Jocelyn Kirsch, winner of this yearās Santa Fe Symphony concerto competition forĢż young performers, will play with the orchestra during its holiday program.Ģż
The holiday season is upon us and with it comes a plethora of entertainment, performances, and family-friendly events for all tastes and ages. Many of the annual events are back, including two different Mariachi Christmas performances ā one at La Fonda on the Plaza in Santa Fe and one at Popejoy in °®¶¹app, by two separate ensembles ā as well as The Nutcracker and many, many classical music concerts. Those who want to immerse themselves in everything Christmas will once again have an embarrassment of options that include festive open houses at museums and visits from Santa Claus, all guided by rows of farolitos and twinkling lights.
(A list of venues is at the end of this story.)
NOVEMBER 29
Holiday Plaza Lighting
Every year, on the Friday after Thanksgiving, Santa Feans gather to celebrate the lighting of the trees on the Plaza, with live entertainment from 4:30 to 8 p.m. Have your cameras ready: At 5:15, Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive at the Plaza by vintage truck to open the season of festivities, and at 6:15, when itās dark, city representatives will switch on the lights. There will be cookies and hot chocolate as well as food trucks and other vendors. The lights will be turned on nightly throughout the holidays and into the new year.
4:30 to 8 p.m., Santa Fe Plaza, free
Winter Solstice Concert
New Mexico Performing Arts Society
Artistic Director Franz Vote leads an eight-member choral group, plus instrumentalists Linda Marianiello, Vicki Schaevitz, and Aimee Fincher in music by George Frideric Handel, Camille Saint-Saƫns, Johannes Brahms, Hector Berlioz, Max Bruch, John Donald Robb, Charles Gounod, and Gabriel Faure. Seasonal carols are also on the program.
EntreFlamenco kicks off its holiday season on November 29.
Prestige was on the horizon when Antonio Granjero and the dance company EntreFlamenco got their start in 2011. Three years later, the combined entity ā which also includes co-founder and dancer Estefania Ramirez ā was named the residence company at the MarĆa BenĆtez Cabaret at The Lodge at Santa Fe. BenĆtez, an icon in her field who introduced the distinctive dance style around New Mexico, died in September at 82.
BenĆtez learned about flamenco while visiting Spain, and EntreFlamenco provides a pipeline for artists from that nation to visit and perform in Santa Fe. One, guitarist and singer Juan Jose Alba, has immortalized his time here via the 2023 song āSanta Fe Style,ā which earned him New Mexico Music Awards recognition for best music video this year. Other featured performers from Spain are dancers Rocio Romero and āEl Tellez,ā both from Jerez de la Frontera.
7:30 p.m. November 29-30, December 6-7 and December 13-14, daily December 20-24 and 26-31, January 3-4; El Flamenco Cabaret, $25 and up
Lightning Boy Art Market & Gala
The Lightning Boy Foundation continues to evolve since its May 2016 founding following the tragic death of young dancer Valentino āTzigiwhaenoā Rivera. For the seventh time, itās partnering with La Fonda on the Plaza for a weekend of dancing and art.
Hoop dance performances are planned every two hours both days, while an art show and a silent auction take place noon to 8 p.m. November 29 ā national Native American Heritage Day ā in the Santa Fe Room. Nearby, the annual holiday lighting at the Plaza is set for 6:15 p.m.
Bidding in the silent auction ends at 4 p.m. November 30, followed by a charity dinner and live auction at 6:30 p.m. in the Lumpkins Ballroom.
Noon-10 p.m. November 29-30, La Fonda on the Plaza, $150 for gala dinner, otherwise free
Santa Fe Concert Band holiday show
Members of the band have two things in common: they are clad in red, and they volunteer their time to entertain listeners. The group was incorporated in 1983, with Greg Heltman as director.
