Santa Fe Reporter, December 20, 2023

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DECEMBER 20-JANUARY 2, 2024 | Volume 50, Issue 51

NEWS OPINION 5 NEWS 7 DAYS, CLAYTOONZ AND THIS MODERN WORLD 6

A Symbol of Commitment for More Than a Century Experienced, local professionals

EAVESDROPPER OF THE YEAR 9

assisting you with your Treasury

RIPARIAN RESTORATION 10 Santa Fe Girls’ School builds girls’ confidence in STEM through preservation of the Santa Fe River FIXED ON THE FUTURE 15 Incoming councilors talk hopes and plans for immediate future, role in City Council dynamics COVER STORY 17 25 THINGS WE LOVE ABOUT SANTA FE RIGHT NOW Kids can visit museums, our chefs don’t mess around, weed comes to your door and so many other things we love about this beautiful, strange, otherworldly city

WE’RE HERE FOR YOU

The journalists at the Santa Fe Reporter strive to help our community stay connected. We publish this free print edition and daily web updates. Can you help support our journalism mission? Learn more at sfreporter.com/friends

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CULTURE

EDITOR AND PUBLISHER JULIE ANN GRIMM

SFR DOUBLE PICKS 28 Two weeks’ worth of events to check out because, baby, we’re outta here til 2024 THE DOUBLE CALENDAR 31

MyCenturyBank.com | 505.798.5908

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR ROBYN DESJARDINS ART DIRECTOR ANSON STEVENS-BOLLEN CULTURE EDITOR ALEX DE VORE SENIOR CORRESPONDENT JULIA GOLDBERG

THE NAKED TRUTH 34

STAFF WRITERS EVAN CHANDLER MO CHARNOT

FINDING “THE ONE” Is it for real, or are we lying to ourselves?

CONTRIBUTING WRITER DAVE MAASS

A&C 41 MEOW GOLF Former SFR staffer returns to the paper through the awesome power of a Meow Wolf-created virtual reality mini golf experience FOOD 42 THE FORK: OUR 25 FAVORITE DISHES IN SANTA FE (RIGHT NOW) The Fork breaks through from online-only to in-print with year-end fave foods rundown

DIGITAL SERVICES MANAGER BRIANNA KIRKLAND CIRCULATION MANAGER ANDY BRAMBLE OWNERSHIP CITY OF ROSES NEWSPAPER CO. PRINTER THE NEW MEXICAN

MOVIES 44 WONKA REVIEW You sure as hell better like whimsy, bruh

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Phone: (505) 988-5541 Mail: PO BOX 4910 SANTA FE, NM 87502

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THOUGH THE SANTA FE REPORTER IS FREE, PLEASE TAKE JUST ONE COPY. ANYONE REMOVING PAPERS IN BULK FROM OUR DISTRIBUTION POINTS WILL BE PROSECUTED TO THE FULL EXTENT OF THE LAW. SANTA FE REPORTER, ISSN #0744-477X, IS PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY, 52 WEEKS EACH YEAR. DIGITAL EDITIONS ARE FREE AT SFREPORTER.COM. CONTENTS © 2023 SANTA FE REPORTER ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. MATERIAL MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION.

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www. HummingbirdIntegrativeHealth .com

Mail letters to PO Box 4910, Santa Fe, NM 87502; or email them to editor@sfreporter.com. Letters (no more than 200 words) should refer to specific articles in the Reporter. Letters will be edited for space and clarity.

Because it does not make sense to have the Fire Chief be in charge of the Police Department it does not make sense for behavioral health response to be under either the police chief or the fire chief. This crisis needs a department of its own.

RAMOS TSOSIE SANTA FE

COVER, DEC. 18: “SEA OF BLUES”

COMPLICATED AND HEROIC I’m a retired firefighter after 26 years, seven years working in the City Of Santa Fe Fire Department’s Mobile Integrated Health Office. The article “Sea of Blues” describes the waters I have been swimming in for the last seven years, I have personally followed up with hundreds of opiate overdose survivors in the City of Santa Fe. It has been the most meaningful part of my 26 years as a firefighter. Wading into the dangerous waters of the opiate epidemic seemed just like wading into flood waters to rescue stranded people, in other words, not a fire but very much in alignment with the mission of the Fire Department.

I am humbled by the strength of the people I met doing overdose follow-ups and I am proud to have been a part of the amazing people who are firefighters in our community.

Reluctantly, I have come to the conclusion that the Fire Department is not the place to primarily invest resources related to behavioral health response. This is not a direct attack on the fire service, rather a realization that behavioral health response is at least as complicated and heroic as fighting fire or being a police officer.

MORNING WORD, NOV. 6: TO THE END Back on Nov. 6, you closed your Morning Word column with a mention of the Mark Rothko exhibit in Paris. Having already booked a France Christmas Market trip, we added it to our Paris schedule. Excitedly. Just wanted to send you a note of thanks for what turned out to be one of the highlights of an overall pretty splendid trip.

It was even better than the hype. If you hadn’t mentioned it and I hadn’t read your column to the very end, we likely would’ve missed out. So high praise to you and to me, I guess.

And thanks again for generally keeping up on all matters large and small.

DON RICHARDSON SANTA FE

SFR will correct factual errors online and in print. Please let us know if we make a mistake: editor@sfreporter.com or 988-7530.

SANTA FE EAVESDROPPER “Was this guy a lawyer or something?”

—Overheard at Bill Richardson’s estate sale “I will probably buy her a cheap one but she won’t like it. I’ll get her a more expensive one for her birthday in May.” —Overheard from a man discussing his mother’s Christmas gift at Chocolate Maven Send your Overheard in Santa Fe tidbits to: eavesdropper@sfreporter.com SFREPORTER.COM • DECEMBER 20, 2023-JANUARY SFREPORTER.COM • DECEMBER 20-JANUARY2,2,2024 2024

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S FRE P ORTE R.COM / FU N

H PORC !

Y O AH

SFPD REPORTS RISE IN BURGLARIES And that’s not even counting holiday porch pirates.

CITY AND REALTORS STILL HEADING TO COURT OVER “MANSION TAX”

Buyers: Get those hot deals on $1 million homes before it kicks in.

CITY ETHICS COMMITTEE WANTS TO INVESTIGATE IDENTITY OF ANONYMOUS CRITIC Will the real Jay Baker please stand up?

POP-UP SHELTERS ON TRACK FOR SPRING

Turns out by “pop up,” the city meant “drag this out for nearly a year with complicated contracts.”

TESLA RECALLS MORE THAN 2 MILLION VEHICLES—NEARLY ALL SOLD IN THE US Is there a word for schadenfreude that feels so good it’s borderline sensual?

RUDY GIULIANI ORDERED TO PAY $148 MILLION TO TWO GEORGIA ELECTION WORKERS HE DEFAMED Same question as the Tesla one...

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION RUNNING SNOWPLOW NAMING CONTEST THROUGH DEC. 22

E TH IS E .

M NA PLOW .

MR

We really needed this to look forward to in 2024.

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READ IT ON SFREPORTER.COM CITY SPOKESWOMAN OUT

Amy Akmal spent just a few months as communications director for the City of Santa Fe.

W E A R E WAY M O R E TH A N W ED N ES DAY H ER E A R E A CO UPL E O F O N L I N E EXCLUS I V ES :

CINEMA CASH

The Santa Fe Film Institute pays out $12,000 in funding to up-and-comer and student filmmakers.

C H R I S T U S S T . V I N C E N T A N D M AYO C L I N I C

Expert Care

Right Here at Home At CHRISTUS St. Vincent, the providers you know and trust have direct access to Mayo Clinic’s medical knowledge and expertise.

This means, as a CHRISTUS St. Vincent patient, your expert providers can request a second opinion from Mayo Clinic specialists on your behalf and access Mayo Clinic’s research, diagnostics and treatment resources to address your unique medical needs.

This clinical collaboration allows you and your loved ones to get the comprehensive and compassionate care you need close to home, at no additional cost.

CHRISTUS St. Vincent and Mayo Clinic Working Together. Working for you.

We accept most major insurance plans, including Blue Cross Blue Shield, Presbyterian Health Plan, Aetna, Cigna, CHRISTUS Health Plan, Humana, TRICARE and United Healthcare. Please consult with your health plan.

CHRISTUS St. Vincent 455 St. Michael’s Dr. Santa Fe, NM 87505 (505) 913-3361 • www.stvin.org SFREPORTER.COM

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La Luz

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S FR EPO RTER .CO M / FR I EN DS

“Value those places working to keep information available to everyone.”

drinks in town is a joy for me. I celebrate the success A Letter from of local businesses, and because I’m often focused on Tai Brinegar The Santa Fe Reporter is a my company, I need SFR to precious friend in my daily know what’s happening so I life. can feel this happiness.

Having been raised in As I’m bombarded with Santa Fe and lived here subscriptions and blocked most of my life, the SFR articles around me, I have is a seamless part of my felt the value of free days. I often think of information slipping Wednesday as Reporter in our society. I’m reDay! Before our pocket minded to value those computers, I needed places working to keep (yes, needed!) SFR for information available what was happening in to everyone; SFR holds T town: movies, events, arts, U R this center in its priorities.

CO happenings and knowing Thank goodness for this excelabout this place I call home. Thank lent work in our community. goodness the folks at SFR have evolved I’m asking everyone who can to supby publishing online and sending daily port this work. When we support those news to my inbox. It is still my primary things close to us, we also affect those source of information about what’s haparound us. I’m grateful for everyone who pening in Santa Fe. And now my kids read makes the Reporter happen in our lives! it—how fun is that!

I’m eternally grateful for the Tai Brinegar Reporter’s coverage during difficult times Owner, Ohoris Coffee and the focus on our local experiences.

It makes more sense to read local news; that’s the world I’m interacting with, and it feels personal and essential. The mixture of serious news, good humor and coverage of many aspects of our lives here is invaluable: I almost always giggle when reading, and sometimes I cry.

Nowadays, as a local business owner, I rely on SFR to spread the word about my business; I trust its coverage and the SCAN HERE TO DONATE! respect the publication gives local companies. Learning about new food and ES

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FRIENDS

This letter is the last installment in the annual year-end campaign for Friends of the Reporter, a community model for supporting our journalism mission. Our newspaper and website remain free. Will you give the gift of journalism? Can you help offset the cost of paper, distribution and newsgathering? Visit sfreporter.com/friends, to make a one-time or recurring donation or via check at PO Box 4910, Santa Fe, NM 87502.

Support local journalism at sfreporter.com/friends 8

DECEMBER DECEMBER20-JANUARY 20, 2023-JANUARY 2, 20242, •2024 SFREPORTER.COM • SFREPORTER.COM

Jan. 4

Aug. 23

Woman: “I don’t think candles in a paper bag is a good idea.”

Husband to wife looking at puppies: “They’re like half naked men. You can look, but that’s all.”

of 2023

Man: “I wouldn’t worry. I think they have been doing this for over 100 years.”

—Outside Teca Tu during the Española Humane Society pet adoption event

—Overheard on the Canyon Road Farolito Walk

Jan. 25 “I will text you the baggage claim carousel number when I land in Santa Fe so you know where to find me.”

—Overheard from apparent first-time traveler to Santa Fe Regional Airport at DIA gate

Feb. 8 “We are in for the fight of our lives.”

—Overheard in the produce section of Sprouts

Feb. 22 “I was so worried about finding a parking place that I forgot my badge, but I’m a filmmaker. Trust me.”

—Overheard at the Santa Fe Film Festival

March 8

Sept. 9

What you heard in 2023 Every week, SFR includes tidbits of community-submitted and unattributed conversation. Usually intended to inject levity, sometimes they’re also telling about the season’s vibe. Send yours early and often to eavesdropper@sfreporter.com.

April 12 “My boyfriend asked me how long we were gonna be here for, so I told him he wasn’t invited.”

—Overheard at the Collected Works book launch for Natachee Momaday Gray’s Silver Box

April 26 “This line is ridiculous. How is it tourist season already?”

“Um, it’s definitely not.

We’re actually still in Aries season for another week.”

“Santa Fe needs to take ayahuasca and find itself.”

May 17 “Mom, look at the water!

Look at the water!”

—Overheard from screeching child before running full-throttle into the Santa Fe River near Frenchy’s Field

June 6 “You won’t believe where I am! I’m at the oldest house in the world!...Yes, it’s right next door to the oldest church in the world!!”

—Overheard from woman on phone on De Vargas Street

“I’m too used to going to Dollar General in my pajamas.”

—Overheard near Old Pecos Trail Café

“If I swear, I’ll pay you $50. If you talk about Taylor Swift or your cats, you pay me.”

—Overheard at The Railyard

—Overheard from a guy to his date on the Sky Railway

“I’d really like to live in the middle of nowhere, but with good cell service.”

Hostess: “And what’s a good phone number to reach you at?

Woman: (Gives number) Hostess: “We will text you as soon as your table is ready.”

Woman: “Don’t do that! I don’t have my phone with me.”

—Overheard at Tomasita’s

—Overheard from woman writing “glooms” for Zozobra

Sept. 13

—Overheard at Java Joe’s

March 29

“I’m going to need a lot of paper.”

May 3

May 10 “I just told him that sex is like humor: If I have to explain it, then it’s not funny....or fun or whatever.”

—Overheard from woman in yoga pants on phone in La Choza parking lot

June 14 “Can I pay you in moths?”

July 19

—Overheard on a hiking trail

Aug. 2 “Any interest in doing basket weaving Monday?”

“I can’t. I have crystal work that day.”

—Overheard at the Plaza Café Southside

—Overheard at the arts and crafts fair downtown on Labor Day

Oct. 4 “Walk like no one’s looking.”

—Overheard from one woman to another woman struggling in heels at the Wild West Festival at Eaves Ranch

Oct. 18 “My children viewed over 50 nipples.”

—Overheard from parent asking the Santa Fe Public Schools Board of Education to ban the book Bodies Are Cool by Tyler Feder from school libraries

Nov. 15 Man: “You don’t want to use the crosswalk?”

Woman: “Nah, I grew up here.”

—Overheard in front of the downtown post offic

Dec. 6 “I’m not upset, I’m just wore out.”

—Overheard from a man on the phone at the Eldorado grocery

SFREPORTER.COM • DECEMBER 20, 2023-JANUARY SFREPORTER.COM • DECEMBER 20-JANUARY2,2,2024 2024

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Riparian Restoration Santa Fe Girls’ School builds girls’ confidence in STEM through preservation of the lower Santa Fe River

BY M O C H A R N OT m o @ s f r e p o r t e r. c o m

E

ANSON STEVENS-BOLLEN

very week throughout the school year, eighth-graders from the Santa Fe Girls’ School traverse to the lower end of the Santa Fe River to conduct water quality tests, supervised by teachers Olivia Carril and Melissa Miller.

The girls become experienced scientists, measuring temperature, pH, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, nitrate, phosphate and total dissolved solids in different parts of the river. It’s all part of the eighth-grade chemistry curriculum, a class named “Protecting the River Environment, Stopping Erosion, and Restoring the Vital Ecology”—or PRESERVE. The eighth-graders also conduct their own experiments as part of the class. This year, students chose topics and began research in areas including: how island size affects plant diversity; how soil profiles change across the Santa Fe watershed; how worms and moisture act as covariates on decomposition; and the effects of ultraviolet light on E. coli. The girls will design the experiments fully when they return from winter break in January, and will present them at a May showcase.

Student Evette Anna Knight intends to study decomposition for her experiment, and

tells SFR she wants to learn how fast certain matter decomposes in different parts of the Santa Fe River. While wading through the river, she tells her friends fun facts she’s learned about decomposition, such as that it takes 500 years for a diaper to decompose.

“It’s really nice to have a day of the week where we can just play and experiment with nature,” Knight says. “It feels like an opportunity to me.”

Back in the classroom, students analyze their data and compare it to the previous week’s. Carril and Miller guide the class through the results, integrating the girls’ analyses into a chemistry lesson.

To Rosie Williams, co-director, this model of class engages middle-school girls in STEM fields—a core tenet of the private school’s mission.

“Part of what comes out of an all-girls learning environment is more confidence, because you get more practice being wrong,” Williams tells SFR. “The culture’s really different when it’s an all-girls environment, and allows for that ability to make mistakes.”

Miller is a former Girls’ School student inspired to pursue a career in science. She earned a bachelor’s degree in watershed science, and then continued her education to receive a master’s in soil science at Penn State University before returning to the school as a teacher.

“I was an incredibly shy young kid, and I always felt fairly solid academically, but I didn’t have a lot of confidence,” Miller says.

“This school was really the place where I

Data collected at the 9-acre wetland tract is among one of the longest-running datasets on the river.

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SFREP O RTER .CO M / N EWS

ANSON STEVENS-BOLLEN

NEWS

Students from the school visit the lower Santa Fe River every week as part of its PRESERVE program.

found my self-confidence and discovered what I loved.”

As a sixth-grade Santa Fe Girls’ School student, Miller first transitioned from cleaning up invasive species in the area to restoring the land to its previous state.

“We were planting a lot of new willows to help riparian species…we inserted water monitoring wells and we did some plant surveys to figure out what was here before the whole environment started changing,” Miller says.

After completing grad school at Penn State, she says, her first thought of what she wanted to do next came back to where her love of environmental science first bloomed: the PRESERVE. “It became this really important drive for me to come back, and complete that full circle,” Miller says.

During the last PRESERVE class of the semester on Dec. 13, the girls return from the near-freezing water and write their findings on a dry-erase board. Then, they dive into a hands-on lesson about the chemistry of combustion while gathered around a campfire with herbal tea and roasted marshmallows.

At every class, the teachers prompt the girls with questions about the data and encourage their dedication to accurate results.

At an earlier class in October, Carril tells one girl measuring dissolved oxygen levels, “I just want to commend you—that you did such a good job of saying, ‘Should I re-do it?’, because it seemed off.”

The students strive to keep accurate records of the river’s water quality, as the school has one of the longest-running water quality datasets of this river in Northern New Mexico (since 2004). Over the years, organizations like River Source, the Santa Fe River Traditional Communities Collaborative and the Santa Fe Watershed Association have used this data.

Association Executive Director Mori Hensley says the advocates reference the school’s data “to be more aware of water quality issues in the river and watershed downstream of the city wastewater treatment plant.”

While the city’s has been unable in recent months to treat its wastewater to state and federal standards, Williams says the variables affecting water quality between the facility and the PRESERVE’s property prevent the schools from attributing changes in water quality directly to the plant.

While Hensley says the city and county, along with the state environment department, are working to share regular water quality data with the community, it often falls to smaller organizations like the Girls’ School to collect data to address ongoing water quality concerns for the time being.

“We greatly appreciate their work, and are thrilled that students are able to contribute to meaningful data collection at an early age,” Hensley says.

The Center for Service Learning formerly owned the 9 acres of land, it partnered with the school 23 years ago for the restoration project.

“When we got to this piece of land, it was literally a dump, a trash receptacle, and completely overrun by invasive species: Russian olives, tamarisk and Siberian elm,” Williams says.

When the Center for Service Learning closed in 2011, the organization deeded the property to the school. Now, the school’s faculty and students monitor the restored wetland, and the school hosts service days to conserve the land’s current state.

“We’re intentionally letting it be wild, with very little human disturbance,” Williams says, “just enough to let us do what we need to do.”

A R T S A N D C O M M U N I C AT I O N BUSINESS T E A C H E R E D U C AT I O N

THE RIGHT PATH

FOR YOU

L AW A N D S O C I A L S C I E N C E S T R A D E S A N D S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y H E A LT H S C I E N C E S SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

Educational Pathways at Santa Fe Community College help you identify an area of interest and guide you on your

Start your journey: find out which pathway is right for you!

journey toward academic and career success.

®

sfcc.edu/pathways

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La Emi

Every donation helps us build homes for Santa Feans NM Affordable Housing Tax Credits Available!

AT THE BENITEZ CABARET AT

Donate $500 or more to Santa Fe Habitat and receive a state tax credit voucher equal to 50% of your total donations!

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The donation of property or land is eligible for this Tax Credit Program!

Why Donate?

“It is a privilege to support this wonderful organization and our fellow citizens who benefit from it. By doing so you also benefit from your giving in so many ways, tangible and intangible.”

Reverend Hampton Mabry, Jr.

