This issue’s theme is about a weekend getaway in the Land of Enchantment.
I love this because there is so much that our state, and even our own backyards, have to offer. We often take for granted opportunities in our own community and are quick to want to get away or go out of town the first chance we get. So for this MainStreet update, I am going to take you on a getaway through our wonderful downtown, the heartbeat of our community, and introduce you to some of the assets that we have in our local community which help make up our “Land of Enchantment.”
It’s a Saturday morning in downtown Carlsbad, New Mexico, and where to begin? No other place than the center of our district. On the lawn of the historic Eddy County Courthouse building you see vendors setting up for the Downtown Farmers and Makers Market. You walk around and enjoy the beautiful summer morning, visiting the various booths with local baked goods, crafts, and community organizations all present to greet you with a warm smile and a passion for what they do. As the market is drawing to a close, you realize all the businesses in the downtown area are starting to prepare for their day. While you may have driven or passed by these locally owned small businesses before, today I invite you to view them differently, from the lens of a visitor. You stop and visit a couple boutiques, a fabric store with countless options for all those projects you said you would get to “one day,” then to a scrapbooking store which has so much to offer your creative juices kick into overdrive. Cross the street, and you see the offices of non-profits that you always hear about but never realized their “home” was in the heart of downtown. As you continue to wander, you find yourself in the Artist Gallery, made up of so many talented artists with displays and unique pieces for every style of person.
After all this walking and discovery, you realize what’s next on your agenda: lunchtime! Scanning the causal and fine dining options from which to choose with Carlsbad’s own twist on New Mexico cuisines, you finally decide to take a seat on the patio at Yellow Brix and enjoy a refreshing beverage and meal to satisfy your taste buds. After lunch, you realize there is still much to discover in this “Pearl of the Pecos,” so you decide to head over to the public library to see what else you can discover. From new books to archives of our local newspaper since the town’s inception, you never fully realized what wonder lies inside the walls of your local library. While here, you decide to stroll further through the Halagueno Arts Park and realize there have been so many new art installations since the last time you attended an event here. You enjoy each piece and read each plaque to learn more about the art and the story behind its creation. While the shade structures and trees in the park are a welcome break from the summer sun, you decide to take a step inside the Carlsbad Museum to check out which exhibit is on display currently. Once inside, you notice the museum is so much more than the current traveling exhibit on display. You visit the local hall of fame, the Mead Gallery, and the historical room all in one afternoon.
As your day downtown is coming to an end, you decide you have time for one last stop at Carlsbad’s first brewery and enjoy a locally crafted brew. As you sit back and relax after a long day of discovery, you start to hear the strumming of a guitar and realize your day is not over yet as open mic night is just kicking off. You stay for a few hours and are amazed at how much talent there is among this local community and packed into our downtown. You leave with a new appreciation for the community and all that it has to offer for both locals and visitors. For those readers outside of Carlsbad, I hope that this will encourage you to come and visit our community and check out all that our wonderful downtown has to offer. For those of you who are local, I encourage you to do a weekend “staycation” rather than a getaway, and re-discover your own slice of heaven in this Land of Enchantment.
Kat Davis,
Executive Director,
Carlsbad MainStreet Arts & Cultural District
Carlsbad MainStreet
102 S. Canyon | Carlsbad, NM
(575) 628-3768
CarlsbadMainStreet.com
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Letter originally published in Focus on Carlsbad 2024 Summer edition.
Kat Davis
I am the Executive Director for Carlsbad MainStreet/Arts & Cultural District. My career began in 2020 as the Director for Carlsbad’s Pearl of the Pecos ACD and at the beginning of 2022 the MainStreet board merged these positions into one. I was born and raised in Ireland and have a diverse background that drives my passion to make my community a better place through many different service organizations, volunteering, and our work through Carlsbad MainStreet.
