16 Best Performing Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Held the second full weekend in July, this market sprawls across Museum Hill parking lots and plazas as the world's largest folk art market. More than 150 master folk artists from every corner of the planet come together to sell their work amid a festive array of huge tents, colorful banners, music, food, and delighted crowds. The feeling of fellowship and celebration here enhances the satisfaction of buying wonderful folk art—it's truly an experience you won't have anywhere else in the world. If you aren't in town during IFAM weekend, the nonprofit has a showroom/store open to the public in its headquarters near the capital at 620 Cerrillos Road.

Author and Santa Fe resident George R. R. Martin, of Game of Thrones fame, restored this intimate, funky Railyard District art-movie house into a busy neighborhood favorite. The single-screen theater is a great place to catch first-run films, indie flicks, cult classics, and traveling selections from international film festivals. The lobby has a small bar and coffee shop to complete the indie vibe. Next door, Martin also operates Beastly Books which focuses, of course, on science fiction and fantasy.

Santa Fe's vintage Downtown movie house has been fully restored and converted into the 850-seat Lensic Performing Arts Center. The grand 1931 building, with Moorish and Spanish Renaissance influences, hosts the Santa Fe Symphony, theater, classic films, lectures and readings, noted world, pop, and jazz musicians, and many other prominent events. The Lensic 360 program also presents music festivals and large-scale concerts in other locations throughout the city.

This outstanding festival runs mid-July through late August, with performances nearly every night at the art-filled St. Francis Auditorium, or, occasionally, the Lensic Performing Arts Center. There are also free youth-oriented concerts given on several summer mornings.

The esteemed company presents several ballet performances throughout the year at the Lensic Performing Arts Center.

Several organizations produce flamenco concerts around town, including the prestigious Entreflamenco Company, which offers dinner-and-a-show at El Flamenco just a few blocks from the Plaza.

Begun in 2006 and now widely acclaimed, this nearly monthlong festival presents numerous concerts in both Santa Fe and Albuquerque from mid-July through early August. Recent performers have included Stanley Clarke, the Yellowjackets, Dianne Reeves, and Allen Toussaint.

From September through May, this nonprofit organization (aka the Santa Fe Concert Association) founded in 1937 presents symphony and solo classical concerts, lectures, dance recitals, opera, and family-minded shows at several venues around town, including the Lensic, St. Francis Auditorium, and United Church of Santa Fe. The organization has brought a number of prestigious talents to Santa Fe over the years, including Wynton Marsalis, Patti Lupone, the Russian National Ballet, and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble.

Tuesday through Saturday nights throughout July and August, free concerts are staged at the bandstand in Downtown's festive and historic Plaza or occasionally at Swan Park on the South Side (off NM 599). A number of nationally noteworthy artists have appeared for this event, where the music ranges from Spanish guitar to blues to rockabilly.

Performances take place over about three weeks in late July and early August at a variety of intriguing venues, from the Cathedral Basilica St. Francis to Loretto Chapel. This highly regarded singing group, which was started in 1982, also performs during the December holiday season.

With the film industry booming in New Mexico, this five-day event held in mid-February has become increasingly well attended, and film screenings, workshops, and discussion panels take place at venues around the city. Movie buffs should also mark their calendars for the Santa Fe Independent Film Festival (www.santafeindependentfilmfestival.com), which takes place over four days in mid-October, with an emphasis, of course, on indie flicks.

The oldest extant theater company west of the Mississippi, the Santa Fe Playhouse occupies a converted 19th-century adobe stable and has been presenting an adventurous mix of avant-garde pieces, classical drama, and musical comedy since 1922—the season runs year-round. The Fiesta Melodrama—a spoof of the Santa Fe scene—pokes sly fun from late August to mid-September.

First-rate orchestra and chamber concerts are given at St. Francis Auditorium and the Lensic Performing Arts Center by the Grammy-nominated Santa Fe Pro Musica from September through April. Baroque and other classical compositions are the normal fare; the annual Christmas performance, held at Loretto Chapel, is a highlight.

This highly respected symphony performs about 10 concerts each season (September to May) in the Lensic Performing Arts Center.

This historic space with colorful murals inside the Museum of Fine Arts is a top venue for many cultural events such as theatrical productions and concerts.