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A Joyous Christmas From

The UniTed ChUrCh of SanTa fe

Christmas EvE - sunday, dECEmbEr 24 morning sErviCEs

8:30 am - ContEmplativE Communion 10:00 am - sanCtuary sErviCE with spECial musiC

Christmas EvE

5:00 pm - ChildrEn’s Carols and CandlEs A special story and a gift for every child.

7:00 pm - CandlElight Choral sErviCE All services livestreamed at unitedchurchofsantafe.org

The UniTed ChUrCh of SanTa fe The Rev. Talitha Arnold, Pastor

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DECEMBER 20, 2023-JANUARY 2, 2024

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s a Dec. 29 municipal inauguration ceremony draws nearer, two new city councilrs say they are looking forward to working with the City of Santa Fe’s money as well as tackling policies for emergency planning, public safety and other topics.

Alma Castro and Pilar Faulkner, joining City Council for Districts 1 and 3 respectively, have spent quite a bit of time around City Hall since their elections on Nov. 7. Both attended the annual legislative breakfast Dec. 12, and both met with Mayor Alan Webber the same week. Later, Castro attended the final council meeting of the year, while Faulkner made an appearance at an Ethics and Campaign Review Board meeting to respond to a now-dismissed complaint against her, as well as to argue her own against an anonymous online critic.

Now, each incoming councilor tells SFR the city’s Finance Committee is at the top of her assignment wishlist. The Café Castro owner, who snagged her seat in a four-way race with 52.3% of the vote in the third round of ranked choice voting, says she doesn’t “have high hopes” that Webber will put her on the five-member committee because other councilors want the post. However, she adds she’s also interested in public safety and water policy, especially in light of ongoing problems with the city’s sewage treatment.

“We may be getting a new water reclamation and water treatment plant,” Castro says, noting she learned more about the potential fixes to the system at the legislative breakfast. “It’s not a sexy thing, but it’s super important not only now, but for generations to come.”

Looking more specifically at her own district, which covers the city’s north side and a portion of the west side, Castro says the infrastructure is “fraying at the

AR

B Y E VA N C H A N D L E R e v a n @ s f r e p o r t e r. c o m

seams,” especially roads. She’s also interested in seeing what can be done to promote increased fire prevention.

“I actually talked to the fire marshal about some of his comments [at the latest City Council meeting] and are we able to get access? What does an open space mean when it’s privately owned, and what does it look like to maintain? These days, we don’t want fires,” Castro says. “So that’s a big priority for our district. I hate to say something negative, but we need a fire evacuation plan for the north side of the city and it seems like even on my side of the city over on West Alameda, we need a little bit of a fire plan update.”

Meanwhile, Faulkner, whose final meeting as a planning commissioner was Dec. 7, has already established a “community cabinet” alongside District 3 Councilor Lee Garcia to engage residents in the local government process.

“We want to try to hold community meetings every so many weeks to educate the community and share information with them so that they know what’s happening in their city government, and then also to get feedback from them on how the district wants us to solve different issues in the city,” she says. “And I think that’s important, because one thing that I really believe in is that the position I have right now is on loan from the community. It doesn’t belong to me; they loaned me this position to see if I could help, so out of respect to that, I really want to lean into being a servant leader...My job is to be a conduit for the community, and not to be the primary decision maker, even though...de facto that’s going to happen.”

Faulkner says one of her first priorities is ensuring her district has a voice in the ongoing debate of what to do about the Plaza obelisk destroyed in 2020. Even though the city spent more than $250,000 on a consultant to, among other tasks, gather feedback from residents about the

says. “If you just talk to the average New Mexican, or average Santa Fean about the obelisk, they have some great ideas.”

In her own district, she plans to work on community policing, crime and homelessness, which she says are all “symptoms of the same disease.”

Her experience as a lobbyist at the Roundhouse makes her “a good fit” for finance decisions and other aspects of a city councilor’s job, Faulkner says. In that role, she worked with Republicans and Democrats alike and adds she hopes to be “a unifying force” on the governing body.

“I don’t think fighting on the dais is healthy for the community, so any disagreements we have, I tend to work those out so that we’re not displaying conflict to the community,” Faulkner says.

“I feel like that conflict that’s happening right now in the City Council is part of why the community doesn’t trust government because that conflict is ever Z present.”

PE LO AS Outgoing District 3 Councilor Chris EL Rivera did not endorse a candidate when he chose not to seek re-election. Castro, on the other hand, enjoyed the endorsement of both outgoing Councilor Renee Villarreal and Patti Bushee, who held the seat before endorsing Villarreal. While the former labor organizer feels the pressure of living up to their legacies, she says she’s ready to continue the work and anticipates an “easy transition.”

“It’s not even about keeping them happy. It’s about filling those shoes and making sure I’m doing the right thing,” she says. “This is my main gig, and I’m very much focused on getting started. I know Councilwoman Villarreal feels super pressured because I keep sitting in her office because I W W am having meetings...and she’s like, SY TE R U ‘You’re not even here yet. Let me clear my CO space.’ But I’m excited to be there.”

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Incoming councilors talk hopes and plans for immediate future, role in City Council dynamics

future of the site, Faulkner advocates for additional “community conversations” as a next step.

“My district cares very deeply about the obelisk, so I want to make sure that they have a seat at the table for the con-

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versation. But I also want to make sure that we don’t bring fringe people into the conversation, because the fringe people do not represent the majority. They’re just loud and angry, and they’re not helping to solve the problem, they actually just want to create more and more chaos,” Faulkner

CITY OF SANTA FE 2024 INAUGURATION CEREMONY 10 am to 12 pm Friday, Dec. 29.

Santa Fe Community Convention Center, 201 W. Marcy St.

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You can watch little kids shred

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he longest, darkest nights of the year are upon us, making it the perfect season for an infusion of light via the annual list of “25 Things We Love About Santa Fe Right Now.” SFR offers these shout-outs about programs and people working for the greater good; fun facts about some of our city’s distinctive features; highlights of meaningful events that warm our hearts; tips for don’tmiss destinations for shopping, entertainment and more.

It’s also the final issue of the year, so please take your time.

SFR will return with its blend of news and culture in print on Jan. 3.

Plus, there’s always more on the way: Consider this a gentle reminder about our annual Best of Santa Fe reader poll, which kicks off just a few weeks into the new year. Nominate the people, places and events you love during the first round at vote.sfreporter.com starting Feb. 1.

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Things we Love About Santa Fe Right Now

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With its newest location in the Cities of Gold Casino in Pojoaque, Santa Fe-born and bred food truck mini-empire Fusion Tacos can now count 12 locations in the area, and that, friends, is good news for everyone. Why, it was only a few weeks ago when practically the entire SFR staff sat down to a big fat order from Fusion Tacos, and we’ve been

ANSON STEVENS-BOLLEN

Hear ye, hear ye, hard-hearted cynics. An afternoon watching children perform covers of KISS songs, Pat Benatar ballads and— dare we say it—Guns and Roses classics (to name just a handful) will wipe those sardonic smirks off your faces. Generally speaking, few events featuring children attract the childless, but music store and education center Candyman Strings and Things’ Summer Rock Camp performances provide the happy exception. No Jack Black required: Instead, the school’s instructors—local musicians—lead groups of children ages 8 to 18 through an intensive two-week program in which they form a band, learn songs and prepare to slay in front of a live audience.

That live audience consists of Santa Fe parents and anyone else who shows up to enjoy the shows held at all-ages venue Tumbleroot Brewery and Distillery.

Candyman’s program also includes a visit to 98.1, Radio Free Santa Fe, for on-air interviews, and recording at CD Kitchen Sink Studios and Frogville Records—just like real rock stars. Jealous? Don’t be: There’s a rock camp for adults too.

(Julia Goldberg)

Fusion Tacos come by the dozen

2 daydreaming about them ever since. What makes the tacos so special? Quality ingredients, for one thing, and a strong showing of birria, a meaty stew-ish/soup-esque concoction that goes great with just about anything and which Fusion’s expert cooks use to make certain menu items. Our vote for the top order, though, might be the crunchy carnitas tacos. For a scant $12, you get four of ‘em, and they even made their way to our food newsletter’s 25 Dishes We Love in Santa Fe Right Now list. (Alex De Vore) CONTINUED ON PAGE 19

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Weed comes to your doorstep so you never have to go without

If the legalization of recreational cannabis in New Mexico in 2021 wasn’t good enough already, to-your-door delivery services mean you can completely skip that weekly (...or daily, we don’t judge) trip to the dispensary. Priscotty, a cannabis delivery service, has made it to the City Different, partnering with Sacred Gardens, Dreamz Dispensary and PurLife to bring the goods right to your front door.

CEO Scott Prisco told SFR’s Leaf Brief that Santa Fe’s mix of older residents and tourists makes the city ideal for deliveries. And, have no fear of prying neighbors: His company uses unmarked vehicles for privacy. Several dispensaries are joining the club with their own services: High Desert Relief offers a delivery service in the Santa Fe area, and Deep Sky Cannabis introduced its own delivery system in 2022. To make things even more tempting, some deliveries are free for a minimum order amount. Order all your essentials for the month online, then kick up your feet and wait for that sweet knock on your door. (Evan Chandler)

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art galleries and museums. Her perseverance is the reason students from Gonzales Community School were among some of the first visitors to the brand new Valdem Contemporary—a satellite of the New Mexico Museum of Fine Art in the Santa Fe Railyard, which opened last September. The school district collaborated with the Community Educators Network, SITE Santa Fe, the Thoma Foundation’s Art Vault and the Vladem to create COMPASS (COMPrehensive Arts for Student Success). The program promotes more field trips focusing on the art hubs downtown and in the Railyard in general. Getting students tuned in to the industry and its career potential has far-reaching benefits: The nonprofit arts and culture sector generated $353.8 million in economic activity in the City of Santa Fe, according to a national study released last week.

(Mo Charnot)

In a four-way race during the local elections, Café Castro owner, labor organizer and mariachi musician Alma Castro snagged a seat in District 1 on the City Council. Now approaching a swearing in on Dec. 29, the Agua Fría resident at 35 will become the youngest member sitting on the governing body. Castro shows signs of being one of City Hall’s most left-leaning voices, winning her seat on a platform based around increased affordable housing and wraparound services, higher wages and preservation of the environment.

The Santa Fe native and community organizer had endorsements from two of her predecessors: outgoing Councilwoman Renee Villarreal, and Patti Bushee, the councilor whom Villarreal replaced. An added plus? Castro is a queer person who uses both she and they pronouns, bringing a valuable new perspective to the chambers. “I have a lot to learn from everyone, and I think it’s gonna be really fun,” she tells SFR of her upcoming term. “Is that weird?” (EC)

Santa Fe’s schools, stores and restaurants resound with the sounds of Spanish.

In fact, New Mexico is a dual language state. So, in the words of Lizzo, it’s about damn time the City of Santa Fe’s Office of Economic Development partnered with the Chamber of Commerce and launched several initiatives targeting immigrant and Spanish-speaking entrepreneurs. In August, the chamber launched its educational telenovela miniseries called Entre El Negocio y El Amor, that followed the stories of Bella and Carlos—two entrepreneurs working to start their own businesses. City officials also hosted the second annual Feria Southside, where local business owners gather to promote and learn about

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entrepreneurship.

“It’s surprising to me as a community that is so rich in culture and the amount of Spanish speakers we have here that we haven’t tapped in sooner to support them,” Chamber President Bridget Dixon told SFR earlier this year. Now, as a Gateways for Growth grant recipient from the American Immigration Council and Welcoming America, the economic development office is working alongside Somos Un Pueblo Unido to create a strategic economic development plan for immigrant workers. (EC)

COURTESY ALMACAASTRO.COM

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COURTESY WWW.NMARTMUSEUM.ORG

This year, Santa Fe Public Schools Fine Arts Director Cristina González set a goal of engaging more students in Santa Fe’s art community, including through exposure to the city’s multiple

A young, queer person made it to City Council

Immigrant and Spanish-speaking small business owners finally received much-needed priority resources

COURTESY SANTA FE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

ANSON STEVENS-BOLLEN

Southside school kids take special art museum trips

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The Southside Library has your back

Even though Santa Fe’s Southside still has proportionally fewer grocery options than other parts of the city, it’s the region of the city with one of our favorites grocery stores.

We love shopping at El Paisano’s newest store at 4353 Airport Road.

(It’s not called Super Paisano, but that’s how we like to think of it.) For starters, we dare you to find a better collection of peppers anywhere in the city: fresh poblano; whole dried morita in bins; tiny packages of tepin, ground ancho and a wall full of others; plus a whole range in canned form. We tried two new recipes from this year’s The Official Cookbook of the Chile Pepper Institute and found all the ingredients, plus tons of other kitchen inspirations there. The meat counter is wellstocked and the butchers are friendly. Plus, there’s a toy section and a glass case in between the cash registers and the liquor section that contains bongs and pipes in a crazy variety. We also like to pick up dinner at the counter, where burritos come in an astounding array of options. Our lips are still burning as we type this. (Julie Ann Grimm) 20

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When the renowned annual International Folk Art Market announced it would leave its longtime Museum Hill digs—where it had hosted its globe-spanning ode to commerce since its inception in 2004—for the pastoral sights of the sprawling Railyard Park, most locals were kind of like, “Woah, how’s that gonna work? Badly, probably.” Those fears, it turns out, were unfounded, and the market was a resounding success without ruining the lives of everyone who lives nearby. “I would call it a success,” says IFAM Director of Market Operations Jared Smith. “I shared some of the anxiety about the impact on the neighborhood. It’s an entirely new space for us, and we had a million questions. Looking back, we know so much more now.” That ought to make 2024’s market, also slated for the Railyard July 11-14, even more easybreezy. As always, you can expect artists and craftspeople in the triple digits, and given Smith’s assertion that 2023 was “the most successful financial market of all time,” who even knows what the future holds? “The audience is so loyal and dedicated,” he adds, “but bringing it to a more central location that’s a lot more accessible so people can so easily come? I think it’s a huge success.”

(ADV)

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for The Food Depot’s mobile pantry (Dec. 28). To be fair: We’re partial to the Southside Library, which serves as a community center as much as a library for a side of town often lacking in attention, but the city’s library system as a whole— from its Booked Solid in Santa Fe blog to its access to everything from seed libraries to museum passes— deserves more credit than it usually receives. Plus: In our experience, the librarians at all the branches go above and beyond. (JG)

CARA ROMERO

El Paisano stocks all the Ingredients to make mole, plus bongs and burritos

For folks who focus on the arts in Santa Fe, Chemehuevi photographer Cara Romero’s name has been a constant in recent years. Oh, it’s not that Romero hasn’t always been a notable photog with dope shots in galleries, museums, private collections and whatnot. Heck, if you’ve been around since ’98 and had even a passing interest in dramatically imagined and executed photography, the name is familiar. Still, Romero’s vision and output in, say, the last 10 or so have been nothing short of prolific and remarkable. Right now, Romero’s work is going up in the Railyard space Art Vault for the forthcoming Beyond the Interface show opening Dec. 29; and the 2022 short documentary film Cara Romero: Following the Light from filmmaker Kaela Waldstein has been a film festival darling. But when all is said and done, Romero can call the Cara Romero Photography gallery at 333 Montezuma Ave. a true bastion to everything she’s built across her fabled career. Even better? Should you happen to meet Romero and wanna talk turkey, she’s as kind as can be and humble, too. (ADV)

KATHERINE LEWIN

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Cara Romero gallery salutes her fabled photography career

Remember last year when a dump truck took out Santa Fe’s internet for practically the entire day and no one—not the city, the state or Xfinity—could provide one word of explanation or assistance? Good times. But the Southside Library, as is its wont, remained calm and online: offering reassurance to callers that they could connect on the premises and sending certain anxious workaholics home with a mobile hotspot (available for checkout to all cardholders). The library also offers AC on hot days; a nonprofit bookstore with many deals to be had; and ongoing programs that cast a wide net across the city: from hosting a plant swap today (Dec. 20) from 1 to 2:30 pm; to arts and crafts gingerbread making activities (Dec. 22) to serving as the location

SFR FILE PHOTO

JULIA ANN GRIMM

The International Folk Art Market moved to Railyard Park (and somehow avoided parking nightmares for nearby residents)

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Santa Fe chefs are killin’ it around here After a recent meal at new-ish downtown eatery La Mama was so good it practically broke our brain, a thought occurred: Santa Fe chefs are not messing around. Whether it’s La Mama enlisting Las Cruces’ Jordan Isaacson to develop a fine yet affordable dinner menu; Crepas-Oh! expanding its sweet and savory delights to the Railyard; Market Steer’s Kathleen Crook taking over the old El Mesón space for the future home of her insanely popular steak joint; Legal Tender reopening to full dining rooms and a bustling bar out in Lamy; or Mille branching into a commercial kitchen to keep up with the demand for 1,000 pastries a day, the post-pandemic food landscape is clearly driven by people who are, well, driven. “It’s moving fast,” says chef Fernando Ruiz, whose incoming

SFR FILE PHOTO

In April, arts and movie lovers spent a good few days freaking out over the surprise news that the Center for Contemporary Arts announced quite suddenly that its board had

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voted to shutter the long-suffering institution. Newly-minted Executive Director Danyelle Means (Oglala Lakota) was out, the staff was let go, there would be no more movies or art shows on Old Pecos Trail. Then, Santa Fe rallied. Through a mad dash of last-minute community-raised funds, the CCA managed to keep its doors open. The organization brought on longtime filmmaker Paul Barnes in a volunteer director kind of position, the projectors started running again thanks to No Name Cinema founder Justin Clifford Rhody and, before we knew it, we were all watching Oppenheimer and Joan Baez documentaries.

With performance nonprofits like theater troupe Exodus Ensemble and neo-chamber music outfit CHATTER taking over space in the CCA’s tank garage, it would appear we can expect smooth sailing for the time being. (ADV)

Take a quick glance around Santa Fe’s theater-sphere and you’ll find way more companies, troupes, performers, designers, directors and so on than seems possible for such a small town. Yet they’re there, and they’re pushing out bangers left and right. New Mexico Actors Lab, Teatro Paraguas, Upstart Crows, Pandemonium Productions, Tri-M Productions and the Santa Fe Playhouse have slayed in recent years with shows like The Baby Monitor, Spring Awakening, Seascape, Sweat…it goes on. Even cooler? All of Santa Fe’s companies seem to come to a sort of unspoken harmonious consensus when it comes to how they’ll all work over time. “I feel like the community is thriving,” says Antonio Miniño, associate artistic director at the Santa Fe Playhouse.

“It just shows a need for the performing arts and for connection through theater.” The Playhouse is even switching to a trio of artistic directors in 2024, for which they’re currently interviewing, and though Miniño is staying mum on that for now, they suggest checking all the companies’ websites to see how you might make 2024 more theater-ful than ever. (ADV)

ALEX DE VORE

Southside Teen Center opened its doors at last After more than a decade in the works, youth can access study rooms; shoot hoops both indoors and outdoors; create arts and crafts; play video games; and even cook and do laundry at the city’s new Teen Center located directly across the street from the Southside Library. The center, which opened in September, came in the wake of the shutdown of longstanding nonprofit teen arts center Warehouse 21 in the Santa Fe Railyard. Even after ground broke, several construction delays pushed back the opening. “This is really going to serve the need to give teens resources to help build them up and provide leadership for the future as they grow into their adulthood and set them up for success,” Community Services Director Maria Sanchez-Tucker told SFR the week before the center’s ribbon-cutting event. Several community partners, including the Boys and Girls Clubs of Santa Fe and Earth Care, teamed up to provide services for teens at no cost. At a price tag of $11.8 million, it’s a decent investment in an area of town and a demographic that deserves it. (EC)

Local theater thrives with stellar productions

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Escondido taco spot is under construction and slated for an opening this June. “We’re going to have tacos, ceviche, the chile en nogada I beat Bobby Flay with. I want to cater to a little bit of everything.” Speaking of which, Ruiz says he’ll continue his catering side hustle even after Escondido opens. Otherwise, his brick and mortar, at 1101 Paseo Corazón just off Agua Fría, will stay up late. “There’s nowhere to eat late,” he says. And he’s right. (ADV)

TIRA HOWARD PHOTAGRAPHY

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You just can’t keep the Center for Contemporary Arts down

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Canyon Road has spaces run by young weirdos again Like most eras of social change, the time when Canyon Road became a bastion for art and artists began some years ago with the queers. Over the years, though, it has transformed into a borderline inaccessible glut of galleries that seem to exist for the deep pocket set—and, often, out-of-towners. At least two new-

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Native owned studio success

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cozy store has plenty of armchairs available for customers who want to take the time to sample their selections and colorful tapestries for sale on the walls, along with signed editions of new releases displayed above the shelves.

