There’s so much going on in Santa Fe this summer, we can barely catch our breath. Last weekend we went to the fabulous 7th Annual Santa Fe International Folk Art Market. If you missed it, mark your calendar for next year. If you are a folk art fan you will be blown away. Next weekend is the 5th Annual ¡VIVA MEXICO! at El Rancho de las Golondrinas and the last weekend of the month is the 61st Spanish Market. Meanwhile, the Santa Fe Opera, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, the New Mexico Jazz Festival and Juan Siddi Flamenco Theatre Company. Theatre have on-going performances. There are so many other events, it boggles the mind. Here are a few coming up in the next few weeks, plus a little Santa Fe hospitality news. Enjoy!
Bultos at Spanish Market 2011, photo/Steve Collins
Tourism news:
Hot off the presses, so to speak, Santa Fe has won Best Food in Rand McNally’s Best of the Road. Brian Cox and Mike Shubic, collectively known as Road Brothers, were in town July 4th through 6th sampling our local fare. There is way more great food here than they got to sample. If you love food as much as we do and want to have a culinary adventure in Santa Fe and Northern New Mexico, we can create a great itinerary for you. Check out The Santa Fe Traveler.
The Travel Channel Best of the Road RV a parked at the Santa Fe Plaza photo/Steve Collins
The Santa Fe CVB has a new director. Jim Luttjohann, executive director of the Ventura Visitors and Convention Bureau since 2004, leaves that post on Friday, July 2oth and heads to The City Different. He was instrumental in forming Film Ventura, a campaign promoting the city as a film and TV location. Hopefully, this experience will revitalize Santa Fe’s film and TV industry. He takes up his new post in early August. Welcome to Santa Fe.
Food news:
There are a few new eateries to tell you about and the return of an old favorite.
The recently opened Cafe Fina photo/courtesy Cafe Fina
On July 4th. Café Fina took over the Old Las Vegas Highway spot that formerly housed Real Food Nation, a stone’s throw from Eldorado. The new owners, Murphy and Annamaria O’Brien, are offering “fresh, modern comfort food,” which they say offers, “something for every diner.” Some of the produce will even be grown on site. If you have a sweet tooth, note that Annamaria is doing the restaurant’s baking. Murphy owned the now defunct Atalaya Bakery and has been managing Mu Du Noodles for the past four year. Annamaria has worked the front of the house at both Geronimo and Coyote Café. Take a ride out and try the food. The casual, order at the counter spot is currently serving breakfast and lunch 7 days a week. They’re open Monday through Friday from 7am to 3pm and Saturday and Sunday from 8am to 3pm. A wine and beer license and dinner service are in the works.
Dr Field Goods a new food truck in town, photo/courtesy Dr. Field Goods
There’s a new arrival on the local food truck scene. Dr. Field Goods, bills itself as a “gourmet food truck,” serving high-quality, locally and sustainably sourced food. The intention is to make you feel good while they are “having a fabulous time cooking it up.” Sounds like a great plan. The new mobile eatery is owned and run by experienced restaurateur and French-trained chef, Josh Gerwin, former owner of the now closed Casa Vieja, in Corrales. The truck features a custom-designed fully loaded, stainless kitchen complete with grills, fryers, refrigeration and oven. The diverse menu will rotate often and change seasonally to reflect Gerwin’s philosophy. They are currently open in the parking lot at the Santa Fe Design Center Tuesday through Friday from 7am to 3pm and in Madrid next to Java Junction on Saturdays and Sundays from 11am to 4pm.
Monday, July 9th heralded the long-awaited reopening of the Plaza Café, said to be the oldest restaurant in town. The landmark eatery, opened in 1905, has been owned and operated by the Razatos family since 1947. It closed due to a kitchen fire September 5,, 2010. They expected to be closed for two week. Almost two years later, this beloved Santa Fe institution is back. Stop in and say, “Hey.”
We were driving down the street when I spotted a sign announcing a Pig Roast got my attention fast. The event, on Sunday, July 22nd (which happens to be my birthday) takes place at St. Elias The Profit Greek Orthodox Church in Eldorado, celebrating St Elias Feast Day. Not only are they roasting a pig, they are roasting a goat, too. There will also be spanakopita), pastitsio (Greek version of lasagna), Greek potato salad and Greek desserts. As parishioners are also brining food, there will be some surprises. There will also be entertainment. The event, from Noon to 3pm, is $15 per person. Children under 12 eat for free. Both cash and checks are accepted.
Chef Carmen Rodriquez, a fixture on the Santa Fe restaurant scene, has been appointed the new Executive Chef at La Posada de Santa Fe Resort and Spa. He will be turning out meals for both the upscale Fuego and the more casual The Patio, open seasonally and The Staab House. The hotel’s website notes that dinner at The Patio feature “Regional American Cuisine, with emphasis on fresh local summer ingredients, and a little Northern New Mexican influence thrown in to make it a genuine Santa Fe experience.” We enjoyed Chef Rodriquez efforts when he was the restaurant’s Sous Chef and look forward to seeing how he influences the menus at the hotel’s dining venues.
