1 Satisfy your sweet tooth.

The Southwest Chocolate & Coffee Fest fills the Manuel Lujan Exhibit Halls at Expo New Mexico in Albuquerque with more than 200 vendors on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

“Over the last few years, we have seen far more chocolate makers from all over the world coming to participate,” says Dean Strober, producer and co-founder of the festival. “Attendees will discover chocolate bars they cannot find in stores and meet the people who make them.”

For the first time, the Chocolate & Coffee Fest has created its own special chocolate bar made with layers of milk and dark chocolate and covered in coffee beans that were co-fermented with bananas. “You get the crunch from the coffee, and the sweetness of the banana,” says Strober.

The coffee offerings are just as impressive. “People will meet coffee roasters who are really pushing the science of coffee,” says Strober. Festgoers can experience a coffee tasting that traces the drink’s roots in Ethiopia, featuring three coffees from three different regions. There will also be chocolate-tasting tables, created in partnership with Guittard Chocolate Company, throughout the event where attendees can try a variety of blends. All the tastings and experiences are included in the $15 ticket. Get yours here.

Catch an independent film during the Las Cruces International Film Festival. Photograph courtesy of Las Cruces International Film Festival.

2 Watch an independent film.

The Las Cruces International Film Festival hits screens this weekend, showing a variety of films at venues throughout the borderlands city, including Cineport 10 and New Mexico State University (NMSU). Founded in 2014 by NMSU professor and filmmaker Ross Marks, the festival features independent films from directors around the world, and the 2026 theme is “Bridging Borders.” The festival has grown to include a fifth venue this year, along with a lineup of panel discussions, workshops, and appearances from stars like Steve Zahn, who headlines the opening-night film She Dances, and Michael Rooker (The Walking Dead, Guardians of the Galaxy). Find the full schedule and tickets on the event’s website.

A new exhibition at the New Mexico Military Museum honors Bataan veteran Valdemar DeHerrera with personal photos, artifacts, and stories from his life. Photograph courtesy of the New Mexico Military Museum.

3 Remember a veteran.

Every year, the New Mexico Military Museum in Santa Fe marks the anniversary of the fall of Bataan with a commemorative exhibition focusing on one Bataan veteran. This year, the subject is Valdemar DeHerrera, who died at age 105 in July 2025.

The exhibition features a collection of family photographs, personal items, newspaper clippings, and awards from DeHerrera’s life. “One of the most interesting things in the exhibit is a few photos from a camera he found when he was liberated,” says Laureta Huit, museum director at the military museum. DeHerrera took the camera with him, capturing images in Japan and the Philippines before returning home and developing them in New Mexico.

Born in Costilla in 1919, DeHerrera had a strong connection to the land and intimate knowledge of local plants and herbs. “In the exhibit, [curator] Aaron Krebsbach speaks about how he grew up with a lot of local herbs and recognized them as healing. When he was in the Philippines, he saw those same herbs and was able to treat his fellow soldiers,” says Huit. “That rural upbringing was core to his survival and return home.” The exhibition opens Thursday at the Bataan Building, in Santa Fe, in the breezeway outside the Department of Veteran Services, and is on view until April 2027. 

Farmington’s Gourd Dance & Intertribal Powwow offers a free day of Indigenous dancing, drumming, art vendors, and food at San Juan College. Photograph courtesy of San Juan College.

4 Enjoy a cultural celebration.

The 2026 Gourd Dance & Intertribal Powwow is happening Saturday in Farmington at San Juan College. The free cultural event highlights dancing and drumming traditions from Indigenous groups at the Health and Human Performance Center gymnasium. In addition to dance and drum performances, the event features a Native arts market and food vendors. The festivities begin at 10 a.m.; dancers take the stage at noon and the powwow grand entry is at 6 p.m.

The Albuquerque Museum’s new exhibition, "Fred Harvey’s Route 66," highlights historic images and memorabilia from the Harvey era. Photograph courtesy of the Albuquerque Museum.

5 See Fred Harvey–era memorabilia. 

The Albuquerque Museum’s Works on Paper gallery opens a new exhibition, Fred Harvey’s Route 66, this weekend, as part of the city’s celebration of the Route 66 centennial. While the hospitality mogul died long before the Mother Road rose to fame, his hotels and restaurants remained a big part of the attractions of Route 66. The exhibition explores the entrepreneur’s role in shaping ideas about New Mexico and the eventual path of road-trippers. See historic images of Harvey hotels, including La Fonda on the Plaza in Santa Fe and the demolished Alvarado Hotel in Albuquerque, along with postcards, brochures, maps, menus, and other items from the height of the Harvey era. The exhibition is on view through December 6.

For more things to do, check out our online calendar of events.