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.

First time at an opera and it was a great experience. I liked it much more than I thought, and I…read morethink the Santa Fe Opera's location and building played a part in that. This is a unique location, right in the mountains outside Santa Fe. It's an open-air theater with a beautiful southwest and modern design. Getting there and parking is easy considering how many people there are. There's shuttles to help get you around or you can walk. There are people to help you find your seat. The seats are comfortable and there's small screens with translations for you. Restrooms, concessions, gift shop were all good too. Overall, a great time and I'll definitely go again.

Impressive open air venue, beautiful and clean. Excellent views throughout. We saw Madame Butterfly…read morehere. I chose Mezzanine seats in the top right and we still had a great view. Parking lot is huge and they have shuttles. There is a gift shop, box office, restrooms, and security. Concessions are on various floors. We were able to order during intermission, mostly snacks and drinks. English and Spanish written translations provided electronically on the back of each seat for viewers. Great service and ushers too!

* 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

The farmers market was much bigger than we expected! I really liked how they split food and…read moreartistry across the train tracks. It helps so there isn't as much crowding while you're trying to go through. I have been to farmers markets in multiple states, but I have never seen one with a gift shop! That was very interesting to see. The market itself had a nice array of fresh produce, food, and artists' work. It was cool getting to see them roasting fresh chile and the band that played was soo much fun! The best booth for us was Dancing Turtle Studio. Absolutely stunning pieces of art and my guy bought me one of the hot air balloon pieces to commemorate our 1st anniversary. It honestly couldn't have been more perfect! The artist herself was incredibly sweet and wonderful to talk with. It was amazing getting to hear about her process as well!

This is a tradition in Santa Fe, and it was my first time going with someone that had experienced…read moreit as kid. The idea of the festival is to mark the start of the fiestas, and to do so, they burn this giant marionette. The marionette is called "old man gloom" and inside of him are all the worries and troubles people want to leave behind, forget, and symbolically see them burn when the marionette burns at the end of the festival. The burning of old man gloom is the finale, followed by a show of fireworks that will keep everyone in awe. While the festival gets to this point, there's music, food trucks, and vendors keeping the people entertained. It is a first come event, so if you get there early the better chance you get to be closer to the stage but honestly it doesn't matte much. The main event, as mentioned, is the burning of mad who stands 50 feet tall, so everyone in attendance can see it and celebrate the start of a "new year". I was very impressed with how organized and safe the whole thing was, especially when there was (reported) about 60K people there. Nice to have started my trip to Santa Fe with a local tradition.

First time attending this annual event. Was not thrilled with production- given 250th anniversary…read moreUS. Script didn't make sense. Very long if you go right at 4. Not having been before, I scoured the do's and don't listed on the website. Despite rereading on day of event- there were significant changes made that were not updated on the Zozobra website. No lockers for items not allowed in, bag policy was changed without notification. Once in the venue- certain areas were not clearly marked (beer garden). Lots of security present- multiple items on the not allowed list seen in the venue. Fireworks and burning were good to see. Need to review the website to ensure accurate information- not wait until people arrive. Honestly, wait to enter until 730pm. Still plenty of time to peruse the vendors, buy merch, grab a spot on the lawn (general admission).

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.

A cute little museum in downtown Santa Fe where all of the shops are. Happened to have a traveling…read moreexhibition celebrating the 100th anniversary of Route 66. 2nd floor had a historical exhibit upstairs. I found very informative. Helpful and welcome folks. Try the gelato across the street after and people watch!

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.

The show was so fun. Food was good. The beef and veggie dish are heavy on sauce. My husband liked…read morethe sauce on the Porto dish. Musicians and dancers were amazing!! So talented

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.