❤️ What's Happening this week in Las Cruces July 03, 2026

Local Events on Tuesday & Friday @ 6 am
Live Music on Thursday @ 1 pm

TOGETHER WITH

Hello {{First Name|Las Cruces}},

Well, you are reading the newsletter. Many of you caught my mistake with the Fathers Day Car show in yesterday’s issue. Thanks for the heads up… let’s call it a brain fart. Hey it happens 😊

Fireworks can be very stressful for some pets so while the rest of us are ooh-ing and aah-ing at the fireworks, your dog is convinced the world is ending. Keep 'em indoors, ID tags on, and love on 'em a little extra.

Double-check those ID tags and microchips before sundown — more pets go missing on the 4th than any other night of the year.

👉 Here's whats happening this weekend…

The Electric 5K & One-Mile Fun Run The race starts at Meerscheidt Recreation Center at 7:30 pm July 3rd. More info

Electric Light Parade – Friday, July 3 at 9 p.m. The parade kicks off at Apodaca Park (801 E. Madrid Ave.), heads south on Solano Drive, east on Hadley Avenue, and ends at the Maag Softball Complex. Theme: “Stars, Stripes & City Lights.” More Info

Saturday, July 4 at Pat & Lou Sisbarro Community Park (3205 Arrowhead Dr). Gates at 4 pm, Kids Zone 4–8, Triple Jack at 6:45, Winchester at 8, and the sky lights up at 9:45 pm. More info

America turns 250, and Doña Ana County is doing it big. The 250th Independence Day Celebration runs through July 4 at the County Fairgrounds — local bands, vendors, and a nightly drone show that reimagines the Fourth. More from Sun News

Red, White & Mesilla takes over Mesilla Plaza Saturday July 4th at 3 pm — music, food, family fun, a hot dog eating contest (yes, really), and a fireworks finale at 9:30 pm.

Want to escape the city for the 4th? I mean really who would want to do that 🙂 but if you do one of the best annual fireworks displays in the area is at Elephant Butte Lake. The Fireworks begins at dusk, launching from Rattlesnake Island and they can be seen from almost anywhere at the lake! It’s one of the biggest fireworks shows in New Mexico reflected on the waters of Elephant Butte Lake! Park entry fees are waived after 6pm the day of the show. More Info

🙂 Have fun, stay safe, and enjoy! 🧨

Note: Most government and city offices are closed today, and many businesses will be closed Saturday.

⛽ Gas Prices in Las Cruces

Check our Online Events Calendar for even more events

Music lovers here is the latest Live Music issue

Meet and make new friends, join us for the next Dinner Club on July 15th.

Multi-Use Hiking/Biking Trails and BLM Trail & Difficulty Map

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Note: Any updates or corrections to the email will be reflected online.

Join RGW for another week of music and celebration! Immerse yourself in an experience filled with joy and rhythm, all while savoring exceptional wines and refreshing cocktails beneath our breathtaking open skies.

This lineup of unforgettable events features live performances, a celebration of friendship and our country’s 250th birthday, dancing under the stars, and an abundance of positive vibes. Indulge in local wines and delectable menu items as you soak in the atmosphere and the stunning views of the Organ Mountains.

Mark your calendars and sign up for our special workshops while seats are still available. Like us on Facebook and subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated with the latest news and events.

Join us as we celebrate under the stars, surrounded by laughter and good company!

Rio Grande Winery
Website: RioGrandeWinery.com
Phone: 575-201-3744
Follow us: Facebook and Instagram

Note: Always check to confirm event details with venue before attending events for changes or weather cancellations.

👉 Got an event coming up? Add it to our Events Calendar

Grand Opening - Amigos Bakery | 101 East University Ave | 11 am | Official Grand Opening Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony with Mariachi

First Friday July 2026 | Mesquite Art Gallery | 4 - 8 pm

Opening reception for Dear Democracy/Dear America Art Exhibit | The Mad Hatter Gallery | 5 - 8 pm

First Friday Open Mic | Rio Grande Theatre | 5:30 pm

America's Birthday Eve Party | The Game 1 | 6 pm

America's Birthday Eve Party | The Game II | 6 pm

Electric Light Parade / Electric 5K & One-mile Fun Run | Apodaca Park | 7:30 - 10:30 pm

Las Cruces Farmers & Crafts Market will be Celebrating the 4th of July and is open from 8am - 1 pm. Note: WIC and Senior farmers market benefits are accepted at our market. Please look for the sign on farmers tables or come to our market booth for information. Seniors will have $100 to use at the market. WIC families please visit or call your local WIC clinic for your benefits. Benefits start July 1st and end November 15th, 2026.

A Presidential Fourth of July Concert | Mesilla Valley Concert Band | NMSU Atkinson Recital Hall | 10 am

Red, White & Mesilla - Celebrating America’s 250th Anniversary | Mesilla Plaza | 3 pm | music, family fun, food, Hot dog eating competition, and a spectacular fireworks finale.

Fourth of July Celebration Concert | Pat and Lou Sisbarro Community Park At NMSU | 4 pm | Live Music, Family Fun and Fireworks at 9:45 pm

Pickleball Round Robin | Rio Grande Winery | 8 am | Reserve Court

Puzzle Mania Speed Challenge | Rio Grande Winery | 6 pm |

Trivia | T or C Brewing | 6 pm

👉 There’s so much more….Be sure to check our Events Calendar and Live Music events and weekly recurring events like the farmers & crafts markets.