7 p.m., Lensic Performing Arts Center, free
DECEMBER 6
°®¶¹app ā Old Town Holiday Stroll and Christmas Tree Lighting
If you want to see a second town aglow for the holidays, drive down to °®¶¹app for an evening of pre-Christmas joy. The lighting of the 30-foot Christmas tree starts with a 6 p.m. countdown on Plaza Don Luis, across the street from the main plaza in °®¶¹appās Historic Old Town and the historic San Felipe de Neri Parish. There will be live entertainment in Plaza Don Luis and across other small plazas in Old Town. Warm up with hot chocolate and make your way to the °®¶¹app Museum (open late), where you can work on a small holiday art project, listen to live music by Paul Pino and the Tone Daddies, and stroll through the galleries. And donāt forget to bring the little and not so little ones to the Explora Science Center and Childrenās Museum across the park from the museum. Explora will be open with free ad°®¶¹app until 9 p.m. Note that all streets inside the Old Town will be closed to traffic starting at 3 p.m.
5 to 9 p.m., Historic Old Town, Plaza Don Luis, °®¶¹app Museum, and Explora Science Center and Childrenās Museum, free
Mariachi Christmas 2024
The bilingual event features guest artists Darren Cordova, Dynette Marie, Andrea Michelle, Mariachi Calor, and °®¶¹app ensemble Mariachi Xochitl, while entertainment includes music and folklorico dancing.
Mariachi Christmas, hosted by the National Latino Behavioral Health Association, raises money for students pursuing college degrees in the mental health field.
7 p.m., Lensic Performing Arts Center, $25-$55
DECEMBER 7
Schnee
Chatter
Schnee (Snow) is a 2008 meditation on the fluffy stuff by Danish composer Hans Abrahamsen, scored for a nine-player chamber orchestra. Its subtitle ā 10 Canons for Nine Instruments ā āhardly hints at the magical sonorities and glittering reflections explored in this 55-minute work,ā according to The Guardian. The New York Times wrote of it, āAs the instruments swirl in polyphonic motion, they create vivid images of frost,ā in ethereal, feathery music. Chatter Artistic Director David Felberg conducts.
10:30 a.m., Center for Contemporary Arts, $17
Winter Letters and Farolito Tour at Bosque Redondo takes place December 6.
Staff members will share stories of former residents ripped away from their homelands and confined at a remote site hundreds of miles away. Visitors may either take part in a ranger-led, 1.5-mile tour at 6 p.m. or a self-guided audio tour. The band The Lunas performs light bluegrass and folk music, and a Kidsā Corner will cater to young visitors.
5-9 p.m., Bosque Redondo Memorial at Fort Sumner, $7
Madrid Christmas Parade
Thereās little question about which yak wields the most power in New Mexico. That would be Solo, who leads the Madrid Christmas Day parade ā a must-be-seen-to-be-fully-understood cheer- and noise-fest in which locals make noise with instruments and anything else they can muster. If Solo feels like walking swiftly, the parade is over quickly. If Solo dawdles, well, parade-goers had best hope for tolerable weather.
The parade is followed by āTown of Lights,ā a simultaneous lighting of numerous decorations along N.M. 14 in town. This year, a replica of Toyland ā a mini-amusement park with mechanical rides that Madrid miners built for children living in the town to enjoy during its heyday ā will fill Oscar Huber Ballpark. Legend has it that Walt Disney once saw Toyland, either from an airplane or in person, and it inspired many offerings at Disneyland.
Madridās famed holiday lights will be on display the following three weekends, when street performances are planned. Businesses will be open until 7 p.m. on Saturdays.
4 p.m., Madrid on N.M. 14, free
Heaven and Nature Sing!Ģż
New Mexico Gay Menās Chorus
The New Mexico Gay Menās Chorus might not seem that old ā it began as The Brash Ensemble in 1981, a year many readers recall ā but itās one of the oldest gay menās choruses in the nation. For context, the first, the San Francisco Gay Menās Chorus, was founded only two years earlier.
The chorus will be accompanied by an orchestra at its holiday concert, featuring carols and contemporary songs. It performs periodically at gatherings such as holiday tree-lightings, church services, AIDS-related events, and pro sports games.