Art and film news:
Last night we were lucky to be invited to the kick-off event for Santa Fe University of Art and Design’s ArtFest 2012. The first year of what the school hopes will be an annual event, got off to a great start with a celebration on The Quad. Former Public Enemy band member Brian Hardgroove gave a great keynote address to open the evening. This was followed by an incredible evening of BBQ, dance, music and performance art. ArtFest , which runs through August 3rd, has a number of events the public is invited to. There’s a full schedule on their website. There are also a few workshops open for enrollment. The three-week intensive attracted students from ten countries around the world as well as local enrollees. It looks like it’s going to be an interesting three weeks. Come check it out.
Josh Lucas and James Cromwell in “Hide Away”, photo/courtesy Gide Away
While we’re talking about ArtFest 2012, the local premier of Hide Away, a film directed by Chris Eyre, chair of the school’s Moving Image Arts Department takes place at The Screen on the campus on Friday, July 20th at 7pm. Eyre, a Native American affiliated the Cheyenne and Arapahoe Tribes, won critical acclaim for the 1998 film, Smoke Signals, based on Sherman Alexie’s short story This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona. People magazine called Eyre “”the preeminent Native American filmmaker of his time” by People magazine. The new film, starring Josh Lucas, Ayelet Zurer, Jon Tenney and James Cromwell is the story of a businessman who tries to recover from a horrible tragedy while repairing and living aboard the Hesperus, a dilapidated sailboat he buys. The film, which has been seen at festivals around the country, including SXSW, is currently in limited release. Eyre will be present at the premier, at the school’s cinema The Screen and will do a Q & A after the screening. You can buy tickets online.
Michael Peralta’s “Girl with Pomegranate I”, photo/courtesy Beals and Abbate
If you haven’t been to an Artist Reception at Beals and Abbate on Canyon Road, mark your calendar. The gallery says these evenings are “developing a reputation as ‘can’t miss’ events.” We agree. We’ve been going when we can and they are always great fun. You can meet the artist while listening to live music and nibbling on hors d’oeuvres. Really interesting people stop by. On Friday, July 27th, Drop in from 5 to 8pm and join the fun. The evening features Narrative, a showing of bronze sculptures by artist Michael Peralta. There will be Mariachi music and food from The Beestro.
Music and dance news:
Mark Gardner and Rex Rideout will perform at the NM History, photo/ courtesy Mark Gardner and Rex Rideout
On Friday, July 20th, music historians Mark Gardner and Rex Rideout return to the New Mexico History Museum for an evening of songs. The performance, Music of the New Mexico Frontier: From the Santa Fe Trail to Statehood celebrating New Mexico’s Statehood Centennial is at 6pm. The evening takes the audience on a “musical ride from the time of Zebulon Pike’s entry into Nuevo Mexico, through the Civil War, the outlaw days of Billy the Kid, and more.” The two play fiddle, banjo, mandolin, and bones. Gardner is the author of Jack Thorp’s Songs of the Cowboys and To Hell on a Fast Horse: The Untold Story of Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett. Rex Rideout, appeared as the Old West fiddle player in the New Mexico-shot movie Cowboys & Aliens. The duo’s played on soundtracks of numerous television documentaries.
Santa Fe Concert Association presents NYC Ballet’s Daniel Ulbricht, and Friends photo/courtesy of SFCA
It’s almost time for the opening night of the 2012-2013 season of the Santa Fe Concert Association. For this special evening, they’ve chosen to present an evening of ballet with Daniel Ulbricht & Friends. This is the second year in a row for the group of ten soloists and principals from the New York City Ballet. Their performances in the 2011-2012 season were sold out. Joining Ulbricht are Jonathan Stafford, Robert Fairchild, Lauren Lovette, Teresa Reichlen, Craig Hall, Rebecca Krohn, Justin Peck, Tiler Peck and Tyler Angle The group will be at The Lensic Performing Arts Center on Wednesday, July 25th and Thursday 26th at 7:30pm. Ulbricht will give at per-performance on Wednesday at 6:30. Each evening features a different program.
Wednesday:
Chaconne, Agon, Divertimento from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, all choreograped by Balanchine; Black Swan pas de deux from Swan Lake, choreography by Petipa; Barber Violin Concerto pas de deux, choreography by Peter Martins; Mercurial Maneuvers-choreography by Christopher Wheeldon and the world premiere of a new ballet, choreography by Justin Peck.
Thursday:
Coppelia,-choreography by St. Leon; Known by Heart, choreography by Twyla Tharp ; Grand Pas Classique, choreography by Petipa; Russian divertissement from Swan Lake-choreography by Peter Martins ; Rabbit Runc, choreography by Justin Peck and Mercurial Maneuvers choreography by Christopher Wheeldon.
Tickets, available at the Lensic box office and online from Tickets Santa Fe, are $20 to $75. Student tickets to SFCA are always half-price.
That’s it for this edition of Tidbits. As always, if you have any upcoming things to do in Santa Fe or news to share with us, let us know.
