Summer 2011
Thanks to its natural beauty, relaxed lifestyle, diverse cultures, and abundant recreational options, Santa Fe is recognized worldwide as one of the most intriguing cities in the United States and is one of the country’s most popular destinations. The clear, crisp air and a moderate climate invite year-round outdoor amusement, from golf and biking to roaming area mountains, forests, and plains on foot. But the city also encourages more urbane pursuits, including dining in array of unique restaurants; relaxing at a spa; taking in a little opera, symphony, or theater; and exploring shops, galleries, and museums. In our opinion, you won’t want to miss these quintessential summertime Santa Fe experiences.
Every summer since 1957, opera lovers have been flocking to northern New Mexico for world-renowned open-air productions of the Santa Fe Opera (seven miles north of Santa Fe on U.S. Highway 84/285, 800.280.4654 or 505.986.5900 – Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mountain Time, santafeopera.org). The company is internationally renowned for its presentation of both canonical and innovative operas. The unique setting, an adobe amphitheater open to fresh air and clear skies, blends with the dramatic landscape and allows you to enjoy a breathtaking sunset along with your Magic Flute. Don’t miss Gounod’s quintessential Romantic-era masterpiece, Faust as it opens the 2011 season to make its Santa Fe Debut! The celebrated 2007 production of Puccini’s La Bohéme returns, along with the critically acclaimed 2001 staging of Alban Berg’s Wozzeck. The first major U.S. production of Vivaldi’s Griselda is also an integral part of the festival season. Marking the centennial of the composer’s birth is Gian Carlo Menotti’s The Last Savage. The 2011 season runs during July and August. Tickets range from $27 to $194.
Just steps from the historic Plaza, the New Mexico History Museum (113 Lincoln Avenue, 505.476.5200, nmhistorymuseum.org) occupies a modern, light-filled addition to the centuries-old Palace of the Governors, which has functioned as a government building since 1609. Through the use of immersive, interactive exhibits and activities, the museum offers a unique perspective on the history of the state and the country, from the indigenous period, through the days of burgeoning cross-country commerce, into the “atomic age,” and beyond. “By deepening our understanding of who we are and where we came from,” says the museum’s Web site, “we will make wiser decisions about our society and its culture and politics.” From Memorial Day to Labor Day, the museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday through Thursday and from 10 a.m. until 8 pm on Fridays. Admission is $9, $6 for New Mexico residents, and free of charge for everyone from 5 to 8 p.m. on Fridays.
You can’t visit Santa Fe without setting foot in the lively Railyard district, which includes a stylish park, galleries, shops, restaurants, and, naturally, the depot for northern New Mexico’s new Rail Runner passenger line. If you find yourself in the area on a Tuesday morning or a Saturday morning, take a stroll through the Santa Fe Farmers Market (1607 Paseo de Peralta, 505.983.4098), which is open on those days from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. beginning May 3rd (and, beginning June 30, on Thursdays from 3 to 7 p.m.). You can pick up anything from local garlic to grass-fed beef, but you can also peruse the wares of local artisans and enjoy tunes performed by resident musicians. Be sure to stop by widely acclaimed contemporary art exhibit space SITE Santa Fe (1606 Paseo de Peralta, 505.989.1199, sitesantafe.org). Their hours are Thursday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sunday 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Wednesday, closed. SITE will be open on Wednesdays June 22 through August 31. SITE Santa Fe provides year-round exhibitions of leading-edge contemporary art with regional, national, and international significance. Since opening in July 1995, SITE has mounted over 50 major exhibitions, most of them self initiated. SITE is also a local venue for traveling exhibitions from institutions such as the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, the Museum of Modern Art, Fort Worth; the New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York; and DIA Center for the Arts, New York. Admission to the space is $10 for adults, $5 for students and seniors, and free of charge for everyone on Fridays.