SOCORRO, N.M. – August means back to school. It also means a new schedule of music and events with New Mexico Tech’s Performing Arts Series (PAS).

“It promises to be a fun and tasty year,” says Ronna Kalish, PAS director. “We are doing lots of pre-show food events and dinners, several outdoor FunFests, the return of in-person Canvas and Cocktails Painting Parties, and a season of great music, theater, dance, and variety performances.”

The first event is TNT Fest, or Meet Tech & Town, Saturday, Aug. 27,  from 1 to 7 p.m. on Campus Drive. The free event will feature NMT student bands and clubs, food trucks, community and college resources, all kinds of activities, workshops, demos, giveaways, coupons, prizes, and plenty of fun according to Dana Chavez, PAS coordinator.

Other outdoor festivals are the Monster Mash Bash on Oct. 29, a collaboration with Kiwanis of Socorro County, city of Socorro, NMT Residential Life, and local businesses and organizations; and WomenFest on March 25, 2023, also a collaboration among a wide variety of campus and town organizations and businesses.

PAS is working with the city of Socorro on the return of SocorroFest, Sept. 16 to 17 on the plaza, anchored by Socorro’s rich array of bands on two stages, plus arts and food vendors, spirits tent, car show, 3:3 basketball tourney, and more. Lee Rocker, upright bassist and founding member of the Grammy-nominated Stray Cats, will headline SocorroFest at the historic gazebo Saturday evening, which is also Tech’s Parent and Family Weekend.

Canvas & Cocktails, a guided painting experience led by PAS Coordinator Dana Chavez, takes place the last Fridays of September and March, with themed appetizers and drink specials.

Community collaboration events include the in-school National Dance Institute and summer Missoula Children’s Theater residencies, the Annual Community Arts Party and Fourth of July Celebration, and several Tech, Socorro Community Theater, and local theatrical productions.

The free Presidential Chamber Music Series, sponsored by New Mexico Tech President Stephen G. Wells, features three free concerts: 

• Friday, Oct. 21: Eric Sewell’s Nomad Ensemble with stellar New Mexico musicians performing string quintets that showcase the double-bass;
• Friday, Jan. 27, 2023: Camerata Del Sol, a seven-member string ensemble from Las Cruces;
• Friday, March 24: The String Queens, a through-the-ages trio from Washington, D.C., for WomenFest.  

The regular subscription series begins in September with several pre-show events connected to the performances, and costumes are encouraged for several of them. Special events carry an additional cost.

• The first event in the subscription series is Saturday, Sept. 10, with “Yesterday: Tribute to the Beatles.” Endorsed by Sir Paul McCartney, “Yesterday” tours internationally and has performed on five continents. Currently, the band does a regular show in Las Vegas. It has been featured in Rolling Stone and Showbiz magazines, on NBC, CBS, and ABC, Dick Clark’s “Your Big Break,” and Ed McMahon’s “Star Search.” A “Groovy ’60s Costume Party” precedes the show from 6 to 7:30 p.m. with a Beatles trivia contest, photo booth, and fun finger foods.
• Socorro Community Theater’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” the classic Shakespearean comedy about loves, lovers, and mix-ups, runs Friday through Sunday, Sept. 23 to 25, with special events each day. The Friday show kicks off with an optional Medieval Feast and Fancy, with open-air, night club style seating, a hearty medieval meal, drink specials, and costumes encouraged. There is also a silent art auction by Socorro’s Association of University Women (AAUW). Saturday features a mini Renaissance Fair scheduled from 4 to 7 p.m. The mini-fest will celebrate the Middle Ages with music, food trucks, and more. The Sunday 2 p.m. matinee performance features an Enchanted Brunch from 12:30 to 2 p.m. with the open-air, night club-style seating, a whimsical woodland menu, and mimosa and bloody mary cocktails and mocktail drink specials.

More PAS shows include:

