Free admission with a day full of fun activities is set for Aug. 25 as the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum in Las Cruces hosts Community Appreciation Day.
The third-annual event is held to thank the community for its support and to showcase the Museum’s outstanding programs and exhibits. The fun is from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Museum’s chuckwagon will be offering cowboy coffee and Dutch-oven biscuits. Pony rides for kids are from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 1 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. ($5 per ride).
The New Mexico Vintage Iron tractor club will accept donations for tractor-pulled barrel rides for kids from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Demonstrations include milking (10 a.m.), wool spinning, weaving, blacksmithing, and wood carving. The Museum’s Education Department and the City of Las Cruces Parks & Recreation Department will provide activities and games for the kids. Tractor Supply Company is another sponsor for the event.
Visitors are invited to interact with living history characters, shop at the plant sale, enjoy the food vendors, or check out the animals, exhibits and vintage tractors. Because of the protected museum environment and livestock on site, service dogs are the only pets that will be allowed.
Some of the exhibits currently on display are “Dressed for the Occasion,” “My Long Journey: Jacob Pfeiffer,” “Form & Function: Objects with Flair,” “The Cowboy Way: The Western Drawings of Robert “Shoofly” Shufelt,” “The New Mexico Farm & Livestock Bureau: 100 Years Strong,” and long-term exhibits in the Heritage Gallery that visitors can walk through.
The Museum is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Last year, the Museum welcomed visitors from all 50 states and 11 foreign countries. It is rated No. 1 on the list of “best things to do in Las Cruces,” by TripAdvisor reviewers, and is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, the highest national honor for museums.
A division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, the Museum is located at 4100 Dripping Springs in Las Cruces. For more information, please call (575) 522-4100, or visit www.nmfarmandranchmuseum.org.
