Valencia County Community Roundup: Food Drive, Scholarship Tea, Volunteer Opportunities

Belen Fire Department and the Belen Area Food Pantry are collecting canned goods at 121 S. Fifth St., Belen, with drop-offs accepted daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Saturday, Feb. 28. The drive runs without stated limits or fees; organizers have not published a contact number for donations or volunteer sign-up.

Bosque Farms will host a live performance by Fiddlers and Musicians of New Mexico on Sunday, Feb. 22, from 2-5 p.m. at the Bosque Farms Community Center, 950 N. Bosque Loop. Admission is $3 at the door, and the event promises “Music, dancing, snacks and fun!”

PNM's Energy Smart Seniors program will present an information session Wednesday, Feb. 25, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Bosque Farms Community Center, 950 N. Bosque Loop. The program description specifies attendees will “Get tips to be safe with energy, learn low or no cost ways to save energy and money, get information about energy efficiency and assistance programs and pick up your free energy efficiency kit (one per household).” Organizers note the distribution limit of one kit per household; no registration fee or phone contact is listed.

The Route 66 Centennial Speaker Series is scheduled Saturday, Feb. 28, with Aimee Tang presenting “Chinese Merchants of Albuquerque’s Route 66” at the Fred Luna Multi-Generational Center, 197 Don Pasqual, Los Lunas, and Richard Ruddy presenting “An Iconic View: Route 66 in Downtown Albuquerque” at the Isleta Pueblo Cultural Center, 71 Tribal Road 40, Isleta. Both listings show a start/end time printed as “from 1 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.,” which reads as a typographical error; venues should be consulted to confirm the actual session times and whether events are free or ticketed.

The Valencia County Historical Society will hold its annual meeting at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 1, at the Belen Harvey House. The agenda includes an awards presentation and the election of officers, and historian John Taylor will speak about the Belen Cutoff. Refreshments will be served; no admission fee or RSVP instructions were published.

The Belen Art League is staging its Mad Hatter Scholarship Tea Sunday, March 22, with two seatings at noon and 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for children 10 and younger. The event will feature an art raffle, door prizes and a hat contest. The league requires that “Tickets must be paid prior to event”; payments can be made in person at 509 Becker Ave., Belen, or by calling 505-861-0217.

Two headings referencing a Blue Star Mothers meeting and a veterans event appeared in promotional copy without accompanying details; date, time and contact information for those items were not published. For the Route 66 talks and any truncated listings, attendees and community groups are advised to confirm times and registration requirements directly with listed venues: Fred Luna Multi-Generational Center, 197 Don Pasqual; Isleta Pueblo Cultural Center, 71 Tribal Road 40; Bosque Farms Community Center, 950 N. Bosque Loop; and Belen Fire Department, 121 S. Fifth St.