• Friday, Oct. 7:  Skerryvore, a band playing traditional and contemporary Scottish music and hailed as the most promising young band from Scotland today. They have twice won national awards, and they play a unique fusion of folk, traditional, rock, and pop that represents the unique personalities and upbringing of the band members who come from different regions of Scotland. Isle Fare pre-show social hour from 6 to 7:30 p.m. features traditional Scottish food and cocktail/mocktail specials.
• Friday and Saturday, Nov. 4 and 5: “Horror Channel,” Socorro’s original musical written by local musician and visual artist Colleen Gino, and starring many of Socorro’s musicians and thespians, intertwines dreams, nightmares, zombies, and werewolves with real life. A Dark Art reception precedes the show with spooky snacks and an exhibit of Dark Art especially for the musical.
• Friday, Dec. 2: “A Christmas Carol” performed by Socorro youth, Tech students, and community thespians. The classic Dickens tale tells the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserly man who lives alone and only cares about making and hoarding his money. Through the course of three supernatural visits on Christmas Eve, Scrooge learns the true meaning of life and Christmas. This performance takes place during Festival of the Cranes.
• Friday, Dec. 16:  “Mariachi Christmas,” a colorful seasonal showcase of ballet, folkorico dance, and mariachi music. Comida Festiva before the show features traditional New Mexican food and drink specials.
• Friday, January 20, 2023:  Big Richard is an all-female band formed just last year and is already making headlines. An acoustic string ensemble of four well-established musicians who came together for a festival and “morphed into a serious passion project driven by sisterhood, harmony, and humor… along with the shared desire to rage fiddle tunes and smash the patriarchy.” The band gained immediate notoriety for its charismatic stage presence and vocal-instrumental prowess. A pre-show social hour from 6 to 7:30 p.m. will offer homestyle comfort food and drink specials.
• Friday, Feb. 10: A Sweetheart Soiree Dinner will be served prior to an evening of big-band swing music with the Albuquerque Jazz Orchestra and vocalist extraordinaire Hillary Smith. Band members include professional and semi-professional musicians alongside local public school and university music educators to create a lively dynamic that lets audiences share in the dazzling sights and sounds of this ever popular sound. Dancing, of course, is welcome.
• Friday, Feb. 24. For Science Olympiad weekend at Tech, illusionist Jason Bishop presents his stunning and original state-of-the-art magic show with award-winning sleight of hand, exclusive grand illusions, close-up magic projected onto a huge movie screen, his cute little dog, Gizmo, and lots of humor.
• Thursday, March 2: Not only are audiences treated to music from Scotland early in the season, PAS will bring an Irish extravaganza to the stage with “Rhythm of the Dance,” featuring World and Irish champion dancers and some of the finest traditional musicians and singers. Combined with the most up-to-date stage technology, this show is an exhilarating, energy-packed trip through the ages It is also internationally rated as one of the most popular Irish step dance shows in the world. The pre-show social hour will feature Irish foods and drink specials.
• Friday and Saturday, March 24 and 25: Friday evening’s WomenFest pre-show event is a culminating reception for the month-long art showcase featuring Socorro-area women artistsand includes appetizers and drink specials. The evening’s WomenFest kickoff concert is The String Queens, and it is the third event of the Presidential Chamber Music Series. This trio has an array of repertoire spanning from the Baroque era to the Jazz Age to today’s Billboard Hot 100 Chart. They have been featured in venues across four continents including: Carnegie Hall, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and Radio City Music Hall. On Saturday, WomenFest will feature a variety of activities in and around Macey Center. Inspired by Women’s History Month, NMT PAS is collaborating with a variety of campus and Socorro organizations to create a multi-faceted event featuring  live music, workshops, artist showcases, speakers, vendors, and more in a weekend-long celebration of women in our community and beyond.
• Friday, April 14: This production of  “The Jungle Book” by State Street Ballet features Water, Air, Earth, and Fire, the four natural elements, intertwining in this dazzling adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s classic collection of stories. The complexities of the jungle and the personalities of its creatures come alive through movement, music, and the dynamic storytelling of some of life’s greatest moral lessons. look for the cameo performance by Socorro's Rising Star young dancers. Storytime fun with cakes and punch will be featured at the preshow social hour; this event is especially for families.
• April 23 to 25: Socorro Community Theater and New Mexico Tech present their annual musical, “Little Shop of Horrors,” starring Tech students and Socorro residents. The story follows a meek plant store attendant named Seymour, his co-worker crush Audrey, her sadistic dentist boyfriend, and the man-eating plant that threatens them and the world as we know it. Friday and Saturday shows are at 7 p.m., with a Sunday matinee at 2 p.m.
• Friday, May 5: Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with a build-your-own taco buffet, plus a cash bar with tequila flights, margaritas, Mexican beer drink specials, rousing games of Loteria with fun prizes, and local Spanish music for a Cinco de Mayo dance.  
  
  Season tickets are now available, and subscribers save 25% off tickets for the entire year. Individual tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors, and $5 for youth. New Mexico Tech students are free with student ID. Special pre-show events are an additional charge. For more information, visit nmt.edu/pas or call 575-835-5688.