S uperbowl Sunday isn’t an official holiday, but it might as well be when you look at the events calendar for that day. It’s empty. No one schedules anything to compete with the Superbowl. Well, almost no one. Superbowl Sunday actually is a great day for lovers of community theater. El Paso and Las Cruces offer five different matinee performances Feb. 1. Even those theater-goers will be able to get home in time to watch Katy Perry perform at halftime, although I doubt they’ll be rushing for that reason. I was surprised that the El Paso Rhinos had a game scheduled to go against the Patriots/Seahawks showdown — then I checked the Rhinos website and discovered they had moved their usual 4:30 Sunday start time to noon instead. The February calendar will make up for lost time two weeks later — Valentine’s Day falls on a Saturday, so dinner-dances and other special events are offered all that weekend. Surprisingly, restaurateurs aren’t all that happy for the extra business that Saturday — they really prefer it when Valentine’s fall in the middle of the week. Friday and Saturday are the traditional date nights anyway, so a mid-week Valentine’s Day brings them the most additional guests, so I’ve been told. *** I can’t figure out the “snow policy” at our local school districts. A couple of years ago they cancelled school one day because it might snow. It didn’t. In early January this year they delayed school for a couple hours because it might snow. It didn’t. On Jan. 22 they ignored snow warnings and we had the worst snowstorm of the season. At least most kids were already at school when it started and it was over by the time school ended, although the roads were still messy. Many businesses and government offices let people go home early — which actually contributed to the traffic gridlock that afternoon when roads were still icy. By normal quitting time, most of the snow had melted and the roads were clear. February 2015 El Paso Scene is published by Cristo Rey Communications as a monthly guide to entertainment, recreation and culture in the El Paso area. Copies are provided free at selected locations. Subscriptions are $10 a year, sent by 3rd class mail. Circulation: 41,000 copies. Deadline for news for the March issue is Feb. 16 The March issue comes out Feb. 25 El Paso Scene P. O. Box 13615 El Paso, Texas 79913 PH: 542-1422 E-mail: [email protected] © 2015 Cristo Rey Communications Page 4 El Paso Scene *** This month’s cover artist Greg Allen, who was long overdue for an El Paso Scene cover. He had one of his works on a 2008 cover that included several paintings from that year’s Celebration of Our Mountains exhibit, but this is his first “one man show” front page. Greg is a native New Mexican who’s been in El Paso since 1989 and is a longtime Southwest landscape painter. Greg has earned numerous awards, including Best of Show at the 2012 Arts International. To find out more about his work, you can reach him at 915-581-9204 or [email protected]. By the way, if you want your photographs or paintings considered for the El Paso Scene, please email up to three images to me at [email protected]. *** El Paso artists are also invited to participate in the 8th annual El Paso Artists Studio Tour, presented by the Plein Air Painters of El Paso and co-sponsored by El Paso Scene. The event encourages artists to open their studios to the public, which allows people to meet artists and learn more about their work. This year’s event will be April 11-18 on the east half of town, and April 18-10 on the west half. Deadline to enter is March 5. Go to pleinairpaintersofelpaso.com for more information. Randy Limbird Editor and Publisher (915) 542-1422 Albert Martinez Advertising & Circulation Director (915) 920-7244 Lisa Kay Tate News Editor (915) 542-1422 ext. 4 Editorial Associates: Yvonne T. Herrera, Will Summers Advertising Associates: Roman Martinez, Maureen Freeman Circulation Associates: Randy Friedman, Gil Garza Contributing Writers: Carol Viescas, Brian Chozick, Myrna Zanetell, John McVey Middagh Walter Schaefer, Jay Duncan Subscription Form is on Page 46 Visit El Paso Scene Online at www.epscene.com sponsored by Phidev, Inc. February 2015