Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
The best fundraisers not only gather money for a good cause, but also reward or entertain donors. Three on tap this weekend in eastern New Mexico should do that nicely.
Saturday morning, those good-hearted Kiwanians will be in the parking lot of C&S, 300 West First Street, in Portales hawking locally-grown petunias and geraniums as they do each spring. Besides being beautiful and hard to kill (when it comes to flowering plants, I have a death thumb), these colorful flowers will brighten your life while the dollars used to buy them will brighten the lives of local youth. The sale starts at 8 a.m., and will last until noon or the flowers are gone, whichever comes first.
Saturday also offers the Portales edition of the Relay for Life fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. Most events are scheduled for 1-8 p.m. at the Memorial Building and Portales City Park at 200 East 7th Street, but a day-long “mushball” tournament (softball where the ball is so soft that nobody can hit it very far) starts at 7 a.m. in the park and runs all day.
The Relay for Life got an early boost this year thanks to a fundraising idea from Karen Clark—her son Mark is one of the co-chairs, and he was smart enough to rope his creative mother into helping. Karen said after seeing so many wonderful photos on Facebook she decided a photography exhibit and sale could be a good way to add to the RFL coffers. She contacted retired teacher and local photographer Louise Shoemaker, who took the idea and ran.
“Louise is the one who made this show,” Karen said. “She donated well over a hundred photographs and asked photographer friends from all over to participate.”
The idea triggered so many contributions that two presales were already held. Dozens more prints and photo cards will be available in the Memorial Building on Saturday.
Organizers are hoping for a large community turnout. “Everyone knows someone who is affected one way or another by cancer,” Mark Clark said. “This is a fun, family-oriented, community celebration and fundraiser.”
And finally, don’t forget that the ENMU production of “Our Town” opens tonight with performances at 7 p.m. today, Friday, and Saturday, and special anniversary gala on Sunday afternoon to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the University Theater Center and serve as a scholarship fundraiser for students in theater, digital film-making and culinary arts.
Sunday’s curtain time is 2 p.m., but plan to arrive by 1:30 so you can enjoy a pre-performance “mocktail.” The first two acts will be done as one, then during intermission, Eastern’s culinary arts students will be serving “substantial hors d'oeuvres” (that’s French for good stuff). They’ll be back after act three with fancy desserts. Tickets for the evening performances are only $5. The Sunday fundraiser is priced at $25, with groups of three or more tickets available for $20 apiece. Call 562-2711 for reservations.
Betty Williamson thinks this is an especially fine weekend in our town. You may reach her at [email protected].
