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.

I have never been to a true opera but was so happy to be invited to the Apprentice Scenes performed…read moreby students that are moving from academics into the professional world of Opera. My daughter's very good friend went to school for Music/Opera and has an incredible voice. She was part of the Apprentice Program for Singers this past summer. This program has had more than 1500 singers participate in the program. When we found out she would perform here, we decided to fly in for the weekend and support her. The theater itself is called the The Crosby Theater as the property was taken over in 1956 by John O. Crosby who then with the help of others found a location on the property that was a natural amphitheater. Construction was then began and this magnificent open air theater was completed. With this being an open air venue, the acoustics are incredible, views are phenomenal and the vibe is exciting. Our seats were more towards the back of the house which I enjoyed providing a full view of the stage and a front row seat to an exquisite New Mexican sunset. The show itself was set up as one act operas and were performed by the apprentices. They featured eight different and uniques scenes from operas such as Hansel and Gretel, La Clemenza Di Tito, Sweeney Todd, Aida, and Hamlet. I had no idea that many of these operas are so old. For example, La Clemenza Di Tito premiered in Germany in 1791. WOW! What I loved most of all were the caption boxes in front of each seat. When an opera is being performed in a foreign language these boxes translate into English the words being sung, thus allowing the listener to fully understand the opera being performed. Pure magic! Restrooms were very clean and snack bar available before the performance is open. Parking is no issue at all with a huge lot in front of the theater. Sustainability was high on the list for the theater during its most recent renovation. The roof collects over 80,000 gallons of rain water annually and delivers the water through underground cisterns which irrigates the property. Happy I was able to enjoy this experience.

Went to see Orfeo at the beautiful outdoor Santa Fe opera. The story where Legendary lovers, Orfeo…read moreand Euridice, face sudden death and separation. Yes, a snake caused it. They undertake a perilous journey from the underworld of death back to the world of the living. But one rule must be followed, Orfeo cannot look at Euridice. Tragedy obliged his conviction falters, as he cannot resist and succumbs to the temptation. The new production directed by Yuval Sharon was too avant-garde for my taste. Really did not like the set and costumes and unfortunately starring tenor Rolando Villazón was not there because of an accident. Such a pity as he was discovered in Mexico by his neighbor singing in his shower and became one of the best tenor in the world! So, we hope it is not too serious. Needles to say that for our family and friends, this was a major disappointment, as we travel from Texas to see him.

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!

Very great ambiance to walk around. Parking you'll have to find somewhere nearby and just walk to…read morethe farmers market. We had a bit of traffic getting closer & finding parking as it's pretty limited. Also be prepared to pay $1-3 for parking at the stall. There's outdoor and indoor vendors. Lots of farmers selling their fresh produce near the front! I tried a blue maize pupusa on the indoor vendor for $10 & it was pretty cool to try. I'd recommend to add some salsa or the cream since the pupusa is pretty dry. Bring cash as well where you can save 50 cents on some items Lots of galleries & artists & jewelers if you keep walking down as well.

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.

Our Guide (Terry) of Santa Fe Footprint is a Docent here and recommended that we visit. We did and…read morewe really enjoyed our too short visit, especially New Mexico History and the Zozobra Exhibit. The Gift Shop/Book Shop was very impressive, including a nice section on frontier and Conversos Jewish History. Our ticket was good for the day on a come and go basis.

New Mexico History Museum opened in 2009, documenting history of New Mexico, from native American…read moreculture to WWII to current, the American culture. Manifest destiny was an ideal in the 19th-century United States that people of US would inevitably settle the continent from the Atlantic Ocean, to the Pacific: destined to expand westward across North America, and that this belief was both obvious ("manifest") and certain ("destiny"). Fred Harvey (1835-1901) might have been the American Michelin guy: whose Harvey House (1876) restaurants served rail passengers in Santa Fe area. Uncle Sam & his 48 daughters, by Fray Angelico / Manuel Chavez; Jack Chow, B-17 bomber. The compound includes: Palace of the Governors Fray Angélico Chávez History Library Palace Press Photo Archives Fray Angélico Chávez (1910-96) was a Hispanic American priest, historian, who wrote poems, and paint: "The library is named after Franciscan priest Fray Angélico Chávez to honor his life and contributions to New Mexico as an author, archivist, and artist. His personal papers, the Fray Angélico Chávez Collection, are now part of the library collection where he conducted much of his research."

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.

Show Review Only- I…read morewas only in Santa Fe for a short time, so I took the advice of other reviewers and ate dinner before the show so I wouldn't potentially be disappointed. I booked my solo bar seat about 3 weeks before the date of the show. There are different ticket tiers and I selected the cheapest one that was $25 a ticket. Despite being in the back row, I was able to see the performance very clearly due to there not being any obstructions and the comfortable size of the space. I wouldn't hesitate to get the same seating again, especially if it was just me again or with one other person. I ordered their red sangria and thought it was pretty good. The wait staff was also nice. The performance was outstanding! Every single performer was so energetic and talented. I wouldn't hesitate to come back here again if I was in the area and will recommend this spot to others.

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.