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.

Oh the opera! We alway love to visit, but Covid put a huge damper on it. Well, not this year, we…read morepurchased five tickets as soon as they were available for The Marriage of Figaro. We arrived early and had a beautiful picnic on the ridge. We were glad to see that mask were enforced at all times, yes it's an inconvenience but necessary for the experience. Both my spouse and daughter found gifts in the gift shop. Thank you SFO, we plan to be back next year!!

The opera house is iconic and everyone should see a show there at least once. The open-air concept…read moreand setting sun behind the stage, with the mountains surrounding, is beautiful, without question. HOWEVER, sometimes organizations can get lazy when the environment provides the backdrop. For the price they charge for tickets, which pretty much relegates the audience to upper class elderly people, the Opera company could do better. 1) Summers can be hot and the seats in the rear receive no air flow. Even when it's somewhat cool outdoors, it is hot and stuffy and very uncomfortable in the venue. Get some engineers in and think about how to rectify this. Remove some wall panels? Add some fans? This can be improved. 2) I paid $7 for a small plastic cup of sparkling water and was rudely stopped at the door ("Hey!"-- train your employees not to say "hey." I get more professional service at Chik-fil-A.) at told I couldn't take my water inside this sauna of an auditorium. You're that worried that a bunch of adults-- there are no kids because it's too expensive-- will spill a drink on the concrete floor? 3) Did I mention it's hot? The program they hand out is essentially a book. I've never seen such thick programs. Too thick to adequately fan yourself. So why not distribute some cardboard fans with sponsor advertisements? Or make a perforated fan on the back cover of this program book that could be punched out. 4) No photography? I don't think a venue full of octogenarians will be taking a bunch of selfies or trying to sell bootleg recordings. Ease up on the controlling behavior, how about? 5) The parking situation is chaotic. They hire a bunch of kids who barely look 15 to stand around waving their arms. Cars are going all over the place. One girl was waving in the opposite direction that traffic was driving. They don't have headsets to talk to one another and aren't directing cars to go space by space. These kids need more training. A lot more training. 6) The opera itself was ok. But, why not have a host come out on stage before it starts to welcome the audience, maybe give a brief overview of the story, introduce the conductor, etc? Overall, the production, staff, and experience was sub-par. The venue is lovely, and I would advise people to drive up and just have a look around, but I did that once to show an out-of-town guest and a security guard immediately shooed us off. (We weren't even getting out of the car; I just wanted him to see the space and view.) So, no, you can't even enjoy that.

* Lovely farmers market with lots of fresh produce offerings and stands…read more *Not a lot of fresh / made to order food stands * There are a couple coffee shop options - didn't try them cause I was already caffeinated- but just in case you find yourself needing some morning joe- options exist at the market area! * Indoor and outdoor space with vendors- and indoor tables to sit and enjoy your purchases * Had a delicious Green Chile sausage from Lotus Farms *Got apricots from the Rancho L Lam stand that were so good and the vendor was so friendly. *Got quiche from Crumppackers and bread from the Intergalactic Bread Co to take back home. * The Santa Fe Farmers City Hall sells pastries and baked goods from various vendors and perfect for a one stop shop! * In addition to food/ produce/ eggs etc, there were artisan stands with artwork/ clothing etc. * Across the street is the el Mercado that opens a hour after the market opens with additional stands that sell beads, jewelry, clothes etc. * Totally a fun thing to do on a Saturday morning when visiting Santa Fe! Highly recommended

Fantastic market with everything that makes farmer's markets great. Lots of fresh produce, tasty…read morebaked goods and decent mix of vendors. Sadly we don't leave in Santa Fe but if we did we would go every weekend.

Attended the 100th Annivesary burning this weekend. We have attended over the past years but this…read moretime was just not well planned. There were just too many people because of the 100th year and attendance should of been limited for safety. We essentially were packed in like sardines and could not move. The food lines were outrageous, and the limited number of portable toilets with limited lighted was unacceptable. The 2nd security screening made entry slow and backed up. There was one improvement and positive. The drone shows added this year were a great addition to the fireworks. Overall, we were disappointed at 2024s burning.

You couldn't pay me to go again- It's so crowded. As a Santa Fe resident, I'm hearing more and more…read morecomplaints about it and people getting scared In the massive crowd. I was uncomfortable, not scared, but if a fire had started in this dry New Mexican land or a crowd stampede, Id been very frightened. What used to be a family event is now quite commercialize, what used to be 20,000 people is now 50,000. I wish I could enjoy the Zozobra of the past-it sounded so much better.

