Many argue summer is the best time to visit The City Different. The city is in full bloom, the weather is near perfect, and there is oh so much to do. If you are planning a trip to Santa Fe this summer, don’t miss these must-see markets, festivals, and exhibitions.
LOCAL ARTISAN MARKETS
throughout the summer
Santa Fe Society of ArtistsRecognized internationally as a top art market in the United States, Santa Fe absolutely delivers as THE destination for world-class visual arts, with a long tradition of also celebrating, supporting, and economizing local artists’ creative life and process. There are also scores of chances to buy pieces directly from local artists, like a Native potter, taught by generations of family indigenous to Santa Fe, or a Hispanic woodcarver from Dixon, New Mexico or a fine art painter with a penchant for landscapes, who works in a mountaintop studio. Show the local Santa Fe area artists some love—plan your trip around a recurring summer market, such as Northern New Mexico Fine Arts and Crafts Guild or Santa Fe Society of Artists. For more ideas, read our blog calendar promoting local artisan events.
EL RANCHO DE LAS GOLONDRINAS FESTIVALS
throughout the summer
El Rancho de las Golondrinas opens the doors for the busy season on its 200 rural acres with the 20th Annual Santa Fe Spring Festival on June 7 and 8. Expect sheep-shearing, live entertainment, horno breadbaking, Pueblo pottery and dance, and more. As we move into summer, there are ever more opportunities to enjoy this former paraje (or stopping place) for those traveling the Camino Real in the early 1700s. The Santa Fe Wine Festival intrigues your tastebuds July 5 and 6, showcasing the best of New Mexico wines. Fiesta de los Niños is July 19, offering families the chance to try their hands at some time-honored crafts and traditions, such as tin stamping, rope creating, tortilla making, and constructing mini adobe houses. August 9 and 10, check out the Santa Fe Beer & Food Festival, where you are bound to sample some new suds and flavors.
NATIVE FASHION WEEKS
May 7–11, 2025
Tira Howard Photography
In its second year, SWAIA Native Fashion Week is partnering with longstanding Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week to celebrate Indigenous designers featuring their work at runway shows, pop-shops, parties, and a fashion symposium. SNFW aims to make Santa Fe the premier destination for Indigenous fashion by providing a platform to showcase the creative and innovative talent of designers and fashion artists from across North America.
In its first year, Native Fashion Week Santa Fe ((May 8–11) launches in locations around the Railyard Arts District, helmed by fashionista Amber Dawn Bear Robe, the name behind all Indigenous fashion events in Santa Fe over the last 12 years. With a new and veteran lineup of Indigenous designers and creatives, such as Orlando Dugi, Jennifer Lamont, and Penny Singer expect runway excitement, films, panels, after parties, trunk show, mixers, music, and more, held at various sites throughout the Railyard District
SUMMER SCENE (Live Music)
May 31–August 28, 2025
Photo credit: Adrift A Dream Photography
Nearly every day of the summer you can experience a live performance from a local and/or national musical act via the programming brought to you by the Summer Scene. On the historic Plaza, enjoy the grass and the trees while listening and grooving. Or check out the lineup at the Railyard amid food trucks, brewpubs, and plenty of parking. Such an uplifting time!
CURRENTS NEW MEDIA FESTIVAL
June 13–22, 2025
Water Organoids by Baudouin Saintyves, Severine Atis, Ben Kinsinger & Roiel Benitez
CURRENTS New Media Festival heads back to its original home at El Museo de Cultural Santa Fe, June 13–22, 2025. At this art and technology extravaganza, expect immersive and expansive art experiences in new media for all ages—animation, virtual and augmented realities, interactive installations and video, multimedia performances, experimental documentaries, workshops, and moreǃ
68th SANTA FE OPERA Season
June 27–August 23, 2025
La Traviata, Santa Fe Opera, photo by Curtis Brown for the Santa Fe OperaNo other opera house in the world can offer the mixture of world-class performers and breathtaking scenery as the Santa Fe Opera. In its 68th year, the 2025 season features five operas: La Bohème, The Marriage of Figaro, Rigoletto, The Turn of the Screw, Die Walküre. Plan ahead and participate in the pre-opera tailgating parties, where traditional picnic accoutrement are traded in for the elevated revelry of silver platters, candlesticks, and charcuterie.
SANTA FE ART WEEK
July 10–20, 2025
Step into Santa Fe's casual vibe and delight in stimulating art and culture, fantastic food, and historic architecture during the Santa Fe Art Week celebration! The 21st annual International Folk Art Market kicks off the week on July 10 with a community celebration and artist welcome on the Railyard Plaza and the Market begins in the evening on July 11 at Railyard Park! Art Santa Fe opens on July 11 at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center and runs through Sunday, July 13. Beyond this, during Santa Fe Art Week, there will be dozens of art experiences and events, openings and shows, art talks, and workshops in galleries and studios across Santa Fe’s beautiful art districts through Sunday, July 20.