Readers on a budget can also find solace in the shelf dedicated to “$2 books,” which also offers a sale of three for $5. It’s likely you will leave with more titles than you brought, but that’s OK. (MC)

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MICHAEL MORIATIS/STALWART PRODUCTIONS/AMC

Tucked into a small space in the Cerrillos Road corridor, Geronimo’s Books opened this September at 3018 Cielo Court, Ste. D with a model of giving customers store credit for trading in their own used books, along with a great selection of titles with local interest for all shoppers. In an interview with SFR when they first opened the shop, owners Phil Geronimo and Lauren Ayer said they hope to transform the space into a community hangout for writers, poets and readers. So far, the events they’ve organized have had a broad appeal. The small and

COURTESY GERONIMOSBOOKS.COM

Pet health care in Santa Fe became increasingly inaccessible over the pandemic—just at a time when lots of households adopted new companions and rates of spaying and neutering dropped off. But love finds a way, and a handful of small providers have popped up to fill needs. This year’s SFR fiction contest winner Gretchen Yost won the guest judge’s attention with an essay about her work establishing a mobile euthanasia service for pets called Angel Paws. Sadly, we also know from first-paw experience how kind and caring the folks at Santa Fe-based Rollin’ Paws can be, rollinpaws-nm. com, (505)-954-1671). Not only did they provide excellent care for our blind senior kitty over the last year of her life, but when it was time to say good-bye, it happened in the backyard where she loved to lounge. And by way of breaking news: An emergency veterinary practice is set to open here next May or June. Murad Kirdar, director of community engagement at Española Humane, called the planned arrival of Turquoise Trail Veterinary Urgent Care a “holiday miracle” on a recent podcast. (JAG)

Geronimo’s Books adds another feather to our reading cap

COURTESY SMOKE THE MOON

Small vet care expansion brings pet health home

ish galleries have started to rewrite the script, however, by showing more locals at more affordable price points across more accessible openings. “We’re trying to showcase emerging artists, artists at an earlier point in their careers,” says smoke the moon (616 ½ Canyon Road, smokethemoon.com) Director Alison Nitkiewicz. “Walking into a gallery can be intimidating for a lot of people, but we want to make it a place that feels accessible for people, artists, collectors of all ages.” Nearby, Sun & Dust (223 Canyon Road, (505) 316-3923) owner Emily Spykman tells SFR that running a gallery on Canyon does come with hard decisions, but as an artist herself, she’s familiar with the pitfalls creators face. “I know what a struggle it is to do it,” she explains. “To represent yourself, to strive and work hard and find people who believe in you; do shows, travel, make connections. I’ve seen it done really badly and I came into this thinking I was going to do so well by the artists—to be someone who understands where they’re coming from.” (ADV)

Long-running strikes in the film industry left New Mexicans without work this summer and fall, but productions that were underway when strikes began have bounced back and new projects are off and running as the year draws to close. Even with the slowdown, productions featuring Indigenous actors, writers and directors blew away the competition this year. Among those big hits, television viewers got to see the second season of Dark Winds in September— produced at Tesuque Pueblo’s Camel Rock Studios and with a third season from AMC due out in 2025. The series, directed by Chis Eyre, uses Tony Hillerman’s Chee and Leaphorn crime novels as its jumping-off point, and has years and years worth of material ahead. Though lots of the scenes take place outdoors, where Northern New Mexico doubles for the Navajo Nation, the converted casino that now holds Camel Rock Studios was its home base and industry insiders say there’s lots more to come. (JAG)

COURTESY GOOGLE

New Tourist store provides REI alternative for adventure gear

Barely five months after the former Regal Cinema on Zafarano Drive closed its doors in June, another Regal door swung open at the Santa Fe Place Mall where the city’s former Southside Theater once sat. Attached to the mall’s food court (and jungle gym), the six-theater Regal location is a great place to see popular new releases (like The Boy and the Heron, the newest Hunger Games prequel. Plus pre-order exclusive $5 tickets to a mystery movie (the next one is Jan. 8) and see if you enjoy the blind date Regal sets up for you. The theaters are small, but they’ve got those fancy reclining chairs everyone loves. On top of that, you have plenty of mall-food options nearby to grab a quick dinner before the show. Or you can hide the Orange Julius in your jacket to avoid paying $7 for a Pepsi, but we obviously can’t endorse that. (MC)

As if whiling away hours at Downtown Subscription and Garcia Street Books wasn’t already on our year-round list, now there’s a new store in the same building occupying even more of our imagination. We love that Tourist gear shop (376 Garcia St., Ste. A) offers a local alternative to Big Camping with lesser known manufacturers of goods

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made to last—even if some of the items the store stocks (like the Snow Peak IGT Camp Kitchen Starter Set with built-in cutting boards and a flat burner) must remain on our fantasy glamping wishlist for now. We know our giftee is going to be pumped on the wool socks made in the USA that we picked up this year, and we appreciate owner Thayne Nord’s concept of high-quality, lightweight gear that makes it possible to spend less of your energy carrying stuff and more getting where you want to go.

He’s also saved room in the back for a gear-lending library for when your cousins come to town and want to take up backpacking for the weekend. (JAG)

COURTESY WWW.PMSNM.ORG

Movies return to Santa Fe Place Mall

About 8,000 Santa Feans have a new option for integrated health now that Presbyterian Medical Services has launched its brand-new Santa Fe Family Health Center. The 47,000-square-foot clinic began providing medical care and behavioral health services to patients in August and even earned a visit from US Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-New Mexico, who popped in for a photo op on Oct. 11 to say he supports the growth of integrated health care to address negative stigma often associated with mental health care. The model allows for mental health and primary care providers to refer patients back and forth for a myriad of services relating to their needs. And, as the clinic hires more providers, it will expand to add more dental and pediatric services, primarily serving low-income patients.

Staff will help enroll people in Medicaid and the New Mexico Health Insurance Exchange if they qualify, plus the center offers a sliding fee scale for uninsured patients, discounting up to 80% of bill charges, according to PMS Director of Legislative Affairs Larry Martinez. (MC)

@ TOURISTSANTAFE / INSTAGRAM.COM

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Desperately needed family health center opens doors

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2023–24 SEASON SEASON 2023–24

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Santa Fe’s strong & vibrant theatre scene welcomes you!

HOLIDAY BACH FESTIVAL NM Museum of Art St. Francis Auditorium Hear for yourself the spiritual and the earthy, the intellectual and the emotional, the glorious music of Bach!

BACH’S COMPLETE SOLO CELLO SUITES Part I—Wed, Dec 20 at 7:30 PM Part II—Thurs, Dec 21 at 7:30 PM Tanya Tomkins, cello

We represent over 20 theatre companies!

For company into, show listing and to join our email newsletter Visit www.Theatresantafe.org

Santa Fe Pro Musica Bach Ensemble

A BAROQUE CHRISTMAS Fri, Dec 22 at 7:30 PM | Sat, Dec 23 at 4 PM Stephen Redfield, violin and leader Clara Rottsolk, soprano | David Solem, organ

BACH AND BEYOND FOR FAMILIES Wed, Dec 27 at 10 AM | FREE BACH AND BEYOND Thurs, Dec 28 & Fri, Dec 29 at 7:30 PM Colin Jacobsen, violin soloist and leader

505.988.4640 sfpromusica.org

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We were still humming “The Music of the Night” days after the second annual inclusive talent showcase at Teatro Paraguas. Christian Porter not only sang the Broadway classic while sporting a silver-lined cape, black top hat and Phantom mask, he also appeared a second time in the show to perform magic tricks. Teatro Paraguas deserves a hat tip for making its space available for talent show practices and two performances, and Christian’s mom Jodi McGinnis Porter deserves everyone’s applause for producing the events. Santa Fe’s performing arts spaces host world-class artists, and we love catching them during the summer’s Santa Fe Opera season; at

Even as a Rupaul’s Drag Race fanatic, this writer knows nothing beats the rawness of local drag—especially in a time like this. As laws go into effect

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Santa Fe Symphony shows at the Lensic; and on the stage of the grand Cathedral Basilica and the tiny San Miguel Chapel.

But this free show that included a variety of ages and abilities won our heart. We loved expressive dancing from Colin Holmes; creative costumes and choreography from Alandra Lopez; and singing by Kim Makey, whose version of The Judds’ “Love Can Build Bridge” would steal the show on any karaoke night in town.

(JAG)

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You never have to look very far to find great drag performers

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Santa Fe Community College’s famously student-run East Wing Eatery began serving up grub again in October. Now that Chef Milton Villarrubia III is on the case, the eatery’s breakfast menu has been offering a variety of flavored scones, a green chile corn muffin and breakfast sandwiches, including a throwback to the permanently-closed Dee’s famous breakfast sandwich consisting of a tortilla with a hash brown, a fried piece of ham, a fried egg, some green chile and American cheese. And as he gains more student employees, Villarrubia aims to expand the menu further. Located across from the college’s Fitness Center, the eatery provides the SFCCl’s culinary students with job experience through a café practicum in which they run the dining establishment. Villarrubia told SFR in a previous interview, “My goal here is to really have students produce everything, if possible. I don’t want to buy frozen croissants. I really want the students to own it.” (MC)

Special Needs Talent Show one way Teatro Paraguas wins our heart

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across the country banning the age-old art form of gender expression, nowhere is safe. While the nearly 15-year-old TV series shows no signs of cancellation in its future, the same cannot always be said about your favorite local drag performer’s gig.

Yet, Santa Fe remains a place with regular drag performances thanks to bars and theaters.

The Santa Fe Human Rights Alliance sponsors drag bingos and brunches on a regular basis at the Jean Cocteau Cinema and Tumbleroot Brewery and Distillery. For those 21 and up, The Mystic partnered with NM Drag Kings to host a monthly drag brunch. The first show of the series entitled KINGdom Brunch is planned for 11 am, Jan. 7. Tickets range from $10-200, depending on seating preferences. (EC)

Bridges make famous Winsor Trail even better

The mountains and mesas around the city sport some bodacious mountain biking trails, and the Santa Fe Fat Tire Society volunteers have made a big effort to make them even better.

Biking and hiking (and this time of year, skiing or snowshoeing) the famous Winsor Trail is one of the most popular routes for visitors and locals alike.

Though the club works most of the year on various trail maintenance projects, 2023 brought new bridges to three places where the Winsor crosses the Tesuque Creek. That meant getting approval from the US Forest Service for designs compliant with the agency’s regulations, then hauling in bridge pieces and tools for construction between July and October.

Not only do the bridges keep our feet dry, they also benefit water quality. Win. Win. (JAG)

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Return of the Boom-Bap Local hip-hop crew Outstanding Citizens Collective releases old new music and lends a helping hand for the holidays

It was time. That’s why the Outstanding Citizens Collective recently decided to release a ton of music recorded between 2015 and 2019, local MC Dylan Delgado, aka Wolfman Jack, tells SFR. Delgado says the unveiling comes after “kind of a combination of things” including “ins and outs with the crew, new members like Prismatic Soul and Anthonius Monk; [original member] Fluid moving from Santa Fe, and we just had these songs sitting. It just felt like time.”

Part of the reason they’ve never been released? Original OCC member Benito “Benzo” Martinez’s 2021 death put a cloud over the troupe, but it’s time to move forward, Delgado says.

“We need to do this before we can put out anything new,” he explains. “It’s an era with Ben that needs to be released.”

In order to make it happen right, the OCC is set to join forces with fellow MCs like Doer and Hieroglyphics’ Equipto for Hip-Hop for the Holidays, a combination record release, last-minute Christmas market and food/clothes drive for the Interfaith Community Shelter and the Esperanza Shelter. Yes, you can donate warm clothes and non-perishable food on top of your $10 cover—you’ll still come out ahead, trust us.

“There are some others, too,” Delgado hints of the lineup.

Well, now we’ve gotta go just so we can find out who they are. (Alex De Vore) HIP-HOP FOR THE HOLIDAYS 6 pm Friday, Dec. 22. $10 Tumbleroot Brewery & Distillery, 2791 Agua Fría St. (505) 303-3808

FREE FIRST CLASS USE DISCOUNT CODE: ONEFREE

2019 Galisteo Street N-6 @dirtylaundryhotyoga www.dirtylaundryhotyoga.com 28

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Should you still be searching for ways to embrace the Christmas-ness of it all, look no further than the Santa Fe Playhouse’s The Night Before Christmas, an adults-only affair that brings humor and good cheer to the idea of a holiday-themed B&E. In Christmas, an intruding elf appears within a maybe-not-entirely-legal warehouse just before the big day and sets about reminding the men inside what’s what. Meanwhile, a hard-up shopper pops by looking for the season’s hottest toy (a Power Ranger if you’re curious). Hilarity ensues. Much Christmas media leans into heartwarming, so it’s kind of nice to have one embrace the slightly naughtier side in us all. (ADV) The Night Before Christmas: 7:30 pm Thursday, Dec. 21-Saturday, Dec. 23; 2 pm Saturday, Dec. 23. $5-$75 Santa Fe Playhouse, 142 E De Vargas St. (505) 988-4262

FILM/FOOD MON/25 WILDER AND WILDER Did we just feature a Gene Wilder documentary on our Picks page recently? Yes, we did, but that was then and now it’s Christmas and we’re speaking specifically to the folks who don’t celebrate: If you don’t do this holiday, but you do do movies, the Center for Contemporary Arts has teamed once again with the Santa Fe Jewish Film Festival for Flix and ChopStix, an all-day series of Gene Wilder movies like Young Frankenstein and The Producers—and then you get a nice dinner from ChopStix at Temple Beth Shalom after. Y’know, if you feel like it. Sold! (ADV) Flix and ChopStix: Starts at 2 pm, dinner after, Monday, Dec. 25. $8-$38.

Center for Contemporary Arts, 1050 Old Pecos Trail, (505) 982-1338

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DO YOU FEEL IT? If you’re like us, you’re probably wondering, “Dang, it’s basically New Year’s Eve around here, isn’t that DJ Raashan Ahmad gonna do something?”

You better believe he is—it’s Love & Happiness time, baby! As has become tradition when big ol’ happenings go down in our little ol’ city, Ahmad will joing with a local DJ—this time it’s the inimitable Garonteed—for a night of funk, soul, R&B, hip-hop and dance tunes. At times, these events are raucous; other times, they’re healing; sometimes they’re both. We know every year can be hard, but we all deserve to let go a little as this one phases out. Fingers crossed for better times in 2024. (ADV) Love & Happiness: 9 pm Sunday, Dec. 31 $12-$15. Tumbleroot Brewery & Distillery 2791 Agua Fría St., (505) 303-3808

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ART OPENING FRI/29

Digital Overground

Curator Jaime Herrell kicks off her first show at Thoma Foundation’s Art Vault SFR FILE PHOTO

EVENT SUN/31 OBVIOUSLY THERE WAS GOING TO BE A MEOW WOLF NYE PICK Assuming we have readers who still go out to things late at night, we wanted to remind you that Meow Wolf might still be the undisputed major holiday place to be, at least if you love DJs. This bill is out of control, too, with performances from Ana M, Badcat, Bacon, Callie Jones, Galaxy b2b, Wyatt Lawson, Girl Wunder, Justin Cristofer, Red Flag, Ruby Rhodd (nice Fifth Element nod there), Spooloius, Xbltyssid and Albuquerque drag troupe Saint’s Ball. It’s gonna get nutty, and we hear you can roam the environs ringing in the new year. In your face, old man embodiment of 2023! (ADV) Meow Wolf New Year’s Eve Carousel: 9 pm Sunday, Dec. 31. $55. Meow Wolf 1352 Rufina Circle, (505) 395-6369

If you’re going to be a billionaire with an insane art collection ranging from the 17th century through today, you can at least be like Carl and Marilyn Thoma and create both a foundation and a space through which you let everyone else come see your stuff for free. That’s the ethos of Art Vault in the Santa Fe Railyard. Well, that and a particular focus on new media.

“It’s wildly daunting and still is,” says curator and Gallery Program Director Jaime Herrell, whose upcoming Beyond the Interface kind of serves as a greatest hits from the Thoma collection. “Look at this new media; digital; AR; VR, AI—how can we create a narrative where these pieces are speaking with one another beyond ‘look at our digital art!’?”

Herrell says she believes she’s hit that goal nicely with Beyond the Interface, a show that gives each piece space of its own to breathe and invite a viewer in for protracted viewing without distraction. You’ll find pieces like rapidly changing

LEDs that represent the cosmos by light artist Leo Villareal (whose work you might have also noticed at the new Vladem Contemporary in its inaugural Shadow and Light) and reality-bending photo collage by Sohei Nishino; achievements in looping animation, generative imagery, film and more. Like most Art Vault shows thus far, it’s a packed but uncluttered experience; some pieces change as you view them, others practically or literally pull you into the art itself.

“I’ve dedicated myself to advancing the ever-changing field of new media art,” Herrell adds. “It’s ridiculously amazing, and I take pride in curating exhibits that offer unique perspectives.” (ADV)

BEYOND THE INTERFACE OPENING 5-7 pm Friday, Dec. 29. Free. Art Vault 540 S Guadalupe St., (505) 428-0681

It’s your move.

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PHOTO CONTEST 2024

FACES: Expressive, engaged people and animals. Please get permission from subjects when applicable.

PLACES: Outdoors and the built environment. Enough with the churches and the statues already.

What else do you see?

MOVEMENT: Candid shots of action. Machines, dancers, atoms?

ODD: Weird, genre defying, not Photoshopped but funky. This is the wild card category.

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Want to see your event listed here?

OPEN MIC COMEDY Chile Line Brewery 204 N Guadalupe St., (505) 982-8474 Bring your best jokes and party with the Wayward Comedy troupe—better make ‘em laugh.

8 pm ORNAMENT WORKSHOP Tumbleroot Brewery & Distillery 2791 Agua Fria, (505) 303-3808 Ring in the holidays whilst decorating ornaments! Ticket includes two ornaments, paint, materials and instruction from a Paseo Pottery teacher.

5:30-7:30 pm, $50 PABLO THE DRAGON’S HOLIDAY TRAIN Lamy Station 152 Old Lamy Trail, Lamy (844) 743-3759 Stalwart mascot Pablo the Dragon joins Mrs. Claus for a kid-friendly train ride featuring hot chocolate. Kids 2 and under free.

Noon; 2:30 pm; 4:15 pm and 6 pm, $34-$64 PLANT SWAP—JOY OF PLANTS Santa Fe Public Library (Southside) 16599 Jaguar Drive, (505)955-2820 Bring a plant to swap if you want a new plant yourself.

1-2:30 pm STORYTIME & CRAFT Santa Fe Public Library (La Farge) 1730 Llano St., (505) 820-0292 This one’s for the younglings and all about stories and crafts and cognitive skill practice for kindergarten readiness.

10:30-11:30 am YOUTH CHESS CLUB Santa Fe Public Library (Main) 145 Washington Ave., (505) 955-6781 One of those times when horsing around is totally OK. “Rook to B9!” sounds like a thing, right?

5:45-7:45 pm

We’d love to hear from you.

Send notices via email to calendar@sfreporter.com.

Make sure you include all the pertinent details such as location, time, price and so forth. It helps us out greatly.

Submission doesn’t guarantee inclusion.

WED/20 DANCE HOLIDAY FLAMENCO Teatro Paraguas 3205 Calle Marie, (505) 424-1601 Compañia Chuscales and Mina Fajardo perform a flamenco extravaganza based in part on Fajardo’s newly released album, Holiday Flamenco. It’s indeed an apt album title.

7-8:30 pm, $20-$25

EVENTS ADULT STORY TIME WITH J.S. THOMPSON AND FRIENDS Boxcar 133 W Water St., (505) 988-7222 Get on stage for the storytelling open mic and tell us like it is, then stay for a reading from the hosts.

6-8 pm ALL THINGS YARN Santa Fe Public Library (La Farge) 1730 Llano St., (505) 820-0292 Knit or crochet with a group and talk about all things textiles. You know you need a new scarf to protect ya neck.

10:30-11:30 am and 5:30-7:30 pm KIDS SING ALONG: RAILYARD PARK Railyard Park Cerrillos Road and Guadalupe St., (505) 982-3373 Teachers Sarah-Jane and B lead classes through games and singalongs for toddlers and babies.

