Attention crafty grownups! Pinewood Derby is coming and it’s not for your kids this time. The Conquistador Council Boy Scouts are hosting an event on Saturday, April 24 at Bender Chevrolet in Clovis from 10 AM to 2 PM.

If you were involved in Scouting as a kid, you are no doubt familiar with the annual Pinewood Derby race. Each scout receives a kit to shape, build, paint, and customize a miniature car to compete with. This time it’s for the adults, and there’s even an “Unlimited” category with a waived weight restriction. If you think you’ve got what it takes, download the flier and entry form. Space is limited to the first 100 entrants only. Entry fee is $50 per person and all proceeds directly benefit our local Boy Scout program right here in Clovis!

Race to Scouting: Adult Pinewood Derby Flier/Entry Form [53 KB PDF]

"Hello Dolly" first hit Broadway in 1964.

It’s not like us to plug an event before it happens, but we wanted to urge everyone to get out this weekend and see the Clovis High School production of “Hello Dolly,” performed by the CHS choir and drama departments. The play is for three nights only, February 19-21, with the Friday and Saturday performances at 7:00 pm. Sunday’s performance is a matinee starting at 2:00 pm.

Tickets are $8.00 each and can be purchased at the door or in advance at Zip Printing.

If you’ve lived in Clovis, NM for any amount of time and are a female, surely Hobby Lobby has or will become one of your favorite haunts. Even if you don’t happen to be the crafty type, there is something at this store for everyone. And now, Hobby Lobby is offering affordable cake decorating classes!

Tuition is normally $35 but with a coupon you can find at the front of the store, you can receive 1/2 off the tuition and a $15.00 Thank You gift certificate from Wilton.

You have the choice of signing up for classes on Mondays or Wednesdays for the entire month of February. So class dates for Mondays are the 1st, 8th, 15th and 22nd. Dates for Wednesday classes would be the 3rd, 10th, 17th and 24th. Classes will always be held from 6 PM to 8 PM.

If you decide to sign up for classes (and I hope you do!) make sure to bring your Class Registration Fee Receipt, something to write with and a notepad.

After you have finished your first course, there are other courses you can take:

So if you’re looking for something to do, and want to learn something along the way, we suggest you look into this course; it’s well worth the small investment to learn such a useful and creative skill!

This past Friday evening was a hastily planned one. A very good friend of mine sent me a text message:

Yo! There is going to be an art party down main tomorrow at 8. Proceeds goes toward Chris Montoya’s headstone. Live band, art, food, wine and beer.

I had nothing planned, and it sounded like a very nice thing to do for a friend so I made plans with my boyfriend and a friend to go and check it out.

Upon entering this art gallery, I was immediately greeted with loud rock music and a slew of reveling onlookers. The name of the band that was playing was ‘Chase the Moment’ and here’s a video of them playing ‘Grandfathered In’:

Something else stood out as well: the amazing art adorning the walls. I made my way to the back of the long room to find Scott who then introduced me to John Pritchett.

John explained that he had always been a photographer but became interested in painting over the last years. He explained his method:

‘I don’t paint ideas or even thoughts. I just paint, and allow the person viewing my art to interpret it however they please. That is the art of it. I also don’t mount or frame my paintings. It’s form as it is now is also a part of the art. I like it when the canvas gets torn or the edges of the paper furl. This is all a part of the experience and the experience itself is art.’

We spoke for a few more minutes as my guests and I admired his work. Beer, wine and cheese was also served so naturally I had a New Castle Brown Ale and a Negra Modelo.

Keep your ears open, Clovisites! There’s plenty of awesome things going on, you’ve just got to keep open to the opportunities out there! You can follow us @clovispulse on Twitter to stay in the loop!

The Taco Box in Clovis has a “Christmas Dancing Light Show” to the music of Trans Siberian Orchestra and other music, every half hour, from 5-9 p.m. (the last show begins at 8:30 p.m.) nightly through January 3, 2010.

Park on the West side and tune your car radio to 88.5 on the FM dial to tune in to the music.

Oh yeah, they’re also giving away a FREE cup of hot chocolate before or after the show.

Last week, I went to the Clovis Carver Library and saw a flyer about a mobile museum coming to Clovis. I had never heard of a mobile museum and I read on. The name of the exhibit is ‘Held in the Heartland: German POW’s in the Midwest 1943-46’

During WW II the Midwest was home to approx. 250 prisoner of War camps. Tens of thousands of the 380,000 Germans imprisoned across the US during WWII were held in the Midwest, part of the millions of Axis and Allied prisoners held across the world.

When I entered the bus, the driver explained to me that Cannon Air Force Base was once a Prisoner Of War camp back in the 1940’s and that the prisoners worked in farms and fields around this area. I had never heard about this and Google didn’t bring up any results. If anyone out there knows about this, let Clovis Pulse know!

Inside the bus were smaller exhibits detailing life in Germany before the war, the start of the Nazi movement and how it infected German society and how the enemy soldiers were captured and imprisoned. The Geneva Conventions were on full display and it was explained that although the laws were newly established, the Unites States treated the German soldiers very well despite the atrocities that they had committed during the war.

