40 minutes away at the City of Rocks. A two-hour drive through ponderosa pine forest and vistas of the Gila Wilderness leads to the mysterious, prehistoric Gila Cliff Dwellings.

After a full day, a visitor feeling “a might peckish” can dine on New Mexican food, continental cuisine, Oaxacan or Southeast Asian fare, or locally sourced food at a gastropub.

Overnight accommodations range from charming B&Bs to Victorian and Deco-era hotels to the familiar motels in all price ranges.

Whether subtle or obvious, Silver City’s treasures say, “Expect the unexpected.”