It has been many years since I last attended the event and this is my first review of the fiesta…read more The event reopened in 2021 after being a Virtual Festival in 2020. This is the 30th annual fiesta and was held September 22 - 25, 2021. In addition to wine dinners at local restaurants, chef luncheons, a golf classic and cooking demonstrations, the Grand Tasting was a 2 day event held in Mager's Field at Marcy Park. The Grand Tasting featured 90 wineries and 35 restaurants serving samples of their cuisine under 8 tents. Entertainment was provided by a live band. There was plenty of shade under two large tents which had tables and chairs. Shuttle service was provided from several locations to the Grand Tasting. This years attendance was limited to half the size of previous fiestas to provide more space and shorter lines. Kudus to the Board of Directors and others that participated in making this a great event.

This is such a good time! Great selection of wines from local vineyards in New Mexico and a few…read moreCalifornia. At the festival, you will find everything from sweet whites to dry reds and ports. There are also an assortment of vendors selling food, clothing, art, and other specialty artifacts. The festival is completely outdoors so pray for good weather and dress comfortably because it will be dusty. Definitely check it out! My only gripe is that the tasting lines do not have a good flow so things don't move very quickly.

This is a Blast! Almost the most fun you can have with your cloths on!…read more A park full of venders selling everything related to the fiber arts, we bought our first drop spindles here one year, and a coupe of spinning wheels the next. Roving and finished yarn by the mile can be found here, as well as stuff you didn't know about or think about. And the people, not a bunch of nicer more helpful folks will you find anywhere! We travel from Tulsa every year to enjoy this feast of the senses and buy new treasures. Go, enjoy, you'll have a great time!

This festival is held in Kit Carson Park the first full weekend in October…read more If you are a fiber artist, you will not want to miss this fest. If you love one of a kind garments made locally with traditional methods, you will not want to miss this fest. If you have any interest in educating your children in how clothes are made, you do not want to miss this fest. They have sheep shearings, fleeces and animals for sale, finished garments, tools, books, workshops, food, and just about anything else having to do with fiber arts. I've been going for over ten years. This year is the 25th anniversary. Usually, the leaves are just changing and the weather is fantastic. The food is great and there are tons of other shopping experiences available. It is well worth a trip.

We love going there on a hot summer afternoon, to sit under the trees, listen to live music, and…read moresip their delicious wine. Great ambiance and wonderful place to visit with friends. They have a great selection of wines they make there, as well as crafted beer. The people who work there and owners are wonderfully hospitable. I especially enjoyed Mother's Day with all the vendors and food trucks, and kids everywhere.

Came here the day after Thanksgiving to check it out. My in-laws live close by and they love their…read morewine. It is an adorable place. Outside there are swings and a fire pit. There is also a lake around the back. They were doing an event when we came that had some food and of course you could get some wine and wander around and do a little Christmas shopping. I tried a few of their wines which were very good, but settled on a glass of Girls Are Meaner, which was a light white wine with great flavors. We ended up getting three bottles of wine to take home with us. They are going to be perfect for having at Christmas time and also when we want to relax. Talking with the ladies there they said that they do events in the summer with music outside. It's definitely a place where you can come relax and have some great wine with some great people.

Such a wonderful event! Love that ABQ has some cool & fun family events like this!!…read moreGo early with some chairs or lounger so you have a spot to relax. Grab some dinner and s'more goodies and roasting stick so you don't have to pay for them inside. One thing I would recommend buying inside is a personal fire pit. I think it was new this year 2019 and the lantern will float much better (chance of not ruining it) if you have hot air to fill it up quickly. You won't get a chance at the public fire pit for that. There's enough spaces to squeeze in for marshmallows though The beauty of thousands of floating lanterns in the night sky is like walking into a dream. Don't miss it!! (And buy tickets early on sale or go get them on Groupon. More than 1/2 off on Groupon deal!!

This has got to be one of the coolest things I've ever experienced in Albuquerque. The event takes…read moreplace at the Sandia Speedway, the views are epic, the atmosphere is so laid back, it's like the ultimate campout.... with hundreds of your Duke City neighbors. Ticket prices include a lantern, marker, lighter and s'mores kit with each adult ticket purchased, and a small gift with each kid's ticket purchased (ours was a flashlight) - you are free to bring food and drinks. (no hard sided cooler, glass bottles, or alcohol allowed, and, no tailgating permitted). They have fire pits set up throughout the open area, so just pick one to gather around and prepare to chill. Don't be greedy, leave some room for others to join you. You're allowed to bring blankets, chairs (bring a jacket to tackle the evening chill). There are vendors there selling food, drinks, and more. Princesses walking around, live music. At sundown, they start lighting the firepits, and give everyone easy instructions to prep your lanterns, enjoy your s'mores and get ready to launch at the same time. It is so exciting, and watching these lanterns go up all at the same time, truly magical. Music. Laughter. Lights. Joy. Unity. It's something to see. Ingress is a piece of cake. Egress, now that's a different story. Consider carpooling, or ubering, because getting out of this place is a pain in the donkey....make sure you hit the restrooms before you leave, because once you get stuck in the line to get out, you're gonna be there a whiiiile.