21st ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL FOLK ART MARKET
July 10–13, 2025
The International Folk Art Market draws master artists from 60 countries around globe to the world’s largest international folk art gathering. In 2025, come celebrate 21 years of this rich and bustling event, once again gracing the multi-acre Railyard Park. Purchase one-of-a-kind, handmade pieces ranging from pottery and rugs to clothing, jewelry, and so much more. Linger for the music, the food, and all of the wonderful people you'll meet. Purchase your tickets today!
43rd ANNUAL DESERT CHORALE SUMMER FESTIVAL
July 13–31, 2025
Three rich and distinct choral programs make this festival one of the largest events of its kind in the country and what the Dallas Morning News calls "a top-notch, 24-voice group… comprising the crème de la crème of professional choral singers from coast to coast…” Choose from Cantos Y Cuentos for a treasure trove of songs from North, Central, and South America; Mass for the Endangered, works by American women composers Sarah Snider and Caroline Shaw and, finally, Roots & Rivers, a work reimagining American folk songs and spirituals. You can't go wrong with one or all!
52nd SANTA FE CHAMBER FESTIVAL
July 11–August 18, 2025
Celebrating 52 years, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, called "the most prestigious chamber music festivals in the world..." by the New York Times, presents 96 artists (many of whom make their Festival debut!) in more than 40 concerts, held at St. Francis Auditorium in the New Mexico Museum of Art and the Lensic Performing Arts Center. Highlights include Leila Josefowicz, the “genius grant” gal renowned for “broadening the [violin]’s repertoire and captivating audiences; the electric Escher String Quartet, giving the US premiere of an exciting Festival-commissioned work; Liv Redpath, who makes her Festival debut singing Schubert’s gorgeous The Shepherd on the Rock; and violinist Paul Huang, a Festival-audience favorite, whose tone, The Washington Post described as “big” and “luscious,” among many others that are equally as special! Get your tickets today!
73rd TRADITIONAL SPANISH MARKET
July 26 & 27, 2025
One of the summer’s most anticipated events for locals and visitors alike, Traditional Spanish Market celebrates its 73rd year. Taking place on the Plaza, the market presents the work of more than 200 Hispanic artists, defined by 19 different categories that represent the Hispanic “artistic traditions of New Mexico and southern Colorado through historic, modern, and contemporary periods,” including colcha embroidery, hide painting, painted bultos, straw applique, and more. Live music, demonstrations, and authentic foods round out this celebratory weekend.
39th CONTEMPORARY HISPANIC MARKET
July 26 & 27, 2025
Prepared to celebrate its 39th year, the Contemporary Hispanic Market has once again hand selected artists to participate in the juried art show that is held each July in the cultural heart of Santa Fe on the historic Plaza. To be considered for the market, artists are required to be part Hispanic and a full-time resident of New Mexico. Find traditional carvings of wood or stones peppered along the rows of booths, and individual expression in the mediums of painting, printmaking, sculpture, photography, furniture, jewelry, ceramics, weaving, and more. Free!
WHITEHAWK ANTIQUE INDIAN & ETHNOGRAPHIC ART SHOW
August 8–11, 2025
Come see the collection of American Indian and international tribal art not found anywhere else in the world at the Whitehawk Antique Indian & Ethnographic Art Show (August 8–11).
Bringing together more than 130 of the world’s most knowledgeable experts, visitors will see thousands of select historic art objects from Native American and other indigenous cultures from around the world, the best of the best of textiles, pottery, jewelry, beadwork, woodcarving and much more.
103rd SANTA FE INDIAN MARKET
August 16 & 17, 2025
Celebrating its 103rd year, the Santa Fe Indian Market continues to deliver on its reputation as the largest and most prestigious juried Native arts show in the world. More than 1,000 artists representing more than 200 tribes come together on the historic Santa Fe Plaza to display their traditionally handcrafted art. It's the 12th anniversary of the ever-popular and important Indigenous Fashion Show with a great lineup of 10 couture artists who are creating new collections to debut on SWAIA's runway, as well as lots of additional ways to celebrate Indigenous art throughout the weekend. And save some of your budget for Free Indian Market, showcasing more than 600 artists on the green and shady Federal Courthouse Park, where they say, "Helping the Elders and their families is our purpose."
101st ANNUAL BURNING OF ZOZOBRA
August 29, 2025
Happy 101st, Zozobra! This one-of-a-kind cultural experience is believed to cleanse the city of sad thoughts and gloom of the past year. Residents and visitors alike are encouraged to write down their worries and woes, which are then stuffed into a 50-foot-tall marionette. In a theatrical and choreographed show, Zozobra is set on fire amid fireworks and the cheers of the crowd. This event also traditionally marks the kickoff to the Fiestas de Santa Fe.
OUR STORIES
through September 29, 2025
At the IAIA Museum of Indian Arts & Culture, voted 9th in USA TODAY's 10Best Readers' Choice 2024 awards, presents Our Stories, a continually refreshed exhibition showcasing actual owned objects of meaning and importance. It explores the idea that the objects we personally wear, collect, or make for ourselves communicate to the world around us a sense of the places we have been, the things we love, and the people who make up our stories. Admission is free on Fridays.
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