Activities

We may not draw the big names in entertainment like a metropolis, but there’s a lot of fun to be had in Artesia. You can act, bowl, cook, compete, dance, eat, serve, sew, shop, sing, skate, support, swim, watch, win and workout.

For the artistic and crafty; there are art shows and competitions; for the altruistic, there’s every sort of volunteer activity; for the competitive, there’s bowling, golf scrambles and tournaments; for the seniors among us, there’s everything from line dancing to Olympic competition.

There are car and RV travel clubs for vehicular aficionados, which sponsor car shows, swap meets and other events. For the dramatically-inclined, there’s a steady stream of comedies, dramas and melodramas; for those with an ear for music, there are band, chorale and choir concerts. For history buffs, exhibits at the museum run the gamut of American life; for movie fans, there’s first run shows at the Landsun and classic movies at Heritage Plaza in summer.

For folks who like to visit with friends over good food cooked by someone else, there are ample opportunities from church suppers to restaurants. The numerous churches in Artesia provide many hours of entertainment and socializing at concerts, fellowship dinners and other events.

A brief perusal of the entries in recent "Around Town" sections of our newspaper netted this variety of activities: a quilt show at the museum; lunchtime basketball, a gospel music concert; an ice cream social, a barn dance, a benefit dance, a play, a pancake breakfast, several golf scrambles and tournaments, a soccer shootout, poetry and chorale performances, a hamburger fry, luncheons, dinners and club meetings. There seems to be a club in Artesia for every interest from gardeners and genealogists to quilters; from divers to red-hatted ladies who like to wear purple.

Robert and Jennifer Schneider have some laughs while doing some boot scooting at the Moose Lodge's recent benefit dance for Grammy's House.

Denise Fajardo and Adam Hewett perform in the Artesia Community Theatre melodrama "The Vile Veterinarian."

Then there are all the community events spearheaded by Artesia MainStreet — every holiday gets its due, from the New Years celebration in January to the Light Up Artesia party in December — there’s fun for all ages and food for sampling.

Then there are the charitable, service and volunteer organizations who do so much good in our community. They have fun by giving to and doing for others. There are too many of these groups to mention each one in this article, but here is a list of just a few of them:

Garden Club members meet monthly at members' homes.

The Altrusa Club — The quality of life in Artesia has been greatly blessed for 100 years now by the good works of the Artesia Chapter of the Altrusa Club. The enthusiastic members seem to have fun at all their activities from honoring the seniors with an annual ice cream social to the annual smorgasbord and golf scramble. Their fall smorgasbord is a definite "do not miss" treat.

Artesia General Hospital Auxiliary — When the hospital needs equipment, but does not have the funds to purchase it, the members usually find an item on which to sell raffle tickets. They also raise money through bake sales. The volunteers enjoy bringing a bit of cheer to patients when taking a beverage cart around to their rooms.

Artesia Literacy Council — These volunteers are trained English-As-A-Second-Language tutors. They help people learn to speak English or improve their skills so that they can get a GED or citizenship or just to feel more comfortable shopping and interacting in their daily lives. They make new friends and laugh a lot, so say the volunteers and their students.

Good Samaritan Helpers Club — This service club sponsors fund-raisers to acquire equipment needed for the residents to make their lives easier and more fun. To help the residents feel special, these volunteers host birthday parties and provide special one-on-one care. All holidays are recognized with refreshments or some type of fun for the residents. For special holidays such as Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and Christmas, the club provides gifts for the residents. Volunteers also maintain the flower garden and rose beds.

And so it goes, right up to the 2004 New Year’s Eve festivities when a year’s worth of fun in Artesia begins again.