*Sponsored: Want your business featured here? Only 4 spots available per issue. Learn More

The BLM A.B. Cox Visitor Center Native Plant Garden at Dripping Springs Natural Area is host really cool upcoming events in July and they are filling up fast. Learn More

WWE Wrestling Summer Tour | NMSU Pan American Center | July 11th | PRE-SALE: Tuesday, May 19 at 10AM - PUBLIC ON SALE: Wednesday, May 20 at 10am | Presale signup

Southwest Card and Collectible Show | Las Cruces Convention Center | July 18, 10 am - 5 pm

Come From Away | LCCT | August 7th-23rd

✅ Las Cruces Community Theatre (LCCT) currently has a 20% discount on season tickets. More Info

See our events calendar for Artist & Gallery Shows

*Artists and Galleries add your shows to our calendar! We love sharing the Arts!

City of Las Cruces Senior Recreation Program Calendar.

Also check our online events calendar for more.

New to Las Cruces or just craving real connections in this town you love?

This is the night you don’t want to miss!

We’re talking warm, zero-pressure community done right — personality-matched tables so the conversation actually flows, killer food, and those unexpected moments where you look up and realize you’re talking to people who feel like old friends already.

Newcomers feel instantly at home.
Locals leave even more in love with this place.

Come sit at the table with us on Wednesday, July 15th at 5:30 pm.

And as America Turns 250 Tomorrow Mesilla Would Like a Word.

Here's a fun little secret to drop at your Fourth of July cookout: when the founders were signing the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, this valley had absolutely no idea. And wouldn't have cared if it did.

In 1776, the Mesilla Valley wasn't American. It wasn't even close to being American. It was part of the far northern frontier of New Spain — a beautiful, dangerous stretch of El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, the royal road that ran from Mexico City to Santa Fe. Travelers had been passing through since Oñate crossed the Rio Grande near here in 1598, but nobody stuck around. This was Apache country. You watered your animals at the river, slept with one eye open, and kept moving — especially with the Jornada del Muerto waiting just north. That name translates to "journey of the dead man," which tells you everything about the Yelp reviews.

The people who actually knew this valley in 1776? The Mescalero Apache, and the Manso and Piro communities down toward El Paso del Norte. They'd been here for generations while Philadelphia was still figuring out its founding paperwork.

Late. Fashionably late.

Permanent settlement didn't stick until the 1840s, when Mexican families came up from El Paso del Norte under the Doña Ana Bend Colony Grant to farm the river bottom. Doña Ana — yes, the little town ten minutes up the road — is the oldest surviving settlement in this valley. Then the Mexican-American War redrew the map, and in 1849, Las Cruces got laid out on the American side of the new border.

Which brings us to the best part of this whole story.

I'm not kidding. Around 1850, a bunch of families looked at the new border, decided they'd rather stay Mexican, thank you very much, and deliberately crossed to the west bank of the Rio Grande — which was still Mexico. That's Mesilla. The most charming plaza in New Mexico exists because people were trying to get away from the country we're celebrating tomorrow.

And here's the detail everyone forgets: back then, the river ran between Mesilla and Las Cruces. The Rio Grande was the border. Two towns, two countries, one river in the middle.

It worked for about four years.

Then the Gadsden Purchase happened, the border moved south, and in November 1854 the American flag went up over Mesilla Plaza — the purchase was formally sealed right there, on the same plaza where you buy your green chile chocolate today. The town built to dodge the United States became one of its great territorial crossroads: a Butterfield Overland Mail stop, briefly the Confederate capital of Arizona Territory in 1861, and the place where Billy the Kid stood trial in 1881.

You'd think the story ends there. Nope.

In the 1860s, the Rio Grande — the same river that had made Mesilla Mexican in the first place — flooded hard and jumped its banks. When the water settled, the main channel had shifted west of town. Mesilla, founded on the far side of the river specifically to be somewhere else, was suddenly sitting on the same side as Las Cruces.

Let that sink in. The families of Mesilla crossed the river to change countries. Then the river crossed them back. Nobody moved an inch, and the geography got rewritten anyway. If that's not the most Rio Grande thing you've ever heard, I don't know what is. This river has never once respected anyone's paperwork.

Mesilla didn't join America. America came to Mesilla — and then the river sealed the deal.

So tomorrow, when the country blows out 250 candles, keep this in mind: our valley's American chapter is only 172 years old. Underneath it sits 250+ years of Spanish and Mexican history, and thousands of years of Indigenous history before that. We're one of the only places in the country where "America's founding" is honestly the newest layer of the story.

I think that's something worth celebrating — not instead of the Fourth, but as part of it. The plaza where all this history happened is a ten-minute drive from wherever you're reading this. Go stand on it this weekend. Get a paleta. Look around and remember that this little town has flown the flags of Spain, Mexico, the United States, and the Confederacy — survived a border that moved twice and a river that moved once — and outlasted the drama every single time.

Happy 250th, America. Mesilla says you're welcome for the head start.

Own a local business? Want people to actually show up? Las Cruces locals read this newsletter because they're looking for places to eat, things to do, and businesses worth their money — and unlike most audiences, they follow through. Advertise in Live Love Las Cruces and watch the magic happen.

That’s a wrap for this issue!

Please share with a friend who only wears black t-shirts on 105 degree days 🙂