Museum to help host Rag Rug Festival

The Rag Rug Festival Las Cruces is returning to the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum the weekend of March 15 and 16.
Rag Rug Festival™ is a program of New Mexico Women's Foundation whose mission is to create economic opportunities for New Mexico's women and girls.
"This is our fourth annual festival in Las Cruces," said Frieda Arth, spokesperson for the group, "and with the addition of crafts-related films and demonstrations, and an Eatery, it's taken on the festive air of an annual fair."
"It's gratifying to see people saying hello to folks they haven't seen in a year," Arth said.
"One of the things that sets this event apart from others is that it gives people a chance to meet and talk to the women who make the work. In days when most things in our homes are mass produced, that's a rare treat."
Six participating organizations representing over 60 women artisans include: Art For The Heart from Penasco; Creaciones Yuca, a sewing group from Chaparral; Ramah Navajo Weavers from Pine Hill, Southwest Women's Fiber Arts Collective, from Silver City; Tejedoras de Las Trampas with their handwoven rag rugs, from Las Trampas; and Tres Manos, a weaving project situated in nearby San Miguel.
Individual artisans include Karin Arrington from Farmington who creates jewelry; Charlotte Bartram from Tularosa grows her own sheep and turns the wool into yarns; Margaret Garcia from Las Cruces paints gourds; Claudia Giron from Espanola and Carol Mills from Silver City weave rag rugs; Ann Lumaghi from Abiquiu weaves a variety of fashions and rag rugs; Dina Ortega makes lotions called Native Naturals, and her aunt, Corina Trujillo of San Patricio, makes yummy jams and jellies from her berry farm; Doris Sherman of Santa Fe makes silver jewelry; Madeline Stark knits and Toni Truesdale paints - both of them are from Pecos; Romelia Tapia from Chaparral sews, crochets and knits; Lynn Unangst of Las Cruces is a fiber and mixed media artist.
Rag Rug Festival Las Cruces is open from 10am to 4pm, March 15 and 16 at the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum, 4100 Dripping Springs Road in Las Cruces. Admission and parking are free. This is a program of the New Mexico Women's Foundation, helping to create a more abundant life for New Mexico's women and girls.
For more information about New Mexico Women's Foundation, contact Frieda Arth in Santa Fe at 505.983.6155 or info@nmwf.org. The website is: www.nmwf.org.