The Las Cruces CVB 2007-08 Marketing Plan is now available on the bureau's website www.lascrucescvb.org. Click here to download a copy.

EXPO New Mexico State Fair-Tourism Day, September 18, 2007
CVB Tourism Sales Manager Adelle Cox attended the New Mexico State Fair Tourism Day in Albuquerque, NM along with Toby Martinez from the New Mexico Tourism Department. Several communities participated, passing out information and promoting tourism to fair attendees.

Addison Tradeshow, September 4-7, 2007
CVB Tourism Sales Manager Adelle Cox attended the Addison Trade Show Series II in Edmonton & Calgary, Canada in September. The CVB Tourism Sales Manager joined with Mark Trujillo, from the New Mexico Tourism Department to promote Las Cruces, and New Mexico as a tourist destination to over 500 tour operators and travel agents throughout Canada. The show was very successful, and there was much interest showed in Las Cruces, and our "warm weather" activities.

The Reunion Network, September 24-26, 2007
Convention Sales Manager John Bulla attended The Reunion Network tradeshow in Colorado Springs, CO this past September. The tradeshow was an opportunity for military reunion planners to meet with regional destinations to locate suitable cities for upcoming reunions. Several good contacts were made as the bureau was able to expose military planners to everything Las Cruces has to offer their groups. This was the first reunion tradeshow the bureau has attended.

Western Association of Convention & Visitor Bureaus (WACVB) CEO Forum, August 2-5, 2007
CVB Executive Director Ken Mompellier attended the WACVB CEO Forum in Las Vegas, NV this past August. The forum, produced by the Western Association of Convention & Visitor Bureaus, was an opportunity for bureau heads to meet and to discuss issues important to the tourism industry.

Educational Seminar for Tourism Organizations (ESTO), August 16-19, 2007
CVB Executive Director Ken Mompellier attended the ESTO conference in Phoenix, AZ this past August. The conference was produced by the Travel Industry Association and was intended to educate, challenge, inspire and inform tourism professionals with cutting edge speakers and workshops. The professional development opportunities provided attendees with exciting new ideas related to industry trends including Web 2.0, generational marketing, partnerships, niche marketing, new technologies, and much more.

Team New Mexico, September 7, 2007
CVB Executive Director Ken Mompellier attended the Team New Mexico meeting in Albuquerque, NM last month. The committee, organized by Governor Richardson, was brought together to discuss ways to increase New Mexico's profile as a sports destination and position the state as a competitive and productive candidate for hosting major sporting events. This was the group's first meeting and in an effort to get a clear picture of the current number of sporting events in the state, each attendee spoke about the events from their communities including number of events, approximate number of attendees, and how often. More meetings are planned for the future.

The New Mexico Municipal League held their 50th Annual Conference in Las Cruces this past August 28- 31, 2007. This year's conference was the largest in their history with over 930 attendees. Several attendees extended their stay to enjoy the Labor Day weekend in Las Cruces. There was also tremendous participation from the local community with several organizations donating their time, money and company resources. Many delegates commented on the fact that this was one of the best conferences they had attended, and looked forward to its return to Las Cruces. Future League conferences hosted by Las Cruces will be held in the soon to be built Las Cruces Center.

As of October 1, 2007 the government per diem for Las Cruces is now $70.00 rather than the pervious amout of $60.00 per day, marking the first increase in over four years. This is a result of the growing number of lodging nights and increased demand Las Cruces has received from various government agencies. This is a positive reflection of how popular Las Cruces is becoming and compared to the rest of the state, Las Cruces is an inexpensive destination.

Plans for the November 17 celebration of the 100th anniversary of the City of Las Cruces' incorporation as a municipality are developing nicely according to co-committee leaders Olivia Hennessey with the City of Las Cruces and Heather Pollard with Las Cruces Downtown. The schedule of events includes a full day of celebration on the Downtown Mall featuring performances by Flamenco dances and Mariachis, Las Cruces Public School elementary school choirs, a dramatic play recanting the complete history of Las Cruces, the Great Arizona Puppet Theater all capped off with a live concert from Nosotros. There will also be on the hour screenings of classic Zorro Rides Again and A Walk in The Dessert dance production both at the Rio Grande Theatre. The Branigan Cultural Center will be unavailing its History of Las Cruces exhibit. In addition, there will be a Remembering Main Street exhibit and Centennial Arts & Crafts Fair on the Mall walkway. For more information, contact Olivia Hennessey or click here for a complete schedule of Saturday's events.

Art and literary enthusiasts have an extremely rare opportunity to see a literary masterpiece come to life through the work of world renowned painter Salvador Dalí in "Dalí illustrates Dante's Divine Comedy" currently on display at the Las Cruces Museum of Art in Las Cruces, until November 24.

The show is a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the complete 100-piece suite in its entirety. The paintings are Dalí's visual interpretation of Dante's literary masterpiece The Divine Comedy, chronicling his epic journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. At this time, there are no plans to ever show the exhibit again.

"Salvador Dalí is probably one of the most well known of the surrealists artists," said Lisa Pugh, Manager of the Las Cruces Museum of Art. "He really concentrated on depicting the unconscious and subconscious mind."

Dalí labored for nine years to produce a series of 100 watercolors as illustrations to Dante's classic epic. His paintings were to be reproduced as wood engravings and released as a limited edition print suite in honor of the 700th anniversary of Dante Alighieri's birth.

"This is the first time the entire suite has been shown to our knowledge. It is on loan to us from a private collector here in Las Cruces," said Pugh. There is a $5 admission fee for adults and ages 18 and under are free. The Las Cruces Museum of Art is located at 490 N. Water St. in the Downtown Mall.

For more information, contact Joy Miller, of the Las Cruces Museum of Art, at 505-541-2221, by email at jmiller@las- cruces.org, or visit www.dalílc.org.