This mobile museum exhibit represents only one of 26 other installations by the TRACES Center for History and Culture. Luckily, the Clovis Library sponsored this exhibit and made it possible for the one of the exhibits to make it’s way from St. Paul, Minnesota. Their purpose is to bring to light many of the stories that have been otherwise been forgotten or completely unknown to the general public.

For more information or to keep updated with future events, stop by the Clovis Carver Public Library site or the TRACES site.

Photo by Dawn Allynn

Looking for somewhere to take the kids on Halloween but want to avoid the crowds of kids and potentially dangerous roads? Here are some local happenings to check out in the Clovis/Portales area this weekend:

Clovis, Saturday, October 31

• North Plains Mall Trunk or Treat, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm (children 12 and under)
• Central Baptist Church Trunk or Treat, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
• Faith Christian Church Fall Festival, 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm (preschool through sixth grade)
• Parkland Baptist Church Family Fall Festival, 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm
• Living Stones Community Church of the Nazarene Neewollah, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
• Sandia Baptist Church Fall Family Festival, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Portales: Thursday, October 29

• Portales Recreation Center haunted house, 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm

Portales: Friday, October 30

• Trick or Treat at Heartland Continuing Care Center, 6:00 pm
• Boo Bash and Costume Party, ENMU Campus Union Building, 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm

Portales: Saturday, October 31

• Calvary Baptist Church Fall Festival, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
• Emmanuel Baptist Church Fall Festival, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
• Central Christian Church Fall Festival, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
• Portales Senior Center Trick or Treat, 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm

Whether you’re on the streets, on foot, or at one of the above events, be safe and have a lot of fun! What are you doing for Halloween this year? Let us know in the comments!

This past Saturday was a very busy one for me. In addition to attending the Women’s Health and Wellness day during the daytime, I also attended the Clovis Main Street Downtown Gala that was held at The Underground Embassy on 321 E. 1st Street.

I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect since I had never been to one of these types of events before. I knew this was a wine and beer tasting event, but when I read the invitation and saw that there was going to be a chocolate fountain, I was sold.

The most pressing question for me was ‘What do I wear?!’

Luckily, I got a lot of feed back on that question. One representative from Dillard’s told me:

Don’t worry about what you wear; people usually dress up for the event, but you really can wear anything from a nice pair of jeans with heels to a nice evening dress!

So, I went with the evening dress and heels despite the reconstructed ACL.

Finding the Underground Embassy was not difficult at all. Although the building itself does blend in with the other vintage warehouses in the area, the giant billboard labeled ‘Underground Embassy’ is hard to miss.

Upon walking into the converted warehouse, I was completely taken aback of how beautiful the interior was. The walls are completely covered in beautiful, giant canvases showcasing the resident artist, Andrew Merritt’s work. The ceiling was adorned with chandeliers of various sizes and styles. The furniture ranged from sofas and settees to stools and vintage wooden chairs. The ambiance was enchanting, to say the least.

There were several stations around the building that offered drinks, food and dessert. The Wine Tasting table featured wines from the D.H. Lescombes Winery, the St. Clair Winery and Blue Teal Vineyards. Me and my date personally drank the Pecan Blush, the Blue Teal Muscat Canelli, the Chocolate Vine and a Mimosa.

The beer table featured beer from the Santa Fe Brewery. The company had a variety of beers that this novice beer drinker has never even heard of! Some of the delicious beers available for tasting were the Nut Brown, Pale Ale, Hefeweizen and Pen Porter. Other drinks at the table were the Imperial India Pale Ale, the Chicken Killer and the Barley Wine Ale.

I am a Corona with Lime drinker, so the lineup was admittedly a bit intimidating but I tried them all! I highly recommend the Santa Fe Brewery Pen Porter. Although it was an extremely dark beer, it went down easy and tasted like heaven!

Personally, my highlight of the night was meeting and speaking to Andrew Merritt, the artistic genius behind every art piece in the establishment. He was very candid and down to earth. We discussed his art, where he went to school (Dallas, TX) and how he came to obtain such a gorgeous place to call his own. Andrew’s inviting attitude and casual demeanor definitely put my date and I at ease.

His artwork is right up my alley as well. His art can be best described as urban, ranging in topics like politics, style and homelessness.

The Underground Embassy can be rented out for events and get togethers. Fees vary by event and time reserved. For pricing or questions, call Debbie Merritt at 575-760-1550.

This Clovis Main Street Downtown Gala is intended to raise awareness and funds for the downtown revitalization. You can become a Friend of Main Street by calling 575-309-8370 or going to the Clovis Downtown site.

I first read about the Women’s Health Day through the Clovis Chamber of Commerce website while building a calendar for Clovis Pulse. The descriptions read: ‘FREE! Seminars and Speakers. Topics: Health, beauty and personal development.Expo featuring local Health and Wellness Businesses. Free healthy lunch and snacks, plus FREE prizes.’

You can’t beat ‘FREE’.

So I eagerly signed up for the event, and registered for the Green Chile Stew lunch. Finally, Saturday October 24th came around, so that I could see what sorts of events the United Way of Eastern New Mexico had lined up.

