The 46th annual Peanut Valley Festival begins Oct. 19-20 at the Roosevelt County Fairgrounds in Portales and will feature live entertainment throughout the event.
One of the highlights of recent years has been Clovis’ La Casita Elementary School Baile Folklorico. The students perform traditional Mexican dances while dressed in authentic costume. Several different groups perform and costume changes keep the kids moving. The group will be on the slab just outside the main Events Arena at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Other dance and demo groups performing will include ArchAngels K-9s with a demonstration on how service dogs are trained, Medieval Village knights and fighters from the Blackwater Keep of the area’s Society for Creative Anachronism, Fusion World Dance and Dance Studio Extreme.
New to the PVF state this year is a group called Higher Ground. They will close the festival Saturday with their first set starting at 2 p.m. and the last one from 4-6 p.m.
Based in Albuquerque, the group plays their version of traditional Bluegrass and folk featuring tight harmony. The band members are a favorite at the Weed Bluegrass Festival.
Local singer/songwriter Colton Stevens will also take the PVF stage Saturday morning at 11:15. He’s played numerous coffee shops and pubs as well as various festivals in the region. He’ll be joined on stage by Stan Livengood of Portales.
Andy Mason, who cut his teeth playing music in the Portales area will return on Sunday at PVF to get the afternoon started at 12:30 p.m. Mason, who lives in Santa Fe, has several children’s albums to his credit and tours extensively with his children’s music concerts. He’ll mix things up with a variety of folk covers as well as originals. Maybe he can even be coaxed into playing “Streets of Portales” or “Kakawate Road.”
Closing things out on Sunday afternoon will be Michael Thompson & The Last Minute from 2-5 p.m. Wild Bill Cathey and his rope tricks and bull whip skills along with a demonstration from Eastern New Mexico Taekwon-do Round out the day.
Sponsors of this year’s event are Hampton Farms, Yucca, EDF Renewable Energy, Alta Terra, Walmart, New Mexico Bank & Trust, Wheeler Mortuary, Xcel Energy, Hunton Insurance Agency, White Rock Crushing, LLC and the New Mexico Peanut Growers Association.
Admission is free. Handicap parking, with placard is available inside the grounds, both west of the midway buildings and north of the Pavilion. The entertainment stage moves inside the Pavilion if weather is bad. For more information contact the Chamber at (575) 356-8541. To view the full schedule
click here.
