Silver City, N.M.– This southern New Mexico town has its own distinctive style that brings artists, and artsy types from all over the U.S. who want a quiet, low-cost place to live and breathe art. It’s also bristling with things to do, especially in this season.
The town is set among pine-studded hills that remind you of northern New Mexico, with a vibrant arts scene and charm coming out of its ears.
But it's minus the high-powered traffic and the excruciating parking scene of some larger towns. Lots of lovingly restored Victorian brick and adobe territo-rial style houses from the late 1800s line the hillsides. Billy the Kid’s shadow also walks these streets, as he spent some of his teen years there.
But these days, it's more likely to see bicyclists: The internationally known Tour of the Gila Bicycle Race runs from May 2 to 6
The 21st Tour of the Gila is a highly regarded professional race with prizes of up to $20,000, but includes some events for amateurs as well. It’s carried out in five stages, one stretch of road for each day.
Then from May 25 to 27,the 12th Annual Blues Festival will bring some great sounds to the downtown area. Sponsored by the Mimbres Arts Council, the festival is a laid-back, hand-clap-ping, dancing, three-day event held in shady Gough Park. This year’s headliners include blues greats Lucky Peterson and John Hammond, plus about ten other acts.
<img src=http://sonewmex.com/images/SilverCity1.jpg align=right border=1 hspace=3 alt="Art Shops Line the streets downtown">The historic Bullard Street area is the heartbeat of the town. It’s where art galleries are concentrat-ed, especially in the Yankie Street zone, where the bright-painted facades of the buildings lure you in to view the wide variety classy, fun, intelligent art. You can also get some shopping done at the specialty and gift shops, or eat at the stellar restaurants, bars and coffee shops in the area.
It’s where the popular Javalina Coffee shop is located, on the corner with Broadway. It was formerly Rejuvenations, but has been re-bap-tized under the new management of Pauline Cook. Javalina’s a great hang-out place either inside its spa-cious quarters or on the sidewalk in chairs they casually leave outside for seeing and being seen. They have a long list of coffees, teas, and Italian sodas, and inside are many comfortable chairs good for sitting and for talking with friends or perusing one of the many free newspapers and magazines left all around in stacks. You can find a few internet stations there, too.
Silver City is lucky to have a couple of very good museums. There’s the WNMU Museum at 1000 W. College Ave. that has a perennially satisfying collection of the local Mimbres Indian pots with their representative figures and a graceful design sense.
The Silver City Museum at 312 W. Broadway will have an exhibit through June 10 called “Carlos Cortez; Woodcut Artist and Political Activist,” commemorating a Chicago labor activist who made political prints from 1923 to 2005. Both museums have other regular exhibits and lots of interesting things in their gift shops.
<img src=http://sonewmex.com/images/GilaMt.jpg border=1 align=left hspace=3 alt="Breathtaking views in the Gila Mountains">People use Silver City as a springboard to visit the Gila Cliff Dwellings and for camping in the Gila Wilderness. The moderate climate is good almost year-round for biking, hiking, birding, tent-camping, RV-camping, fishing, hunting, soaking in natural hot springs or just driving around gazing at some of the most spec-tacular, rugged scenery in New Mexico. A slow ride on the Trail of the Mountain Spirits leaves you gasping at the beauty around every twist and turn in the road.
The tiny town of Pinos Altos, just a few miles up in the moun-tains, has several restored historic buildings including an old opera house with fabulous period-inspired murals which hosts regular melo-dramas. The Buckhorn Saloon com-bines live folk-rock-jazz acts with a restaurant simmering in a slightly seedy Old West atmosphere.
In Pinos Altos there’s also Bear Creek Motel and Cabins, one of the most idyllic, rustic places to stay for the night, where you are lulled to sleep by a nearby brook and the winds in the pines.
And if you’re operating on some-what of a shoestring, as so many of us are, there is, luckily, a Motel 6 outside Silver City that’s always clean and new, especially since its recent renovation.
<img src=http://sonewmex.com/images/SCmural.jpg align=right hspace=3 border=1 alt="Breathtaking views in the Gila Mountains">The Chamber of Commerce is a good place to get a full list of the many events occurring in Silver City area year-round, including an endless, very worthwhile series of art walks and art festivals, the Wild West Rodeo in June, a festival celebrating the hand-made pots of the Mexican town of Mata Ortiz, called the Fiesta de la Olla, in July, a hummingbird festival in the same month, a gem and mineral show on Labor Day weekend, the Gila Classic Golf Tournament and a county fair in September, car shows, the Red Paint Powwow in January, and a chocolate festival in February. For information call 538-3785 or 800-548-9378 or visit www.silvercity.org (http://www.silvercity.org/)
SO area representative
Silver City, N.M.– This southern New Mexico town has its own distinctive style that brings artists, and artsy types from all over the U.S. who want a quiet, low-cost place to live and breathe art. It’s also bristling with things to do, especially in this season.
