LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Last year’s seventh annual Las Cruces Country Music Festival (LCCMF) will be the last in a series that humbly began back in 2013. Due to rising entertainer fees and a trend of dwindling ticket sales over the past couple years, Visit Las Cruces has decided to hang up its cowboy hat.
“When the festival first started, it was a unique music experience in the area,” Interim Visit Las Cruces Executive Director Rochelle Miller-Hernandez said. “With the recent proliferation of similar country music festivals in the region and throughout the state, and after the evaluation of the 2019 LCCMF, we feel that we have reached the lifespan of this endeavor.”
The original motivation for the festival was to jumpstart programming in the downtown area, and to encourage visitors from outside the region to spend multiple days in Las Cruces. The first five years of LCCMF occurred in the downtown area, and since that time there have been infrastructure improvements and business growth that have led to a vibrant district.
Visit Las Cruces continues to evaluate other opportunities for events and festivals that highlight local and regional assets and drive tourism. “Las Cruces is more than a destination, it is an experience,” said Miller-Hernandez. “We invite locals and visitors to explore and discover our rich culture and history, authentic cuisine, diverse entertainment and abundant outdoor adventure.”
For questions, call Visit Las Cruces at 575/541-2444.
About Las Cruces
Nestled in southern New Mexico’s Mesilla Valley between the Rio Grande River and Organ Mountains, Las Cruces offers convenient access to the newest National Park, White Sands National Park. Las Cruces has close connections to space tourism as the gateway to New Mexico and the United States’ first commercial spaceport, Spaceport America and an Annual Space Festival. Las Cruces partners with several aerospace companies including Virgin Galactic, Boeing, and NASA. The city boasts a rich history of western legends such as Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett and blends a unique variety of such special events, attractions, culture and historical sites, as well as superb weather, with over 320 days of sunshine per year. Las Cruces was recently cited as one of the most scenic Southwest cities by Expedia users and Money Magazine named Las Cruces number 3 on their list of 20 Best Places to Visit in 2019. Las Cruces has also been chosen as the 2019 “Nicest Place in New Mexico” and a contender for “Nicest Place in America” by Reader’s Digest. For more information on all Las Cruces has to offer, go to http://www.visitlascruces.com or contact Visit Las Cruces at 575/541-2444.