Winter in Santa Fe - The Season Different in the City Different


Winter in Santa Fe is an underappreciated season and worth discovering for that very reason. The streets are quiet, many lodgers drop their rates to the lowest of the year, and the scene is even more laid back and stress free than usual. All of the city's restaurants, galleries, and museums, continue to serve up great food, amazing art, and cultural insight while the rest of the city's many attractions remain open and welcoming. There are simply fewer people around. Which makes visiting Santa Fe during the winter an insider's travel tip.

Whether skiing in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains just outside of town, exploring the city's diverse shopping districts, or taking time out to be with the one you love, Santa Fe remains true to its reputation for sophisticated relaxation. The adobe architecture warms with the sun, the Plaza fills with the smell of cooking chile, and all of Santa Fe's legendary historic charm is wrapped in sunny days and cozy nights.

Setting the mood for a romantic escape comes naturally to this small, 400 year old town. The city is filled with pampering accommodations, nurturing spas, and perfect tables for two. Santa Fe's intimate scale embraces every couple and means walking is the best way to soak up the snow-covered mountain vistas. On a day when storms roll down from the Rocky Mountains, it can't get any better than curling up next to a kiva fireplace.



For the coming months Santa Fe's calendar is full of music, food, art, and seasonal cheer for everyone in search of a winter escape.

The Holidays
December 21: The Santa Fe Desert Chorale presents a A Merry New Mexico Christmas at the St. Francis Basilica and Cathedral featuring 20 singers performing carols sung in six languages with instrumental accompaniment, and Latvian and Hebrew folk settings. www.desertchorale.org/

December 21 - 24: Santa Fe Pro Musica presents Baroque Christmas Natale Allergo - Christmas in Italy during two performances nightly at the Loretto Chapel. Music of Vivalid, Corelli, and Handel featuring pastoral music, dance, and song. www.santafepromusica.com

December 21 - 24: The Santa Fe Southern Railroad's "Polar Express Train" will run nightly from 6:00 to 7:30 with hot chocolate and cookies onboard and a reading of the "Polar Express." On the same days, from 2:00 to 4:30, the Caroling & Santa Hotshot trains will run with musicians and Santa onboard. Other special Holiday trains also running. www.thetraininsantafe.com/

December 24t: The Plaza in Santa Fe is lit with 1,000 farolitos and traditional Christmas lights, refreshments are served, and a procession to the Cross of the Martyrs is held all beginning at 5:00.

December 24: Classical Christmas Eve by Musica de Camara Orchestra with performances of Mendelssohn, Dellius, Beethoven, and Dvorak beginning at 5:00. www.ticketssantafe.org

January 1: Pueblo Dances at most of the Pueblos surrounding Santa Fe celebrate community and tradition. 800-793-4955

January 13: Santa Fe Men's Camerata Winter Concert. Music by Puccini, Victoria, Beethoven, Childs, and others. santafemenscamerata.com

January 17: Telluride Mountain Film Festival in Santa Fe featuring a series of favorite short films from the last few years of the festival. Lensic Performing Arts Center. www.ticketssantafe.com

January 20: Music of New Mexico with Native American flutist Robert Mirabal and his trio. Also, Maria Benitez Estampa Espanola; flamenco dance and music. Temple Beth Shalom. www.ticketssantafe.com

January 29: An evening with Andre Watts, pianist. Lensic Performing Arts Center, www.ticketssantafe.com , http://www.musicone.org

February 1-2: Mixed repertory with the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet. Lensic Performing Arts Center. www.ticketssantafe.com

February 2: Souper Bowl - Santa Fe's best culinary competition of the season. College of Santa Fe Driscoll Center, 505-471-1633

February 6-7: St. Petersburg Ballet performs Romeo & Juliet on the 6th and Swan Lake on the 7th. Lensic Performing Arts Center. www.ticketssantafe.com/

February 21-24: The 11th Annual ArtFeast celebrates art, fine food, and more including a fashion luncheon, contemporary art encounter at SITE Santa Fe, and the always popular Edible Art Tour. www.artfeast.com

March 2: Pat Metheny trio with Christian McBride and Antonio Sanchez. Lensic Performing Arts Center. www.ticketssantafe.com/

March 7-9: Bach Festival with the Santa Fe Pro Musica Baroque Ensemble. Loretto Chapel. www.santafepromusica.com

March 15 and 22: Live from the Met - Benjamin Britten's opera, Peter Grimes on the 15th. Richard Wagner's mystical journey of love, sex, and death, Tristan und Isolde on the 22nd. Lensic Performing Arts Center, www.santafetickets.com

Ski Santa Fe is open for the season with 67 runs and terrain for the first time skier or snowboarder and the most seasoned expert. Located, 16 miles from the heart of the city, and over 3,000 feet higher, the area covers 660 acres. The Chipmunk Corner children's ski center provides instruction for kids from ages 3 to 11 and daycare for kids from 3 months to 3 years. Check www.skisantafe.com for conditions.

Santa Fe, City of Museums
There is always something of interest to be found at Santa Fe's 16 museums. Shows this winter include:

Museum of International Folk Art: Gee's Bend Quilts and Beyond - Master quilt maker Mary Lee Bendolph and the worlds in which she creates. www.internationalfolkart.org/

SITE Santa Fe: The Disappeared/Los Desaparecidos - Works by 27 contemporary Latin American artists about those who disappeared at the hands of their own governments. In conjunction with the Center for Contemporary Arts, College of Santa Fe, Institute of American Indian Art, and the Santa Fe Art Institute. Through Jan. 20, 2008. Followed by the first retrospective of Icelandic artist Steina. www.sitesantafe.org/

Georgia O'Keeffe Museum: Georgia O'Keeffe and the Women of the Stieglitz Circle - 80 images reveal how various women artists paved the way for O'Keeffe's emergence. Through January 13, 2008. Followed by Marsden Hartley and The West: The Search for an American Modernism." www.okeeffemuseum.org/

Institute of American Indian Art Museum: War Paint - Addressing the role and experience of Native Americans in modern warfare. www.iaia.edu/museum/

New Mexico Museum of Art: How the West is One - Prime objects from the museum's collection define the changing character of art from the Southwest. www.mfasantafe.org/

Museum of Indian Arts & Culture: New Visions Inspired by Tradition - Large scale sculpture by Pueblo artists Tammy Garcia and Evelyn Fredericks are both contemporary yet traditional in imagery, motifs, and subject. www.indianartsandculture.org/

Museum of Spanish Colonial Art: Home to the largest compilation of Spanish Colonial art of its kind spanning centuries in art, place, and time. www.spanishcolonial.org/

Palace of the Governors: El Favor de Los Santos - The special role of saints in the daily lives of 19th-Century New Spain. Plus the daily Native American Vendors program. www.palaceofthegovernors.org

For more about Santa Fe during the winter or any season and to receive a free 2008 Santa Fe Visitors Guide contact the Santa Fe Convention and Visitors Bureau; scenter@santafe.org , 800-777-2489.