Santa Fe Will Burn Zozobra and Our 2024 Gloom
CELEBRATING 100 YEARS!
Heads up! On Friday, August 30, 2024, will you be in Santa Fe to shout “BURN HIM!”?
New Mexico's one-of-a-kind celebration—the Burning of Zozobra––is a historic cultural tradition and Santa Fe’s unforgettable annual ending to summer. Since 1924, the City of Santa Fe has built and burned the Zozobra to the delight of a festive crowd. The mythic 50-foot-tall monster is stuffed with thousands of paper "glooms"––love letters, divorce documents, photos, parking tickets, bad habits, hurt feelings––which go up in smoke (and effectively disappear!) when the New Mexico icon goes down in flames.
The 2024 Burning of Zozobra Event Schedule*:
*Schedule is subject to change. Visit burnzozobra.com for the most up to date information.
4 pm
Gates open and live entertainment
7 pm
The Official Zozobra Show opens
8:30 pm
9:10 pm
Lights out! It’s time for the Burning of Zozobra for the 100th time since 1924! Burn time is weather dependent and may be a bit early or late, but rain or shine, ZOZOBRA. WILL. BURN!
Questions?
Want clarification on some nitty-gritty details? Read through the event FAQs, and be in the Zozo know!
Ways to Get Involved
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August 25–27, 2024: The free ZozoFest and Zozobra Art Show will introduce Zozobra to the community in an opportunity to score one-of-a-kind Zozobra art, take selfies with Old Man Gloom photobombing in the background, and add glooms on paper or special tokens to burn with Santa Fe’s most infamous citizen.
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August 29 & August 31, 2024: Come see the new musical fable titled Zozobra: The Revenge, performed at The Lensic Performing Arts Center. Santa Fe’s own New York Times best-selling author, Douglas Preston, created the twisted tale’s libretto and music is composed by Joe Illick, former Artistic Director of the Fort Worth Opera.
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August 30, 2024: This year marks the Burning of Zozobra’s Centennial and Kiwanis is going all out for an unforgettable event on The traditional pageant elements cherished by diehard fans for the past century—mariachi music, gloomies, torchbearers, the Fire Spirit, and New Mexico’s most amazing fireworks show—will be on display, along with some exciting surprise additions to this gala event.
The mission of the nonprofit Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe, the keepers of Zozobra flame, is focused on supporting the needs of New Mexico’s underserved children. The Burning of Zozobra is the Club’s premier annual project and the event net proceeds are donated to area nonprofits that help make life better for kids.