10:30-11:15 am

FILM

From Rosemary Meza-DesPlas’ upcoming SELFHOOD, opening Tuesday, Jan. 2 (that’s in 2024) at Strata Gallery.

KRAMPUS Jean Cocteau Cinema 418 Montezuma Ave., (505) 466-5528 Don't you dare not believe in Krampus, that German monster who comes to snatch bad kids.

In fact, a lack of festive spirit might unleash Krampus, and no one needs that.

7 pm, $5

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THE CALENDAR

E NTE R E V E NTS AT SFREPORTER.COM/CAL

ANSON STEVENS-BOLLEN

EVENTS

You want a flat-pickin’, honky-tonkin’, New Mexico rain-lovin’ troubadour? You want Bill Hearne! Find him at the Cowgirl and elsewhere.

MUSIC HOLIDAY BACH FESTIVAL: BACH'S SOLO CELLO SUITES, PART I St. Francis Auditorium at the New Mexico Museum of Art 107 W Palace Ave., (505) 476-5072 Baroque cellist extraordinaire (what a cool desciption) Tanya Tomkins kicks off Pro Musica’s Holiday Bach Festival.

7:30-8:30 pm, $35-$100 INSTRUMENTAL JAZZ JAM Club Legato 125 E Palace Ave., (505) 988-9232 Be in a band without the commitment. B.Y.O.B. (bring your own bassoon) or whatever instrument you play best. Then say stuff like, “Well, Coltrane was a master, obviously, so...”

6 pm JAY HENEGHAN PROJECT El Farol 808 Canyon Road, (505) 983-9912 Go for drinks, tapas and vibey holiday tunes from Heneghan and pals. That way you can end your year on a sweet note.

6-8 pm

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KARAOKE NIGHT Boxcar 133 W Water St., (505) 988-7222 We know you have some songs prepared, let's hear ‘em. And you don’t need to act like belting out Journey makes you a genius.

And you don’t need to show up if you’re a trained singer. Jeeze.

8 pm LJQ: THE LOVELESS JOHNSON III QUARTET Palace Prime Steak+Seafood 142 W Palace Ave., (505) 919-9935 Loveless Johnson III has been going pretty wild with all the music projects lately, which mostly means he’s really homing in on a sound and style. This one’s for all you jazz lovers.

6 pm NOUVEAU HIPPIES La Fonda on the Plaza 100 E San Francisco St., (505) 982-5511 Local musicians Mike Montiel and Denize Dixon dig into the hit songs of the 1960s and ’70s inside one of the city’s most beautiful and storied hotels.

6:30 pm

TERRY DIERS Cowgirl 319 S Guadalupe St., (505) 982-2565 A Santa Fe singer-songwriter does funk and R&B and more.

Diers has been kickin’ out the jams forever, dig? Yeah, you dig.

You dig real nice.

4-6 pm

WORKSHOP PHOTO ARCHIVING AND METADATA Vista Grande Public Library 14 Avenida Torreon, (505) 466-7323 Learn how to properly archive your photos, which sounds tedious but one day you’ll be old and lonely like us and you’ll be glad you took the time.

9-11 am WEDNESDAY MORNING WHEEL AND HANDBUILDING Paseo Pottery 1273 Calle de Comercio, (505) 988-7687 Learn hand-building techniques from Paseo Pottery’s illustrious instructors. They’re super good, so...word.

10 am-noon, $70

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WEDNESDAY EVENING HAND BUILDING Paseo Pottery 1273 Calle de Comercio, (505) 988-7687 Same class, but at night.

5:30-8 pm, $70-$430

THU/21 BOOKS/LECTURES WINTER SOLSTICE SALON Iconik Coffee Roasters (Original) 1600 Lena St., (505) 428-0996 Get a celestial reading from tuned-in authors Maiana Rose, Natachee Momaday Gray and Jill Prendergast.

6:30-9:30 am

DANCE ECSTATIC DANCE Railyard Performance Center 1611 Paseo de Peralta, (505) 982-8309 A free movement sesh. If you wanna know more, write to hello@EmbodyDanceSantaFe. 6:30 pm, $15

ALL FIERCE COMEDY SHOW Jean Cocteau Cinema 418 Montezuma Ave., (505) 466-5528 Hosted by Graviel De La Plaga (Carlos Medina if’n you didn’t know), here’s a night filled with yuks.

7 pm, $10 BOARDGAMES AT ROOTS AND LEAVES Roots & Leaves Casa de Kava 301 N Guadalupe St., (720) 804-9379 Make some friends while playing all kinds of nerdy games, from board and tabletop to role-playing, collectible card trading and video.

6:30-11 pm CHESS & JAZZ CLUB No Name Cinema 2013 Pinon St., nonamecinema.org It’s chess, it’s jazz, it’s Santa Fe’s only anti-profit cinema. Oh, and they’ll provide tea, too.

6:30-11 pm FAMILY CRAFTERNOON: SOLSTICE LANTERS AND FAROLITOS Santa Fe Public Library (La Farge) 1730 Llano St., (505) 820-0292 Decorate your own adorable lanterns and farolitos just in time for Santa Fe’s annual obsession with things that light up.

3:30-5 pm HANDS-ON ART WITH THE GEORGIA O’KEEFFE MUSEUM Santa Fe Public Library (Southside) 16599 Jaguar Drive, (505)955-2820 The library teams up with O’Keeffe museum staffers for an open art party sort of thing for kids, and we need more artsy kids, trust us.

3:30-4:30 pm LADIES NIGHT AND KARAOKE The Alley 153 Paseo De Peralta, (505) 557-6789 $10 bowling and drink specials all night long for the ladies.

Karaoke starts at 6 pm but also there’s pinball in there.

6-10 pm MAKE MUSIC AT THE CANDYMAN The Candyman Strings & Things 851 St Michael's Drive, (505) 983-5906 Gather ’round the fire pit on The Candyman porch for a family-friendly Christmas Carol sing-along! Participants receive a complimentary rhythm shaker and the warmth of hot cocoa, apple cider and light fare.

2 pm MEET WITH MAYOR ALAN WEBBER City Hall 200 Lincoln Ave., (505) 955-6621 The opportunity to meet oneon-one with Mayor Webber.

Stop by for a 10-minute chat and voice your ideas and questions, such as “who do you think you are?” and “what gives you the right?” Haha! #Swish 2-5 pm

PABLO THE DRAGON’S HOLIDAY TRAIN Lamy Station 152 Old Lamy Trail, Lamy (844) 743-3759 A kid-friendly train ride featuring hot chocolate. Kids 2 and under free.

Noon; 2:30 pm; 4:15 pm and 6 pm, $34-$64 RADIUS BOOKS ANNUAL HOLIDAY PARTY Radius Books 227 E Palace Ave., (505) 983-4068 Radius Books provides drinks, snacks and last-minute holiday shopping. Actually, we might want to get down with this, too.

Books forever!

5-7 pm SANTA FE HOMELESS PERSONS’ DAY TOur Lady of Guadalupe Church 100 Guadalupe St., (505) 983-8668, Our Lady of Guadalupe Church hosts a gathering to remember the unhoused who have died in our community.

3:30 pm SEEDS & SPROUTS Santa Fe Children's Museum 1050 Old Pecos Trail, (505) 989-8359 Explore nature! Meet animal friends! Garden! Cook! Learn how to take care of our planet!

10:30-11:30 am SOLSTICE EVENT WITH MORGAN BARNARD: ENCOUNTERING THE UNSEEN New Mexico Museum of Art (Vladem Contemporary) 404 Montezuma Ave., (505) 476-5063 Barnard discusses his process.

5-7 pm

FOOD SUSHI POP-UP WITH BRENT JUNG Tumbleroot Brewery & Distillery 2791 Agua Fría St., (505) 393-5135 Chef Jung roll ‘em up.

5 pm

MUSIC BILL HEARNE Cowgirl 319 S Guadalupe St., (505) 982-2565 A country music legend.

4-6 pm HALF BROKE HORSES-TWO STEPPIN' AT TINYS Tiny's Restaurant & Lounge 1005 S St. Francis Dr., Unit 117, (505) 983-9817 Country tunes.

7 pm HOLIDAY BACH FESTIVAL: BACH'S SOLO CELLO SUITES, PART II St. Francis Auditorium at NM Museum of Art 107 W Palace Ave, (505) 476-5072 Baroque cellist extraordinaire Tanya Tomkins kicks continues the Holiday Bach Festival by performing—get this—the complete Bach Cello Suites.

7:30-8:30 pm, $35-$100

EN T ER E V E NTS AT SFREPORTER.COM/CAL

KEITH BURNSTEIN The Mine Shaft Tavern 2846 Hwy. 14, Madrid, (505) 473-0743 Singer-songwriter Burnstein entertains for the evening and there’s a green chile cheeseburger over there that you simply must try.

7 pm LIVE MUSIC THURSDAYS: JUSTIN NUÑEZ As Above So Below Distillery 545 Camino de la Familia, (505) 916-8596 No cover tunes with local blues favorite Nuñez, just originals.

8 pm MACY GRAY Lensic Performing Arts Center 211 W San Francisco St., (505) 988-1234 This long-awaited show from legendary singer-songwriter Gray has been sold out for some time, but watch Craigslist and, like, Stubhub if you can’t survive without those tickets.

Someone will for sure sell theirs. Stay vigilant!

8 pm, $45-$70 MIKE MONTIEL BAND Boxcar 133 W Water St., (505) 988-7222 Country, blues and Americana every freakin’ Thursday with Santa Fe staple Montiel.

7-10 pm

THEATER THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS Santa Fe Playhouse 142 E De Vargas St., (505) 988-4262 An intruder elf raises questions in this seriously twisted, blatantly irreverent holiday comedy for the adults (and only the adults) in the family. (See SFR Picks, pages 28-29) 7:30-9 pm, $5-$75

WORKSHOP HATHA YOGA The Spa at Four Seasons Rancho Encantado 198 NM-592, (505) 946-5700 Gentle yoga with a focus on breath work. You’ll be bending like Gumby and befriending horses in no time!

10:30-11:30 am, $18-$90

FRI/22 ART OPENINGS MILKA LOLO AND FRAN DE ANDA: BESTIARY (OPENING) Keep Contemporary 142 Lincoln Ave., (505) 557-9574 Lolo showcases contemporary interpretations of Mexican folk characters and myths, and de Anda's self-made pigments add bold color to his Baroqueinspired works.

5-8 pm

THE CALENDAR

STUDIO LIGHTEN UP OPEN HOUSE Studio Lighten Up 1143 Siler Park Lane, (505) 820-6967 Featuring original lighting art by Lieven Van Hulle, such as contemporary objects infiltrated with neon.

5-7 pm

EVENTS FAMILY GINGERBREAD HOUSE MAKING Santa Fe Public Library (Southside) 16599 Jaguar Drive, (505)955-2820 We’ve seen some wild gingerbread houses and we’d like to see more, thank you very much.

Supplies provided while they last, which might not be long.

3:30-5 pm HIP-HOP FOR THE HOLIDAYS Tumbleroot Brewery & Distillery 2791 Agua Fría St., (505) 393-5135 New Mexico's finest DJs, emcees and vendors accept jackets and other warm clothing donations for the Esperanza center. They’ll take monetary donations to the Madrid Food Bank, too. (See SFR Picks, pages 28-29) 6 pm, $10 PABLO THE DRAGON’S HOLIDAY TRAIN Lamy Station 152 Old Lamy Trail, Lamy (844) 743-3759 Stalwart mascot Pablo the Dragon joins Mrs. Claus for a kid-friendly train ride. Kids 2 and under free.

10:15 am; Noon; 2:30 pm; 4:15 pm and 6 pm, $34-$64 POETIC RESPONSE TO WAR & PEACE Santa Fe Public Library (Main) 145 Washington Ave., (505) 955-6781 Poet Laureate Ambassador Janna Lopez helps would-be writers dig into the concepts of war and peace, not the Tolstoy novel.

4:45-6 pm RED VELVET FRIDAYS Cake’s Cafe 227 Galisteo St., (505) 303-4880 Party animals/DJ collective Famous on the Weekend hosts a night of DJs and dancing.

8 pm, $5 TEEN CLIMBING NIGHT Santa Fe Climbing Center 3008 Cielo Court, (505) 986-8944 Drive your teen or teens up the wall.

6-8 pm, $12 UGLY SWEATER PARTY WITH DJ DYNAMITE SOL & T3 Boxcar 133 W Water St., (505) 988-7222 Break out your best ugly holiday sweater and win prizes. DJs Dynamite Sol and T3 man the decks with sick dance jamz, too.

10 pm, $10

WALKING HISTORY TOUR School for Advanced Research 660 Garcia St., (505) 954-7200 Check out the interior of the 1920s estate turned super-rad artist residency center. Call (505) 954-7213 for more info.

10-11:30 am, $15

MUSIC BILL HEARNE TRIO Legal Tender Saloon & Eating House 151 Old Lamy Trail, Lamy, (505) 466-1650 The Bill Hearne Trio rides again with your favorite Americana dance jamz and, if you’re lucky, a tale of two from Hearne.

6-8:30 pm CHARLES TICHENOR CABARET Los Magueyes Mexican Restaurant 31 Burro Alley, (505) 992-0304 Modeled after the French salon concept, King Charles and occasional guests serenade diners with vocals and piano.

6 pm CHILLHOUSE FEATURING HILLARY SMITH WITH THE SMOKIN’ HIGH CITY HORNS Paradiso 903 Early St., (505) 577-5248 Hit the floor dancing to righteous grooves, powerhouse blues and throwback soul jama-lamz.

7:30-10 pm, $20 CHRISTMAS CLASSICS AND CAROLS First Presbyterian Church 208 Grant Ave., (505) 982-8544 Hear your favorite Christmas classics performed by musicians Travis Bregier and David Beatty.

5:30 pm HIGH CITY JAZZ Chili Line Brewing Company 204 N Guadalupe St., 982-8474 Join Sid Heilbraun and his band of jazz professionals.

7-9 pm HOLIDAY BACH FESTIVAL: A BAROQUE CHRISTMAS St. Francis Auditorium at NM Museum of Art 107 W Palace Ave., (505) 476-5072 You might say it’s time to get Bach to business. A celebration of Baroque masters featuring Santa Fe favorites Clara Rottsolk (soprano) and David Solem, (organ). Violinist Stephen Redfield leads the Pro Musica Bach Ensemble.

7:30-9 pm, $35-$100 JOHNNY LLOYD Upper Crust Pizza 329 Old Santa Fe Trail, (505) 982-0000 Enjoy a slice or two while listening to one of the city’s favorite and most active local country and blues musicians.

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positive experiences that bring joy into your life, I’d have a really hard time telling you not to just lean in and enjoy that shit.

You are allowed to experience pleasure.

Full stop.

B Y L AY L A A S H E R

FINDING “THE ONE”

Although relationships can almost be made to order these days thanks to the online ecosystem, the fantasy of finding “the one”—that person destined for you, your soulmate—still seems to be alive and well. Hell, there’s even the alleged cult of the Twin Flame Universe, whose leaders promise to help deliver your twin flame to you for a small fee, of course (and maybe just a little bit of jail time if recent documentaries are right). Still, as romantic as the sentiment of finding “the one” is, it also can lead to complicated expectations for ourselves and our partners. Given some recent letters I’ve received, it sounds like, for some of you, this deeply held belief might be making it hard to appreciate and live in the moment. For others, the concept makes it difficult to let go of the past.

What are your thoughts on having multiple lovers while also searching for “the one?” Can both things coexist? Or does one subtract from the other?

-TORN BETWEEN FUN AND THE ONE

Not only is this something that tends to cross my mind often, I was actually just having a conversation like this with a friend of mine who was battling something similar. So, yay for all of us not being alone!

After chatting with my friend, I asked if they have negative feelings like emptiness or loneliness when they and their lover physically part ways? And that seemed to shed some light on which path they needed to take.

Maybe start by asking yourself something similar, TBFATO. Are you temporarily filling a void by simulating the kind of romantic relationship you’d like to have in your life only to be left feeling empty when it’s over? Or are you just enjoying having sex with people you’re attracted to while also remaining open to a deeper connection?

As far as the two things coexisting in a way that doesn’t subtract from the other, I oscillate between two thoughts on this: On one hand, I really do believe at this stage in my personal life that sharing sexual energy with multiple people at once can not only dilute each experience but can also send an unclear message to the universe about what it is that I want. And if you believe in the power of the universe, you know that being as clear as possible is the only way to get what you really desire. (Now who sounds like a cult?)

On the other hand, if you are having 34

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I recently went through a break-up with someone I thought was my soulmate. We were even engaged to be married, but then they ended things abruptly. They keep mentioning they would like to be friends. Is this possible with someone you considered to be “the one?” Right now, it feels impossible, but I would like to get there. Please help.

-TO FRIEND OR NOT TO FRIEND

Read this and read it again if you have to: You are no longer in a partnership with this person, so what they would like from you at this moment is no concern of yours. I would imagine that someone you considered to be your soulmate/someone you were engaged to ending things with you abruptly has to be painful as hell.

Where is your anger? Find that shit and feel it, not in a way that punishes them, but in a way that empowers you. As much as we like to think it’s more evolved or emotionally mature to handle breakups with grace and immediately fall in to some kind of peaceful place with ex-partners, I’m here to remind you that you are grieving and anger is a vital part of that process, a stage that cannot be skipped.

Eventually, when sufficient time has passed, if this notion of friendship organically circles back around to the forefront of your mind and a friendship with this person is something you truly desire rather than something you consider because they keep mentioning it, yes, it is possible. Write to me then and I’ll tell you all the things your heart and brain cannot receive just yet.

For now, give yourself the distance and time you need to focus on taking care of yourself. Don’t rush the rest, and certainly don’t try and talk yourself into anything that feels impossible.

How common is it really to find “the one?” A big part of me feels like if we all just took a good hard look at the relationships around us, we would realize it’s more likely the exception to the rule.

But a bigger part of me realizes why we tend to use our soft eyes and put on rosecolored glasses when we cast our gaze instead. What’s life without the possibility of a great romance, after all?

Layla Asher is a local sex worker on a mission to spread radical self love to her community and the world. Have further questions about blowjobs after reading this? Want to ask your local sex worker their expert opinion on something? Let’s start a sex positive conversation that keeps respect and confidentiality at the forefront and judgment a thing of the past. Please submit your questions to thenakedlayla@gmail.com and include an alias that protects your anonymity.

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¡TAMALADA! Tumbleroot Brewery & Distillery 2791 Agua Fria, (505) 303-3808 Join Tumbleroot for a traditional tamale making workshop. Ticket includes guided instruction, two draught drinks and four tamales to take home just in time for your Christmas Eve feast. Kids are welcome and also tamales slap so hard that we almost passed out thinking about how great it would be to make them at home.

4:30-7:30 pm, $50

COURTESY EVOKE CONTEMPORARY

LUCKY MAYS BAND The Mine Shaft Tavern 2846 Hwy. 14, Madrid, (505) 473-0743 Contemporary country tunes.

8 pm QUEEN BEE The Mine Shaft Tavern 2846 Hwy. 14, Madrid, (505) 473-0743 Boho-pop in the most Boho’dout town in the area.

5 pm TERRY DIERS Boxcar 133 W Water St., (505) 988-7222 Blues, rock and funk and R&B and good times and good buds and more “ands,” probably.

6-8 pm

SUN/24 EVENTS

THEATER THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS Santa Fe Playhouse 142 E De Vargas St., (505) 988-4262 An intruder elf raises questions in this seriously twisted, blatantly irreverent holiday comedy for the adults (and only the adults).

(See SFR Picks, pages 28-29) 7:30-9 pm, $5-$75

WORKSHOP COMPLIMENTARY YOGA Four Seasons Resort Rancho Encantado 198 NM-592, (505) 946-5700 Take time for wellness,.

10:30-11:30 am DINÉ BIZAAD ZOOM CLASS Online A free Diné language class taught by elders and offered every Friday in December on Zoom. Register at bit.ly/DNBZD 7 pm FRIDAY MORNING HANDBUILDING Paseo Pottery 1273 Calle de Comercio, (505) 988-7687 A class designed specifically to teach hand-building to all skill levels. Paseo Pottery also donates to charities every year.

10 am-12:30 pm, $70 MAKE YOUR OWN HOLIDAY ORNAMENT TLC Stained Glass 1730 Camino Carlos Rey, #100, (505) 372-6259 Learn techniques dating to 600 AD and Tiffany-pioneered soldering tricks.

