In preparation for lane closures and construction during a 2-year road improvement project on Main St. in Lovington, the Lovington MainStreet organization opened “Central Alley” on Friday evening. The event included roller skating, cornhole, local vendors and a ribbon cutting ceremony.
Central Alley is located behind businesses along Main St. between Central and Washington Avenues. It’s purpose is to provide an alternative access for these businesses and a place for customers to park and walk while Main St. is closed or blocked off.
“It will serve as a beautiful area for us to be able to convene and hang out,” said Mara Salcido, director of Lovington MainStreet at the ribbon cutting event, “and of course have some great block parties.
A block party was underway in the leadup to the ribbon cutting with that block of Central Ave. closed off to traffic in order to make way for a makeshift roller rink and some vendors. Several people came out for the event, particularly young kids who greatly enjoyed the roller skating (despite a lot of falling down).
Being monsoon season, some light rain interrupted the roller skate activities for a while. Fortunately, City Commissioners Bernard Butcher and Scott Boldt were on hand to help mop up the roller skate mat once the rain had stopped.
With the mat dried, people laced up their skates and resumed the fun. There were also cornhole games set up on the Washington Ave. side of Central Alley and Drylands was serving up beverages and food in a designated 21+ area. Free ice cream was also provided to attendees courtesy of the Cornerstone Creamery. The event was co-hosted with the Lovington Chamber of Commerce.
In an effort to spruce up the area, Lovington MainStreet commissioned several murals from local artists to portray Lovington’s culture and history. A total of five murals were created for the alley and Lovington MainStreet is currently running a contest on their Facebook page for the community to vote on their favorite. The winning artist will receive $2,500 with 2nd and 3rd place receiving smaller cash prizes.
Four of the five artists were in attendance during the ribbon cutting. Dante Rios and Aleyda Ortiz held the oversized scissors used to cut the ribbon while Edgar Palomino and River Insilan stood beside them. Roger Barr was not present.
The Central Alley project was funded with donations totaling $25,000 from sponsors. $10,000 was spent on the murals and $15,000 is being spent on overhead lights which have not yet been installed. Sponsors include Lea County Electric, New Mexico Oil & Gas Association and the NM Tourism Department.
Lovington MainStreet hopes to add more murals to the area later and will be planning other events and activities in the space for the future.
