1 Join the party of the century.

Hundredth birthdays call for a party, and this weekend’s Santa Fe Indian Market gets the big-bash treatment for reaching its 100th year as the nation’s premier Native arts showcase. More than 1,000 artists descend on the Santa Fe Plaza with top-of-their-class jewelry, weavings, pottery, and more. Two blocks north, the Free Indian Market boasts another 600 artists. Museum exhibits, special gallery shows, live music and dance, fashion, and food trucks will welcome what organizers expect to be 150,000 visitors. (Our hint? Show up early for the shopping; linger for the food and performances.)

Here are just a few of the many don’t-misses:

Two formal fashion shows (meaning: You need to buy a ticket) take place during Saturday’s Centennial Gala Party and on Sunday at the Santa Fe Convention Center. Look forward to spectacular new garments by designers like Orlando Dugi (Diné), Korina Emmerich (Puyallup), Patricia Michaels (Taos Pueblo), and Jamie Okuma (Luiseño, Shoshone-Bannock, Wailaki, and Okinawan). The free Native American Clothing Contest celebrates traditional regalia. Check it out from 9 a.m. to noon on the Santa Fe Plaza.

The IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, just off the Plaza, opens a new exhibit, Art of Indigenous Fashion, on Friday that distills the importance of Native fashion as intricate expressions of history, identity, and innovation. Amber-Dawn Bear Robe (Siksika Nation), who also oversees the market’s fashion shows, curated pieces by contemporary designers like Kay Bennett (Diné), Lauren Good Day (Arikara, Hidatsa, Blackfeet, and Plains Cree), and Lesley Hampton (Temagami First Nation). See the exhibit through January 8, 2023.

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian has built the market’s Native Cinema Showcase into a dazzling stage for Indigenous filmmakers, writers, and actors. Running Thursday through Sunday in the air-conditioned comfort of the New Mexico History Museum, the lineup includes full-length movies, animations, and shorts by filmmakers from over 30 nations throughout the Western hemisphere and the Arctic.

The Mango Cakes perform as part of the inaugural Asian Expo & Marketplace in Albuquerque. Photograph courtesy of the Asian Expo & Marketplace.

2 Celebrate local Asian and Pacific Islander businesses.

The inaugural Asian Expo & Marketplace aims to spotlight Asian and Pacific Islander–owned businesses and delight visitors with films, food, live performances, and cooking demonstrations. The festival kicks off Friday at Albuquerque’s Balloon Fiesta Park with a conference for API business owners, followed by the New Mexico Asian Film Festival, from 4 to 8 p.m. On Saturday, from noon to 6 p.m., the Grand Marketplace and Festival features performances, including one from local API soul-pop group Mango Cakes, along with Chinese cooking demonstrations, a presentation of teas, food trucks, and vendors selling health and wellness goods.

“Our mission at the Asian Business Collaborative is to support and empower API businesses in New Mexico,” says Melanie Nguyen, development coordinator at the collective that organized the event. “This festival is a fulfillment of that mission. We are giving space to celebrate these businesses and expose them to the general public. We want to help the API community showcase their experience and skills.”

Los Alamos Nature Center’s planetarium hosts a viewing of "Predator" as part of its Suds & Shows series. Photograph courtesy of Los Alamos Nature Center.

3 Get back to your predator roots.

Before seeing the new, Indigenous-themed Prey, check out the film’s origin story Friday at 7 p.m. in the Los Alamos Nature Center’s planetarium. The center shows the OG film, Predator, as part of its Suds & Shows series: Catch a flick; nab a beer or glass of wine. “We work with Pajarito Brewpub, and it’s a good partnership,” says Kristen O’Hara, the center’s director of interpretation. “Los Alamos doesn’t really have a movie theater anymore, so this is a good way to serve the community. It’s fun to see movies projected on the dome.” Doors open at 6 p.m. Get to the chopper! 

Beekeepers will talk about how to create a good environment for pollinators at the Bug Fest in Las Cruces. Photograph by Unsplash/Bianca Ackermann.

4 Eat a bug.

Creepy-crawlies get the star treatment during Bug Fest at the Las Cruces Museum of Nature & Science on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. It’s the third annual fest, packed with info about pollinators, real live bugs, and … um … edible ones, too. The New Mexico State University’s Arthropod Collection will show cool insects like stick bugs and tarantulas. You can sample seasoned crickets, and beekeeper Scott Anderson will give a few talks about how to keep your yard friendly for pollinators.

The Roswells perform as part of the Neighborhood Open Space Community Concert series. Photograph courtesy of The Roswells.

5 Catch a cool summer night.

Steeped in the culture of New Mexico, the Roswells bring classic country music to the Tijeras BioZone Open Space on Saturday evening, part of the Neighborhood Open Space Community Concert series. Besides enjoying western swing and honky-tonk tunes, you can explore the city of Albuquerque’s newest open space—a 4-mile, 1,000-foot biozone along Tijeras Creek and Historic Route 66. Bring the kids for face painting, paletas by PopFizz, a climbing wall, hands-on nature activities, and an appearance by the Conservation Carnivale, an educational circus truck. Doors open at 5 p.m.