1-3:30 pm, $150

SAT/23 ART DIANE LUCERO: NEW WORKS & A DEMONSTRATION Andrea Fisher Fine Pottery 100 W San Francisco St., (505) 986-1234 Jemez potter Diane Lucero returns to Santa Fe to demonstrate her creative process and holiday-themed works.

Noon-4 pm

THE CALENDAR

Aron Wiesenfeld: Past Lives. Another stunning show from the Railyard’s Evoke Contemporary.

THE SANTA FE ARTISTS MARKET Santa Fe Railyard Market and Alcaldesa Streets, (505) 982-3373 An outdoor juried art market featuring pottery, jewelry, painting, photography, furniture, textiles and more. At this point, you should be done shopping (unless we’ve dismantled capitalism...no? OK.), but this might help the last-minute set.

9 am-2 pm

EVENTS PABLO THE DRAGON’S HOLIDAY TRAIN Lamy Station 152 Old Lamy Trail, Lamy (844) 743-3759 Stalwart mascot Pablo the Dragon joins Mrs. Claus for a kid-friendly train ride featuring hot chocolate. Kids 2 and under free.

10:15 am; Noon; 2:30 pm; 4:15 pm and 6 pm, $34-$64 SUNSET SERENADE Sky Railyay 410 S Guadalupe St., (844) 743-3759 Live music and cocktails for your evening celebrating the romance of rail travel (but you’ll be home in time for bed). Kids 2 and under free.

6:30 pm, $109

MUSIC BOB MAUS Inn & Spa at Loretto 211 Old Santa Fe Trail, (505) 988-5531 Piano and voice takes on blues and soul classics. C’mon, nonToy Story Randy Newman tunes!

6-9 pm CHARLES TICHENOR CABARET Los Magueyes Mexican Restaurant 31 Burro Alley, (505) 992-0304 King Charles and occasional guests serenade diners with vocals and piano, and the tortilla chips come to your table warm and crispy!

6 pm ERIC MCFADDEN AND KATE VARGAS Kitchen Sink Recording Studio 528 Jose St., (505) 699-4323 High desert blues and folksy storytelling from this duo.

7:30-9 pm, $20 FIRE FOR THE PEOPLE WITH DRY SUEDE Second Street Brewery (Rufina Taproom) 2920 Rufina St., (505) 954-1068 Instrumental jazz and folk rock from Santa Fe. 8 pm

HOLIDAY BACH FESTIVAL: A BAROQUE CHRISTMAS St. Francis Auditorium at NM Museum of Art 107 W Palace Ave., (505) 476-5072 A celebration of Baroque masters.

4-5:30 pm, $33-$98 PETE AMAHAL The Mine Shaft Tavern 2846 Hwy. 14, Madrid, (505) 473-0743 Jazz.

8 pm

THEATER IN THE CLOUDS: WINTER CIRCUS CABARET Wise Fool New Mexico 1131 Siler Road, (505) 992-2588 Enjoy acrobatic feats of skyhigh proportions. If you like flips, you’re gonna like this.

2 pm or 6 pm, $5-$20 THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS Santa Fe Playhouse 142 E De Vargas St., (505) 988-4262 An intruder elf raises questions in this seriously twisted, blatantly irreverent holiday comedy for the adults (and only the adults).

2-3:30 pm or 7:30-9 pm, $5-$75

WORKSHOP MAKE YOUR OWN HOLIDAY ORNAMENT TLC Stained Glass 1730 Camino Carlos Rey, #100, (505) 372-6259 Learn techniques dating to 600 AD and Tiffany-pioneered soldering tricks. And we mean the brand, not the singer from the ’80s.

1-3:30 pm, $150 PRANAYAMA SHAKTI YOGA The Spa at Four Seasons Rancho Encantado 198 NM-592, (505) 946-5700 Elementally-focused yoga.

10:30-11:30 am, $18-$90 SATURDAY AFTERNOON WHEEL Paseo Pottery 1273 Calle de Comercio, (505) 988-7687 Do the whole seven-week course or just one day—totally your call.

2 pm, $70-$430 SATURDAY MORNING SCULPTURE AND HANDBUILDING Paseo Pottery 1273 Calle de Comercio, (505) 988-7687 A class designed to teach students of all skill levels—even you!

11 am-1:30 pm, $70

CANYON ROAD FAROLITO WALK Canyon Road The annual walk weaves through Canyon Road, Acequia Madre and all those adorable other little side streets. The lights and traditional Christmas music on Christmas Eve will lead the way, just find yourself some cider or bring a sneaky little flask.

That’s right—it’s subterfuge for Christmas!

5 pm CHRISTMAS EVE POPIN WITH OLD SANTA FE ASSOCIATION AND EDITION ONE GALLERY Edition ONE Gallery 728 Canyon Road, (505) 570-5385 Edition ONE Gallery partners with the Old Santa Fe Association to partake in the Canyon Road Farolito Walk, complete with warm cider.

5-7:30 pm PABLO THE DRAGON’S HOLIDAY TRAIN Lamy Station 152 Old Lamy Trail, Lamy (844) 743-3759 Stalwart mascot Pablo the Dragon joins a little celeb you might have heard about named Mrs. Freaking Claus for a kid-friendly train ride featuring hot chocolate. Kids 2 and under are free.

10:15 am and noon, $34-$64 STRATEGY GAME NIGHT AT CHOMP CHOMP Food Hall 505 Cerrillos Road, (505) 772-0946 Put your mind to the test with challenging and intense board games. If you think it’s still all about Catan, then, baby, you haven’t been keeping up with boardgame-verse.

6-11 pm

MUSIC CHRISTMAS EVE WITH CLARK LIBBEY AND LUCY BARNA The Mine Shaft Tavern 2846 Hwy. 14, Madrid, (505) 473-0743 Americana and country and songs that probably are all like, “Bluuuuuuuue Christmas!” We love songs like that.

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THE CALENDAR CHRISTMAS EVE WITH WESTIN MCDOWELL El Rey Court 1862 Cerrillos Road, (505) 982-1931 Hardworking multi-instrumentalist McDowell and his jazz trio entertain on this holy night.

6-8 pm KARAOKE NIGHT Boxcar 133 W Water St., (505) 988-7222 You know the drill at this point, right? Of course you do, grrrl— you’re smart.

8 pm NOCHEBUENA CLÁSICA! The Lensic Performing Arts Center 211 W San Francisco St., A sold-out Christmas Eve concert with classical guitarist Jason Vieaux and The Santa Fe Symphony’s take on Vivaldi’s epic Guitar Concerto and Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez.

Keep an eye out online for folks offloading tickets.

4 pm, $25-$92 SECOND CHANCES GF Contemporary 707 Canyon Road, (505) 983-3707 Country for Christmas amongst the farolitos and throngs.

8 pm SUGAR MOUNTAIN BAND Cowgirl 319 S Guadalupe St., (505) 982-2565 Come a little bit cloooooooser to this-here Neil Young cover band.

Noon SUNDAY JAZZ JAM Chile Line Brewery 204 N Guadalupe St., (505) 982-8474 It’s jazz. It’s a jam. It’s on Sunday. They really nailed it when they named this thing.

6-8 pm

WORKSHOP INTRODUCTION TO ZEN MEDITATION Mountain Cloud Zen Center 7241 Old Santa Fe Trail, (505) 303-0036 The free weekly Introduction to Zen Meditation class offered in a zendo. Arrive for community tea at 9:30 before class begins.

10-11:15 am

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MAKE YOUR OWN HOLIDAY ORNAMENT TLC Stained Glass 1730 Camino Carlos Rey, #100, (505) 372-6259 Learn techniques dating to 600 AD and Tiffany-pioneered soldering tricks.

1-3:30 pm, $150

MON/25 FILM SANTA FE JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL: FLIX & CHOPSTIX Center for Contemporary Arts 1050 Old Pecos Trail, (505) 982-1338 A tribute to Gene Wilder with showings of The Producers and Young Frankenstein throughout the day. A Chinese dinner at Temple Beth Shalom from local Chinese restaurant ChopStix follows the screenings. (See SFR Picks, pages 28-29) 2 pm, $8-$38

TUE/26 MUSIC ALMA TRIO Pink Adobe 406 Old Santa Fe Trail, (505) 983-7712 Christmas is over—breathe!— now you can enjoy music from an acoustic Latin trio while eating Mexican-Cajun cuisine.

Best sentence we’ve ever read, frankly.

6 pm LEROY'S WINTER DANCE PARTY Cowgirl 319 S Guadalupe St., (505) 982-2565 Some of your favorite dance music covers and Murali's originals rolled into one.

7-10 pm SANTA FE GUITAR ENSENBLE Santa Fe Public Library (La Farge) 1730 Llano St., (505) 820-0292 If you read music and play guitar, gather with like-minded musicians weekly to play. Might we suggest using B7 or G#?

10 am-Noon

SANTA FE PLAYHOUSE Anthony Neilson’s

The Night Before Christmas Directed by Emily Rankin Nov. 30 - Dec. 23, 2023 142 E. De Vargas Street, Santa Fe, New Mexico

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THE DOWNTOWN BLUES JAM Evangelo's 200 W San Francisco St, (505) 982-9014 Stylish-ass vocalist Loveless Johnson III plays with his band Brotha Love & The Blueristocrats. If you can’t work out the sound from the name, maybe music is not for you.

8:30-11:30 pm TOPPA TOP REGGAE TUESDAYS AND INDUSTRY NIGHT Boxcar 133 W Water St., (505) 988-7222 Live reggae music, game night and drink specials for all hard-working service industry peeps out there who spend so much of their time on the other side of the table.

7 pm

WORKSHOP COMPLIMENTARY YOGA Four Seasons Resort Rancho Encantado 198 NM-592, (505) 946-5700 Take time for wellness at Movement Studio.

10:30-11:30 am HATHA YOGA The Spa at Four Seasons Rancho Encantado 198 NM-592, (505) 946-5700 Gentle yoga with a focus on breath work.

10:30-11:30 am, $18 MAKE YOUR OWN HOLIDAY ORNAMENT - STAINED GLASS ART EXPERIENCE TLC Stained Glass 1730 Camino Carlos Rey, #100, (505) 372-6259 Learn techniques dating to 600 AD and Tiffany-pioneered soldering tricks while creating an ornament. Call for more info.

1-3:30 pm, $150 TUESDAY QI GONG CLASS Railyard Performance Center 1611 Paseo de Peralta, (505) 982-8309 Jaime Cobb wants to teach you how to breathe better, and that’s honestly so important. Seriously, we read a book—it’s important.

7:30 pm, $10

WED/27 EVENTS ADULT STORY TIME WITH J.S. THOMPSON AND FRIENDS Boxcar 133 W Water St., (505) 988-7222 Get on stage for storytelling open mic, then stay for a reading from the hosts.

6-8 pm ALL THINGS YARN La Farge Library 1730 Llano St., (505) 820-0292 Knit or crochet with a group.

You know you need a new scarf.

And if anyone asks you can just be like, “Oh, thank you, I made it myself.” And they’ll be like, “WHAT?!” And you’ll be like, “No big.”

5:30-7:30 pm JAZZ UNDER THE STARS Sky Railyay 410 S Guadalupe St., (844) 743-3759 Exactly what it sounds like, dude, and with cocktails and heated cars and the romance of the train’s rhythmic movement.

7:30 pm, $139 OPEN MIC COMEDY Chile Line Brewery 204 N Guadalupe St., (505) 982-8474 Bring your best jokes—better make ‘em laugh.

8 pm WARHAMMER WEDNESDAY WZKD Games 7 Avenida Vista Grande (404) 490-3600 If you don’t already know what Warhammer is, this might not be the event for you. Everyone else? Go nuts!

11 am-7 pm

FILM THE SHINING Jean Cocteau Cinema 418 Montezuma Ave., (505) 466-5528 Is there anything scarier than the Overlook Hotel in the winter? Lots of things? OK, but still, it’s all ghosty up in there.

7 pm, $5

A holiday romp for adults.

Save 15% with code REPORTER Tickets: 505-988-4262 • santafeplayhouse.org

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MUSIC DISCOVERY SERIES: BACH AND BEYOND FOR FAMILIES St. Francis Auditorium at the New Mexico Museum of Art 107 W Palace Ave., (505) 476-5072 A one-hour concert exploring Bach and his influence on generations of composers.

INSTRUMENTAL JAZZ JAM Club Legato 125 E Palace Ave., (505) 988-9232 Be in a band without the commitment. B.Y.O.B. (bring your own bassoon) or whatever instrument you play best.

6 pm JOHN FRANCIS AND THE POOR CLARES El Rey Court 1862 Cerrillos Road, (505) 982-1931 Relax and enjoy local folk faves at La Reina.

8-10 pm KARAOKE NIGHT Boxcar 133 W Water St., (505) 988-7222 We know you have some songs prepared. We know you’re going to sing “Santa Baby” a few days too late.

8 pm

THU/28 DANCE ECSTATIC DANCE Railyard Performance Center 1611 Paseo de Peralta, (505) 982-8309 EmbodyDance hosts a weekly DJ'd free movement sesh. Email ‘em at hello@ EmbodyDanceSantaFe.com for more information.

6:30 pm, $15

EVENTS FREE AURA HEALING CLINIC Nancy Rodriguez Community Center 1 Prairie Dog Loop, (505) 992-9876 Drop by for a free energy tuneup—first come first served.

5:30-6:30 pm

LORE OF THE LAND Sky Railyay 410 S Guadalupe St., (844) 743-3759 A throwbacky train ride kind of thing with historical context and such. New Mexico is actually crazy interesting, buds.

11:30 am, $115 SEEDS & SPROUTS Santa Fe Children's Museum 1050 Old Pecos Trail, (505) 989-8359 Explore nature! Learn about animals, how they weather the winter with NM Wildlife Center and visit a live animal friend!

10:30-11:30 am

FILM THE SHINING Jean Cocteau Cinema 418 Montezuma Ave., (505) 466-5528 Is there anything scarier than the Overlook Hotel in the winter? Come see this thriller on the big screen.

7 pm, $5

FOOD SUSHI POP UP WITH BRENT JUNG Tumbleroot Brewery & Distillery 2791 Agua Fría St., (505) 393-5135 Chef Jung brings fresh sushi to New Mexico and rolls it to order, sourced directly from the fishing boat. Served until sold out.

5 pm

MUSIC BILL HEARNE Cowgirl 319 S Guadalupe St., (505) 982-2565 First search online for “Bill Hearne’s Excellent Adventure,” then share happy hour with country music legend Hearne.

4-6 pm THE CRYSTAL METHOD Meow Wolf 1352 Rufina Circle, (505) 395-6369 One of the leading electronic acts of the past two decades and innovators of the ‘90s electronic movement comes to the multi-verse. Guest act N2N. 8 pm, $35

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FELIX Y LOS GATOS Cowgirl 319 S Guadalupe St., (505) 982-2565 Warm up with blues and Americana tunes with a dash of zydeco from this long-running local band.

7-10 pm FOLK JAM La Reina El Rey Court, 1862 Cerrillos Road, 982-1931 Open to all levels and all instruments, come jam your favorite folk tunes in a judgment-free zone.

7-8:30 pm HOLIDAY BACH FESTIVAL— BACH AND BEYOND St. Francis Auditorium at NM Museum of Art 107 W Palace Ave., (505) 476-5072 Santa Fe Pro Musica presents “Bach and Beyond,” a concert exploring Bach’s legacy.

7:30-9 pm, $33-$98 HOUSE MUSIC WITH JUSTINO AND FAM Boxcar 133 W Water St., (505) 988-7222 Fun and bass every other Thursday. We don’t know how it’s different from drum and bass, but word.

10:30 pm-1:30 am MAX GOMEZ AND FRIENDS HOLIDAY CONCERT Tumbleroot Brewery & Distillery 2791 Agua Fría St., (505) 393-5135 A special holiday show from Taos native singer-songwriter.

7:30 pm, $25-$40 MIKE MONTIEL BAND Boxcar 133 W Water St., (505) 988-7222 Relax to country, blues and Americana at the Boxcar every Thursday.

7-10 pm OPEN MIC WITH STEPHEN The Mine Shaft Tavern 2846 Hwy. 14, Madrid, (505) 473-0743 Go out and share the new tunes that you've been working on in your bedroom. That’ll show Cynthia. That’ll show her forever.

7 pm

WORKSHOP HATHA YOGA The Spa at Four Seasons Rancho Encantado 198 NM-592, (505) 946-5700 Gentle yoga with a focus on breath work.

10:30-11:30 am, $18-$90 POTTERY EXPERIENCES Paseo Pottery 1273 Calle de Comercio, (505) 988-7687 All pottery experiences are one-time, two-hour sessions guided by local Santa Fe artists and geared toward travelers, newbies and anyone looking for a fun introduction to pottery. Did we mention they serve drinks as well?

3-5 pm

THURSDAY EVENING BEGINNERS AND INTERMEDIATE WHEEL Paseo Pottery 1273 Calle de Comercio, (505) 988-7687 Beginning through intermediate students can learn to throw on the wheel in Paseo Potter’s classes. Learn to walk your art from greenware through glazed pieces.

5:30-8 pm, $70-$430

FRI/29 ART OPENINGS BEYOND THE INTERFACE (OPENING) 540 S Guadalupe St., (505) 428-0681 The Railyard-based public-facing project of the Thoma Foundation shows numerous pieces from new media champs. (See SFR Picks, pages 28-29) 5-7 pm WILLIAM FREJ: BLURRED BOUNDARIES (OPENING) Peyton Wright Gallery 237 E Palace Ave., (505) 989-9888 Photographer William Frej hosts a photo exhibition and signing for his new book, Blurred Boundaries: Perspectives on Rock Art of the Greater Southwest.

3-7 pm

EVENTS FINAL FRIDAY: SHADOW & LIGHT SCAVENGER HUNT NM Museum of Art Vladem Contemporary 404 Montezuma St., (505) 231-5065 The final Friday of 2023 at the Vladem Contemporary sees a gallery wide scavenger hunt that will help you look at the exhibition Shadow and Light in new ways.

5-7 pm HOLIDAY BURLESQUE Sky Railway 410 S Guadalupe St., (844) 743-3759 Zircus Erotique brings their burlesque and variety show to the rail. Catch these lovelies shimmy in this sexy show featuring burlesque, drag and belly dance for an adult audience.

7 pm, $130 RED VELVET FRIDAYS Cake’s Cafe 227 Galisteo St., (505) 303-4880 Party animals Famous on the Weekend host a night of DJs and dancing plus food and drink specials. Ask about the hot sauce while you’re over there partying your brains out.

8 pm, $5 TEEN CLIMBING NIGHT Santa Fe Climbing Center 3008 Cielo Court, (505) 986-8944 Drive your teen up the wall with this wildly affordable climbing night. If you’re a parent, just sit in the car and and sigh.

6-8 pm, $12

MUSIC CHARLES TICHENOR CABARET Los Magueyes Mexican Restaurant 31 Burro Alley, (505) 992-0304 King Charles and occasional guests serenade diners with vocals and piano.

6 pm DIRTY BROWN JUG BAND The Mine Shaft Tavern 2846 Hwy. 14, Madrid, (505) 473-0743 Country rock 'n' roll and your standard jug band outlaw shit.

8 pm HIGH CITY JAZZ Chili Line Brewing Company 204 N Guadalupe St., 982-8474 Join Sid Heilbraun and his band of jazz pros in a laid back environment every Friday.

7-9 pm HOLIDAY BACH FESTIVAL— BACH AND BEYOND St. Francis Auditorium at NM Museum of Art 107 W Palace Ave., (505) 476-5072 Santa Fe Pro Musica presents “Bach and Beyond” as part of its annual Holiday Bach Festival.

Colin Jacobsen leads the Santa Fe Pro Musica Bach Ensemble.

7:30-9 pm, $33-$98 JAZZ UP YOUR NY EVE WEEKEND WITH HIGH CITY JAZZ FEATURING SARA DIAZ Chili Line Brewing Company 204 N Guadalupe St., 982-8474 Start your New Year's Weekend celebration off with High City Jazz featuring Sara Diaz.

7 pm PIANO RECITAL First Presbyterian Church 208 Grant Ave., (505) 982-8544 Seattle’s Luke Raffanti.

5:30 pm TERRY DIERS Boxcar 133 W Water St., (505) 988-7222 Blues, rock and funk.