I had no choice but to have my 4 year old son, Benjamin, tag along. As soon as I walked through the doors, a UWENM volunteer asked if I would like to have my son entertained in the ‘Kid’s Track’ class. I agreed, and by the end of the day Benjamin had created his own customized canvas tote, a wind sock and various other little crafts! As for myself, I received a pre-printed name tag, a pink rubber bracelet, and a pink shopper tote to carry the goodies.

While my son was in Kids Track, I made sure to visit every presenter table available, and tried to learn a little more about the businesses that were present. The first thing I did was get my blood pressure and blood sugar tested (everything was A-OK), then I got my spine placement tested by a local chiropractor. That didn’t turn out so well, so I scheduled an appointment to see the doctor in a couple of weeks.

The rest of the tables were not so hands-on, but did have a lot of information to offer. For example, the local Women’s Medical Center offers laser hair removal for the most hirsute of ladies, Botox, and Bare Minerals makeup. Clovis also has a very nice spa that I had never even known existed, the Hilltop Spa.

In addition to the merchant and services tables, several woman-oriented classes were being held in 45 minute sessions. My first chosen course of the day was the Bare Minerals Makeup Makeover class. I had always heard great things about the minimalistic makeup, but had never seen anyone actually use it. In the mini class, the makeup artist applied makeup to one lucky volunteer and it made a HUGE difference! The price of the makeup is too high for my tastes ($70 for a starter kit) but the results are more than likely worth the extra dough.

My next course was a Working Wardrobe presentation from Dillard’s Department Store. I couldn’t help but notice all the gorgeous heels on display, which much to my chagrin, I can’t even consider wearing due to my recent ACL surgery. Nonetheless, the presentation was well planned and had plenty of information for even the most seasoned fashionista.

The last class of the day for me was a money management class by Lisa Kia. Of all the classes I took, this one was the best. Perhaps it was because she struck a cord with me, or perhaps it was her vivid description of going from Riches to Rags then the climbing out of the veritable debt hole she was in by using the techniques she outlined in her presentation. The basis of her presentation was to emphasize that 1. Make sure you have an Emergency Fund, 2. Pay off debt, and 3. Develop a zero based budget.

At the conclusion of the seminar, the United Way director, Erinn Burch, partook in some of the festivities then handed out over $750 in gift cards and coupons.

All in all, the Clovis Women’s Health and Wellness Day was an excellent experience for women of all ages to attend. The classes were very well organized, the United Way of Eastern New Mexico volunteers were very gracious and the events were kept fast paced and interesting. This event is one that should become an annual tradition for years to come!

After living in Clovis for 2 years, I have to say that I have never been to the annual Clovis Music Festival. I was given tickets through my employer, who is one of the sponsors for the event. This means that I got some swank seats at the front of the stage!

Clovis, NM likes to call itself the ‘The Biggest Little Music City in the World” because it’s home to the Norman Petty Studios and the Norman & Vi Petty Rock and Roll Museum. The Norman Petty Studios are pretty significant because an enormous amount of pioneering Rock n’ Roll music was recorded and produced within its walls. This studio would be known to produce the distinctive ‘Clovis Sound’.

I don’t normally listen to 1950’s Rock n’ Roll. As a matter of fact, I would have to say that my music tastes before this festival almost exclusively lacked any 1950’s flavor. However, after this festival, it’s become clear to me that this era in music production was one of the most important of all, and have promptly picked up some tunes from Amazon which I’ll share later in the post.

Just some of the musicians who became successful through the Norman Petty Studios are Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Roy Orbison, Waylon Jennings, Jimmy Bowen and many others. I remember my first favorite song from this era was ‘Rock Around the Clock’ by Buddy Holly, and that’s because in 4th grade I had to learn the lyrics! (Not too hard.)

So on to the show…first act of the night was Kevin Montgomery who can be found on Twitter as @kevinmontgomery and through his website HERE. He sang with Johnny Rogers, who is a Buddy Holly impersonator and whose website you can find HERE.

Here is a video I recorded of Johnny and Kevin singing Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson:

Next on the Saturday lineup were The Nelson Brothers and the Stone Canyon Band. The brothers, Matthew and Gunnar, are twin sons of 1950’s Rock n’ Roll legend Rick Nelson. If any of the readership likes vintage TV, then you would also know that Ricky is son of Ozzie and Harriet Nelson, and so there are three generations of hit makers.

David and I had the nagging feeling that we had seen Gunnar before, but where? Celebrity Fit Club 3! Admittedly, we weren’t avid watchers of the show, but apparently his face was memorable!

Here is a video I took of The Nelsons singing their 1991 hit song ‘(Can’t Live Without Your) Love and Affection:

The Nelsons’ tribute to their father was very touching and informative. I had never seen Ricky Nelson before, but when we saw his photo up on the big screens, I couldn’t help but think that Chris Evans is surely Ricky Nelson’s doppelganger! Don’t you agree?

So the night was very awesome, David and I were very grateful to have ended up at a show we would have otherwise passed on. Makes me think about what else we’re missing!