V¡Va! santa fe - Happy 400th Birthday

In 2010 Santa Fe turns 400. The city has decided to have a year long celebration. That celebration started this past weekend. The city launched V¡Va santa fe (Santa Fe 400th Anniversary - Opening Weekend).

There was an Arts and Crafts Festival on the Plaza. This lasted through today. There were artisans there selling hand made products and it was much more affordable that Spanish or Indian Market. I spent almost two hours walking around looking at all the artwork. There were some really interesting things. But after two hours I needed something different to look at. So I left the Plaza and headed up to Fort Marcy Park. I stopped at the New Mexico Tourism area and picked up a Tour NM Card (aka The Enchantment Card). This card gives you discounts at places all over the state and it was free to sign up. They also had a converted RV there with an exhibit about The History of Travel in New Mexico. It was pretty interesting. From there I stopped by the Legacy Arts Stage and watched Bailé Folklórico. They did a great job and it was so colorful. When they finished I made my way to the Legacy Artisans at Work. This was pretty much a hands on exhibit where you could learn different things from the artisans. Here is a quote from a handout I had . . .

"Guests will explore the artistic and architectural legacies of Santa Fe through the eyes of artisans, musicians, dancers, architects and homebuilders and hands-on demos."

It was really nice. They had people teaching salsa dance, how to make adobe bricks, wood carving and lots more. I didn't get a chance to stop at every booth - there was just too much to do. Next I went to the Tapestry of Taste booth. Unfortunately they weren't open yet so I didn't get to taste any food. After that I just wandered around and enjoyed the celebration. I think it was a good start for the city in celebrating 400 years. I am looking forward to all the other activities they are planning for this year. This weekend was also the start of Santa Fe Fiesta - well not acutally the start but the Court was present. As I was heading back to my car I passed by the Cathedral and watched the Fiesta Court procession to the Plaza - very festive! There is another activity this coming Thursday and that is the burning of Zozobra. It has been a while since I attended this event and I am really looking forward to it.