Earth Day celebrations, Full Moon Fiesta, El Paso Symphony Orchestra concert among El Paso events this week

by Cindy Ramirez, El Paso Matters
April 17, 2024

The Week Ahead: Here’s a roundup of some culture and civic events in the borderland in the coming week.

Earth Day Celebrations

Earth Day, celebrated on April 22, is a worldwide day of education about environmental issues facing the planet. In the Borderland, you can participate in an array of events to mark the day:

• “Planet v. Plastic” is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 20, at the city of El Paso’s Municipal Services Center, 7968 San Paulo Drive in the Lower Valley. The free event will include interactive activities for kids, a mascot dance-off, vendors, food trucks, informational booths and entertainment by Fungi Mungle and the Pro Wrestling Legacy. Live Active El Paso will hold a 3k walk/run starting at 10:15 a.m. The city’s Animal Services will have mobile pet adoptions.
• Party for the Planet: The El Paso Zoo and Botanical Gardens is celebrating wildlife and conservation as part of Earth day with its Party for the Planet event from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, April 20-21. Cultural dancers and young musicians, a presentation titled Saving our Endangered Species, special animal programs and conservation exhibitors will be part of the event. An enrichment activity with Obi the baby giraffe celebrating its first birthday is at 11:30 a.m. Saturday; while Khaleesi the orangutan's ninth birthday with a question-and-answer session at 12:30 p.m. Sunday. Information: El Paso Zoo.
• The Chamizal National Park will host an Earth Day Cleanup Hike starting at 5 p.m. Monday, April 22. Participants should meet at the parking lot, 800 S. San Marcial St. The event includes a park cleanup where participants can also learn about the park and its surrounding area. The Chamizal National Memorial was established as a National Park Service unit in 1974, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
• Critical Mass El Paso, a group of outdoor enthusiasts who promote cycling and sharing the streets, will hold a “Kidicalmass” Earth Day Family Ride and Picnic starting at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, April 21, at Ascarate Park, 6900 Delta. The event includes a 3-mile family-friendly bike ride along the Playa Drain Trail, kite flying and a picnic. The ride begins at 11 a.m., with kite flying and the picnic at noon. Bring plenty of water, a helmet, knee, wrist and elbow pads.

EPSO Presents ‘Tone Poems’

The El Paso Symphony Orchestra will present “Tone Poems in Concert” at the Plaza Theatre, 125 Pioneer Plaza in Downtown, this weekend. EPSO Conductor Bohuslav Rattay will lead Debussy’s “Afternoon of a Faun,” Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3, Rachmaninoff’s “The Isle of the Dead” and Gershwin’s “American in Paris.” The concert is at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 19, and Saturday, April 20. Ahead of the event, concertgoers can learn about the composers and music pieces with Program Notes with Nathan Black at 6:30 p.m. both days at the Philanthropy Theatre next to the Plaza Theatre. Tickets range from $17 to $49.  Information: epso.org

Selena Fashion Show at The Market

Selena’s style is almost as iconic as her music. To celebrate her birthday month, El Paso Community College and Bazaar Models will hold a Selena Fashion Show from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, April 20, at The Market at Camp Cohen, 9700 Gateway Blvd. North. The event will showcase student fashion projects inspired by the queen of Tejano music’s iconic wardrobe. The event is in conjunction with the El Paso Museum of Art, whose exhibit “Selena Forever / Siempre Selena” is on display through February 2025. 

Full Moon Fiesta More Than Star Gazing

The Frontera Land Alliance, a nonprofit that works to preserve open spaces in the Borderland, is holding a family event celebrating the full moon in El Paso on Tuesday, April 23. The Full Moon Fiesta will include guided trail hikes, hands-on activities, Native American storytelling and star gazing at the El Paso Museum of Archeology, 4301 Woodrow Bean Transmountain Drive, from 6 to 9 p.m. Moonrise time is expected at about 7:35 p.m. Admission is free. Information: El Paso Museum of Archeology.

Aboard the Streetcar

Entertainment aboard the El Paso Streetcar this week includes rock, opera and Tejano music. Students from the Let There Be Rock Schools will perform at 6 p.m. Friday, April 19. At 11 a.m. Saturday, April 20, riders will be treated to a special Read-and-Ride event with the El Paso Opera’s Resident Artists pre-show tour to “Sunday in the Park with George” performance in May. A Tribute to Selena by Legna Villalobos will celebrate the Tejano legend’s birthday week at 6 p.m. Saturday, April 20. 

Boarding for all three free events will be at the Judson F. Williams Convention Center stop on Santa Fe and Henry Trost streets. The events are first-come, first-serve. The electric cars run from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Thursday; 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday; noon to 11 p.m. Saturday; and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. They travel on a 4.8-mile route along two loops through Downtown and Uptown El Paso. You can track the streetcar with the free Ride Sun Metro app. Information: sunmetro.net/streetcar.

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.