6-9 pm WESTIN MCDOWELL The Mine Shaft Tavern 2846 Hwy. 14, Madrid, (505) 473-0743 Singer-songwriter McDowell helps all y’all fill that weird time void between Christmas and New Year's Eve 5 pm

THEATER SETH MEYERS: LENSIC PRESENTS The Lensic Performing Arts Center 211 W San Francisco St Meyers' standup show has been sold out since what feels like the dawn of time, but you can still scour the internet for tickets to see Emmy Award-winning writer, New York Times bestselling author and host of NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers perform at the Lensic!

7:30 pm, $65-$125

SAT/30 ART OPENINGS THE SANTA FE ARTISTS MARKET Santa Fe Railyard Market and Alcaldesa streets, (505) 982-3373 An outdoor juried art market in the Railyard District where you can track down the pottery, jewelry, painting, photography, furniture and textiles.

9 am-2 pm

EVENTS POKÉMON SWAP MEET WZKD Games 7 Avenida Vista Grande (404) 490-3600 It doesn’t matter if you want to play, trade cards or learn more about the many, many Pokémon, this is the place to do it. #Snorlax4President 11 am-1 pm

FOOD EVE OF THE EVE: PACIFIC RING OF FIRE CELEBRATION DINNER Alkemē at Open Kitchen 227 Don Gaspar Ave., (505) 982-9704 A unique Eve of the Eve celebration tasting dinner inspired by the cuisines of the Pacific Ring of Fire. View the six-course menu and make reservations at openkitchenevents.com/product/eve-of-the-eve-dinner. It’s a little pricy, but it’s worth it.

5 pm, $150

MUSIC BOB MAUS Inn & Spa at Loretto 211 Old Santa Fe Trail, (505) 988-5531 Maus brings his piano and voice takes on blues and soul classics at the Inn & Spa at Loretto. You sit there thinking about how you should have learned an instrument, because it’s cool and people like it.

6-9 pm HALF BROKE HORSES Legal Tender Saloon & Eating House 151 Old Lamy Trail, Lamy, (505) 466-1650 Head down to Lamy to hear this group’s country and rock covers.

From what we hear, this restaurant has been killing it lately thanks to chef Murphey O’Brien.

6 pm HONDO COYOTE The Mine Shaft Tavern 2846 Hwy. 14, Madrid, (505) 473-0743 A country band playing old and new favorites.

8 pm JOHNNY LLOYD LIVE AT NUCKOLLS BREWERY SANTA FE! Nuckolls Brewing Co. 1611 Alcaldesa St Local country fave Lloyd performs in the Railyard.

6-8 pm

SILVER SKY BLUES BAND The Mine Shaft Tavern 2846 Hwy. 14, Madrid, (505) 473-0743 New Mexico blues and rockabilly light up the year-end afternoon in the quirky little town of Madrid.

2 pm STANLIE KEE AND STEP IN Cowgirl 319 S Guadalupe St., (505) 982-2565 Stanlie Kee and Step In’s goal as a band, we’re told, is to make you shake any part of your body, give you chills and make you smile with their traditional blues music.

1-3 pm

WORKSHOP PRANAYAMA SHAKTI YOGA The Spa at Four Seasons Rancho Encantado 198 NM-592, (505) 946-5700 Elementally-focused yoga designed to open (and, apparently, strengthen) chakras.

10:30-11:30 am, $18-$90 SATURDAY AFTERNOON WHEEL Paseo Pottery 1273 Calle de Comercio, (505) 988-7687 Pick up a new hobby with this seven-week course throwing various shapes on the wheel.

Walk pieces through throwing, trimming and glazing. Attend a single class or the entire course.

2 pm, $70-$430 SATURDAY MORNING SCULPTURE AND HANDBUILDING Paseo Pottery 1273 Calle de Comercio, (505) 988-7687 A class designed to teach students of all skill levels hand-building techniques including pinch, coil and slab.

11 am-1:30 pm, $70-$430

SUN/31 EVENTS AS ABOVE SO BELOW NEW YEARS EVE PARTY As Above So Below Distillery 545 Camino de la Familia, (505) 916-8596 Ring in the New Year with the crew at AASB’s Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil NYE/ Anniversary Party featuring DJ Nocturnal Planet, Luc Savage and Vanta Darling, plus tintype photos from High Desert Alchemy and more.

7:30 pm-1 am CAROUSEL: NYE AT HOUSE OF ETERNAL RETURN Meow Wolf 1352 Rufina Circle, (505) 395-6369 Travel through the night with DJs and live music as House of Eternal Return’s sights and sounds twist by. Also, there’s drag, so that rules. (See SFR Picks, pages 28-29) 9 pm, $45

THE CALENDAR CRASH KARAOKE Social Kitchen & Bar 725 Cerrillos Road, (505) 982-5952 Sing your favorite songs all like, “I WAKE IN THE MORNING AND I STEP OUTSIDE AND I TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND I GET REAL HIGH!” 6-9 pm NEW YEAR'S EVE CELEBRATION Vanessie 427 W. Water St.,, (505) 984-1193 A four-course dinner and wine pairing, performance and midnight champagne toast 6 pm, $75-$120 NEW YEAR’S DJ DANCE PARTY FUNDRAISER FOR RANCHO SPARKLE PONY Santa Fe Elks Lodge 1615 Old Pecos Trail, (505) 920-9550 Join playa-certified theme camp (that’s Burning Man jargon), Rancho Sparkle Pony for an electrifying night of music, dancing and fundraising.

8 pm-2 am, $10-$100 NEW YEAR'S EVE ON THE SANTA FE PLAZA Santa Fe Plaza 100 Old Santa Fe Trail Countdown to the new year with the city's party complete with bonfires, bands, fireworks and more.

9 pm-12:15 am STRATEGY GAME NIGHT AT CHOMP CHOMP Food Hall 505 Cerrillos Road, (505) 772-0946 Put your mind to the test with challenging and intense board games. Sponsored by Oshia's Pizza.

6-11 pm

MUSIC HALF PINT AND THE GROWLERS Cowgirl 319 S Guadalupe St., (505) 982-2565 Bring (or is it “ring?”) in the new year with Western-style swing and Latin jazz.

9 pm-1:30 am HAPPY NEW YEAR’S WITH WILD COUNTRY Cities of Gold Casino 10 Cities of Gold Casino Road, (505) 455-4232 Say farewell to 2023 and all of its crap with New Mexico country act Wild Country.

8 pm, $25-$30 KARAOKE NIGHT Boxcar 133 W Water St., (505) 988-7222 Sing if you want to.

8 pm LENSIC PRESENTS JOE ILLICK & THE NEW YEAR'S EVE ORCHESTRA Lensic Performing Arts Center 211 W San Francisco St., (505) 988-1234 Families are invited to the open rehearsal before a 5 pm concert.

1 pm and 5 pm, $5-$80 CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

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THE CALENDAR

Come Together

Group Music Classes Begin January 8

LOVE & HAPPINESS: NYE 2024 Tumbleroot Brewery & Distillery 2791 Agua Fría St., (505) 303-3808 DJ Raashan Ahmad welcomes all his DJ pals for a night of funk, Motown, soul and more.

(See SFR Picks, pages 28-29) 8 pm, $12-$15 NEW YEAR’S EVE WITH BOB MAUS BLUES & SOUL Inn & Spa at Loretto 211 Old Santa Fe Trail, (505) 988-5531 Blues and soul.

9 pm NEW YEARS EVE WITH DJ ZAPOT El Rey Court 1862 Cerrillos Road, (505) 982-1931 DJ Zapot brings the NYE vibes with a blend of disco, house and afrobeats while often blending his solo saxophone into the mix.

8 pm NEW YEAR’S EVE WITH RON CROWDER BAND The Mine Shaft Tavern 2846 Hwy. 14, Madrid, (505) 473-0743 Ring (or is it “bring?”) in the New Year with Albuerquebased rocker Crowder.

8 pm SUGAR MOUNTAIN BAND Cowgirl 319 S Guadalupe St., (505) 982-2565 A Neil Young cover band.

Noon TRINITY SOUL The Mine Shaft Tavern 2846 Hwy. 14, Madrid, (505) 473-0743 A fun blend of rock, reggae, funk and soul.

2 pm

WORKSHOP INTRODUCTION TO ZEN MEDITATION Mountain Cloud Zen Center 7241 Old Santa Fe Trail, (505) 303-0036 A free weekly Introduction to Zen Meditation class. Arrive for tea at 9:30 before class begins.

10-11:15 am

MON/1 EVENTS MAGIC THE GATHERING: CASUAL COMMANDER WZKD Games 7 Avenida Vista Grande (404) 490-3600 Start the year off right with a little bit of MTG. But not too early, thankfully.

2 pm

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NEW YEAR'S DAY JAZZ BRUNCH 427 Water St., (505) 984-1193 With mimosas and champagne and stuff, get that hair of the dog alongside jazz jams.

11 am

EN TER EV EN TS AT SFREPORTER.COM/CAL

TUE/2 ART OPENINGS SELFHOOD Strata Gallery 125 Lincoln Avenue, Ste. 105, (505) 780-5403 A juried exhibition by Rosemary Meza-DesPlas. Selected artworks are centered upon the concept of selfhood.

11 am-5 pm

MUSIC ALMA TRIO Pink Adobe (505) 983-7712 Enjoy music from an acoustic Latin trio.

6 pm TOPPA TOP REGGAE TUESDAYS & INDUSTRY NIGHT Boxcar 133 W Water St., (505) 988-7222 Live reggae music, game night and drink specials for all hard working service industry peeps.

7 pm

WORKSHOP SOUND BATH MEDITATION & CLARIFYING YOGA AT FOUR SEASONS RANCHO ENCANTADO The Spa at Four Seasons Rancho Encantado 198 NM-592, (505) 946-5700 Meditation, yoga and sound bath.

10:30-11:30 am

ONGOING ART (UNTITLED) ViVO Contemporary 725 Canyon Road, (505) 982-1320 A range of work in oil, acrylic, glass, sculpture and mixed media. Visitors can write in titles for these works.

A SLICE OF PIE Pie Projects 924B Shoofly St., (505) 372-7681 Prints made with natural dyes and abstract acrylic paintings.

Open Tuesday thru Saturday.

AN INNOCENT LOVE: ANIMAL SCULPTURE ARTISTS OF NEW MEXICO Canyon Road Contemporary Art 622 Canyon Road, (505) 983-0433 The cutest little animal sculptures you ever did see by artists Kari Rives and Fran Nicholson.

ANDRÉ RAMOS-WOODARD: BLACK SNAFU Foto Forum Santa Fe 1714 Paseo de Peralta, (505) 470-2582 Using photography and mixed-media, Ramos-Woodard depicts his Black experience while exposing and subverting tropes of anti-Blackness.

Want to see your event listed here?

We’d love to hear from you. Send notices via email to calendar@sfreporter.com.

Make sure you include all the pertinent details such as location, time, price and so forth. It helps us out greatly.

Submission doesn’t guarantee inclusion.

ANDY KATZ: A WALK IN THE PARK Edition ONE Gallery 728 Canyon Road, (505) 570-5385 World-class photographer Katz presents landscapes and culture displays from his yearslong project snapping inside each and every American National Park.

ARON WIESENFELD: PAST LIVES Evoke Contemporary 550 S. Guadalupe St., (505) 995-9902 Wiesenfeld’s tenderly painted portraits remind the viewer of fairy and folk tales.

BILLIE ZANGEWA: FIELD OF DREAMS SITE Santa Fe 1606 Paseo de Peralta, (505) 989-1199 Zangewa creates intricate collages composed of handstitched fragments of raw silk.

Her use of silk speaks to the work’s transformative nature.

CABINET OF CURIOSITIES Gerald Peters Gallery 1005 Paseo de Peralta, (505) 954-5700 A group show with a little bit of everything, from sculpture and tin-type prints to mixed media images and who even knows what else.

CAROL MOTHNER: LITTLE TREASURES LewAllen Galleries 1613 Paseo de Peralta, (505) 988-3250 Meticulously painted birds’ nests and delicate etchings of young women in botanical oil paintings. You’ll always find something rad at LewAllen.

CUTE AND CREEPY Pop Gallery 125 E Lincoln Ave, (505) 820-0788 Original works by Nik DuranGeiger, Laurie Mika, Joel Nakamura, Kelli Judkins-Cooper, Sophia Torres, Lynden St. Victor and more. Duran-Geiger would be worth attendance alone, so all that other stuff is like icing on the cake.

ENTER EV EN TS AT SFREPORTER.COM/CAL

JOSÉ SIERRA: CHOLLA GALÁCTICA Gerald Peters Contemporary 1011 Paseo de Peralta, (505) 954-5700 Colorful twisted vessels resembling dramatic landscapes by Albuquerque-based artist Sierra.

MILTON’S BAR No Man’s Land Gallery 4870 Agua Fria, 307-399-5665 Four artists had 24 hours to come up with materials and respond to this year’s prompt, “The year 2050.”

MOUNTAINS AND SKY TAI Modern 1601 Paseo de Peralta, (505) 984-1387 A selection of vessel makers, painters and sculptors.

References to nature can be straightforward, as in Black Mesa, Linda Whitaker’s oil-pastel of a local landscape, or subtle as in Hatakeyama Seido’s Mountain Range, a bamboo basket with a decorative motif reminiscent of the titular forms.

N. DASH: AND WATER SITE Santa Fe 1606 Paseo de Peralta, (505) 989-1199 Find yourself somewhere between painting and sculpture, water and land with these ecologically driven paintings.

PAPER TRAILS form & concept 435 S Guadalupe St., (505) 216-1256 A mixed media exhibition.

PARADISE COUNTRY MART POP-UP Bishop’s Lodge 1297 Bishops Lodge Road, (888) 741-0480 An ongoing holiday pop-up shop—part general store, part souvenir stand, trading post and cabinet of curiosities.

PATRICK MCGRATH MUÑIZ: RETABLOS Evoke Contemporary 550 S. Guadalupe St., (505) 995-9902 Muñiz pays homage to tarot in a selection of paintings.

REGALOS Hecho Gallery 129 W Palace Ave., (505) 455-6882 A yearly juried show.

SALT PILLARS form & concept 435 S Guadalupe St., (505) 216-1256 The show’s four series hold a central motif serving as a surreal container for human experience.

SMALL WORKS HOLIDAY SHOW (OPENING) Giacobbe-Fritz Fine Art 702 Canyon Road, (505) 986-1156 Small works ranging from bronze sculpture and tiny animal paintings.

THE ART OF JEAN LAMARR IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts 108 Cathedral Place, (505) 983-8900 More than 60 hard-hitting satirical artworks.

THIS FRAGILE EARTH Monroe Gallery of Photography 112 Don Gaspar Ave., (505) 992-0800 Landscapes alongside devastation from natural disasters.

TIA X CHATTER: THE B/W SHOW Center for Contemporary Arts 1050 Old Pecos Trail, (505) 982-1338 Curator Sarah Greenwood presents works in black and white from a collection of artists including Tony Abeyta, Rosemarie Castro, Torkwase Dyson, Eric- Paul Riege, David Simpson, Tony Smith and Judy Tuwaletstiwa.

WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE ME: YOUTH PUSH PIN EXHIBIT Poeh Cultural Center 78 Cities Of Gold Road, (505) 455-5041 A youth push-pin exhibit that showcases the creativity and perspective of young artists.

You can even make your own art on-site at this unique event.

EVENTS LA LUZ DE LAS NOCHES: THE NIGHT OF THE LIGHTS Santa Fe Botanical Garden 715 Camino Lejo, (505) 471-9103 Stroll the farolito lined garden pathways while sipping a warm drink. Twinkling holiday lights lead you to live performers each night through Jan 1. $5-$20.

ENTREFLAMENCO CHRISTMAS SEASON 2023 El Flamenco Cabaret 135 W Palace Ave., (505) 209-1302 The best of Southern Spain in Santa Fe. Authentic Spanish tapas and resident flamenco company Entreflamenco. $25$48.

FREE AMERICAN RED CROSS LIFEGUARD CERTIFICATION COURSE Genoveva Chavez Community Center 3221 W Rodeo Road, 955-4000 Community members aged 15+ can learn entry-level lifeguard knowledge and skills in this free class offered Dec. 18-22 from 7 am to 3 pm.

CANDLELIGHT CAROLS Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi 131 Cathedral Place, (505) 982-5619 This program’s carols performed through Dec. 22 each evening honors our winter mountain landscape and holiday traditions.

Wrap yourself up in warm and joyous sounds, featuring 24 of the best ensemble singers in the nation. $20-$100.

CHESS AT THE MALL DeVargas Center 564 N Guadalupe St., (505) 983-4671 Chess, food, shopping and conversation. Play timed or untimed, against beginners or veterans—and nearly every day until from 10 am-1 pm. Show up and take your chances.

CHESS AT THE MOVIES Violet Crown Cinema 1606 Alcaldesa St., (505) 216-5678 Y’know, say what you want about nerds, but chess, food, and movies from 6-8 pm on Sundays is a cute date idea.

QUEER COFFEE GET TOGETHER Ohori’s Coffee Roasters 505 Cerrillos Road, (505) 982-9692 Coffee with your local queer community every Wednesday at 9:30 am.

POMEGRANATE SEEDS YOUTH MENTORSHIP PROGRAM Pomegranate Studio 535 Cerrillos Road, (505) 501-2142 An after-school program for girls 13-18 hosted by dancer Myra Krien. We met with Krien once to learn more, and she’s really just out there helping out young folks. It’s hard to be young here, honestly, so we’re down. Hit ‘em up from 5-7 pm onWednesdays and Thursdays.

Want to see your event listed here?

We’d love to hear from you Send notices via email to calendar@sfreporter.com.

Be sure to always contact galleries directly for hours.

MUSEUMS TIM NIGHSWANDER/IMAGING4ART

DANNY LYON: PRINTS AND PHOTOGRAPHS 1963-2023 Obscura Gallery 1405 Paseo de Peralta, (505) 577-6708 Check out the seminal documentary photographer’s 60-year career of exploring people, places and land through photographs.

DARRELL WILKS: DEATH IN A CORNFIELD 5. Gallery 2351 Fox Road, Ste. 700, (505) 257-8417 Colorful and hip collages.

EQUINATIONS: JUAN KELLY Nüart Gallery 670 Canyon Road, (505) 988-3888 Kelly’s animal motifs, particularly horses, are not just representations of the animal kingdom but serve as vehicles for deeper contemplation about the human condition. Beautiful images straight out of a story book.

GABE LEONARD: SHADOWS OF THE WEST-A CINEMATIC EXHIBITION Chuck Jones Studio Gallery 126 W Water St., (505) 983-5999 Delve into the inspirations behind Gabe Leonard’s mesmerizing Western Film Noir artworks.

HISTORY BECAME LEGEND, LEGEND BECAME MYTH King Galleries 130 Lincoln Ave. Ste. D, (844) 481-0187 Diné artist Jared Tso shows his new ceramic works that display a metaphor for Westward expansion and Manifest Destiny in relation to Native peoples.

HOLIDAY SMALL WORKS SHOW Gaia Contemporary 225 Canyon Road, Ste. 6, (505) 501-0415 See tiny season-themed pieces from all kinds of creators.

ILLUMINATION: THE SACRED ASPECT OF LIGHT ELECTR∆ Gallery 825 Early St., Ste. D, (505) 231-0354 Photography, painting and sculpture.

JEREMY DEPEREZ: GLYPHS Best Western 4328 Airport Road, (713) 530-7066 Block printing and mixed-media works.

JESS T. DUGAN: I WANT YOU TO KNOW MY STORY CONTAINER 1226 Flagman Way, (505)995-0012 Dugan captures the queer experience through photography.

JOHN BRANDI: WIND, WATER AND TEMBLOR: GEOLOGIC RUMINATIONS El Zaguán 545 Canyon Road, (505) 982-0016 Mixed media works initially made by an accidental spill. Oops. Way to go, bro!

Handmade paper and graphite crayon make up these unique pieces.

THE CALENDAR

NEW MEXICO HISTORY MUSEUM 113 Lincoln Ave., (505) 476-5200 The Santos of New Mexico.

Solidarity Now! 1968 Poor People’s Campaign. Miguel Trujillo and the Pursuit of Native Voting Rights.

EnchantOrama! New Mexico Magazine Celebrates 100.

