Volume 27, Number 4
April 2015
28 Pages
Lubbock, Texas 79401
Lubbock Native to be Featured Artist at Arts Festival The featured artist for the Lubbock Arts Festival is Berkley White, a world-renowned underwater cinematographer and photojournalist from Lubbock. White’s exhibit, “Under-
In April April Fool’s Day, April 1 Good Friday, April 3 Easter, April 5 Income Taxes, April 15 Earth Day, April 22
Inside Wellness Forum, April 10 ........... 3
water Explorer/Adventurer with an Artist’s Eye” will be on display throughout the festival, which takes place April 18-19 at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center. White will be onsite throughout the festival to talk about his experiences and show his work, which has appeared in National Geographic and with the Jacques Cousteau Foundation. White’s fine-art photography depicts aquatic animals such as sea lions, sharks and giant manta rays. His experiences include swimming with sharks in the South Pacific, leading scuba expeditions around the world, and teaching divers how to take better underwater photos and video.
Elizabeth Regner, executive director of the Lubbock Arts Alliance, said she is thrilled and privileged to have an artist of White’s caliber headlining this year’s festival. “Families will be amazed at what they will learn from his work, and collectors will have a unique opportunity to view and purchase it,” Regner said. White, a Lubbock native, was raised in a cotton-ginning family and first took a camera underwater near his grandfather’s cabin at Possum Kingdom Lake in Palo Pinto County. After graduating from Monterey High School in Lubbock, he earned a degree in marine biology from Hum-
An underwater creature photographed by Berkley White, a graduate of Monterey High School, is the featured artist for the Lubbock Arts Festival. (See Lubbock Arts Festival, Page 3).
45th Annual Ranch Day Set for April 11
Pulmonary Health, April 22 ........... 2 Luncheon & Style Show, April 10 .. 6 Water Restrictions, April 1 ........... 22 ‘Lubbock Lights,’ April 9 ........... 23 Celebrity Luncheon, April 23 ......... 27 Parkinson’s Awareness ...... 5
boldt State University and went on to work for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. After working as an assistant for a few local underwater photographers, White opened his own Monterey-based business, Backscatter, in 1994. Backscatter is now the world’s largest underwater camera store. As an artist, White said he strives to give people who haven’t seen the ocean an idea what it’s like to be there and provide pieces that will inspire them.
The smell of burning coals and mesquite wood will fill the air April 11 as Lewis Neely opens the doors to a 1917 blacksmith shop.
Activities for the young and youngat-heart will highlight the 45th annual Ranch Day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 11 at the National Ranching Heritage Center, 3121 Fourth St. adjacent to the Texas Tech campus. More than 4,000 visitors attend Ranch Day every year, and 150 volunteers work to make the center come alive with historical interpretations and hands-on experiences. The event will include hands-on science and history demonstrations as well as a 20-foot Comanche tepee on the front lawn, music, dancing, and an old-fashioned “Snake Oil Magic Show” in the 6666 Barn.
The Texas Tech Equestrian Center ranch horse team will provide horse rides and a horse demonstration while rope maker Greg Davis will help visitors make their own ropes. Two chuck wagons will be set up in the 19-acre historic park to demonstrate chuck wagon cooking. Guests can buy hamburgers and hot dogs as they enjoy the park and participate in such memorable activities as washing clothes on a washboard, churning butter, riding horseback, and pumping a railroad handcar. Volunteers from Texas Tech and local organizations will supervise science (See Ranch Day, Page 2)