Santa Fe, NM – What’s Hot This Summer
As you wander around Santa Fe this summer, be on the lookout for classic balconies like this one.
Santa Fe, New Mexico is a popular summer destination because this “City Different” offers an abundance of cultural activities. In this guest post, local Santa Fe expert Judith Moir gives us a heads up on what’s on this season. Judith previously shared her thoughts about Christmas in Santa Fe.
As a local, I’m always excited to see what Santa Fe conjures up each summer. This year, I’m happy to report, looks like a full-color fantasy for culture vultures like me. A host of City Different sights and sounds are combining to turn summer into a rainbow of entertainment options.
Santa Fe’s official 2015 Summer of Color is designed as a series of exhibitions themed around specific colors assigned to cultural institutions on Museum Hill.
- Museum of Indian Arts and Culture – turquoise
- Museum of International Folk Art – red
- Museum of Spanish Colonial Arts – indigo
- Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian – silver
- Santa Fe Botanical Garden – orange
- International Folk Art Market | Santa Fe – green
Check out this Santa Fe fun stuff
The Museum of Indian Arts and Culture has its turquoise assignment firmly in hand with “Turquoise, Water and Sky” exhibit, an educational journey through this prized gemstone’s legend and lore.
The storied history of turquoise is covered in a fascinating exhibition at the Museum of Indian Arts and Color.
Indigo offers the Museum of Spanish Colonial Arts a host of artistic and historic possibilities with “Blue on Blue: Indigo and Cobalt in New Spain,” showcasing the use and significance of blue dye and pigment in New Mexico’s past and present.
Silver shines brightly at the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian. The museum’s new Center for the Study of Southwestern Jewelry opens June 6, 2015, as a permanent gallery devoted to SW jewelry and its related traditions. Expect to see jewelry and decorative objects that will send you right downstairs to the Case Trading Post to score your own treasures!
The Wheelwright Museum is not only a locals’ favorite, it also happens to be free!
In the Hispanic Heritage Wing of the Museum of International Folk Art, “The Red That Colored the World” is taking a long look at American cochineal. Never heard of it? It’s the red coloring made from insect bodies that was used in mid-16th-19th century paintings, as well as sculpture, furniture and textiles.
From back-and-white to full color, the annual Santa Fe International Folk Art Market has something for every taste.
The wildly popular International Folk Art Market will provide the green in this year’s rainbow with its July 10-12 festival. Tickets for this extravaganza of global artistry will absolutely sell out, so get them now.
Santa Fe summer music
The palette of experiences is more than just visual – Santa Fe is no summer layabout when it comes to music. The 58th season of the renowned Santa Fe Opera will be here before we know it.
As a devoted fan, I can hardly wait for Donizetti’s The Daughter of the Regiment to fill the night air with glorious music on the July 3rd gala opening night. New productions of Verdi’s Rigoletto and Strauss’ Salome share the stage with the SFO premiere of an early Mozart opera, La Finta Giardianera. And the Opera’s commitment to new works blesses ardent fans like me with the premiere of an operatic version of Charles Frazier’s acclaimed novel, Cold Mountain, by composer Jennifer Higdon and librettist Gene Scheer.
(Aside from Elizabeth…here’s what I wrote about Santa Fe Opera after attending last summer.)
The magnificent Santa Fe Opera Theater offers dramatic scenery by itself!
Summer music on the Santa Fe Bandstand, a locals’ must-do, takes place nightly (with a few exceptions) from July 7 to August 28 with something for everyone. Classical and world-beat, salsa and swing dance, and local and international performers, this well-organized series doesn’t miss a beat.
The Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival welcomes famed performers from around the world to Santa Fe from July 19 through August 24. Leading lights of the chamber repertoire love to perform in the relaxed atmosphere of the City Different. You can expect to hear music from a host of different composers at the Festival’s two venues, the Lensic Center for the Performing Arts and the St. Francis Auditorium.
Santa Fe places to stay and dine
Given Santa Fe’s extensive selection of excellent accommodations, it’s easy to find a comfy bed. Downtown properties like the Travel + Leisure 2014 World’s Best Inn and Spa at Loretto, the beautifully renovated and historic La Fonda on the Plaza, and La Posada de Santa Fe (now a Starwood property) all offer luxurious amenities and top-drawer service. For those who prefer a more intimate feel, Rosewood’s Inn of the Anasazi and the locally owned Inn on the Alameda both offer upscale relaxation in under 100 rooms.
The calm and colorful surroundings of the Inn on the Alameda offer easy access to the best of Santa Fe.
Dining is never a problem in Santa Fe – the only problem is choosing. Savvy travelers know to ask hotel staff for recommendations, but I will point out John Sedlar’s new Eloisa at the Drury Plaza hotel. The outdoor seating complete with fireplace tells me this spot is on its way to “hit” status.
I’ll close by saying there’s never been a better summer to sample Santa Fe in all its colorful glory. And the multi-hued nightly sunsets are gratis. Enjoy! Judith
Beautiful summer sunsets are a nightly offering in Santa Fe.
Category: USA Southwest
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