<center><img src=http://sonewmex.com/images/SilverCity3.jpg align=center border=1></center>
The town is set among pine-studded hills that remind you of northern New Mexico, with a vibrant arts scene and charm coming out of its ears.
But it's minus the high-powered traffic and the excruciating parking scene of some larger towns. Lots of lovingly restored Victorian brick and adobe territo-rial style houses from the late 1800s line the hillsides. Billy the Kid’s shadow also walks these streets, as he spent some of his teen years there.
But these days, it's more likely to see bicyclists: The internationally known Tour of the Gila Bicycle Race runs from May 2 to 6
The 21st Tour of the Gila is a highly regarded professional race with prizes of up to $20,000, but includes some events for amateurs as well. It’s carried out in five stages, one stretch of road for each day.
Then from May 25 to 27,the 12th Annual Blues Festival will bring some great sounds to the downtown area. Sponsored by the Mimbres Arts Council, the festival is a laid-back, hand-clap-ping, dancing, three-day event held in shady Gough Park. This year’s headliners include blues greats Lucky Peterson and John Hammond, plus about ten other acts.
<img src=http://sonewmex.com/images/SilverCity1.jpg align=right border=1 hspace=3 alt="Art Shops Line the streets downtown">The historic Bullard Street area is the heartbeat of the town. It’s where art galleries are concentrat-ed, especially in the Yankie Street zone, where the bright-painted facades of the buildings lure you in to view the wide variety classy, fun, intelligent art. You can also get some shopping done at the specialty and gift shops, or eat at the stellar restaurants, bars and coffee shops in the area.
It’s where the popular Javalina Coffee shop is located, on the corner with Broadway. It was formerly Rejuvenations, but has been re-bap-tized under the new management of Pauline Cook. Javalina’s a great hang-out place either inside its spa-cious quarters or on the sidewalk in chairs they casually leave outside for seeing and being seen. They have a long list of coffees, teas, and Italian sodas, and inside are many comfortable chairs good for sitting and for talking with friends or perusing one of the many free newspapers and magazines left all around in stacks. You can find a few internet stations there, too.
Silver City is lucky to have a couple of very good museums. There’s the WNMU Museum at 1000 W. College Ave. that has a perennially satisfying collection of the local Mimbres Indian pots with their representative figures and a graceful design sense.
The Silver City Museum at 312 W. Broadway will have an exhibit through June 10 called “Carlos Cortez; Woodcut Artist and Political Activist,” commemorating a Chicago labor activist who made political prints from 1923 to 2005. Both museums have other regular exhibits and lots of interesting things in their gift shops.
<img src=http://sonewmex.com/images/GilaMt.jpg border=1 align=left hspace=3 alt="Breathtaking views in the Gila Mountains">People use Silver City as a springboard to visit the Gila Cliff Dwellings and for camping in the Gila Wilderness. The moderate climate is good almost year-round for biking, hiking, birding, tent-camping, RV-camping, fishing, hunting, soaking in natural hot springs or just driving around gazing at some of the most spec-tacular, rugged scenery in New Mexico. A slow ride on the Trail of the Mountain Spirits leaves you gasping at the beauty around every twist and turn in the road.
The tiny town of Pinos Altos, just a few miles up in the moun-tains, has several restored historic buildings including an old opera house with fabulous period-inspired murals which hosts regular melo-dramas. The Buckhorn Saloon com-bines live folk-rock-jazz acts with a restaurant simmering in a slightly seedy Old West atmosphere.
In Pinos Altos there’s also Bear Creek Motel and Cabins, one of the most idyllic, rustic places to stay for the night, where you are lulled to sleep by a nearby brook and the winds in the pines.
And if you’re operating on some-what of a shoestring, as so many of us are, there is, luckily, a Motel 6 outside Silver City that’s always clean and new, especially since its recent renovation.
<img src=http://sonewmex.com/images/SCmural.jpg align=right hspace=3 border=1 alt="Breathtaking views in the Gila Mountains">The Chamber of Commerce is a good place to get a full list of the many events occurring in Silver City area year-round, including an endless, very worthwhile series of art walks and art festivals, the Wild West Rodeo in June, a festival celebrating the hand-made pots of the Mexican town of Mata Ortiz, called the Fiesta de la Olla, in July, a hummingbird festival in the same month, a gem and mineral show on Labor Day weekend, the Gila Classic Golf Tournament and a county fair in September, car shows, the Red Paint Powwow in January, and a chocolate festival in February. For information call 538-3785 or 800-548-9378 or visit www.silvercity.org (http://www.silvercity.org/)