Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities

Good causes, good music fill up weekend

Perhaps in honor of Thanksgiving month — or maybe we are just lucky — this weekend has an overflowing cornucopia of good causes and good music in store for us.

I’ll be spending many hours at the Portales Public Library as I do each November when we throw open the doors to the Friends of the Library used book storeroom and practically give books away. Seriously: 25 cent paperbacks and 50 cent hardbacks.

That annual sale that supports library activities opens at 5 p.m. Thursday with $5 tote bags that you can cram with your choice of books. We will be selling our leftovers from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday for only a dollar a bag. Not even kidding.

If finding bargain books puts you in the mood for Christmas shopping, you’ve picked a good weekend for it. The Holiday Bazaar at the Clovis Civic Center from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday is slated to have an array of vendors hawking handmade gifts, clothing, home décor, organic food, and more.

Ready to start decorating, and want to support a good cause at the same time? Grab a ticket for the Hartley House Festival of Trees set for Saturday evening at the Day’s Inn and Suites on Mabry Drive in Clovis.

Sip on a cocktail and munch on appetizers while bidding on lavishly decorated Christmas trees and wreaths for your home or business, and bid generously knowing that your dollars will benefit our local shelter for victims of domestic violence.

If you’re looking for a fun family event, check out Clovis Community College’s Fall Festival from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday. They’re planning everything from magicians to belly dancers, and it’s all free.

Feeling athletic? Find a friend and sign up for the Saturday morning cornhole tournament at 800 Wood Street in Clovis. It’s a fundraiser for Clovis Area 50-Plus Olympics, and cornhole players of all ages are welcome to pitch for this cause.

Open division registration is $50 per two-person team. If you count yourself in the 50-plus crowd, you and a teammate can enter for $40. Wildly enthusiastic spectators (or even sedate ones) are welcome to attend for free.

And then there is music. This exceedingly melodious weekend includes:

• The Clovis Community Band’s annual John Philip Sousa concert at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Clovis Community College’s Town Hall

• A performance by the legendary Sons of the Pioneers at 7 p.m. Thursday in Marshall Auditorium as part of CCC’s Cultural Arts Series

• Eastern New Mexico University’s annual Pops dinner concert at 7 p.m. Saturday on campus in Portales (it’s too late to snag a ticket, but it’s not too late to write down Dec. 5 on your calendar for the music department’s annual free holiday concert in the same location)

• Zane Williams in concert at the Curry County Events Center on Saturday evening

• The ENMU double-reed recital at 3 p.m. Sunday in Buchanan Hall on campus (and go ahead and make Monday part of your weekend, too, and return for the steel drum concert at 7 p.m. that day)

Complete details on all of these events, including phone numbers and ticket costs, are in the events calendar in this issue of The News.

Dig in and enjoy.

Betty Williamson got tired just writing about all of this. Reach her at:

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