Downtown Santa Fe is known for it's many art galleries. There are a LOT of them. We are talking…read morereal art galleries. That translates into $$$$$ expensive stuff. Basically if your pockets are deep enough to spend $5,000 for a small decorative item, you will have no trouble finding things to buy. But, for the average working person, you will find lots of things to like, but not much that you can afford, at least at the "real" art galleries. Then there are other stores where they just buy from big wholesalers and sell the cheap stuff for the people with not so deep pockets. There are also a fair amount of womens clothing stores, jewelry stores, rug stores, and the local street vendors selling their handmade items. The street vendors have lots and lots of earrings, bracelets, necklaces etc. Not all the street vendors take credit cards. Some do, some don't. Cash always works of course. And yes, you can bargain a bit on the price if you are so inclined. Downtown Santa Fe is an easy city to walk. They do allow auto traffic on the streets, many of which are one way. It's not laid out in a grid pattern exactly, but getting around is easy enough. You can park where there are meters or in a few designated lots. The meters are .25 for every 15 minutes and only take coins or cash cards. I think the maximum time you can get on the meter is 3 hours. Parking enforcement checks until 6pm Monday through Saturday. Sundays and holidays you can park for free and not feed the meters. Like any big city, there are sketchy looking/acting people that like to hang around the main square. Even more so at night it seems. So be aware of where you are walking and pay attention to your surroundings. There are local Bed & Breakfasts and Inns located right in the main downtown area or just a block or so away. So it is easy to simply park at the inn/hotel and walk to where you want to go. But Santa Fe is at a high elevation, so keep that in mind if you are choosing to walk, especially any uphill areas. Again, there are lots and lots of galleries. They are not all located at street level. Some are up on the second floors, some are down in the lower levels, and some are off the beaten path. The ones on Canyon Road alone would take you most of one day or more to go through. And they all seem to close around 5pm, even on weekends. So don't expect to see it all if you only have a day or two. You just won't have the time or energy. If you heading to Santa Fe from the Salida Colorado area, be aware, that for whatever ridiculous reason, the speed limit drops to 55 once you cross into New Mexico on the main highways heading to Santa Fe. You won't see a 65 mph zone again until you hit the Santa Fe area. In other words, a long time! Also make sure you have enough gas and used a rest area before crossing into New Mexico. Because there is really nothing as far as full service towns for a good 90 miles or more. You will pass through a number of very small and not terribly appealing NM towns on the way to Santa Fe from the Salida Colorado area. So it's best to take care of those basic things before crossing the border. Santa Fe is at a high elevation. And for those of us living at much lower elevations, it is easy to get out of breath simply walking up a flight of stairs or walking uphill along the streets the art galleries are on. Drink plenty of bottled water and stay hydrated. If you find yourself with a persistent dull headache once you have been here a bit, try drinking more water. Your skin and lips will be dry at this elevation as well, so bring lip balm, moisturizer and sunblock. A good hat and sunglasses will help too. There are plenty of restaurants to choose from, Many of them actually have chefs. So you can definitely drop some big dollars on dinner for two. If you are on a budget, it pays to ask some locals where the more moderately priced places are. Hope this helps for anyone paying a first visit to Santa Fe.

Meh. For the conference, it was fine. The coffee is blah and the pastries are OK. Though evidently…read morethe banquet dinner was fabulous last night. We did have some very large things that needed to be moved, which was pretty much a disaster the first day as staff just stared at or micromanaged one of our crew while he tried to move them himself. On leaving however, one of the staff was ultra-accommodating and got (the five of us that had gathered to assist him) a dolly and even helped us move them to the loading dock, which he made available to us. Signage and organization of the two concurrent conferences were not even slightly great... and the bathrooms constantly needed cleaning. The garage is convenient, and now they take cards, so that is also more convenient.

Entry was 12 or 13 dollars. Worth every cent. Desk workers appeared to be indigenous or at least…read morenative to the area and were super kind. Right off the plaza and also connects directly to the Governor's Palace, which you can also visit. It's a very large and sprawling museum. Some rooms have a lot to read and others have sparse explanations. Of course the exhibitions focus on New Mexico. When I visited, they had exhibits on Southwest jewelry, New Mexico stories, southwestern paintings, and one about the railroad. Other exhibits: history of printing presses in New Mexico, along with cool print examples. Another large exhibition they had (Home on the Range) was about how the US government/military seized large swaths of private ranch land from New Mexico ranchers to test war weapons. Some of them never got that land back. I HAD NO IDEA! This lead me to learn more on my own. They have other features on New Mexicans fighting back against the system, such as when three Navajo women defeated the construction of a coal-fired power plant. One of my other favorite exhibits focused on dining in New Mexico. It was set up like a cool 50's diner and played awesome music that made it more fun. Panels covered numerous famous New Mexican dishes and eateries. It was a lot of reading, but worth it. There were several other worthwhile side quests in this museum. Should definitely make it a stop early in your Santa Fe trip to add context and a sense of appreciation to your journey.

Well-curated extensive collection covering a wide variety of historical topics pertaining to New…read moreMexico. Conveniently located and with plenty of comfortable sitting spaces from which to admire the exhibits. Admission to the Palace of the Governors next door is included and a free docent tour was offered, which was interesting. If you like museums, highly recommended!

Fans of live music and performance DON"T MISS THIS. I didn't understand a word but felt every note…read moreand step deep in my bones. Not a single weak link. Every element worked intimately and collectively together. Simply outstanding. I can't recommend this enough.

This was my favorite part of our Santa Fe trip. (Season was April to June). I bought tickets a…read moremonth in advance which I recommend. I bought the best seats and we ordered dinner when we got there, definitely go right at opening, we were late and they almost did not serve us dessert. For dinner we had the Chicken in Lemon Sauce, and the Pork Roast. It came with veggies and a side potato salad. I also ordered the Spanish Omelette which we liked. And I ordered the Assorted cheese board which we loved. For dessert we had the flan, and vanilla ice cream, which was simple but a nice way to end the meal. The show was fantastic, loved the dancers in their costumes, and the live flamenco guitarist was marvelous. Excellent show, well worth it and very much, a treat.

Anyone interested in the art of photography must visit Monroe Gallery when you're in Santa Fe. The…read moreexhibition that was up when I visited was incredible work by the little-known Tony Vaccaro. I will definitely be back.

Great photography. Just spent almost a half hour staring at two amazing photographs I would have…read morebought but unfortunately the gallery director seemed disinclined to get off his ass and engage. So I will source them online instead.