Three days of dancing on the Plaza
Welcome back to The Santa Fe Weekender: five handpicked things worth your weekend, no scrolling required. It’s a long one, since Monday is Indigenous Peoples’ Day. The National Weather Service has Saturday at about 72 with clouds building, and a slight chance of a storm overnight. Sunday is mostly sunny near 73, but the south wind picks up to 15 to 20 mph in the afternoon, and there’s a 20 percent chance of a thunderstorm after noon. Bring a layer for the evenings, which drop into the low 50s.
The main thing
Indigenous Peoples’ Day weekend on the Plaza. For three days, the Plaza belongs to dancers from across the region. It’s free, and you can just walk up.
Saturday: Danza Azteca de Anahuac from the Taos area at 10 a.m., the Lightning Boy Hoop Dancers at 2, and dancers from the Poeh Cultural Center at Pojoaque Pueblo at 3. Sunday: the Water Strider Dance Group from Zuni Pueblo at 11 a.m., then Gourd Dancing, with dancers from several pueblos, at 1, 2 and 3. A few slots are still marked “to be announced,” so expect more groups than the schedule lists. Full lineup at santafe.org.
Monday, October 12, is the big day, also on the Plaza: the Santa Fe Indigenous Center’s 4th Annual Honoring Native Nations Powwow, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., free. Booths open at 9 and the Cottonwood Dancers of Tesuque Pueblo dance at 9:45. Champion hoop dancers follow at 10 and Mountain Eagle of Jemez Pueblo at 11. The Grand Entry and Parade of Nations is at noon, and that’s the moment to be there. Details at santafeindigenouscenter.org.
On Sunday, Museum Hill has its own Indigenous Peoples’ Day celebration. The Museum of Indian Arts and Culture (710 Camino Lejo) hosts it from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Tsikumu Trail Dance Group from Santa Clara Pueblo dances at 11 and again at 1. At noon there’s a free Pueblo feast, catered by The Feasting Place from Ohkay Owingeh, and at 2 the museum screens Canes of Power. Art activities for kids run from 11 to 4. Regular museum admission is $7 for New Mexico residents and $12 for everyone else, and 16 and under get in free.
Eat
Cafe Fina, 624 Old Las Vegas Highway. This is a weekend breakfast worth the short drive east of town. Order the cloud cakes ($13.95), which are light, tangy ricotta pancakes. If you’re more of a savory person, get the Eldorado omelet or the green chile cheeseburger (both $14.95). It’s open 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, so Saturday and Sunday both work. Weekend brunch fills up, so go early. 505-466-3886.
Café Abiquiú, at the Abiquiú Inn, 21120 US 84. If you’re doing the studio tour, this is your lunch. It’s right next to the O’Keeffe Welcome Center and open every day from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. It’s walk-in for smaller groups; parties of six or more should call ahead (505-685-4378).
See
Tewa Nangeh / Tewa Country at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. More than 30 new works by 12 artists and culture bearers from the six Tewa Pueblos: Ohkay Owingeh, Santa Clara, San Ildefonso, Nambé, Pojoaque and Tesuque. It’s a show about the land O’Keeffe painted, seen by the people whose home it has always been. It was co-curated by the museum’s Bess Murphy and the Santa Clara Pueblo artist Jason Garcia. It closes November 1, so it’s down to its last few weekends.
Sunday is the time to go if you live here: on the second Sunday of every month, admission is free for New Mexico residents. Sunday is also a Family Day, “Spooky Archives,” at 10:30 a.m. Otherwise the museum is open daily 10 to 5, and general admission is $24. It’s at 217 Johnson Street, a few blocks off the Plaza, so it pairs well with an afternoon of dances. Tickets at okeeffemuseum.org.
Do
Drive the Abiquiú Studio Tour. The 32nd annual tour runs Saturday through Monday, October 10 to 12, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and it’s free. Twenty-six artists open their studios in and around Abiquiú, about an hour north of Santa Fe on US 84. Galleries and food vendors are open along the way, and the cottonwoods along the Chama should be close to their best.
Free maps are at every studio and at businesses in Abiquiú, or you can plan your route on the interactive map at abiquiuartscouncil.org. Two things to know: only some studios open on Monday, so do the bulk of it on Saturday or Sunday. And some stops are down rough dirt roads that turn muddy when it rains, so if Saturday night’s storm shows up, take something with clearance on Sunday.
Also on
The Galisteo Studio Tour, Saturday and Sunday 10 to 5. It’s the 38th year, and it’s the closer, smaller alternative to Abiquiú, about half an hour south of town. Pick up a map at the Galisteo Community Center, where there’s coffee, live music and a food truck. Details at galisteostudiotour.org.
Molly Tuttle at The Bridge, Saturday. The Grammy-winning bluegrass guitarist (and the first woman ever named the IBMA’s Guitar Player of the Year) plays the outdoor stage at Santa Fe Brewing, 37 Fire Place. Rachel Baiman opens. Doors 6, show 7, $40 at the door ($35 in advance). It’s 21 and over unless you’re with a parent or guardian, and standing room only. Tickets at lensic360.org. On Sunday, LP plays the same stage (doors 6, show 7, $42.50 to $47.50, all ages). And Mason Jennings is at the Marigold Room at Hotel Glorieta (doors 7, show 8, $30 in advance or $35 at the door, 21+, lensic360.org).
Bandelier’s Fall Fiesta, Saturday and Sunday: artists, special programs and a rug show down in Frijoles Canyon. Parking fills fast. The park shuttle runs from the Frey Trail lot every 30 minutes starting at 10:30, and becomes mandatory if the canyon lots fill. Entry is $25 per car, card only. Check nps.gov/band before you go.
Last chances: Ski Santa Fe’s fall chairlift rides end Sunday (10 to 3, $25 adults, skisantafe.com). The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta also wraps up Sunday with its farewell mass ascension. Saturday night is the Night Magic Glow (balloonfiesta.com).
The Railyard: the Farmers’ Market runs Saturday 8 to 1, and the Santa Fe Artists Market is there 9 to 2. On Sunday, the Railyard Artisan Market (10 to 3) and El Mercado at El Museo Cultural (10 to 4) take over.
Looking ahead: The Santa Fe International Film Festival runs October 14 to 19. Zahn McClarnon gets the Visionary Award on the 16th, and Pam Grier the Lifetime Achievement Award on the 17th. SITE Santa Fe reopens Friday the 16th with a free party from 5 to 8, showing Larry Bell, Sara Genn and Sayre Gomez. On Sunday the 18th, the Museum of International Folk Art opens La Nueva México with a free afternoon from 1 to 4, and the Santa Fe Symphony plays The Bells at the Lensic at 4.
That’s the weekend. If a friend would love it, forward it their way. They can subscribe at thesantafeweekender.com.
See you next Friday, The Santa Fe Weekender
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