Thirteen years before Plymouth Colony was settled by the Mayflower Pilgrims, Santa Fe, New Mexico, was established with a small cluster of European style homes. Governor Don Pedro de Peralta established the capital (of Spanish Territory) to the present day site of Santa Fe in 1610. In the 400 years since its inception, Santa Fe has had along and unique history — and 2010 will be the city’s 400th anniversary — an event the people of Santa Fe intend to celebrate with a bang! The town kicked off a 14-month long celebration on Labor Day Weekend, 2009. Throughout the rest of the year and through all of 2010, groups in the community will be putting on special events to celebrate the anniversary. You’ll want to check the calendar of events if you intended to visit Santa Fe during the celebration year to see what’s happening while you are there.

[ad#Google Adsense]However, some of the Legacy Events are already scheduled and include:

The Arts and Lecture Series (October 2009 – November 2010)

Featuring dynamic and provocative speakers, the Santa Fe Arts and Lecture series covers a variety of topics ranging from hard-hitting social issues to side-splitting stories and thoughtful discussions on our rich New Mexico history.

Santa Fe Cinema 2010 (Summer)

Each Friday and Saturday night during the summer of 2010, the Santa Fe 400th Anniversary Commemoration will showcase the best Hollywood movies outdoors in public parks throughout the city. All shows are FREE to the public and the locations will vary each week.

Dinner Impossible: Historic Dinner Recreation at Las Golondrinas (July 2010)

Las Golondrinas was a famous stopping point or paraje along the Camino Real (The Royal Road). This historic rancho, now a living history museum, will partner with the Santa Fe School of Cooking in 2010 to create an outdoor, historic dining experience. A menu from diaries dated hundreds of years ago is re-created and prepared and cooked outside, with natural ingredients so that guests can “taste a glimpse” of a time gone by. This will be a ticketed event.

New Year’s Eve Gala Closing Ball (December 31, 2010)

Help Santa Fe ring in the New Year and say adios to the 400th anniversary commemoration. This 1,000+ person closing night gala will showcase highlights of the commemoration along with dinner, dancing and live entertainment. The New Year’s Eve 2010 Legacy Ball will be held at the new Convention Center in the heart of Santa Fe. This will be a ticketed event.

The city of Santa Fe has created a website to help you keep track of the special events coming during their commemoration celebration: www.santafe400th.com. Be sure to check the calendar of upcoming events so you can pick the best time to visit.