1 Calling all wenches and mandrakes.

Young Park, in Las Cruces, opens a portal to the frolics of yore on Saturday and Sunday during the 50th annual Doña Ana Arts Council Renaissance ArtsFaire. “We are back in person, we’re outdoors, and the weather looks like it’s going to be really nice,” says Randy Granger, the event’s emcee. “There is really something for everyone.”

Forsooth, he speaketh of jousters, a human chess board, dancing, fire-eating, musical performances, and a historical play. Kiddos can visit a magical realm, and adults can fare thee well to a beer and wine pavilion overlooking the lake. The Middle Eastern village includes belly dancers, African drumming, and Middle Eastern tunes.

Nosh on giant smoked turkey legs, funnel cakes, and other fair foods, and get a jump on holiday shopping at the arts and crafts market with 70 local vendors. “We have people who come dressed up like Lord of the Rings characters,” Granger says. “Just come and be someone else for the weekend.”

Prithee, though, thou should opt for the park-and-ride service; some of the surrounding streets have removed parking spaces for bike lanes.

Rose B. Simpson is part of HERE, a new exhibit at the Sanitary Tortilla Factory in Albuquerque. Photograph courtesy of the Sanitary Tortilla Factory. Courtesy of Sanitary Tortilla Factory

2 Be HERE now.

A celebration of BIPOC women and nonbinary artists comes to the Sanitary Tortilla Factory in downtown Albuquerque through November. HERE, an exhibit curated by artist Jodie Herrera, opens with a party on Friday from 5 to 8 p.m. “Artists are visual historians,” Herrera says. “We reflect and create culture, and I wanted to celebrate the great talent and impact of these important artists, not only to the arts community, but to the world in general.”

With works by photographer Cara Romero (Chemehuevi), multidisciplinary artist Nikesha Breeze, Mestiza mural artist and illustrator Collette Marie, enjarradora Joanna Keane Lopez, and sculptor Rose B. Simpson (Santa Clara), the exhibit honors artists who push the bounds of art. “I am proud that these artists are my contemporaries and friends, old and new. There is kinship between us,” Herrera says.

Painters, potters, sculptors, and jewelers open their creative spaces during the Dixon Studio Tour. Photograph courtesy of the Dixon Studio Tour. Dixon Studio Tour

3 Take an art cruise.

New Mexico’s original artist studio amble returns for its 40th year this weekend. The Dixon Studio Tour meanders through northern New Mexico’s Embudo Valley, a unique river canyon landscape in full autumnal splendor. Painters, potters, sculptors, and jewelers open their creative spaces Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with additional stops at community haunts like the Dixon Cooperative Market, La Chiripada Winery, and Blue Heron Brewing Co. Download a map of all the stops, and don’t forget your mask, which is required in all indoor spaces.

Gene Roddenberry is the focus of the Launch Pad Lecture series' “Where No Man Has Gone Before: 55 Years of Star Trek.” Photograph courtesy of the New Mexico Museum of Space History. New Mexico Museum of Space History

4 Beam us up.

Boldly go to the New Mexico Museum of Space History, in Alamogordo, Friday morning, where a talk about Star Trek marks the return of the Launch Pad Lecture series. It’s been on hiatus during the pandemic, but at 9 a.m., Executive Director Christopher Orwoll reanimates it by detailing how the 1966 TV show turned into a cultural phenomenon—and a lasting legacy for creator Gene Roddenberry—in “Where No Man Has Gone Before: 55 Years of Star Trek.” Roddenberry has a spot in the museum’s Space Hall of Fame, where visitors love taking selfies next to a transporter mockup. An upcoming exhibit, Sci Fi/Sci Fact, references some of his hopes for the future. Fear not the free lecture’s early timing: Coffee and donuts are on the museum, and you can also stream it from your couch.

5 Walk like an esqueleto.

While you’re downtown on Friday, saunter into the ABQ Art Walk, with a Día de los Muertos theme and 19 stops that include ofrendas (altars), an indoor artisan market, and tunes by DJ Miguel Lavoe at Por Vida Tattoo. Safe House Distilling hosts an exhibit of Chickiyo Jackson’s Día de los Muertos–inspired photography, while the food truck Tikka Spice serves deliciousness outside. DJ Flo Fader spins at Orpheum Community Hub, where Falling Up, an exhibit by Lady JennD, presents mixed-media collages inspired by the eponymous Shel Silverstein book.