Festival will kick off June 11 at 5:00 PM and end June 13, at 3:00 PM.
For more information, to take an active part in the festivities, booth space
and Chili Cook Off registration, or to purchase festival T-shirts.
Phone the Trinidad Chamber of Commerce Office at and join in the Santa Fe Trail Days Celebration! This year we will be awarding free booth space to the best Trail Days decorated booth!
Plan a trip to Trinidad for a living history activity that you're sure to remember! Three days of fun and excitement, experiencing life as the pioneers did are planned in the El Corazon De Trinidad National Historic District. The annual event is sponsored by the Trinidad/ Las Animas County Chamber of Commerce and this year promises to be the best yet. They are really going all out to provide a four star event. An extensive portion of Main Street, from Animas Street down to and including the Santa Fe Trail Museum (actual site of the Santa Fe Trail), will be portioned off to accommodate more than 100 vendors with booths from New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, and from as far away as Alabama.
To reflect the "Heritage Remebered " theme businesses and
booths will pick their favorite era from the Santa Fe Trail Days and dress
as the characters of their choice. Stores and booths will be decorated to
reflect the heritage of their choice. Pioneers, Indians, Victorian merchants,
fur trappers and traders, soldiers, out laws and lawmen will be at this
year's event. Long time merchant families will be presenting pictorials
of the life and times of their ancestors. Windows and stores will reflect
the "Heritage Remebered" theme so you will be offered the unique
opportunity of actually experiencing life as it was then! Come in costume
and enter the contest, there is no limit to the fun you can have dressed
as your favorite character of the Trail Days era!
The Corazon Gallery, newly named "The Shops on Main", will present a special art exhibit. They will be doing a special interpretive show at The shops on Main related to Santa Fe Trail History. Artists will present works of their interpretation of the Trail Days Era. Bring your pocketbook, because they are sure to have something that you can't live without!
Continuous music throughout the 3-day festival will be provided at the bandstand in Coal Miners Memorial Park. There will be a Beer Garden set up to wet your whistle during the festivities. Continuous music will be provided throughout the three-day festival. Friday night's street dance, 8 PM-11 PM and Saturday night festivities continue on the stage and you can dance, dance, dance, till late, late, late!
Be sure and stop by the Chili Cook Off for a sample of some of the most
mouth watering Chili in the Southwest. The splendidly costumed strolling
Mariachis will provide cultural entertainment throughout the day, giving
you the feeling that you actually went back in time and to another country.
The strolling bag pipes add a distinctive foreign flavor to the excitement.
The distant beats of the drums from one of the tipi, beckon you to take
part in the activities at the Purgatoire River. Enter the duck race competition
and while you are there, take a the River Tour. Stroll through time at the
new River Walk, cool off in the shade and visit the interpretive exhibit
depicting life on the Mountain Branch of the Santa Fe Trail. Young and old,
there will be something to suit us all.
Santa Fe Trail Days festival will host a car and bike show for those
of you who like to see the transformation of transportation made through
time. Postal collectors will have the opportunity to expand their collections
by purchasing a limited edition postmark rubber stamped envelope which depicts
the Santa Fe Trail Days of Trinidad. You can bring your own envelope to
stamp, or you can buy one of theirs to stamp. These will only be available
during Trail Days, so don't miss out. To order by mail, contact the Trinidad
Post Office at .
There will be a special children's area with a zoo. You won't want to
miss out on the activities at the Trinidad History Museum complex. There
will be tons to do for kids and adults. Admission is free to the Santa Fe
Trail Museum and there will be a presentation of living history activities
throughout the day. Professional actors will re-enact historical characters
of the Santa Fe Trail. Witness one of the vivid renditions of a wild west
shoot out. Kids of all ages can take part in one of the hands on activities
such as adobe brick making, or weaving.
Sounds like a real hoot! Take time out to spend a day, or all three days, at the Santa Fe Trail Days Festival. You will love it, and your family will love you for it.
Walking Tours: History of the Purgatoire River
Free tours by Dough Holdread at 9:00 am and 4:00 pm.At the Festival Stage on West Main Street
3:00 pm "Music of the Santa Fe Trail and Far West" by Mark
Gardner and Rex Rideout4:30 pm "Hispanic Culture along the Santa Fe Trail" by Roberto
MondragonAt the Trinidad History MuseumTours of Trinidad's Only Official Santa Fe National Historic Trail Sites,
10 am-4 pmSanta Fe Trail Museum: free self-guided toursBaca House: admission charged for guided toursLiving History Presentations in the Baca Courtyard
Free on-going presentations between 9 am-4 pm by the El Pueblo Living
History AssociationHerbal RemediesSouthwest Food waysDying and Weaving WoolMountain MenHistoric American Flags Display
Free on-going activities between 9 am-4 pm, Along Main Street in front
of the Baca House and Bloom MansionChildren's Activities in the Baca Courtyard
Free on-going activities between 9 am-4 pmMake miniature adobe bricksWeave with woolApple bobbing contestPioneer gamesColoring and activity sheetsLive Music and Trail Talks
Free from the Veranda of the Bloom Mansion11:00 am "The Military Route of the Santa Fe Trail in Colorado"
by Richard Louden1:00 pm "Music of the Santa Fe Trail and Far West" by Mark
Gardner and Rex Rideout2:30 pm "Hispanic Culture along the Santa Fe Trail" by Roberto
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