Above: The shelves of Collected Works Bookstore are filled with local authors and bestsellers alike. Photograph by Carrie McCarthy.
Support a local bookstore.
For many of us, books have helped get us through the last few months—an escape when we cannot travel, comfort when we’re yearning for others, and salve for our for over-stressed minds. But having books doesn’t mean we have our local independent bookstores.
So grab a glass of your favorite beverage and cozy up on the couch in support of one of those spots. On Saturday at 5 p.m., Santa Fe’s Collected Works Bookstore hosts Keep the Pages Turning, a fundraiser and virtual literary event that brings a host of authors together to read from their own works or works of others.
A Santa Fe staple for over 40 years, Collected Works is where readers and writers gather. A fireplace crackles in colder months. With shelves packed with works by local authors and national bestsellers alike, it hosts regular author readings and book premieres.
During the pandemic, Collected Works has been closed to customers while offering curbside pickup Monday through Friday. The fundraiser (tickets are $15) helps keep orders fulfilled, employees working, and readings free.
Hosted by actress Ali MacGraw, the event features 22 authors, including Sandra Cisneros, Terry Tempest Williams, Arthur Sze, Hampton Sides, and Anne Hillerman. As a special tribute, Marie Romero Cash and Artemisio Romero y Carver will read from Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me Ultima.
“As the pandemic progresses, it becomes more and more obvious that readers have found comfort from books and storytelling,” says Cecile Lipworth, the event’s producer. “It's a way to connect with one another, create community, and escape into the pages of both the familiar and the newly discovered.”
Above: Paula Estevan will demonstrate her work along with Robert Kasero in a livestreamed event from Andrea Fisher Pottery. Photograph courtesy of Andrea Fisher Pottery.
Watch a demo by Indigenous potters.
The intricate designs and perfect geometric patterns on Indigenous pottery may cause you to wonder, How are the lines so thin? How long does this take? How does one produce such beautiful shapes?
This Friday, you can see for yourself as Laguna and Acoma Pueblo potters Paula Estevan and Robert Kasero demonstrate their skills in a live event hosted by Andrea Fisher Pottery, in Santa Fe. From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., the artists highlight different parts of their process, from building and polishing to design and painting. Owner Andrea Fisher will interview Estevan and Kasero, and viewers can ask their own questions over Zoom or by email.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic obliterated the normal summer market schedule, many Indigenous artists are struggling to find ways to sell their works. In anticipation, the gallery ordered all the equipment to make these demonstrations happen back in March. “We have 20 days of demonstrations scheduled for the month of August,” says Marketing Director Derek Fisher, noting that each demonstration includes a direct link to the potters’ available pieces. “We’re trying to provide a market for all of these potters; many of them have no other sources of income.”
Above: Oscar Butler blends blues and folk into an easy-listening sound. Photograph courtesy of Oscar Butler.
Listen to a livestreamed concert by Oscar Butler.
Oscar Butler’s voice lulls with a sense of peace that hangs on the lyrics. His tunes are smooth with easy melodies that can make cloudy days mellow or summer days fine. And depending on how your week has gone (yeah, we know the answer), it could be just what you need for a Friday night.
At 8 p.m., AMP Concerts will livestream a set Butler recorded on Thursday afternoon in front of a few customers at the farm restaurant Bike In Coffee, in Albuquerque. “I’ve been basically locked down for so long, it is so nice to be out in front of people and playing,” says Butler, who has converted most of his studio apartment into an at-home studio. “I am a full-time musician, so when everything started getting locked down and I wasn’t able to get out and play anymore, I had to figure out what to do.”
Butler’s songs are a blend of blues and folk, which he calls easy listening. “I try to stay on the brighter side of feel-good music,” he says. “I want people to walk away feeling good.”
Learn to salsa.
At-home date nights can be wonderful. They’re way less pricey and don’t need a designated driver. You can choose the soundtrack and wear whatever you want (including pajamas). But maybe it’s time to spice up the quarantine routine.
Jessica Montoya, director of the baile program at the National Hispanic Cultural Center, in Albuquerque, is teaching viewers how to salsa with virtual lessons on YouTube. She starts with the basic salsa steps and builds from there.
Montoya, who prefers free-form salsa to the stricter guidelines of ballroom salsa, takes time to talk about our bodies and the ways they move, emphasizing the importance of movement for our overall health.
Salsa is a dance you can learn with just a few basic steps, so it won’t be long before you’re moving on to Montoya’s tutorials that delve into more difficult moves. She teaches from both the leading and following positions, so you and your partner can get the steps down pat and have a new way to burn through the extra calories from all the banana bread you have been making.
Participate in Family Mornings with the kids.
What do trickster foxes, frog-like people with water-filled depressions in their heads, enormous spiders that live in valleys, and goblins that steal your things have in common? They are all Yokai—magical shape-shifting creatures from Japanese folklore.
They’re also the focus of this week’s Family Mornings, a virtual activity hosted on Sunday by the Museum of International Folk Art, in Santa Fe. During storytime, kids learn about Yokai such as Tengu, the feathered, red-skinned mascots of the outdoors, and Nekomata, the cat-like spirit with a forked tail. Afterward, participants can share the art they’ve made with the group.
Sign up ahead of time, since the activity is limited to 15 families per 10 a.m. or 11 a.m. time slot. The museum also has limited grab-and-go kits for pick up when you register.