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.

Recently, Clovis has seen a large influx of new bakeries and sweet shops, which we might have to *review* soon, but in the midst of researching local businesses for my son’s 5th birthday party, I ran into Jessica Marie Barriere via Craigslist.

I checked out her online portfolio / blog over at Vanilla Expressions and was immediately impressed with her work. Her cakes are like miniature works of edible art and it was very apparent that Jessica had an eye for detail.

After emailing her back and forth a couple of times, we finally met at the Java Loft, a local bookstore and coffee shop. I had showed her a couple pictures of what I liked and what the cake needed to have. I certainly wanted a 2 tiered cake with a yellow and black theme. I gave her a lot of creative license as I wanted to see what sort of creative ideas she had and how they would translate on the cake itself.

I had asked Jess to bring the cake to our home the day before the party. The expression on my son’s face was priceless! The cake was completely covered in fondant and the decorative details were lovingly carved with expert precision. Every detail of the cake was completely hand made; from the chocolate ganache filling, to the chocolate lettering.As an Independent Cake Decorator, Jessica’s work is phenomenally done and had such flair and fine details as if the cake was crafted by a veteran artisan. You can contact Jessica with the below details for a quote:

Mrs. Jessica Marie Barriere
Confectionery Artist
Vanilla Expressions
575-904-9500
http://vanillaexpressions.blogspot.com

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!

A few weeks ago I was asked to write about my “outsider views” about Clovis, New Mexico.  I didn’t know what to write at first. I mean Clovis is Clovis, at least that is what I thought  when we first arrived.  To those who live here and call Clovis home it is so much more to them than “just Clovis.”   As I gradually meet more and more “locals”  they share the “Clovis” they know as their home with me and I am beginning to feel and experience some of the reasons they call ”Clovis” home.

Lets start at the beginning, I relocated from what one would call ‘Paradise’ aka Florida. I mean living just minutes from the beach, having ‘almost’ perfect weather, oh and did I mention the beach?!

I moved here with my boyfriend who is among those newly transplanted military personnel to Canon Air Force Base.  I LOVE to travel, I had never been to New Mexico, so I saw this as an opportunity  to explore a new area and a new culture. I never once in my life ever thought I would ever live in New Mexico, but I can proudly say I can cross that off the list!   I do at times, wish that I was back in Florida, stuck in traffic with all the tourists, versus the smell of the “dairy air”  out here but if you give this place time just like the locals that smell starts to become home.

As you enter Clovis head down Prince street , you will soon see there are places to go.  No not  a hundred plus stores, but there is at least a Mall,  Clovis may not have a Target, but they do have a Wal-mart and Home Depot! Oh the local smoothie shop makes me feel like paradise came to me!! Locals tell me to look at it like a glass half full, not like a glass half empty!  The glass just isn’t full yet! Commercializing  of Clovis has not happened still lots of locally owned and operated businesses and a short drive to get about anywhere. If you need something offered in the big city. Go. It’s a short drive and you will welcome coming home to Clovis. And the weather is always changing just wait a day or two and it will change. My favorite are the picture perfect clouds. They skies in New Mexico are not like anywhere else that I have visited yet! If you follow my photography (http://boldkreativephotography.com) you will know that I have a fascination with clouds, and love when I have lots of them in the pictures during a session! Another awesome weather feature out here is the lightning. The lightning storms are nature’s picture in the sky that will have you wanting more!

Did you know Clovis has a zoo? Yes, and it only cost you $3.00  what a deal and nice size too. What a hidden treasure to find a zoo.    I wrote a blog post about my experience with pictures here: http://blog.boldkreativephotography.com/?p=428

Within the first week here, we were fortunate enough to hit up our FIRST rodeo!  It was a blast!!  I had never experienced a rodeo:  new cultural experience my mom would say! I remember I was overly impressed with how genuinely nice people were and friendly too!   That was an eye opener to me about this town that we had just moved to!

I am a professional photographer, so naturally I am always out looking for new, creative locations to shoot for my sessions, so I spent a lot of my time the first couple of months just exploring the area.  Ned Houk park on the far side of Clovis (Continue Prince street all the way out-of-town it is on the right a few miles out) is this HUGE outdoor park, that has more playgrounds for children than I have ever seen in one park.  And if you are lucky you might be able to catch a Buffalo roaming around in the wild. Since my photography work is done on location, who would have thought I would trade the beach for cornfields and sunflower fields!   Even walking around main street in town is an adventure, those shops up and down that street are so fun to just walk in and look around.   One place I have on my list to check out is the Norman Petty museum!  I find it fascinating this small of a town has had multiple celebrities either grow up here or start their career here.

This past August I had an opportunity to have a booth for my photography at the Clovis Fair.  I knew this would be a good chance for me to get my name out there, let people know what I can offer, and my style of shooting.  I didn’t realize it would be a way for me to get to know more about Clovis and make some good lasting connections with people in the community. The support the community has for the fair was amazing,  the activities they had for the children like the boot race or the horse race loved it. Like documented in this blog post: http://blog.boldkreativephotography.com/?p=817

So my advice from one outsider to another outsider: Get out there, give it a chance, explore and let the locals welcome you in.

If you are interested, subscribe to my blog for possible other adventures that I may explore around the area. http://blog.boldkreativephotography.com

I, like most women I know, am an avid shopper. Lately though, shopping has taken a back burner in my life. Between bills, Christmas shopping and traveling, my financial well has been thoroughly dried.