Absolute worst wine festival that I have ever attended! Not worth the money! My husband and I…read morewent to it and after two hours had not even tasted a single wine! Over-crowded with no control on lines or crowd! We finally gave up and left, having tasted not even one wine! Even worse is that the company running and the staff working it do not care about anything other than bringing in money! Horrible! We will never waste money on this event again!

Always a fun day at the wine festival. This year we got their just after noon time. The lines were…read moreshorter. Thankfully, because three hours later they were fairly long. I like that you can buy your tickets online and they will scan the barcode off your smartphone. It helps if you are a traveler like me and don't have access to a printer. Plus, why needless use paper? So good job on saving a tree! New Mexico wines are not Napa Valley wines, so don't expect similarities. However, many are quite good and at one of these events I can easily drop $100 to $150 buying bottles to take home. The food this year was better, but the wait can be long. Tables near the food area flip frequently, so in less than 10 minutes you should be able to find a seat. The tables on the other hand are filthy. It would be nice if you had someone clean them periodically.

Generally held the second Friday of each month at the Crownpoint Elementary School. Navajo rug…read moreweavers from surrounding areas come to display and sell their work at an auction. Viewing begins around 4 pm and the auction runs from about 7 - 10 pm. Times are approximate. I've been there twice and would not recommend arriving before 4:30 pm. Jewelers, potters and other Indian craftspeople from the region set up tables in the school corridors and offer their work for sale. Food truck vendors are located outside of the school. The 30-minute drive from I-40 to Crownpoint is one of the most beautiful experiences in the southwest. If you're interested in obtaining genuine Indian crafts at reasonable prices and buying directly from the people who made the item, as opposed to one or two layers of "middlemen," this is the place to go. The closest places for motels/hotels are Gallup and Grants on the New Mexico side. This is a great part of any New Mexico visit if you like crafts.

One of the best unique experiences in the Southwest. It requires only a little stamina and an…read moreappreciation of fine handmade crafts, mainly rugs, but other types as well. Now held in the new elementary school gym at the same location, the format remains unchanged, tho' now you are required to register for a bidder number, and credit cards are now accepted, as well as cash and checks. It's an old-fashioned auction with cattle auctioneers who have been there rain or shine for 30-35 years. Of course you don't have to be a bidder. There is a long line of weavers whose rugs are examined, and given an ID with a number, name and place of origin. Bidding starts at 7 PM more or less, and goes fast. There are 150-200 rugs. The auction usually ends about 10 PM. You pay and take your rug. It's about an hour to Grants, longer to Gallup, where there are a variety of motels. Food,usually Navajo tacos (yum!) and green chile stew (ditto) are available. There are other craft sellers with equally attractive wares. It's a long but very worthwhile evening.

The folk art market's an interesting place to visit, but it's important to recognize what's going…read moreon: A Western organization is bringing artisans in from all over the world. These artisans, hand selected, earn their full year's income at this one event. That sets up a few ethical issues you'll want to consider before you attend: Artisans are selected by mostly white Americans, and the process for selection isn't always made transparent. Artisans who earn money at Folk Art then return to their home countries far richer than any of their peers, which sets up an odd wealth dynamic there. Suddenly, the one who attended Folk Art is the richest in the community, but that wealth may not necessarily be merit based. The Folk Art sets artisans, many of them from the developing world, up to rely completely on a Western market, and an unsustainable one at that - just imagine all the jet fuel required to get everyone to this market. Instead of reinforcing the market in their home countries, the Folk Art is training these folks to depend on rich Westerners. And if you're selected one year but not the next, imagine the financial stress - all dependent on the word of a largely white organization in the USA. In general, the market reeks a bit of cultural tokenism. You'll find yourself shoulder to shoulder with wealthy, tacky people from around the world who clamor greedily from shop to shop. There's a sense of urgency at the market, and everyone's really pushy and frenetic. I usually leave exhausted and depressed, and it's sad to see how gross rich people can be.

I love this museum. Their regular exhibit is a blast (devils in the pit a personal favorite) and…read moretemporary exhibits are interesting too. If you are interested in Mexican arts and culture, in particular, this is a win. Not a massive museum, you likely can see it all in about an hour. Easy parking and it's a nice area to museum hop. Museum shop is excellent. Also you can use reciprocal museum cards here so if you are a member you may get in free.

We spent a couple of hours ingesting bacon in many different ways...on pizza, on marshmallows, in…read morequiche, on cookies, on chicken, in macaroni salad...it was a smorgasbord of salty goodness. We arrived early and parking wasn't too bad but at our departure, the line for parking was getting a bit long. Unnecessarily long. Parking was free, which is always a plus. Overall the food was worth it at a good enough time to return next year. Arrive hungary....

