September in Santa Fe is a magical time. The smell of green chile roasting fills the crisp mountain air, while the aspens turn golden and shimmer with the breeze. Temperatures begin to drop, but the autumn event season really begins to heat up! Here are several of The City Different's can't-miss September events.
102nd Annual Burning of Zozobra
September 4, 2026
The 102nd Burning of Zozobra, a unique cultural event that takes place the Friday of Labor Day weekend at the green and lush Fort Marcy Park, just steps from downtown Santa Fe. The wailing, mythical creation is the legacy of local artist Will Shuster, who could likely not have imagined that the original 6-foot effigy he burned in his backyard in 1924 would become a 50-foot marionette and an annual source of community release and rallying.
Filled with paper "glooms"—expressed regrets and fears, divorce papers, speeding tickets, photos—by young people and adults alike, Zozobra is unable to cast a spell of darkness over Santa Fe for long. You watch and groove from a spot on the Fort Marcy Park grass as he burns in a musical, ritualistic, orchestrated ceremony, and with him, all woes—until at least the following year! Read more via our blog.
The Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe has managed the pageantry since 1964, and the proceeds support area children's programs. More information, including tickets, merchandise, how and where to submit your gloom at Burn Zozobra.
314th Fiesta de Santa Fe
September 5–13, 2026
If there’s one tradition that captures the spirit of Santa Fe, it’s the annual celebration, Fiesta de Santa Fe. This event is the longest continuously running celebration in the US! With the Mariachi Extravaganza, the Burning of Zozobra, concerts, culturally rich music performances and food booths, beloved and time-honored parades—Desfile de Los Niños (aka, The Pet Parade) and Desfile de la Gente (aka Historical/Hysterical Parade)—as well as arts and crafts markets, and more, Fiesta de Santa Fe embraces The City Different's complex past and present and is a feast for all of the senses.
3rd Annual Canyon Road Summer Walk
September 2, 2026
The Canyon Road Summer Walk is back for a third year! The first Wednesdays of each glorious summer month, join the community for an engaging amble, complete with food, music, arts & crafts, to celebrate summer and the rich artistic and cultural heritage of Santa Fe's historic Canyon Road.
20th Annual New Mexico Jazz Festival
August 27–September 30, 2026
A robust offering of nearly 50 major touring artists, including NEA Jazz Masters and respected New Mexico-based jazz, international, rhythm & blues, and Latin music practitioners promise to make the 20th Annual New Mexico Jazz Festival another exciting destination event. A collaboration between two of the most respected non-profit jazz presenters in New Mexico, Outpost Performance Space and the Lensic Performing Arts Center, the Festival features concerts and events in Albuquerque and Santa Fe over a three-week period and includes free concerts. Don't miss your opportunity to jazz out!
Green Chile Cheeseburger Smackdown
September 13, 2026
It's the battle of the burgers as the chef/restaurant finalists go compete to see who will win this year's best green chile cheeseburger title. Your host is the Santa Fe Brewing Company, selling you cool suds to go with your burger taste test. Get your tix EARLY and/or get those tastebuds excited by enjoying great burgers from 2025 Santa Fe finalists: Alkemē. Who will reign supreme and win the Green Chile Cheeseburger Smackdown title in 2026?
Fall Activities at Ski Santa Fe
September 12–October 11, 2026
The Santa Fe Express High-Speed Quad lift at Ski Santa Fe will give enthusiasts a thrill in celebration of one of the prettiest times of the year. Take a ride to the top of Upper Broadway, marveling at the golden aspens along the way. Then, play some disc golf, enjoy live music, a car show, pet adoption event, and the beer garden! Season passes for sale!
The Santa Fe Symphony 43rd Season Opener
September 14, 2025
The Santa Fe Symphony opens their 43rd season at the Lensic Performing Arts Center. This magnificent event showcases the most famous four notes in history from Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and pianist Inna Faliks and The Symphony perform Tchaikovsky’s majestic and beautiful Piano Concerto No. 1. For more information, visit The Santa Fe Symphony.
18th Annual Santa Fe Renaissance Faire
September 12 & 13, 2026
Costume up and immerse yourself in a majestic journey back in time at the utterly transformed El Rancho de las Golondrinas. Travel with the fairies to their enchanted village, cheer on the knights of the Order of Epona, play in the kids' game area, try delicious era food and drink, including turkey legs, all things made with apple, mead, and ale, dance to the stylings of local musicians, giggle in awe at the acrobatic magic of the Clan Tynker troupe, and buy unique arts and crafts at New Mexico’s premier Renaissance Faire.
35th Annual Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta
September 22–27, 2026
The illustrious Fiesta is in its 35th year and more popular than ever. Get your tickets! Ninety worldwide wineries partner with 60 of The City Different's best restaurants in a weeklong celebration of food and wine, featuring cooking demos, seminars, winery luncheons and dinners, a gravel bike ride and golf tournament, and more. Don't miss the Grand Tasting where you'll sample both exquisite cuisine from participating restaurants and esteemed vintages from worldwide wineries. Another crowd-pleasing event is Chile Friday, a tasty tribute to New Mexico's signature heat in the form of delicious bites from nearly 40 culinary establishments paired with refreshing local craft beers and ciders and margaritas. New this year are two imaginative events bound to entertain: Boots & Bolos, held at the Beck & Bulow Ranch and Bougie Brunch, hosted at The Sunset Terrace, an elegant downtown Santa Fe venue.
Concerts at the Santa Fe Opera
Throughout September 2026
The Santa Fe Opera just keeps a-rocking through September—not with operatic superstars, but with some of the most interesting musicians of this time, including Mavis Staples & Nathaniell Rateliff, Robert Plant, and more. There's not a bad seat in the architecturally spectacular open-air amphitheater, so get your tickets now to one of these popular performances, made even more special by the sweetness of an autumn evening.
Art Tours & Markets
Throughout September 2026
Image courtesy of Eldorado Studio Tour, Brian Commerford
If you know one thing about Santa Fe, it's that the art never stops, which is a big reason why The City Different is recognized internationally as a top art market in the United States and a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, Cultural Organization) Crafts and Folk Art city, “driving innovation, investment, and prosperity in a range of arts and creativity.”
Not only can you purchase pieces from world-renowned artists, but you can mingle with the aspiring ones from Northern New Mexico. Be sure to check out the Santa Fe Society of Artists (Saturdays & Sundays), multiple tents inhabiting a convenient parking lot off of the Plaza and in the Railyard.
Or go afield and take yourself on a studio tour, where you can be with artists in the very spaces where they create their works! You'll fall in love with the journey, the destination, and the event at the Taos Studio Tour (Labor Day Weekend), the 39th El Rito Studio Tour (September 12 & 13) the 29th Annual High Road Artisans Studio Tour (September 19 & 20; 26 & 27), as well as the Turquoise Trail Studio Tour (September 19 & 20; 26 & 27) and the 34th Annual Eldorado Studio Tour (September 19 & 20).
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