Fort Bliss National Cemetery, which covers over 82 acres, is the final resting place for over 50,000 veterans as well as some veterans' spouses and children. (Corrie Boudreaux/El Paso Matters)

Hereā€™s a roundup of some culture and civic events in the borderland in the coming week.

Memorial Day Events

A variety of events will take place this weekend throughout the city offering residents multiple outlets to mark Memorial Day weekend. 

  • Fort Bliss Memorial Day Ceremony: 9 a.m. Monday, May 27, at Fort Bliss National Cemetery, 5200 Fred Wilson Ave. hosted by Fort Bliss and the 1st Armored Division. Guest speaker is commanding general Maj. Gen. Jim P. Isenhower III.
  • Concordia Cemetery Memorial Day Ceremony: 10 a.m. Monday, May 27, at the cemetery, 3700 Yandell Drive, honoring veterans laid to rest there. Invocation by Fort Bliss personnel and ceremonial music by a vocalist and bugler from the Fort Bliss 1st Armored Division Band.
  • El Paso Chihuahuas Memorial Day Game: 7 p.m. Sunday, May 26, Southwest University Park, 1 Ballpark Plaza in Downtown. The 1st Armored Division Color Guard will present the colors before the game.
Street artist Chicago prepares a can of paint to work on a mural he created during the 2023 Borderland Jam. (Christian Betancourt / El Paso Matters)

Borderland Jam 2024

Artists from throughout the world will converge on the city this week for the Borderland Jam, a collaborative three-day graffiti art show and festival. The event features live painting all day from Friday, May 24, to Sunday, May 26, at 1601 E. Fourth Ave. in South El Paso. Now in its 10th year, Borderland Jam evolved from the Border Youth Mural Collective, an initiative launched in the 1990s that aimed to clean up gang-related graffiti. In 2023, the event drew approximately 200 artists.Ā 

Tom Lea’s 1938 “Pass of the North” mural is located in the El Paso Federal Courthouse in Downtown. (Courtesy Tom Lea Institute)

Tom Lea Instituteā€™s Downtown Treasures Tour

The Tom Lea Institute will host a guided tour Thursday, May 23, of some iconic sites throughout Downtown El Paso led by Holly Cobb, the instituteā€™s executive director. Participants can learn the history behind sculptures, buildings, murals and other places across Downtown, as well as about old masters and new contemporary artists. The tour starts at 10 a.m. at San Jacinto Plaza, 114 W. Mills Ave. The institute is a nonprofit that works to preserve and promote the work of famed El Paso artist Tom Lea. Information: tomlea.com/tours

This piece by Kirsten Hassenfeld, Millefleur is on display at the El Paso Museum of Art as part of the “Beautiful Mess: Weavers and Knotters of the Vanguard” exhibit through Aug. 11. (Courtesy El Paso Museum of Art)

ā€˜Beautiful Mess: Weavers and Knotters of the Vanguardā€™

A new exhibit at the El Paso Museum of Art features fiber-based displays by women conceptual artists who use rope, yarn, clay and wire to create sculptures of all sizes. ā€œA Beautiful Mess: Weavers and Knotters of the Vanguardā€ opens with a reception at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 23, at the museum, 1 Arts Festival Plaza in Downtown. The event will also kick off a co-weaving project organized by local artist Cynthia Gutierrez-Krapp that will run through the end of the exhibit. The exhibit is on display through Aug. 11 and accompanies selections from the 2024 Border Biennial. Information: epma.art.