10 am-5 pm, Sat-Thurs, 10 am-7 pm, Fri; $7-$12, NM residents free 5-7 pm first Fri of the month MUSEUM OF SPANISH COLONIAL ART 750 Camino Lejo, (505) 982-2226 What Lies Behind the Vision of Chimayo Weavers.

1 pm-4 pm, Wed-Fri, $10, children free NEW MEXICO MUSEUM OF ART 107 W Palace Ave., (505) 476-5063 Selections from the 20th Century Collection. The Nature of Glass.

Manuel Carrillo: Mexican Modernist. To Make, Unmake, and Make Again. Out West: Gay and Lesbian Artists of the Southwest.

10 am-5 pm, Sat-Thurs, 10 am-7 pm, Fri; $7-$12, NM residents free Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, Rooted in Place. Stump in Red Hills, 5-7 pm every Fri May-October 1940. Oil on canvas, 30 1/8 x 24 inches. Georgia O’Keeffe POEH CULTURAL CENTER Museum. Gift of The Stéphane Janssen Trust in memory of R. 78 Cities of Gold Road, Michael Johns. © Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. [1996.7.2] (505) 455-5041 Di Wae Powa. Seeing Red: an Indigenous Film Exhibit. Youth Push Pin Exhibit.

GEORGIA O’KEEFFE MUSEUM OF 10 am-5 pm, Mon-Fri, $7-$10 MUSEUM INDIAN ARTS 217 Johnson St., AND CULTURE VLADEM CONTEMPORARY (505) 946-1000 710 Camino Lejo, 404 Montezuma Ave., Making a Life. Radical (505) 476-1269 (505) 476-5602 Abstraction. Selections from the Down Home. Here, Now and Shadow and Light Collection. Rooted in Place.

Always. Horizons: Weaving 10 am-5 pm, Sat-Thurs 10 am-5 pm, Thurs-Mon, $20 Between the Lines with Diné 10 am-7 pm, Fri; $7-$12, NM res(under 18 free) idents free 5-7 pm every Fri MayTextiles.

IAIA MUSEUM OF 10 am-5 pm, $7-$12, NM residents October CONTEMPORARY free first Sun of the month WHEELWRIGHT NATIVE ARTS MUSEUM OF THE MUSEUM OF 108 Cathedral Place, AMERICAN INDIAN INTERNATIONAL (505) 983-8900 704 Camino Lejo, (505) 982-4636 FOLK ART The Stories We Carry. The Art of Always in Relation. California 706 Camino Lejo, Jean LaMarr. 2023 Stars. From Converse to Native (505) 476-1204 10 am-4 pm, Wed-Sat, Mon Canvas. Medicinal Healer, an Between the Lines. Yokai: 11 am-4 pm, Sun, $5-$10 Artist to Remember. Native Ghosts & Demons of Japan.

Artists Make Toys. ‘All Together.

MUSEUM OF Ghhúunayúkata / To Keep Making our Way. Every Day. ENCAUSTIC ART Them Warm: The Alaska Native Medicine.’ by Eliza Naranjo 18 County Road 55A, Parka. La Cartonería Mexicana Morse. Rooted: Samples of (505) 424-6487 / The Mexican Art of Paper Southwest baskets.

Permanent collection. Global and Paste Warming is REAL. 10 am-5 pm, $3-$12, NM residents 10 am-4 pm, Tues-Sat, $10, free to all first Sun of the month 11 am-5 pm, Fri-Sun, $10 free first Sun of the month (18 and under free)

SFREPORTER.COM • DECEMBER 20, 2023-JANUARY 2, 2024 2024 SFREPORTER.COM • DECEMBER 20-JANUARY 2,

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SFR’s Morning Word Senior Correspondent JULIA GOLDBERG brings you the most important stories from all over New Mexico in her weekday news roundup.

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B Y D AV E M A A S S a u t h o r @ s f r e p o r t e r. c o m

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any, many smug obituaries have been written about virtual reality, or VR, over the technology’s failure to achieve anything remotely close to Mark Zuckerberg’s stupidly titled “metaverse,” a parallel digital dimension of mixed reality that serves as both a workplace and a playspace for about a billion people. But I’m convinced most of those hot-takers and shit-posters simply haven’t spent enough time playing the 2020 VR game Walkabout Mini Golf.

And they sure as hell haven’t tried the new mini-golf course designed in collaboration with Meow Wolf.

Listen. Zuck’s vision is not only out of touch with modern society, it also misunderstands the teeny-tiny contingent of people who are actually regular VR users. I’m one, for sure. But, that doesn’t alter the truth that VR is now the only place you can experience certain masterpieces of art and culture.

Non-VR users might not know that, in the mid-2010s, headsets suddenly got really, really good. The HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and Playstation VR fulfilled overdue promises made by science fiction in the 1990s. You could pop on a headset and participate in a Lethal Weapon-style, high-speed motorway gun-battle against Russian mafia bikers. You could paint in four dimensions with light.

You could stomp around Tokyo like a kaiju— and not an artist’s rendering of Tokyo, but a street-by-street reconstruction built from Google Earth data.

We’re seven years past that. Or at least I am. I have memories of virtual spaces that are as vivid as any physical office, coffee shop or dorm room from my IRL history. When I’m “outside” in VR, I sometimes feel the sun on my skin, even when I’m actually in my living room at midnight. It’s also, ironically, one of the only places where I’m not distracted by my phone. So, when I heard Meow Wolf had a mini-golf level coming out for Walkabout Mini Golf, my big question was mainly how it would compare to the immersive arts company’s Santa Fe flagship project, House of Eternal Return?

VR developer Mighty Coconut released Walkabout Mini Golf in 2020 and seems like it hit a successful formula. For $14.99, players get the base game and a few stock courses then, every month or two, the option to buy

DAVE MAASS

Meow Golf

Santa Fe art company’s latest immersive experience is a mini golf course you strap to your face

Meow Wolf’s contributions to the VR world of Walkabout Mini Golf are delightfully weird and fun.

a new level...I say “level,” but what we’re really talking about are thoughtfully articulated mini-worlds: a pirate island, the lost city of Shangri-La, the decks of Captain Nemo’s Nautilus, a Bond villain’s secret laser-laden lair. I find my inner peace replaying the Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired “Arizona Modern”

level (imagine the Santa Fe Opera as 18 holes on a red-rock mountainside).

Then, in 2022, Mighty Coconut started partnering with external creative companies, and suddenly we were gifted with courses set in the worlds of gaming landmark Myst or cinema’s Labyrinth (and yes,

A&C

the latter is as awesome as you hope it is).

Yet, no matter how fantastic, all the downloadable content (or DLC) shares a common adherence to realistic golf physics. Each course is unmistakably mini golf—except for the latest collaboration from December. It is unmistakably Meow Wolf.

From the first hole, Meow Wolf changes the laws of nature to suit its own new biome, Numina: a cavern system where neon flowers bloom from the walls and delightfully improbable creatures thrive on the banks (and underbanks) of a mirror-world lilypond. According to Mighty Coconut’s original announcement, there are at least 57 species of plants and 33 animated creatures, and that doesn’t even count the life your ball takes on.

It might suddenly grow to the size of a Raiders of the Lost Ark boulder or shrink down to a marble. If your ball hits a glowing orb, it splits into a half-dozen multiversal permutations, which then reunite into whichever ball is closest to the hole.

Just as in Meow Wolf’s physical world experiences, there are portals to other dimensions, such as an idyllic pasture where you use your ball to corral a flock of skittish golf holes that “baaaaah!” like sheep. Or a Tron-esque world, where your ball goes flat and behaves like an air hockey puck. Some of the elements might seem a little less novel to experienced VR players who’ve burned through Squanch Games’ Accounting and Trover Saves the Universe, but, nevertheless, my partner heard me yell “Oh shit!” several times throughout our first play-through.

Thankfully, like all Walkabout DLC, “Meow Wolf” is designed to be replayable.

There’s an easy level, there’s a hard level, plus all new holes and environmental elements. You can play alone, with friends or with randomly assigned strangers online, and there are 18 “lost balls” to find in the environment, each its own playable art object; plus a treasure hunt that nets users an in-game Meow Wolf golf club should they complete the task. I wish I could tell you what that looks like, but I’m currently stuck on the fourth clue.

It’s a bit ironic, in a recreational sense: in 2016, Meow Wolf turned a disused Santa Fe bowling alley into a fantasy world, and now they’ve transformed their fantasies into a mini-golf course. House of Eternal Return is magical because a group of artists built a space that felt infinite, otherworldly and unconstrained in what is actually very finite square footage, wrought with worldly manufacturing materials and subject to the constraints of building codes. This time, Meow Wolf started with the boundless possibilities of VR and the loose rules of a family sport and built a pocket universe (or a universe of pockets) that feels alive.

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The Fork: Our 25 Favorite

Dishes in Santa Fe (Right Now) Breakfast, lunch and dinners for you winners—you don’t even know

how Dakota Weiss and Rich Becker’s new multi-concept micro food hall rules, we had to try their French dip. The verdict?

Might be the best we’ve ever had.

BY THE FORK t h e f o r k @ s f r e p o r t e r. c o m

5 Cloud Cakes @Café Fina (624 Old Las Vegas Hwy.; cafefinasantafe.com)

H

ello, dear readers, it’s The Fork here, SFR’s stalwart if hated food newsletter champ. We’ve hijacked this year-end issue with words of our own, specifically our 25 favorite dishes in Santa Fe—and we just mean for right now, so don’t flip out or anything. This rundown represents some of our favorite things both new and not-so-new and, since we’re off the next two weeks, you’ll have to let it keep you warm throughout the holiday season.

Let’s get into it (in no particular order): Crunchy Carnitas Tacos @Fusion Tacos (multiple locations; fusiontacosnm.com) 1

We’ve ordered these a few too many times lately, but getting four tacos with perfectly tender pork carnitas is always a delightful treat. In your face, dishes with three tacos!

2 Veggie Tacos @El Parasol (1833 Cerillos Road; elparasol.com)

Most places tend to serve some sad beans and cheese in their veggie tacos, but El Parasol’s proprietary blend of avocado, potatoes and carrots works so well in those crispy shells. We frequent the Cerrillos Road location, but there are others, of course!

Restaurant pancakes can be dry, dense and weird, but Café Fina’s Murphey O’Brien’s are thin and moist and flavorful with just the right amount of crispiness at the edges.

6 Fileta Crema Chipotle @Puerto Peñasco (4681 Airport Road)

We don’t hate that most dishes come with fries at this Southside eatery, but the chipotle salsa cream sauce on whitefish haunts our dreams to this day.

7 Greek Pie @Pizzeria Espiritu (1722 St. Michae’s Drive; pizzeriaespiritu.com)

Kalamata olives, feta, spinach, mozz and Espiritu’s pizza dough, the taste of which we’ve never found anyplace else? Uh, yeah, we’re gonna eat that. In fact, we DID just eat that the other day. It was the only time we’ve ever felt happy even a little bit at all.

Cubano Sandwich @Dr. Field Goods (187 Paseo de Peralta; drfieldgoods.com) 8

Chef Josh Gerwin has done a bang-up job of taking over the old Santa Fe Bar & Grill

3 Citrus Salmon Bowl @Poki Tako (various locations; pokitako.com)

4 French Dip @Capital Coal Neighborhood Eatery (326 S Guadalupe St.; instagram.com/ capitalcoalneighborhoodeatery)

After our boss wrote a million words about 42

Citrus Salmon Bowl @Poki Tako

DECEMBER DECEMBER 20, 20-JANUARY 2023-JANUARY 2, 2024 2, 2024 • SFREPORTER.COM • SFREPORTER.COM

SFREPORTER.COM/FOOD

12 Literally Anything @Bread Shop (1703 Lena St.; breadshopsf.com)

A rotating sandwich menu means things are always fresh over at Jacob Brenner and Mayme Berman’s place. Get some bread or specialty groceries for home, too, while you’re there; and great coffee.

13 Chicken and Waffles @Boxcar (133 W Water St.; boxcar-restaurants.com)

There are fewer places than ever to get chicken and waffles in Santa Fe, so thank goodness for Boxcar’s—especially with the red chile butter on the side. Oooh, baby.

14 Pork Belly Carnitas @Zacatlán (317 Aztec St.; zacatlanrestaurant.com)

Salami and mortadella on focaccia and roasted cauliflower on a sesame baguette. @Bread Shop

in the DeVargas Center, and his cubano with pork, ham, mustard and pickles and stuff might be the reigning champ.

9 Breakfast Sandwich @Baked & Brew (1310 Cerrillos Road; sfbakedandbrew.com)

Owner/bakers Kate Holland and Nicole Appels aren’t open on the weekends (which we super respect, actually), but should you stop by during the week to build your own brekkie sammie from various options, you’ll know why it’s on the list.

Over on Aztec Street, you can get one of the finest pork belly dishes around thanks to chef Eduardo Rodriguez. It’s served with a freaking strawberry rhubarb tamal.

Do you get how huge that is?!

15 Galbi Jjim Beef Short Ribs @Alkeme (227 Don Gaspar Ave.; alkeme-santafe.com)

The team-up of chefs Erica Tai and HueChan Karels is no joke to begin with, but the slow-braised beef short ribs take six hours to make and about six seconds to eat because they’re so wildly delicious.

10 Umeboshi Onigiri @Ozu (1708 Lena St., ozusantafe.com)

Jeff Ozawa and Jamie Lewis’ Lena Street Japanese joint rules all around with a restaurant and grocery options, but this little number with rice and pickled plum is a glorious pick-me-up kinda snack.

11 Sheesh Tewook @Cleopatra (418 Cerrillos Road; cleopatrasantafe.com)

Though chef Randy Tapia left the CHOMP food hall and just does the truck thing now, if you come across Poki Tako and don’t order this zesty bowl full of fish and rice and veggies, you’re blowing it big time.

FOOD

With locations both downtown and on the Southside, you can get this glorious marinated chicken dish so easily. Plus, you can make jokes like, “Sheesh tewook good, but not anymore,” or, “Sheesh tewook here, but she moved last summer.”

Anyway, we’ve loved this one for decades and will shout that from the rooftops as long as we draw breath. We tend to frequent the downtown location in the Design Center.

Chicken mole @La Plancha 16 Frito Pie @Five & Dime (58 E San Francisco St.; fiveanddimegs.com)

Last summer, SFR sent the intern to try as many Frito pies as he could stomach, and he came back to tell the tale of Five & Dime’s classic option being the best.

That’s from a guy who knew nothing about Frito pies, too, so he had no reason to lie.

We still love it to this day, too.

17 Fajitas @La Fogata (112 W San Francisco St.; lafogatagrilsf.com)

Don’t be vexed by the sub-street level location of this fine eatery—the sizzling fajitas are some of the most expertly prepared around, and you can also get a drink served in a hollowed-out pineapple.

18 Chicken Mole @La Plancha (3470 Zafarano Drive Ste. C; laplanchaeldorado.com)

23 Grilled Chicken and Avocado Sandwich @The Ranch House (2571 Cristo’s Road; theranchhousesantafe.com)

Why is chef Josh Baum’s grilled chicken sandwich so good? Like, it’s a chicken sandwich with avocado served on sourdough, and yet it’s easily (EASILY) the best chicken sammie we’ve eaten anyplace. Wild.

Chef Juan Carlos Pineda’s mole tastes just like our bud’s grandma used to make, and his proprietary green rice with cilantro and other secret ingredients is to die for. Do note the restaurant moved from Eldorado to the Southside.

19 Green Chile Corn Chowder @Soup Star (1372 Vegas Verdes Drive; soupstarsantafe.com)

Folks will tell you to get the Hungarian mushroom soup at Soup Star, and they’re right, what with its connection to the old Backstreet Bistro, but the green chile corn chowder is a dream of textures and flavors. Thanks, owners Anita Salazar and Miqueas Celote!

20 Creprese Burger @Crepas-Oh! (1382 Vegas Verdes Loop; facebook.com/crepas-oh)

Ummm...a burger served with caprese accoutrements (mozz, tomato, pesto) and served in a crepe? Where the hell has this brilliant blend of sweet and savory been all our life?! God, it’s so good. They have locations in the Railyard and on the Southside (the Southside one is next door to Soup Star, too).

21 Poppyseed Bagels @Ouroboros Bagels (order via instagram.com/ouroboros_bagels)

You’ll need Instagram to keep up with bagel master Adam Stone’s goings-on, but with his long history of makin’ the holeiest of bread, it’s worth it. The poppyseed is particularly glorious, but we hear the bialy is excellent, too.

22 Sous Vide Kurobuta Pork Shoulder @ La Mama (225 E Marcy St.; lamamasantafe.com)

Our boss was over the moon for this one, so we had to try it, too, and we can safely say that chef Jordan Isaacson’s dish with flash-fried cotija and red chile is worth dying for. We are not kidding.

Poppyseed Bagels @Ouroboros Bagels 24 Leo’s Smackdown Burger @Horno (95 W Marcy St; hornorestaurant.com)

The burger with which chef David Sellers won the Edible Green Chile Cheeseburger Smackdown that one time. It might be in the bacon-onion patty, honestly, but the brioche bun is so tasty.

25 Three Rolled Tacos w/Guacamole @Burrito Spot (1057 Cerrillos Road; burrito-spot.business.site)

If you want a quick bite that comes in beef, chicken or cheese varieties and you’re in a rush, these tasty little guys are insanely affordable and filling and delicious. That drive-thru action makes it quick, too, even when there’s a crazy line—which is often the case.

So there you have it. Our top dishes in town RIGHT NOW. Not all time, just right now. If you’d like to tell us yours without screaming about how we’re wrong, please do via thefork@sfreporter.com. Remember, too, this whole thing comes to you in no particular order. We only numbered them because we started to lose our place. Sign up for the weekly newsletter at sfreporter.com/signup. See you in 2024!

SFREPORTER.COM • DECEMBER 20, 2023-JANUARY 2, 2024 2024 SFREPORTER.COM • DECEMBER 20-JANUARY 2,

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Review

RATINGS BEST MOVIE EVER

10

BY ALEX DE VORE a l e x @ s f r e p o r t e r. c o m

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Paddington director Paul King continues to draw from his own particular pastel Harry Potter-esque aesthetic in Wonka, a prequel of sorts to the 1971 Gene Wilder-led Charlie and the Chocolate Factory that embraces new songs, familiar coats and way more whimsy than seems humanly possible. King pulls from at least some of Roald Dahl’s original novel for kids, merges it with musical and material nods to the ’71 film and blends it together in a silly little story about how capitalism is OK if the people doing the capitalism are kinda cute and will give you candy.

Here former video game controller mod aficionado Timothée Chalamet plays the titular young Willy Wonka, who has arrived in an unnamed city built from amalgamated European concepts after a seven-year, worldwide boat trip helped him discover all kinds of wacky things to put into candy—like yeti sweat and literal thunderstorms and bugs that, when incorporated into chocolate, make you fly briefly (you fart the bugs out later, he announces).

All Wonka wants is to build a chocolate brand to impress his dead mom (Sally Hawkins, who gets about two minutes in the film). Oh, drag, though, because a triad of mafioso confectioners named Slugworth (Aeon Flux alum Paterson Joseph),

7 6 5 4 3 2 1 WORST MOVIE EVER

THE BOY AND THE HERON + DOESN’T TALK DOWN TO KIDS; FUN - FLUENCY IN MIYAZAKI PRACTICALLY REQUIRED

Acclaimed anime director Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro) has developed something of his own cinematic language throughout the decades of his career, and viewers who are fluent in it can most fully enjoy his newest and reportedly final film, The Boy and the Heron.

As always, the man is a master of storytelling, both with words and visuals. For those unfamiliar with his previous films, however— how they work and how they require a bit of Japanese cultural knowledge and willingness to roll with the punches—the ultimate shape of things might be confusing.

In Heron, Miyazaki culls at least partially from his own experiences to tell the story of Mahito, a young boy who moves to the countryside with his father during World War II after his mother dies in a fire. While there, Mahito crosses paths with a heron who could be more than he seems. Perhaps his mother isn’t dead, it turns out, but discovering the truth leads to a bizarre multi-versal journey that’s as drop-dead gorgeous as it is confounding.

