Every year we have at least some guests at Alexander's Inn Vacation Rentals who are caught off guard by the activities of Fiesta Weekend. The festival is a celebration of Don Diego De Vargas' peaceful reoccupation of the City of Holy Faith in 1692. For the past 299 years the city has honored this historic event with much religious ceremony and prayer, along with music, dancing, parades, abundant food & drink, and overall merriment.

With so much going on during Fiesta Weekend - September 8-11, 2011- you will want to check the schedule to find events specific to your interest. Two highlights of Fiesta Weekend are the Burning of Zozobra and the beloved Pet Parade, but there is so much more to experience.

Zozobra, otherwise known as Old Man Gloom, is a 50 foot puppet whose burning is meant to signify the burning of our collective doom and gloom of the past year. This fairly pagan ritual begins with music and dancing, which gets more and more lively the darker it gets. The crowd becomes increasingly excited for Zozo's imminent burning and subsequent fireworks, and you will hear the chanting of "Burn Him, Burn Him", getting progressively louder and louder. After a successful burn the crowds head to the Plaza for eating, drinking and entertainment. I recommend to our guests that they view this spectacle from the Cross of the Martyrs, a short walk away. You will not want to be driving anywhere on this evening!

The Pet Parade is an entirely different affair. Best seen by walking down Palace Avenue and standing near the corner of Palace & Paseo de Peralta, the parade is a spectacle of children, adults and their pets, all dressed up in very original costumes. You will see plenty of adorable dogs, but also chickens, lamas, goats, reptiles, birds and more. Some of the get-ups are incredibly elaborate, and it is definitely not just for children.

Zozobra's Burning:
Thursday, September 8th
Fort Marcy Park
Park opens at 3pm, with ongoing entertainment, but the burning happens at dusk

Pet Parade
Saturday, September 10th
9am start time

The second most favorite event in Santa Fe for guests of the Alexander's Inn Vacation Rentals, after Indian Market, is the upcoming Wine and Chile Festival. This event, now in its 21st year, features five days of fabulous wine tastings and some of the best food the town has to offer.

The festival is a food and wine connoisseur's Disneyland, with cooking demonstrations, wine seminars and a myriad of special luncheons and dinners at Santa Fe's most highly-acclaimed restaurants. Choose from Wine Dinners at Amavi, Restaurant Martin, The Compound and many more top Santa Fe Restaurants. Capping off this glorious five-day abundance of food and wine is the Grand Food & Wine Tasting, where guests savor food from 75 of Santa Fe's best restaurants and great vintages from 90 world-class wineries. These festivities take place under huge tents at the Santa Fe Opera, with its scenic mountain vistas and dramatic sunset view enhancing the evening's enjoyment.

Because this is such a popular event, tickets tend to sell out. If you are planning on attending, I advise getting your tickets right away.

Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta
539 Old Santa Fe Trail
Santa Fe, NM 87505
505.438.8060

It's not too late for guests of The Alexander's Inn Vacation Rentals to purchase tickets for the closing weekend of the highly acclaimed Santa Fe Opera. This has been a stellar season, with rave reviews for all 2011 productions. The final weekend features the two most treasured operas of the summer, with La Boheme on Friday, August 26 and Faust on Saturday, August 27. Both productions begin at 8am - much more civilized than those early summer productions that don't begin until 9pm.

Consider arriving early (the parking area opens 3 hours before the performance) to enjoy a tailgate supper while gazing at the stunning mountain and sunset views of this venue. It's too late to order one of the opera's delicious tailgate dinners, but Whole Foods Market has a tantalizing deli section where you will surely find all you need for a memorable meal.

Tickets prices start at $81 (or $35 for standing room only) and can be purchased online or by calling 800-280-4654.

Indian Market, now celebrating its 90th anniversary, will take place on August 20 and 21st at the Santa Fe Plaza. Because it is the most prestigious and well-known Native Arts Market in the entire world, it attracts both major collectors and those just curious to see what all the fuss is about. Serious buyers are known to camp out in front of the booths of the most sought-after artists for half the night in order to get first pick at the best items.

Featuring 1100 vendors from over 100 tribes, Indian Market brings together jewelers, potters, weavers and visual artists, along with film-makers, musicians, dancers, writers, culinary artists and more.

We recommend to our guests that they try to get to Market early in the day, before things got too hot, and when the selection is best. Of course at the end of market there are some terrific deals to be had! Remember, wear a hat and drink plenty of water along with that tasty fry bread.

Saturday August 20, 7am-5pm
Sunday, August 21, 8am-5pm
At the Santa Fe Plaza
Free Admission

Calling all opera-lovers! Coming up this weekend and next is a chance to see and hear the Santa Fe Opera's "stars of tomorrow", at rock-bottom prices. For just $21 for adults and $7 for children, you can see fully staged scenes from popular operas by the Santa Fe Opera apprentices.

Get your tickets now at santafeopera.org or by calling 505.986.5900. Who knows, you may just see the next Luciano Pavarotti or Marilyn Horne!

Santa Fe Opera
August 14 and 21
8pm

July was a frustrating month for those planning on hiking and visiting the National Monuments of Northern New Mexico. The Bureau of Land Management had closed off all the national forests and parks due to severe fires throughout the state. These bans were lifted on Friday, July 29, as we have been blessed once again with our regular monsoon rains and our fire danger is minimal once again. The term 'monsoon' is a relative term here in the high mountain desert, not to be confused with the monsoons of India!

Guests can once again visit such treasures at Bandelier National Monument, Puye Cliffs and hike in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The only area still closed off is the Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument. This land has been the staging area for fighting the nearby Las Conchas fire, and there are flooding concerns in the area as well.

So pack your hiking boots and mountain bikes - we have 13 million acres of public land in the New Mexico open for your outdoor fun.

Plan to check out this summer's highly-acclaimed Spanish Market, held at the Santa Fe Plaza on July 30 and 31. Spanish Market actually began way back in 1926, and is now the largest and most spectacular of any such market in the country. You will see traditional Spanish Colonial art and contemporary Hispanic Arts, including santos, boltos, straw applique work and more. With over 250 vendors from New Mexico showing their work, plus music, dance, food and demonstrations, the festival is a great opportunity to experience both past and present New Mexico Culture.

We recommend that you go early in the day so as to avoid the heat of the afternoon. Also, if you are interested in buying a more serious piece, you will want to get there at the crack of dawn on Saturday for the best selection of the top artists, many of whom are nationally-recognized.

The upcoming International Folk Art Market is a not-to-be-missed event for visitors and locals alike. Now in its 8th year, this festival of folk art, food, music and dance continues to get bigger and better with every passing year. The market is the largest such event in the world, with a mission to preserve and support folk art culture and traditions of the over 50 countries represented.

This year's market features 170 different artists, showcasing and selling everything from masks to baskets, embroidery to pottery, jewelry to musical instruments and so much more. In addition to beautiful handwork from around the world are drummers, flute players, singers and dancers from continents all around the globe. Last but not least is a vast selection of ethnic food from some of Santa Fe's top restaurants.

The remarkable success of the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market was key in Santa Fe being designated a UNESCO City of Folk Art. The highly-acclaimed organization is also a member of the Clinton Initiative.

If you are anywhere near Santa Fe this weekend you will want to check out this fabulous event - a riot of color and sound. Of the thousands of unique handmade pieces of folk art available, you are sure to find memorable gifts for friends, family and yourself.

Museum of International Folk Art
July 8, 9 and 10, 2011
Ticket prices range from $5-50, depending on Date & Time
Buy Tickets Online or at the Market Itself
^‡Be sure to ask about the parking/shuttle service to and from the event!