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Women’s choir

Sing Cuckoo! Celestial Sounds, Las Cruces' women's choir, will perform music for the spring season on Sunday, April 19, 3 p.m. at First Christian Church, 1809 El Paseo, Las Cruces.

Conducted by Deb Cook and accompanied by Barbara Toth, the performance will feature poetry by Emily Dickinson, Rainier Maria Rilke, and William Shakespeare set to music by Aaron Copland, Morten Lauridsen, John Rutter, and more. The event is free, with donations appreciated.

Pop-up food pantries feed thousands

Casa de Peregrinos hosted a “Pop-Up Pantry” at the Sunland Park Sports Complex Saturday to feed families in need.

The event was the third part of a series of pop-up food pantries hosted with funding from Borderplex Digital Assets. Borderplex Digital Assets donated $50,000 to Casa de Peregrinos to address critical hunger challenges in Doña Ana County. Events were also held in December, February, and March.

“We are grateful for the opportunities that Borderplex Digital Assets has provided for us to distribute much needed food for families in our communities,” said Lorenzo Alba, Jr. executive director of Casa de Peregrinos. “At the end of the day more than 1,500 additional food distributions will have been passed out in our communities, this is a significant number. It’s hunger relief, through collaboration and community.”

Casa de Peregrinos distributed food to approximately 1,500 Doña Ana County families across the Pop-Up Pantry events.

“I’d estimate that more than 5,000 people would have been positively affected by these efforts and Borderplex Digital Assets’ generosity.”

Casa de Peregrinos is Doña Ana County’s largest local food pantry organization, serving one out of every seven residents in the county. The organization served 37,064 clients in 2024 alone.

Spring and summer water restrictions  

Citywide spring and summer water restrictions began April 1. The annual restrictions prohibit the watering of outside vegetation between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.  

The watering schedule allows customers with even-numbered addresses to water outside vegetation on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Customers with odd-numbered addresses are allowed to water their vegetation on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. No watering is allowed on Mondays. 
The Las Cruces Utilities Water Conservation Program has a recorded voicemail hotline at (575) 528-4444 and is available 24 hours a day to report water waste that includes watering on the wrong day or time, water leaving the property or ponding on the property, and not using a bucket and shut-off nozzle to wash vehicles or pavement. 

When calling, please provide day, time, and location or address.  
Las Cruces Utilities encourages residents to use water wisely to conserve for future demand.  

Land of the People: Ndende bì Ke'ya opens at the Branigan Cultural Center  

Within the Land of the People: Shimba Tainin kau natheure wein – Tierra Sagrada - Ndende bì Ke’ya - Naf'ole atsihem - Nde benah - Ndee Biyááh exhibit at the Branigan Cultural Center, a special, changing gallery space allows each Indigenous group to go deeper into their unique stories.

From April 4 through June 27, the cultural center is featuring the Mescalero Apache Tribe. An opening reception for the Mescalero Apache Tribe exhibit, Land of the People: Ndende bì Ke’ya, is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 4. Members of the Mescalero Apache Tribe will perform social dances and songs. There will be vendors with items available for purchase.

The Mescalero Apache have long resided in southern New Mexico, moving seasonally across the desert, grasslands, mountains, and river valleys. Their movements were grounded by their four sacred mountains: Sierra Blanca, Guadalupe, Oscura/Selinas, and the Three Sisters.

The Mescalero Apache Reservation is the southernmost federal reservation in the state. It was formally established through an executive order by President Ulysses S. Grant on May 29, 1873.

Today, the Mescalero Apache Tribe consists of three sub-tribes, the Mescalero, and incorporated Lipan Apache, and Chiricahua Apache, with over 5,000 Tribal members from each band residing on the reservation. Throughout the year, the Mescalero continue to celebrate many ceremonies, including the Coming-of-Age Ceremony every Fourth of July.

This featured rotating space changes every 12 weeks, which allows each Indigenous group to go deeper into their own unique stories, traditions, and perspectives.

The upcoming exhibit sequence is as follows: Piro-Manso-Tiwa Indian Tribe, July 18– Oct. 10; Chiricahua Apache Nation, Nov. 7, 2026 – January 30, 2027; and Gila Apache, Feb. 20 – May 15, 2027.

For more information on up-to-date events visit LasCruces.gov/Museums or Las Cruces Museums’ social media platforms @LCMuseums.

The Branigan Cultural Center is located at 501 N. Main St. and is open 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday. There is no admission charge.

The museum is accessible from Roadrunner Transit Route 1 Stop 1. For additional information, visit the website at https://www.LasCruces.gov/Museums or call (575) 541-2154 / TTY 711