1 Hop into Easter fun.

Easter Eggstravaganza, Farmington

Get into the Easter fun early at the Easter Eggstravaganza at Sycamore Park Community Center on Friday from 9 a.m. to noon. The Easter Bunny will be on site along with food vendors, games, and of course, heaps of Easter eggs to be hunted.

Easter Egg Hunt, Fort Stanton

Visit the Fort Stanton Historic Site on Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. with the kids for an Easter Egg Hunt, including candy and a chance to meet the Easter Bunny. Lucky hunters who find golden eggs win Culture Passes, which grant access to sites and museums throughout the state. Bring your own basket to fill with goodies.

Bunny Walk/Easter Egg Hunt, Ruidoso

Hit the trails on Saturday for the fifth annual Bunny Run at Cedar Creek in Ruidoso, which invites folks to run or walk wearing their Easter best (costumes welcome). Hosted by the Village of Ruidoso’s parks and recreation department, the 5K starts at 7 a.m. and is immediately followed by an Easter egg hunt at 10 a.m. Keep your eyes peeled for the Easter Bunny, who will make an appearance. If you want to run, you must register online.

Easter Eggstravaganza, Kit Carson Park, Taos

Scan the grounds of Kit Carson Park on Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. to find colorful Easter eggs hidden high and low. Hosted by the city, the League of Latin American Citizens Council #78, and Super Save Discount Food Store, Easter Eggstravaganza has plenty for kids to find at this fiesta.

Easter Egg Hunt, Santa Fe Botanical Gardens

The Easter celebration at the Santa Fe Botanical Gardens offers families a heap of springtime fun, including an educational talk on native rabbits in New Mexico, treats from Fusion Tacos food truck, photos with Clover the Easter Bunny, and 10-minute timed egg hunts. Kids can find as many eggs as possible in the allotted time and win prizes depending on their count. The eggs will be hidden again for the next group. It starts at 11 a.m. on Sunday and you must register for a 20-minute time slot during which the kiddos can hunt.

Natachee Momaday is releasing 13 poems at Collected Works Bookstore. Photograph courtesy of Tasnim Clarke.

2 Listen to a poetic talk.

Storytelling runs deep in the Momaday family. On Friday at 6 p.m., Natachee Momaday Gray, granddaughter of Pulitzer Prize-winning author N. Scott Momaday, releases her first poetry collection, Silver Box, at Collected Works Bookstore, in Santa Fe.  

The 13 poems represent a lucky number for Momaday Gray. “This collection has been a labor of love and endurance for most of my life,” she says. “It has lived through many versions of itself, and I’ve carried it with me through all of the important changes I’ve undergone. It was at times a friend, my Bible and Holy Grail, my enemy and raw jagged edge, but most always a beacon of profound honesty as I learned to take accountability for who I am.”

The collection’s title takes inspiration from a keepsake received from a friend in Afghanistan: a silver box with a dried rosebud and lapis bead inside. As Momaday Gray prepares for the arrival of her first baby this summer, the timing of this release feels a bit like kismet. “This silly little collection of poetry is my blood, sweat, and tears up until now. My first baby,” she says. “The release is a long-awaited letting go—to make room for my second baby, my birth into motherhood, and the opening of the next chapter of my life.”

Celebrate Jaune Quick-to-see-Smith's artistry at Turner Carroll Gallery in Santa Fe. Photograph by Ungelbah Dávila-Shivers.

3 Pay homage to an epic artist. 

Jaune Quick-to-See-Smith (Salish) creates abstract paintings that pull from her lived experience, speaking in a visual language all her own. With a retrospective exhibit of her work opening April 19 at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, Turner Carroll Gallery, in Santa Fe, celebrates her artistry with Turner Carroll Honors Jaune Quick-to-See-Smith, an exhibit of her works on paper. Opens Friday, it runs through May 7.

Kyle Scott's "Untitled" will be part of the All-City High School Senior Art Exhibit at the Branigan Cultural Center. Photograph courtesy of Branigan Cultural Center.

4 Head back to school.

Artworks by more than 70 students from five schools throughout Las Cruces will be on view at the All-City High School Senior Art Exhibit at the Branigan Cultural Center, opening on Friday. It includes mediums ranging from ceramics to drawing and highlights the budding talent of students from schools including Alma d’ Arte, Organ Mountain, and Mayfield.

“It’s super cool to partner with the local high schools to see new and emerging artist,” says Analisa Torres, exhibit curator at the Branigan Cultural Center. “A lot of them make work based on personal experiences and the area and nature around them.” 

The works will be divided into 10 juried categories with cash prizes awarded to the top four pieces chosen as best in show. The museum hosts an opening reception on Saturday from 1 to 3 p.m. with works on view through April 22.

Gaze into the April night sky and identify constellations, planets, and star clusters at the Los Alamos Nature Center.

5 Look up.

Gaze into the night skies over New Mexico with Elizabeth Watts, Pajarito Environmental Education Center educator and planetarium manager. On Friday at 7 p.m., her talk, “The Night Sky in April,” at the Los Alamos Nature Center will help you identify constellations, planets, and star clusters.

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