Welcome to New Mexico where more than ⅓ of the state is a National Park or historic site richly influenced by Native American and Hispanic cultures.

Arrive in Albuquerque, New Mexico’s largest city, and transfer about 1 ½ hours to Santa Fe, the cultural, artistic state capital.

Settle into your Santa Fe hotel and refresh before joining your tour manager for an orientation walk around the scenic plaza. On the Plaza is the Palace of Governors originally constructed in the early 17th century as the seat of Spain’s government in the region.  The adobe structure is now the oldest continuously occupied public building in the United States and serves as the state history museum.  The historic area around the Palace is walkable, with quaint cobbled streets of galleries, restaurants, bars and boutiques.

The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum near the Plaza holds a very impressive collection of her work and the New Mexico Museum of Art also right off the Plaza, was the first building in the state dedicated to art and continues to be a fabulous center for both art and music.

Take in some of these activities in the Old Town center before going out for a group welcome dinner of Southwestern specialties.

Today, we’ll visit Museum Hill for art, views and entertainment, and if it’s Farmer’s Market day, we’ll go there too!

Delve into retablos and santos at the Museum of Spanish Colonial Art, Kachina carvings and pottery at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, a fun collection of displays at the Museum of International Folk Art, and some of the best Native American art at Wheelright Museum of the American Indian.  For plant lovers, the  Santa Fe Botanical Garden is an oasis of gardens, orchards, and native plants.  The surrounding landscape alone is worth the visit!

This evening, your choir will perform for an audience of locals and tourists at a Santa Fe church, cultural or community center. Local musicians may join you for a Friendship Concert.

A group dinner can be arranged upon request.

After breakfast, take an excursion from Santa Fe to Bandelier National Monument, the Spanish pueblo of Chimayo or Taos Pueblos.

Bandelier National Monument preserves the homes and territory of ancestral settlements in Frijoles Canyon.  The well-marked walking trails give way to petroglyphs, pictographs and cliff dwellings. Chimayo is a pilgrimage site with a collection of traditionally adorned chapels, monuments and artifacts.  The sanctuary is built on Holy Dirt, believed to have power to heal.  The Taos Pueblo is a living Native American community who welcomes visitors to learn about them.

Over the course of the day, perform a concert.  Your performance will be arranged in Santa Fe or in one of the communities you choose to visit and may benefit one of the organizations dedicated to preserving southwest culture.

This evening, a farewell dinner will be arranged bringing your tour of Santa Fe to a festival close!