7:30 p.m., Lensic Performing Arts Center, $20-$60
DECEMBER 8
Jocelyn Kirsch, winner of this yearās Santa Fe Symphony concerto competition forĢż young performers, will play with the orchestra during its holiday program.Ģż
Sounds of the Season
Santa Fe Symphony
The holiday season brings forth many feel-good concerts, but this may be 2024ās feel-best event. It features not only the Santa Fe Symphony and Chorus but the Santa Fe Youth Symphony Orchestra as well, which joins the orchestra for a side-by-side performance of selections from Tchaikovskyās Swan Lake. But wait, thereās more! Jocelyn Kirsch, winner of the symphonyās annual concerto competition for young performers, is the featured soloist in the first movement of Mozartās Violin Concerto No. 5. The audience even gets to join in the action in the concluding holiday sing-along.
4 p.m., Lensic Performing Arts Center, $25-$99
Las Posadas on the Plaza
Historically, las posadas (from the word āposada,ā meaning lodging) are a type of novenario, or an extended devotional prayer that starts on December 16 and continues through Christmas Eve. This religious tradition began in Mexico in the 16th century, but has since spread across a big part of Latin America and Latin American communities throughout the world, albeit differently depending on the region. In Santa Fe, the 48th celebration of Las Posadas will take place on December 8 at the New Mexico History Museum and on the Plaza. This Hispanic version of Las Posadas will be presented by volunteers and residents of northern New Mexico communities. Candle preparation begins at 5 p.m. on the Plaza, and the procession ā a reenactment of the story of the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph searching for a place for baby Jesus to be born ā will start at 5:30 p.m., followed by carols.
5 to 7 p.m., Santa Fe Plaza, free
Michael Martin Murpheyās Cowboy Christmas
To catch Michael Martin Murpheyās Cowboy Christmas act, one has to visit the pocket of the Southwest that could be loosely described as cowboy country.
The bulk of the 79-year-old singer and guitaristās 21-date Christmas tour is in Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, and New Mexico. Heās set to play in remote Raton ā almost equidistant between °®¶¹app and Denver ā two days before his Santa Fe show. Unlike the other states heās visiting, New Mexico has Murphey in its DNA; he wrote the official state ballad, āThe Land of Enchantment.ā
Murphey has performed his Christmas show in Santa Fe for years, performing songs primarily from his Christmas and greatest hits albums.
7:30 p.m., St. Francis Auditorium, $59
DECEMBER 10
Carols and Choruses
Santa Fe Symphony
Carmen FlĆ³rez-Mansi, the symphonyās choral director, leads this free-ad°®¶¹app gift to the community, which opens with three numbers by the symphonyās newly formed youth choruses. After that the symphonyās brass players and chorus take over, with holiday favorites including āO Come, All Ye Faithful,ā āAngels We Have Heard on High,ā Jan Sweelinckās āHodie Christus Natus Est,ā āSilver Bells,ā and āO Holy Night.ā Word on the street is that there may be some sing-along opportunities as well.
7 p.m., Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, free ad°®¶¹app with no tickets required
DECEMBER 13
Holidays at the Palace
Santa Claus really does love to visit children in Santa Fe! Heāll be back (before returning on Christmas Eve of course), this time at the Palace of the Governors for the cherished annual Holidays at the Palace extravaganza. Everyone is welcome to this free event, where all ages can sip hot cider and munch on cookies, participate in craft activities, whack at piƱatas, and listen to some live music. Volunteers will be collecting donations of nonperishable food for those among us in need. Note that the Palace of the Governors is part of the New Mexico History Museum, but for this event, entry is via the Palace of the Governors.
