For the next seven weeks, the free events on the Fort Lewis College campus follow a weekly pattern that's easy to plan around. Most Tuesdays bring music in Roshong Recital Hall. Every Thursday for the first three weeks of November brings an artist talk at the Center of Southwest Studies. Those Thursday talks all lead up to Constellations of Place, the Center's year-long exhibition, which closes on December 18. The ticketed shows at the Community Concert Hall fill the weekends. In December the whole campus turns to holiday programming.
If you live in Skyridge, Hillcrest or College Mesa, all of this is a short drive or a walk across the mesa.
The Weekday Pattern
Fort Lewis's own music calendar lists Midday Music at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, November 3, and Tuesday, November 17, both in Roshong Recital Hall and both free. The Tuesday in between, November 10, brings a Percussion Ensemble/Jazz Combo concert at 7 p.m. in the same hall, also free.
Thursdays belong to the Center of Southwest Studies. Its upcoming events page lists three free events, each open to everyone.
| Date | Day | Event | Where | Time | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov. 3 | Tuesday | Midday Music | Roshong Recital Hall | 1 p.m. | Free |
| Nov. 5 | Thursday | Imagined Futures: An Artist Talk with Tyrrell Tapaha | CSWS Lyceum, Room 120 | 6–7:30 p.m. | Free |
| Nov. 10 | Tuesday | Percussion Ensemble/Jazz Combo | Roshong Recital Hall | 7 p.m. | Free |
| Nov. 12 | Thursday | Behind the Camera: An Artist Talk & Film Screening with Charine Pilar Gonzales | CSWS Lyceum, Room 120 | 6–7:30 p.m. | Free |
| Nov. 17 | Tuesday | Midday Music | Roshong Recital Hall | 1 p.m. | Free |
| Nov. 19 | Thursday | Protect the Sacred Voice: A Gallery Talk with Demian DinéYazhí & Dr. Meranda Roberts | CSWS Gallery | 3–5:30 p.m. | Free |
The November 19 event comes in two parts. A poetry reading runs from 3 to 4 p.m., and the gallery talk follows from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.
The Thursdays Lead Back to One Exhibit
The last of the three talks matters most because of who is giving it. Dr. Meranda Roberts guest curated Constellations of Place, the exhibition that has filled the Center's gallery since January 15. She is a Yerington Paiute and Chicana scholar, writer and independent curator. The show brings together more than 60 textiles, pottery, beadwork, 2D works and mixed media pieces from the Center's permanent collections, alongside work by 13 invited contemporary Native American, Indigenous and Latinx artists.
According to the college, the gallery is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the exhibition is free. It closes December 18, 2026. That makes the November 19 gallery talk, led by the show's curator in the gallery itself, the last scheduled public program for the exhibition before its final month.
November 19 is also the last day of a second show nearby. John Hitchcock: The Land Speaks is up at the FLC Art Gallery from October 22 through November 19. So one Thursday afternoon covers the close of one exhibit and the curator's talk for another.
When Weeknights Collide With Weekends
The Thursday talks are free, so they're easy to squeeze in. Thursday, November 12, is the hardest night of the season to plan. Three events overlap:
- The Charine Pilar Gonzales talk and screening runs 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the CSWS Lyceum.
- Cirque Mechanics, TILT! starts at 7:30 p.m. at the Community Concert Hall, with tickets from $40 to $70.
- FLC Theatre's A Midsummer Night's Dream also starts at 7:30 p.m. in the Fort Lewis College Theatre Building.
The talk ends at the exact minute both shows begin.
Midsummer is the easiest of the three to move. It runs November 6, 7, 8, 12, 13 and 14. Evening shows start at 7:30 p.m., and a 2 p.m. matinee plays Sunday, November 8. General tickets are $28, seniors $24, and non-FLC students $15. The other weekend shows overlap too. On Saturday, November 7, the San Juan Symphony plays Romantic Giants: Brahms & Dvorak at 7:30 p.m. at the Concert Hall, with adult tickets at $49 to $69. On Saturday, November 14, Midsummer closes the same night The North Face's Reel Rock 20 screens at 7 p.m. Adult tickets for Reel Rock are $25 and student tickets $15.
Sunday, November 15, is quieter. Richard Silvers gives a violin recital with Holly Quist on piano at 3 p.m. in Roshong Recital Hall. Adults pay $20, and people 18 and under get in free.
Basketball Comes Indoors, Mostly on the Mesa
Skyhawks basketball adds a few more nights to the calendar. The men open at home on Monday, November 9, at 7 p.m. against Justice University in Whalen Gymnasium. The women play back-to-back home games at 5:30 p.m. on November 19 against Southeastern Oklahoma State and November 20 against Angelo State. That puts the November 19 tip-off right as the Roberts gallery talk ends across campus.
On Thursday, December 10, both teams play Regis at Sun Ute Community Center, the women at 5:30 p.m. and the men at 7:30 p.m. The men's schedule places Sun Ute in Ignacio, not on campus, even though the women's listing gives the city as Durango. Both teams are back in Whalen Gymnasium on Saturday, December 12, against MSU Denver. The women play at 1 p.m. and the men at 3 p.m.
December Turns to Holiday Shows
After Thanksgiving the free weekday events wind down and the holiday programs take over. Most of December's dates sit at the Community Concert Hall, and the cheapest of them are the student concerts:
- FLC Jazz Concert, Tuesday, December 1, 7 p.m., Community Concert Hall. Adults $10; FLC students, faculty and staff, and anyone 18 and under get in free.
- Holiday on the Hill, Thursday, December 3, 7 p.m. Adults $10, with the same free categories. The college's listing doesn't name a venue yet.
- Durango Choral Society Family Christmas Concert, Sunday, December 6, 3 p.m. Tickets $25, students $10.
- The Nutcracker, with State Street Ballet and the San Juan Symphony, December 11 at 7:30 p.m., December 12 at 2 and 7:30 p.m., and December 13 at 2 p.m. Tickets $35 to $70.
- Bar-D Wranglers Christmas Jubilee, Saturday, December 19, 7:30 p.m. Tickets $25 to $45.
The Nutcracker weekend overlaps with the December 12 basketball doubleheader. The 2 p.m. matinee and the 3 p.m. men's game make that Saturday afternoon the busiest stretch of the month on campus. Constellations of Place closes the Friday after, December 18, and the Bar-D Wranglers play the next night.
Parking for a Short Trip Across the Mesa
Neighbors who drive up the hill need to know how campus parking works. On the college's parking regulations page, a day pass costs $3 for up to four hours or $5 for the full day. You can buy one at ftlewisparking.com, at the Police & Parking Department in Aspen Hall, or at Skyhawk Station. A pass covers both Commuter and Residential lots.
Metered visitor spaces with a two-hour limit are in the Art Lot, the Education/Business Hall Lot, the Center of Southwest Studies Lot and the Union Visitor Lot. Every car in a metered space has to pay the meter, even with a permit. Cars that stay past the paid two hours can be ticketed or towed. The CSWS Lot meter covers a 90-minute Thursday talk. It won't cover a talk followed by a 7:30 show, so a day pass works better for a double-booked night like November 12.
Event pages and athletic schedules can change, so check the listing on the day you plan to go.
Knowing which weeknights the campus fills up, and which lots stay open, is part of daily life on the mesa. When it's time to put a value on living within walking distance of all this, Alicia Romero can help. Start your move: request a home valuation for your Skyridge, Hillcrest or College Mesa home.