This fish out of water narrative has been Miyazaki’s bread and butter since the 44

5

The candyman...sorta can

8

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MOVIES + PRETTY

ENOUGH; NODS TO 1971 FILM NOT GRATUITOUS - FATPHOBIA AND ADDICTION JOKES; CHALAMET SHOULD MAYBE STICK TO BROODING ROLES

Ficklegruber (Ghosts’ Matthew Baynton) and Prodnose (Little Britain’s Matt Lucas) fear Wonka’s innovations, and thus enlist the chief of police (Keegan-Michael Key) to bring him down; they pay him in chocolate. Because he’s illiterate for some reason, Wonka, meanwhile, unwittingly enters into indentured servitude under hoteliers/washhouse proprietors Mrs. Scrubbit and Mr. Bleacher (a reverse Madame/Monsieur Thénadier from Les Miz), whereupon he meets a cadre of folks in a similar predicament. Wonka is especially enamored with young Noodle (Calah Lane), an orphan who—spoiler—might have a deeper story than “is orphan.” They all help each other. Oh, also, Hugh Grant plays an Oompa-Loompa, and he majorly phones in his performance—though he’s been very public in the press about only taking the job for the money, so...

Anyway, spoiler alert? Wonka and his pals win.

Duh. But it’s a mild ride full of flamingos and balloons and chocolate serving as deus ex machina and Chalamet actually comes close to one of the more nuanced performances of his career if only it didn’t

seem so forced and cutesy. King fumbles in numerous ways, not least of which being the casting of comedy genius Rowan Atkinson for roughly 10 lines. The songs, too, are forgettable and bland and it’s tough to see a genuine treasure like Key play a role so quickly reduced to jokes about addiction and fatphobia.

Beyond that, it’s hard to shake the thought that, if this is indeed a prequel as Wonka’s hat and jacket would lead us to believe, homeboy’s gonna open a factory one day through which he’ll run a golden ticket contest so he can murder a bunch of kids. And yes, this movie is essentially for kids, but in a release window that includes Hayao Miyazaki’s most recent stunner, Wonka just feels like another reminder that the big-ass movie houses don’t have anything original to say just now.

DREAM SCENARIO

classes anymore, his family can’t understand why he won’t take responsibility (as if he should!) and the high price of fame becomes more like a nightmare than a blessing.

This very well could be Cage’s best performance to date. He disappears into Paul’s strange combination of self-loathing and narcissism so completely—perhaps it’s the horseshoe hairdo—with his mannerisms and speaking patterns, that we finally get a film wherein we can forget the actor. The people in Paul’s orbit prove the most interesting characters, however, from a branding startup exec pushing Paul to sell Sprite in dreams (a brief but brilliant turn from Michael Cera) to the young woman who wants Paul to recreate her sex dream in real life (Dylan Gelula). Our hero, meanwhile, remains unremarkable throughout.

You might even feel for the guy as his daughters neglect him and his wife seems intent upon deflating his more excited moments, but Paul’s knack for making every single thing about him wears so thin so fast that it’s a wonder anyone cared for him in the first place. Add another good one to the A24 roster here, because if Dream Scenario succeeds at anything, it’s crafting a story that practically demands we self-reflect while we watch. (ADV)

beginning, and similarly to Spirited Away, his goal here seems to be in signaling to kids that they’re capable. Against the contrast of Disney’s long-standing “someday some dude will come and fix your problems,” themes, this concept is a delight.

The Boy and the Heron thus earns high marks for its ideas, but falters in its knack for thrusting its principal characters into new scenes with little or no explanation as to how they came to be there. If Miyazaki intended this to signify Mahito’s chaotic journey, that might work, but again, viewers who don’t know the director might not know what to make of that. No matter, though, as every last character is brilliantly weird and the magic comes in the wild ride. Throw in some of Miyazaki’s patented environmentalism—here in the form of talking birds both cute and dangerous—and you’ve got a familiar though poignant experience.

Emotive music from longtime collaborator Joe Hisaishi seals the deal at every turn, and moments of borderline experimental animation elevate Heron into newer territory for Miyazaki’s already stacked Studio Ghibli roster. Pity, then, that he says he’s calling it quits.

But then, he’s claimed he’d retire a few times before now. If this is the final send-off, though, it’s a good one. Take the kids.(ADV)

Violet Crown, PG-13, 124 min (dubbed and subbed screenings)

DECEMBER DECEMBER 20, 20-JANUARY 2023-JANUARY 2, 2024 2, 2024 • SFREPORTER.COM • SFREPORTER.COM

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+ CAGE IN A CAREER-BEST; INTERESTING PSYCHOLOGY

- ENDING RAISES QUESTIONS

As much as writer/director Kristoffer Borgli (Sick of Myself) looks to explore anonymity vs. notoriety in his new Nic Cage-led Dream Scenario, he has plenty to say about the cult of online viral fame, mediocre white dudes and trauma response. On one hand, Scenario seems to lambast the self-entitled, those who desire safe spaces and those who long to be anything more than nothing, regardless of cost. On the other hand, its closing act muddles its earlier points—though perhaps confusing the audience is the idea.

In Scenario, Cage plays everyman Paul Matthews, a balding middle-aged dad type with a mid-tier tenured professor job at some college back east. As Paul struggles to earn respect from his family, gain credit on research papers that only tangentially touch upon work he’s possibly thinking about doing and eke out a happy little life, he begins appearing in dreams around the globe. At first, it’s to folks with whom he has some connection, and he only arrives in dreams passively. But as the time goes by, dream Paul starts popping up practically everywhere and becomes overtly sexual or violent. His students won’t attend

WONKA Directed by King With Chalamet, Lane, Joseph, Baynton, Lucas and Key Violet Crown, Regal, PG, 116 min.

Violet Crown, R, 102 min.

SFR CLASSIFIEDS

JONESIN’ CROSSWORD

“Bundling Up”—plenty of layers.

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56 “Messenger” material 57 Had been 58 Abel’s big brother 59 Mid-century music system 60 Parliament member 62 “You’re welcome to visit” 64 Alumnus, for short 65 Once again 66 Of service 67 Biblical boats 68 Coin flip 69 “___ be great!”

25 “Yeah, yeah, I know” 26 Prefix for space 27 Sketch 29 Baby boomer’s kid 32 Paste shortcut, on PCs 33 Los Del ___ (“Macarena” duo) 34 1950s singer Sumac 35 ___ Xing (street sign) 37 Trampled, with “on” 38 “The Handmaid’s Tale” streamer 39 Belinda Carlisle hit where she “can’t speak” 40 Conde ___ Traveler 41 Timber tool 45 Rarer PokÈmon collectibles from the Sword & Shield Series 46 Interjections outside a Tim Hortons, maybe?

48 Pub contest fodder 49 Not noticed 50 Like sorted socks 52 Budgetary prefix 53 Gold fabrics 54 Opinions 55 U2 producer Brian 59 Frozen planet in “The Empire Strikes Back” 60 Golfing org.

61 Miss the mark 62 Nyan ___ (meme with a repetitive earworm) 63 Cashew, e.g.

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1 Yogurt-based Indian drink 6 ___ noche (tonight, in Spanish) 10 Onetime Kremlin figure 14 Had takeout, perhaps 15 Like a dime 16 Kitchen gadget and cookware company 17 Piece of paper with nothing on it 19 Seriously lack 20 Position in an ordered list 21 “Desperate Housewives” actress Hatcher 22 Initials on a Cardinal’s cap 23 “... and so on” 24 Obey Daylight Saving Time, maybe 28 Name not to say out loud right now (lest it turns on devices) 30 Pearl bearer 31 Do some coding?

36 Rita who judged on “The X Factor” 37 How a winning streak might be described 42 Floor decor 43 Driving levy 44 Letter-based British secondary school exam, once 47 Prearrange 51 High-grade, ultra-soft European fabric

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1 Tar pits location 2 Repetitively named Aztec spear-throwing tool 3 Medium setting?

4 Bathroom fixture 5 Tats 6 It’s a bit of a knockout 7 Rob Zombie’s spouse, fashion designer ___ Moon Zombie 8 Advertising gimmick 9 Six-legged creature 10 Place to the right of the decimal point 11 He-Man’s nemesis 12 Cy Young Award winner, probably 13 Tackle component 18 Engine additive and NASCAR sponsor 22 Put into words 24 Hourglass filler

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SFR CLASSIFIEDS

Rob Brezsny

Week of December 20th

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Aries educator Booker T. Washington advised us, “Do the common thing in an uncommon way.” That’s a useful motto for you in the coming months. If you carry out ordinary activities with flair, you will generate good fortune and attract excellent help. As you attend to details with conscientious enthusiasm, you will access your finest inner resources and exert constructive influences on the world around you. Be thorough and unique, persistent and imaginative, attentive and innovative.

Adore your chores in 2024!

were art, ritual objects, cultural treasures, and human skeletons. Museums in the West are still full of such plunder. But in recent years, some museums have begun to return the loot. Germany sent back hundreds of artifacts to Nigerian museums. France restored many objects to the African country of Benin. Let’s apply this scenario as a useful metaphor for you in 2024, Libra. Is there a part of your past that was hijacked? Your memories appropriated or denied? Your rightful belongings poached, or your authentic feelings infringed upon? It’s time for corrections and healing.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Taurus philosopher John Stuart Mill (1806–1873) was among the smartest people who ever lived. As is often the case with geniuses, he believed in the supreme value of liberty for all. He was a feminist long before that word existed.

Like another genius, architect Frank Lloyd Wright, he thought that “individuality realized is the supreme attainment of the human soul, the master-master’s work of art. Individuality is sacred.” I nominate Mill to be a role model for you in 2024, Taurus. This could be a time when you reach unprecedented new heights and depths of unique self-expression and liberation. PS: Here’s a quote from Mill: “Eccentricity has always abounded where strength of character has abounded; and the amount of eccentricity in a society has been proportional to the amount of genius, mental vigor, and moral courage which it contained.”

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): I suggest we choose the brilliant Scorpio physicist and chemist Marie Curie (1867–1934) as your role model in 2024. She is the only person to win a Nobel Prize in two different fields. She managed to pursue a rigorous scientific career while raising two children and having a fulfilling marriage.

Being of service to humanity was a central life goal. She grew up in poverty and sometimes suffered from depression, but worked hard to become the genius she aspired to be. May the spirit of Marie Curie inspire you, dear Scorpio, as you make dramatic progress in expressing your unique soul’s code.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Emotionally and spiritually, you will ripen at a robust rate in 2024. Your intelligence will mature into wisdom in surprising and gratifying ways. Harvesting rich lessons from long-smoldering confusions and long-simmering mysteries will be your specialty. PS: Some of you Geminis joke around and say you never want to grow up. But I hope you minimize that attitude in the coming months.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Indigenous people study the intelligence of animals and incorporate it into their own lives. If you’re game to do that in 2024, I suggest you choose elephants as a source of teaching and inspiration. Have fun studying and meditating on their ways! Here are a few facts to get you started. Problemsolving is one of their stengths. They are experts at learning how to get what they need and passing that knowledge on to their offspring. They seldom suffer from sickness, but if they do, they often self-medicate with plants in their environment. Elder females are the knowledge keepers, retaining inner maps of where food, drink, and other resources are located.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In my fairy tale about your year ahead, I see you searching for treasure. It’s not a wild and wandering exploration, but a diligent, disciplined quest. You are well-organized about it, carefully gathering research and asking incisive questions. You ruminate on the possibilities with both your logical and intuitive faculties. You meditate on how you might make adjustments in yourself so as to become fully available for the riches you seek. Your gradual, incremental approach gives you strength. You draw inspiration from your sheer persistence and relentless inquiry. And it all pays off by the second half of 2024.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): “All the things I really like to do are either illegal, immoral, or fattening,” quipped Capricorn author Alexander Woollcott (1887– 1943). Since he was never arrested, I conclude he didn’t get to enjoy some of the activities he relished. Was he immoral? Not exactly, though he could be caustic.

Offering his opinion about a famous pianist, he said, “There is absolutely nothing wrong with Oscar Levant that a miracle couldn’t fix.” The good news for you, Capricorn, is that 2024 will be mostly free of the problems Woollcott experienced. You will be offered an abundance of perfectly legal and moral enjoyments.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Writer Janet Champ speaks They may sometimes be fattening, but so what? about the joy of locating “the big wow, the big AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Author Augusten yesyesyes.” It happens when you find something or Burroughs is a devoted urban dweller. He says, “When someone you regard as “better, greater, cuter, wiser, I get a craving for nature, I turn on TV’s Discovery more wonderful than anything you have ever known.” Channel and watch bear-attack survivors recount their I’ll be lavish and predict you will encounter a big wow horror.” Martial arts master Morihei Ueshiba had a and yesyesyes like this in 2024. Will you know what to different perspective. “Mountains, rivers, plants, and do with it? Will you be able to keep it? Those trees should be your teachers,” he advised. “Study how possibilities are less certain, but I have high hopes for water flows in a valley stream, smoothly and freely you. For best results, cultivate a vivid vision of how the between the rocks.” I recommend Ueshiba’s approach big wow and big yesyesyes will benefit others as well as to you in 2024, Aquarius—not Burroughs’. Here are my you. predictions: 1. You will have no dangerous encounters VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): In 1916, most women in the with nature. 2. You will learn more than ever from the world could not vote. Many men considered women to wild world. 3. To the degree that you wander in the be inferior—lacking in courage and initiative. It was the outdoors, your spiritual life will thrive.

Dark Ages! That summer, two sisters named Augusta and Adeline Van Buren rebelled against the stereotypes PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): A study done at Union by riding their motorcycles across America. Roads were College in New York found that being fraternity poor, rains were frequent, and police arrested them members raised students’ future income by 36 percent, frequently for wearing men’s clothes. Male-dominated but lowered their grade point average by 0.25 points. media derided them, with one newspaper criticizing Would you make a similar trade-off, Pisces? Would you their escape from “their proper roles as housewives.” I pursue a path that made you more successful in one nominate them to be your role models in 2024, no way but less successful in another? I suspect you will matter what gender you are. It will be a favorable time encounter unusual decisions like this in 2024. My job is to transcend conventional wisdom, override decaying not to advise you what to do, but to make you alert for the provocative riddles. traditions, and be a cheerful rebel.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): For hundreds of years, Homework: What activity do you enjoy but rarely European nations stole land and resources from engage in? Resolve to do it more in 2024. Newsletter.

Indigenous people all over the world. Among the thefts FreeWillAstrology.com

Week of December 27th ARIES (March 21-April 19): Among couples who share their finances, 39 percent lie to their partners about money. If you have been among that 39 percent, please don’t be in 2024. In fact, I hope you will be as candid as possible about most matters with every key ally in your life. It will be a time when the more honest and forthcoming you are, the more resources you will have at your disposal. Your commitment to telling the truth as kindly but completely as possible will earn you interesting rewards.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): According to tradition in ancient Israel, a Jubilee year happened every halfcentury. It was a “trumpet blast of liberty,” in the words of the Old Testament book Leviticus. During this grace period, enslaved people were supposed to be freed.

Debts were forgiven, taxes canceled, and prisoners released. People were encouraged to work less and engage in more revelry. I boldly proclaim that 2024 should be a Jubilee Year for you Bulls. To launch the fun, make a list of the alleviations and emancipations you will claim in the months ahead.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): “Make peace with their devils, and you will do the same with yours.” The magazine Dark’s Art Parlor provides us with this essential wisdom about how to conduct vibrant relationships. I invite you to make liberal use of it in 2024. Why? Because I suspect you will come to deeply appreciate how all your worthwhile bonds inevitably require you to engage with each other’s wounds, shadows, and unripeness. To say it another way, healthy alliances require you to deal respectfully and compassionately with each other’s darkness. The disagreements and misunderstandings the two of you face are not flaws that discolor perfect intimacy. They are often rich opportunities to enrich togetherness.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Cancerian author Franz Kafka wrote over 500 letters to his love interest Felice Bauer. Her outpouring of affection wasn’t as voluminous, but was still very warm. At one point, Kafka wryly communicated to her, “Please suggest a remedy to stop me trembling with joy like a lunatic when I receive and read your letters.” He added, “You have given me a gift such as I never even dreamt of finding in this life.” I will be outrageous here and predict that 2024 will bring you, too, a gift such as you never dreamt of finding in this life.

It may or may not involve romantic love, but it will feel like an ultimate blessing.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Renowned inventor Nikola Tesla (1856–1943) felt an extraordinary closeness with sparrows, finches, pigeons, and other wild birds. He loved feeding them, conversing with them, and inviting them into his home through open windows. He even fell in love with a special pigeon he called White Dove. He said, “I loved her as a man loves a woman, and she loved me. As long as I had her, there was a purpose to my life.” I bring this to your attention because I suspect 2024 will be an excellent time to upgrade your relationship with birds, Leo. Your power to employ and enjoy the metaphorical power of flight will be at a maximum.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): “All the world’s a stage,” wrote Shakespeare. He was comparing life to a theatrical drama, suggesting we are all performers attached to playing roles. In response, a band called the Kingpins released the song “All the World’s a Cage.” The lyrics include these lines: “You promised that the world was mine / You chained me to the borderline / Now I’m just sitting here doing time / All the world’s a cage.” These thoughts are the prelude to my advice for you. I believe that in 2024, you are poised to live your life in a world that is neither like a stage nor a cage. You will have unusually ample freedom from expectations, artificial constraints, and the inertia of the past. It will be an excellent time to break free from outdated self-images and your habitual persona.

patents for a product that enables people to read and write in the dark. I propose we make her one of your role models for 2024. No matter how old you are, I suspect you will be doing precocious things. You will understand life like a person at least ten years older than you. You will master abilities that a casual observer might think you learned improbably fast. You may even have seemingly supernatural conversations with the Future You. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Here are excellent questions for you to meditate on throughout 2024. 1.

Who and what do you love? Who and what makes you spill over with adoration, caring, and longing? 2. How often do you feel deep waves of love? Would you like to feel more of them? If so, how could you? 3. What are the most practical and beautiful ways you express love for whom and what you love? Would you like to enhance the ways you express love, and if so, how? 4.

Is there anything you can or should do to intensify your love for yourself?

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Like the rest of the planet, Scotland used to be a wild land. It had vast swaths of virgin forests and undomesticated animals.

Then humans came. They cut the trees, dug up charcoal, and brought agriculture. Many native species died, and most forests disappeared. In recent years, though, a rewilding movement has arisen. Now Scotland is on the way to restoring the ancient health of the land. Native flora and fauna are returning. In accordance with astrological omens, I propose that you launch your own personal rewilding project in 2024. What would that look like? How might you accomplish it?

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Capricorn-born Lebron James is one of the greatest players in basketball history. Even more interesting from my perspective is that he is an exuberant activist and philanthropist. His list of magnificent contributions is too long to detail here. Here are a few examples: his bountiful support for charities like After-School All-Stars, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, the Children’s Defense Fund, and his own Family Foundation. I suggest you make Lebron one of your role models in 2024. It will be a time when you can have more potent and far-reaching effects than ever before through the power of your compassion, generosity, and beneficence.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): I propose we make the shark your soul creature in 2024. Not because some shark species are apex predators at the top of the food chain. Rather, I propose you embrace the shark as an inspirational role model because it is a stalwart, steadfast champion with spectacular endurance. Its lineage goes back 400 million years. Sharks were on Earth before there were dinosaurs, mammals, and grass. Saturn’s rings didn’t exist yet when the first sharks swam in the oceans. Here are the adjectives I expect you to specialize in during the coming months: resolute, staunch, indomitable, sturdy, resilient.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): In the 19th century, many scientists believed in the bogus theory of eugenics, which proposed that we could upgrade the genetic quality of the human race through selective breeding.

Here’s a further example of experts’ ignorance: Until the 1800s, most scientists dismissed the notion that stones fell from the sky, even though meteorites had been seen by countless people since ancient times.

Scientists also rejected the idea that large reptiles once roamed the Earth, at least until the 19th century, when it became clear that dinosaurs had existed and had become extinct. The moral of the story is that even the smartest among us can be addicted to delusional beliefs and theories. I hope this inspires you to engage in a purge of your own outmoded dogmas in 2024. A beginner’s mind can be your superpower! Discover a slew of new ways to think and see.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): At age 10, an American girl named Becky Schroeder launched her career as an Homework: Enjoy free articles and audios from my new inventor. Two years later, she got her first of many book: https://bit.ly/lovelifegifts

Go to RealAstrology.com to check out Rob Brezsny’s Expanded Weekly Audio Horoscopes and Daily Text Message Horoscopes.

The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at 1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-950-7700. © CO PY R I G H T 2 0 2 2 R O B B R E Z S N Y 46

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