5:30-8 p.m., inside the Palace of the Governors, free
Artistic Director Joshua Habermann will lead the Santa Fe Desert Chorale in a holiday concert.Ģż
A Rose in Winter
Santa Fe Desert Chorale
The visual image of a flower blooming in the snow is the musical inspiration for this yearās holiday concert program by the Santa Fe Desert Chorale. Artistic Director Joshua Habermann leads the 24-voice ensemble, along with violinist Elizabeth Young and pianist Nathan Salazar, in a wide-ranging program that starts with music from Scandinavia, continues with āRose in the Middle of Winterā by Bob Chilcott and āLo, How a Rose Eāer Blooming,ā and concludes with a series of well-known carols including āO Holy Night,ā āRise Up, Shepherd,ā and āWhat Child is This?ā
7 p.m., Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, $22-$109
Additional performances on December 14, 17, 20, 21, and 22
Making Spirits Bright
Canadian Brass
Canadian Brass has been bringing brass music ā and their fun and engaging stage presence ā to audiences worldwide for more than 40 years. This December, they will stop for one night at Popejoy Hall in °®¶¹app for an evening of holiday joy with their new show, Making Spirits Bright. The concert will feature original arrangements and beloved classical versions of songs like āCharlie Brown Christmas,ā āIāll Be Home for Christmas,ā āSongs of Hanukkah,ā āSilver Bells,ā and āJingle Bell Rock.ā The quintet includes founding member Chuck Daellenbach on tuba; the newest member, Mikio Sasaki, on trumpet; Joe Burgstaller, professor of trumpet at Arizona State University; Achilles Liarmakopoulos on trombone; and Jeff Nelsen on French horn.
7:30 p.m., Popejoy Hall, $25 to $72
DECEMBER 14
New Mexico Museum of Art Holiday Open House
Celebrate the holiday season with the annual Holiday Open House at the New Mexico Museum of Art, right across the street from the Plaza. Guests can explore the galleries and enjoy an organ concert with Santa Fe Pro Musica and performances by the Santa Fe Symphony Jazz Project. Find holiday craft-making all day at both museum locations (the Plaza Building and at Vladem Contemporary) and a Teatro Duende performance with replicas of Gustav Baumannās hand-crafted marionettes. The museumās library will also showcase seasonally themed items from the museumās archival collections, as well as holiday cards from the Will Shuster archive and the Baumann collection.
10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with most activities at the New Mexico Museum of Art (Plaza Building) and extra craft activities at the New Mexico Museum of Art Vladem Contemporary, free
Aspen Santa Fe Balletās The NutcrackerĢżis a beloved annual tradition. Photo Sharen Bradford
Sharen Bradford - The Dancing Image
The Nutcracker
Aspen Santa Fe Ballet
One of the key settings in Tchaikovskyās The Nutcracker is the Land of Sweets, ruled by the Sugar Plum Fairy. Given its passages and the music by other composers it has inspired, one could also refer to the Christmas Eve classic as the land of suites.
Last yearās performance by Aspen Santa Fe Ballet featured two New York City Ballet dancers, while this yearās features Chyrstyn Fentroy from Boston Ballet and Gian Carlo Perez from Houston Ballet. Also featured are a Ukrainian folk dance, a Chinese ribbon dance, Aspen Santa Fe Balletās Mexican Folklorico dancers, and famed Santa Fe flamenco artist La Emi, who appears elsewhere in this list.
1 and 7:30 p.m. December 14 and 1 and 5 p.m. December 15, Lensic Performing Arts Center, $36-$114
DECEMBER 15
Mariachi Christmas at Popejoy Hall
An annual tradition at Popejoy Hall, the Mariachi Christmas is back for an afternoon of singing and dancing. Ballet FolklĆ³rico is a 32-member ensemble made of at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley students currently pursuing diverse academic disciplines but who come together to represent their heritage with traditional Mexican steps. They have received national recognition throughout the years, including three showcases at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The group will dance to live music performed by UTRGVās Mariachi Juvenil AztlĆ”n, an award-winning mariachi band that has traveled throughout Mexico, Canada, and the U.S.