This was honestly a little different than I thought it would be. I am a huge bacon fan, and I just…read morereally didn't feel like this was a bacon festival. This was more of a full on beer festival than bacon. It could have been a brew festival with a bacon theme instead of fusing both the things together. The reason I gave this such a low star rating, mainly comes from the excessive wait times there (along with the lack of emphasis on bacon). I understand it's a busy event, but a wait time was literally attached to everything. Every line (brew lines, food lines, and even bathroom lines) had 7-30 minute waits. Plus the only thing you really got was music. The food samples were very limited and unless if you really really wanted something you didn't dare go to the line. I think this should have been called a food truck brew festival because the majority of the vendors just put some bacon crumbles on top of their regular menu items. I think even like a bacon and tortilla sandwich would have added more bacon theme to this event than some of the other options. Some business did try to capture that bacon theme, but others just didn't. If this occurs again next year I really hope they get way more vendors. This years selection was very limited and even if they had like craft, jewelry, and art vendors that might even out the crowds and diminish wait times. This event has potential, but it just needs a little work. In regards to the eats, I had some nachos that were not bad. They were a little cold (maybe due to the outdoor breeze), but the overall flavor was good. The blueberry lemonade was okay. The presentation was beautiful, but it had the tart Minute Maid taste. I brought it home, and currently it's sitting in my fridge. I plan on adding some simple syrup to sweeten the taste. I also had a salted caramel ice cream sundae with granola, maple, and bacon toppings. That sundae was really really good! I was impressed with the flavor combos. The salted caramel added a nice addition to the granola and bacon taste, and I would most definitely eat it again! I'm not trying to knock this festival in anyway, but there do need to be some improvements for next year. With a little work this event could be great and it could bring in some revenue for our local brew and food vendors!

Years ago, I had a friend who had this event on her priority list. This is a thrilling annual…read moreevent and, if you can survive the truly hellish attempts at parking, I think this is a must-see spectacle. It's the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade but with fire and the most chaotic up-close experience possible. I don't know it all seems to work without mayhem but it does. It's a viscerally invigorating time. If you arrive asleep, you will leave astounded by the blazing profusion of colors and flames and quiet ascension of balloons reaching into the sky. In other words, unlike that famous parade, you are in the mix and a part of it all. It's a whirlwind of the human spirit. The morning session is the ascent of the balloons. The silent takeoffs into the blue sky are like bubbles in boiling water and so serenely soothing to watch. The evening session are the balloons posing brightly at ground level all lit up from inside by the flames that keep them inflated. They are gigantic night lights adorning the large field. The fiesta has a large contingent of food stalls from the proverbial funnel cakes to Japanese ramen. There are souvenirs for sale and music to be heard. Families make this an annual tradition and I understand. People visit from around the world. My friend and I lost touch too long ago but I hope she made it here. She would have loved it.

This event has been on my travel bucket list for years, and we finally made it happen in 2025! We…read morewere incredibly lucky with the weather since our visit was short, from late Thursday night to Sunday. We dedicated Friday morning to the Balloon Fiesta, and aside from the drone show being canceled, everything went perfectly. Getting there was easy using the Park & Ride from Coronado Mall. You do have to wake up early since the buses start running at 4 a.m., and we arrived about 25 minutes later. Once there, we found plenty of carnival and fair-style food. Some highlights were the green chili cheese curds, Frito pie, and an Indian food vendor serving delicious chicken marsala burritos. We walked around while waiting for Dawn Patrol, and by 7 a.m., the sky was alive with color. The first to launch were the Rainbow Riders which are massive balloons carrying over 20 passengers each. Soon after, the sky filled with hundreds of vibrant balloons, including the fun "special shapes" from the rodeo lineup. Everywhere we looked, there was something new to admire, there are over 500 balloons in total! We also learned about Albuquerque's unique wind pattern known as the Albuquerque Box, which allows pilots to take off, fly south, and then, by changing altitude, catch a return wind that brings them back to the launch site. It's the only place in the world where this phenomenon happens, making it ideal for hot air ballooning. Seeing the Balloon Fiesta in person was absolutely magical, it is a breathtaking experience that everyone should witness at least once.

It was a nice drive for an outing. The snack bar had refreshing ice tea and scones all Lavender…read morethemed. And there a variety of merchandise. The labyrinth was fascinating. We weren't offered a tour but we enjoyed talking with the owner.

Hours are limited at this time. They are open on Friday and Saturday. The business has been sold…read moreand is in transition right now. A hard freeze 2 years ago killed off several varieties of lavender which have not been replaced yet. I was told that several thousand plants have been ordered to replenish the varieties. It's definitely not the same place as I've visited in years past. The Gift Shop has been moved to the Tea Room area due to the original owners keeping the section of property where it was located. The Tea Room seems to be on hold right now. With smaller lavender output and Covid limiting the availability of containers to package product, the assortment of items for sale has been decreased. With revitalization of the plants and easier availability of containers I'm sure this will improve quickly. I enjoyed walking the labyrinth, the restful setting and soaking up some peaceful sunshine. I'll definitely be back next year to appreciate all the improvements I'm sure the new owner is gonna add to this idyllic setting.