It’s hard to ignore a %50 off EVERYTHING (except furniture) sale! Shabby Divas, a local boutique specializing in the shabby chic form of interior decorating, is having a one day, 2 hour sale on New Years Eve this year! (12/31)

For those who aren’t familiar with the term ‘shabby chic’, this is  ‘a form of interior design where furniture and furnishings are either chosen for their age and signs of wear and tear or new items are distressed to achieve the appearance of an antique.’ (Wikipedia)

Go get your shop on, ladies! This place has a lot of great finds including fabric, jewelry, purses, decorations etc.! We’d love to hear about your finds!

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.

It’s been a while since we’ve gotten out into the community to do something fun lately so at our last tweetup I asked Scott if he had heard about anything cool happening soon.

He mentioned that the local zoo usually has some Christmas festivities to draw in a crowd, so I drove by Hillcrest Zoo and asked about any upcoming happenings:

Christmas Nites at the Zoo
Hillcrest Park Zoo
1201 Sycamore Clovis, NM
December 15-19 Tuesday – Saturday
5:00 pm to 8:00 PM

I should also note that there is FREE ADMISSION, and if you choose to you can take a picture with Santa Claus for $5. There will be music and refreshments, so this should make for a great time with the family!

The Hillcrest Zoo is 22.5 acre complex, making it the second largest zoo in New Mexico. Normal hours of admittance are from 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM and are closed on Mondays and major holidays. Under normal circumstances, admittance fees are free for ages 2 and under, $1.50 for ages 3 to 11 and $3.00 for ages 12 to adult.

For more information, contact the Hillcrest Zoo at 575-769-7873.

For a few weeks now, I’ve been planning a solitary retreat from my busy life here in Clovis. My adventure begins promptly at 5 PM, leaving work to zoom up North Prince Street to get last minute supplies for my weekend, only to have to turn around and traverse the nasty mess of unsynchronized traffic lights toward South Prince, Roswell, and finally my destination 4 hours later.

Center and Sudderth Streets in Ruidoso, NM. Just around the corner lies the tasty Cafe Rio.

Ruidoso is a perfect, albeit a bit touristy, retreat from the high plains of Clovis. My family and I like to come here a few times during the year, I find it to be a good way to scratch the itch of one of my long term goals in life: to move to New Hampshire someday.

It also helps when the lodging is family-owned, quaint, and comfortable. If you don’t have that convenience, I have stayed at both the Apache Village Cabins, located on Meechum, and White Mountain Cabins on Main Road. Apache Village was quaint and cozy, great for a romantic getaway with a rustic feel, while White Mountain Cabins proved to be more spacious and offered nice modern amenities like a jacuzzi tub, larger living area, nice swivel TV, and a gorgeous modern fireplace.

I’m writing this post from The Dreamcatcher, a small sandwich shop that serves coffee, regional beers, and conveniently has a nice little handrolled cigar shop attached. I’m sitting outside puffing on a cigar from Connecticut, sipping cold beer from Northern California and Oregon, and my hands are getting really cold! I almost opted to head up the street to the only sushi bar for probably hundreds of miles, but felt I’d be doing myself a major disservice if I didn’t try a pulled pork “Famous Cubano” sandwich. I’m glad I stayed put, as the food here is a great match for its wonderful atmosphere.

I avoided most shops on this trip, as most of the wares you’ll find in Ruidoso are varieties of shotglasses, t-shirts, and hats stamped with Ruidoso and New Mexico slogans on them. However, the bookworm that I am never keeps me away from Books Etcetera (located on Sudderth in midtown) or the Atticus Books and Teahouse nearby on Meechum. Visiting Atticus and not ordering some tea would be downright foolish–you’ve been warned. They have a huge variety that offers something for everyone.

Instead of heading home the most direct and shortest route, I decided to venture out to Carrizozo and Lincoln, two towns I have been meaning to visit for some time now. Carrizozo is a small town about 30 minutes northwest of Ruidoso. I’d driven through here before about a year ago, but did not get the chance to stop. Carrizozo’s latest claim to fame is being the location of the new movie “The Book of Eli,” a post-apocalyptic tale of one man’s quest to save humanity, starring Denzel Washington. You can read more about “The Book of Eli” on IMDB, or check out the trailer here. While small and quiet, Carrizozo proved to be cultured and colorful. On Sunday afternoon I had just missed an art show in a local gallery by only and hour or so.

The historic Lincoln, NM Courthouse that once jailed Billy the Kid

A short 30-40 minute drive east will take you to Lincoln, famous of course for being the hometown of Billy The Kid, where he was later jailed and escaped, resulting in a gun fight in the streets. I arrived in Lincoln quickly, and I was eager to get out of the car to walk the historic main road where many bullets had been fired. The town features a historic courthouse, a saloon once owned by New Mexico governor George Curry, plus modest dining at the Wortley Hotel Dining Room. An ideal time to visit Lincoln would be in August, when the town performs an annual reenactment of the escape of Billy the Kid.

In short, Ruidoso and the surrounding area is the perfect retreat for people who enjoy New Mexico history, even though I just briefly scratched the surface of one period of time on this jaunt. It offers great dining, fun shops, not to mention Ski Apache on Sierra Blanca in the winter months. Be sure to check out Ruidoso, the Hondo Valley, and The Lincoln National Forest if life in Clovis is feeling a bit too flat and open for you.

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The Clovis Escape Plan is a resource for residents of Clovis, NM looking for that extra something that is missing from our community. Looking for a different dining experience, some good shops to visit, or something in the great outdoors? The Clovis Escape Plan will feature day trips and overnights within our community’s grasp.