3 p.m., Popejoy Hall, $25-$70
DECEMBER 17
Tower of Power
Tower of Power is a legendary American R&B and funk band and horn section from Oakland, California. Theyāve been on the road and performing around the world since 1968. In December, they hit the road again ā right after completing a European tour ā for a month-long, 11-city Holidays & Hits tour across the U.S. and will stop at the Lensic on December 17. Among todayās band members are baritone sax player Stephen āDocā Kupka, a founding member whoās written, with Emilio Castillo, most of the TOP song catalog; Castillo, second tenor sax; Roger Smith, keyboard and background vocals; Tom E. Politzer, lead tenor sax; Jordan John, lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist; and Pete Antunes, drums.
7:30 p.m., Lensic Performing Arts Center, $60-$120
Holiday Flamenco 2024: Memories of Granada
In December 2022, dancer and singer Mina Fajardo and guitarist Chuscales ā the performer name used by her husband, Jose Valle Fajardo ā released the EP Holiday Flamenco, featuring three songs co-written by the duo and two penned by Mina Fajardo. About a year later, they released the three-song EP Flamenco Christmas.
The music can be heard both via major streaming services and on stage during the pairās performance with CompaƱia Chuscales, which consists of principal dancer Monze Diaz and a troupe of supporting flamenco dancers. Also featured are flamenco interpretations of seasonal songs such as āSilent Nightā and āO Holy Night.ā
7 p.m. December 17-18 and 27 and 2 p.m. December 28-29, Teatro Paraguas, $23-$25
DECEMBER 18
Desert Chorale Pop-Up Carols with the Young Voices of Santa Fe Opera
If it were human, the 42-year-old Desert Chorale would be old enough to have children in Young Voices of the Santa Fe Opera.
Desert Choraleās standard performances feature 24 voices, but theyāll be joined by high-schoolers involved in the Santa Fe Operaās development program for young talents. The result will be a blend of ages and experience levels, all singing holiday carols.
5:30-6 p.m., Southside Library, free
DECEMBER 19
Farolitos will illuminate the pathways of the Santa Fe Botanical Garden for La Luz de las Noches.
La Luz de las Noches at the Botanical Garden
For a little outdoor holiday magic, head out to the Santa Fe Botanical Garden any evening between December 19 and 31 (except December 24 and 25). The gardenās pathways will be lit with farolitos and there will be live musical performances each night, sweet and savory holiday treats available throughout the garden, and beverages served by As Above So Below Distillery . And as a special pre-Christmas treat, Santa Claus join the carolers December 20-23.
4:30-7:30 p.m., December 19-31, Santa Fe Botanical Garden; $8-$29.95, free for children 5 and younger
DECEMBER 20
A Christmas Carol
Members of Upstart Readers ā a cousin group to Upstart Crows, a Shakespeare troupe for ages 10 to 18 ā get to look at a script when reading from the Charles Dickens classic, but the task provides plenty of challenges, they tell Pasatiempo. Readers in groups of three read from a long version of A Christmas Carol, trading lines in rapid-fire succession. It requires timing and practice, as well as mutual trust. People who attend readings will see that chemistry on display, shared by characters in Elizabethan-era clothing. Adding to the vintage vibe, a Victorian tea party is presented at inter°®¶¹app.
6:30 p.m. December 20-22, Crowsā Nest; 6:30 p.m. December 25, UU Santa Fe, $15
DECEMBER 21
A Baroque Christmas
Santa Fe Pro Musica
Pro Musicaās Baroque Christmas performances combining vocal and orchestral music are one of Santa Feās most-loved holiday traditions. The centerpiece this year is Johann Sebastian Bachās jubilant Cantata No. 51, Jauchzet Gott in Allen Landen (Praise God in Every Land), in which soprano Clara Rottsolk and principal trumpet Brian Shaw will engage in an āany note you can hit, I can hit tooā celebration. Violinists Stephen Redfield and David Felberg are featured in Bachās Concerto in D Minor for Two Violins. Music by Handel and Georg Philipp Telemann rounds out the program.
