THE SHARPEST DESCRIPTION of the PASEO, Taos’s beloved 10-year-old outdoor art extravaganza, came from a tattooed tough guy in a leather jacket. He was shouldering his sleeping toddler at the tail end of last year’s event when he turned to his partner and said, “It’s like Burning Man meets Meow Wolf.”

This October, as the ever-evolving PASEO evolves yet again, the festival’s sound-bite summation will be updated, perhaps to something like this: A giant honeycomb labyrinth bathed in Rothko colors … with bouncy-house vibes.

In years past, an expertly curated collection of more than 30 artists, creators, and performers have built inventive installations including oversize neon flowers, sound sculptures, and metal skeletons dancing under an 18-foot-high ring of fire. But to kick off its second decade, the organizers have shifted the event from September to early October and from night to day, while adding more viewing hours and putting its many artistic eggs into a single, seriously chromatic basket. 

The PASEO transforms into a vibrant, interactive art experience, evolving with a new, immersive luminarium installation. Photograph courtesy of Eric Schrijver.

From October 3 to 6, a massive, 7,000-square-foot walk-through installation—some 25 interconnected rooms, domes, bubbles, and chambers—takes over Kit Carson Park. The paseo team calls this traveling inflatable maze a “luminarium” because, as ambient sunlight strikes the semi-translucent vinyl walls, each chamber turns into a distinctive space infused with glowing color and dancing with patterns. The effect is like walking directly into the last moments of a soft sunset. Or maybe into the belly of a big, brightly hued fish. And, yes, it is most definitely Instagram-friendly.  

“The PASEO works to disorient you just enough to get you out of your comfort zone and transport you to a different reality,” says Matt Thomas, the founder and executive director of the Paseo Project, the nonprofit that brings free art installations and performances to the streets of Taos.

The PASEO does something else: It entices Taoseños to share in a communal block-party-like experience. Last year, in fact, some 6,200 attended the event—not bad for a town of 6,500. 

The inflatable installation from the outside. Photograph courtesy of Eric Schrijver.

What, exactly, does one do inside a luminarium? Explore, meditate, stare, space out, soak it up. And then probably return the next day because every visit will be both unique (the ambient light changes throughout the day due to the sun’s position and shifting cloud cover) and uniquely Taos, thanks to Thomas and company selecting local artists to stage activations in and near the installation.

“We’re talking about sound. We’re talking about lights. We’re talking about performance,” Thomas says. Look for headphone-powered silent discos in the evening and pop-up storytelling throughout the day. And look for a community coming together around the idea that art doesn’t need to live in a museum.

Read more: A tiny Taos eatery brings big New Zealand flavors to New Mexico.

PASEO 2024

October 3–6, 11 a.m.–7 p.m.; Kit Carson Park, Taos.