YIT Plaza and Ledoux lighting

LIGHTING OF LEDOUX AND TOWN OF TAOS CELEBRATIONS

BY CINDY BROWN

farolito fiesta is back

The season of joy opens once again with the Lighting of Ledoux event and various Town of Taos holiday celebrations. This year’s events will begin with Lighting of Ledoux on Saturday night, Dec. 4. The Town of Taos event on Taos Plaza will follow on Sunday, Dec. 5, and will include goodie bags for children.

Families applaud the performance of Taos Academy of Performing Arts during the Tree Lighting on Taos Plaza.

FILE PHOTOS

Of course, all NMDOH pandemic mandates for masks and distancing will be strictly observed throughout the entire Yuletide in Taos season and beyond, as specified by the governor.

As always, Taos Plaza will be decorated to the nines with festive holiday lights beginning the same weekend. At press time, the Yuletide in Taos Tree Lighting will still happen Dec. 5, just without a public gathering. But things may change between Dec. 2 when this special section hits the streets and the weeks preceding Christmas and the New Year.

For more than 20 years, the community has gathered in early December to celebrate Lighting of Ledoux. A walk on historic Ledoux Street on a crisp December night under the stars with holiday carols and piñon smoke in the air is a perfect start to the holiday season.

LIGHTING OF LEDOUX STARTS WITH A PARADE

Join us Lighting Ledoux diehards at 4:45 p.m. on Taos Plaza, in a gathering for the Ledoux walking parade. Paraders will gather at a strategically parked Taos Volunteer Fire Truck on Taos Plaza and proceed across Placitas and west down Ledoux Street to the Harwood Museum of Art.

Note too, that at sunset, sand-filled paper bags with candles, known as farolitos, are lit creating a welcoming glow for the community.

Everyone is invited to stroll Ledoux Street from 5-7 p.m. and to enjoy offerings that will again include marshmallow roasts in front of the Inger Jirby Art Gallery, and wine, cider and cookies at other shops and venues.

MUSIC, SPICED WINE AND MERRIMENT

Christmas carolers and old friends gather around bonfires known hereabouts as luminarias. Salon Marjorie is planning an outdoor event around the fire pit that will include a DJ, popcorn, biscochitos and Marjorie’s famous spiced wine made from a secret recipe. Elves will welcome shoppers safely into the store to look for holiday gifts.

Event planners have invited Santa and the Fiesta court to make an appearance and there may yet be a food cart as well, stay tuned.

GOODIE GIFT BAGS

Naughty or nice kiddos? Regardless, this year the Town of Taos celebration will include a drive-by pick up of goodie bags for 2,500 kids on Sunday, Dec. 5. At press time the location and time of the event was not set, so perk up eyes and ears for this special treat offered by the town.

Although there will not be an official Yuletide in Taos Tree Lighting ceremony, the Taos Plaza will be lit throughout Yuletide with a magical holiday display.

Virginia Clark contributed to this story.

The annual Electric Light Parade Friday (Dec. 6) drew approving looks by all.

For more information

To find out more about Lighting of Ledoux, look for it on Facebook or the Harwood website: harwoodmuseum.org. For more information on the Town of Taos celebration, check the town’s event page on Facebook or visit the town website at taos.gov.com.

Arcenio Trujillo, former Taos News sports editor, waves from a tractor during the Electric Light Parade on Taos Plaza.

Left: Brothers Fox Brown, 3, and Wolcott Brown, 6, of Taos pose for a photo Friday (Dec. 6) at the Tree Lighting on Taos Plaza.

Holiday light by any other name is just as bright

In other places (like Santa Fe), little paper bags with candles are called luminarias. Late local educator and historian Arsenio Córdova explained that before there were paper bags, people lit the way with little lanterns called farolitos. In Taos, when candles in paper bags replaced the lanterns, they continued to be called farolitos. The word luminaria is used locally to describe the small bonfires seen in courtyards outside homes and businesses.