7:30 p.m., St. Francis Auditorium, $34-$106
Additional performances December 22 and 23
Performance Santa Fe presents Kristin Chenoweth on December 21. Photo Gage Skidmore
Ģż
Kristin Chenoweth
Performance Santa Fe
Broadway and television star Kristin Chenoweth is best known for originating the role of Glinda in the Broadway musical Wicked, for her Tony Award wins and nominations as Sally in Youāre a Good Man, Charlie Brown and Lily Garland in On the Twentieth Century, and for the character April Rhodes in the Fox television series Glee. (Program information for her Santa Fe appearance was not available at press time.)
7:30 p.m., Lensic Performing Arts Center, $175-$500, 505-984-8759,
DECEMBER 24
Time for Three
Santa Fe Symphony
The Symphonyās Christmas Eve concerts have sold-out in recent years, so theyāve added a noon performance this year. The headliners are Time for Three, a trio of string players each of whom also sings, blending classical, Americana, and singer-songwriter styles. Music Director Guillermo Figueroa and the orchestra open the concert with the overture from Leonard Bernsteinās Candide; from then on, itās dashing through the show with tunes including Guns Nā Rosesā āSweet Child of Mine,ā Leonard Cohenās āHallelujah,ā Frankie Vallieās āCanāt Take My Eyes Off You,ā and several Time for Three originals.
Noon and 4 p.m., Lensic Performing Arts Center, $25-$99
Canyon Road Farolito Walk
The Canyon Road Farolito Walk is to Christmas Eve here in Santa Fe what turkey is to Thanksgiving. This year, as always, Canyon Road and many side streets will be closed to traffic and packed with people as soon as it gets dark. Many galleries will be open to visitors and last-minute shoppers, and several may even serve hot chocolate or wine and cookies. Make sure to wear comfortable shoes that you can trust on ice and dress warmly, but know that if you do get cold, youāll be able to warm up by small piƱon bonfires along the way.
Starting at sundown, Canyon Road (between Paseo de Peralta and East Palace Avenue) and Acequia Madre, free
DECEMBER 26
La Emi Flamenco
La Emi boasts an impressive pedigree; she began studying flamenco at age 4 with the MarĆa BenĆtez Institute for Spanish Arts, exposing her to the namesake iconic dancer who died this year. BenĆtez famously traveled around the state to spread awareness of flamenco, apparently inspiring La Emi, whose Santa Fe performances often coincide with visits to Taos and Las Cruces, and her early-winter run is no exception. La Emi founded the dance company EmiArteFlamenco in 2014 and both EmiArteFlamenco Academy, a school for students of all ages, and Flamenco Youth de Santa Fe, a childrenās company, in 2017.
La Emiās production includes Vicente Griego with his band, ReVĆ³Zo, as well as choreographers Gala Vivancos from Madrid and Eloy Aguilar from Granada, both in Spain.
7:30 p.m. December 26-31, Inn and Spa at Loretto, $25-$65
DECEMBER 29
Hanukkah on the Plaza
The Jewish community of Santa Fe gathers on the Plaza on the fifth day of Hanukkah to celebrate the lighting of a giant menorah, and all are welcome to attend. Rabbi Berel Levertov of the Santa Fe Jewish Center Chabad will lead the proceedings with a blessing and the lighting of the candles. Contact the Santa Fe Jewish Center Chabad for more details about other Hanukkah related events.
3:30 p.m., Santa Fe Plaza, free
DECEMBER 31
Ring in the New Year on the Plaza with a bash of a party at the very heart of our city, with free biscochitos for everyone (while supplies last) and musical performances by three live bands in succession on the bandstand. Mayor Alan Webber will kick off the countdown to midnight, but unlike other cities, Santa Fe wonāt be dropping anything as midnight strikes; rather, weāll raise a handcrafted Zia symbol into the dark skies which will then be lit up by a 10-minute fireworks display launched from the roof of the historic La Fonda Hotel. The celebration will end with a sing-along of āLas MaƱanitasā and āAuld Lang Syne.ā
8 p.m. to just after midnight, Santa Fe Plaza, free
