Mountainair Kicks Off Holiday Season With Luminaria and Craft Fair

Inside the Dr. Saul Community Center, table upon table was lined up, covered in the work made by artisans. On stage, two musicians performed in a fashion reminiscent of Vashti Bunyan. Just beneath the stage, a wood-turner’s table was stacked with bowls in rustic, organic shapes. A bookmaker’s table included journals with modernist, Jackson Pollock-like covers. Biscochitos abounded throughout the hall. In the front of the Dr. Saul Building, Mountainair First Assembly Pastor Joseph Snodgrass dressed as Santa Claus. Outside, Town Council member Gayle Jones operated her barbeque food truck, Holy Smoke. The Rotary's Christmas Arts and Crafts Fair would be the first of many events on Saturday, December 2, 2023, that kicked off the holiday season for the town.

West of town, at the Abó unit of the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument, volunteers with the Friends of Salinas Pueblo Missions set up thousands of luminaria bags, propane heaters, and piñatas for that afternoon and evening's festivities. By late afternoon, visitors jammed Abó Ruins Road, trying to find parking for the event. The Town of Mountainair had a bus service running from the pull-off on US-60 where tailings are stored.

Volunteer Donna Deiner, who had been directing traffic at the event, reported that she had counted over 400 visitors. Many of these visitors joined the Roman Catholic mass celebrated by St. Alice’s Parish and Missions in the nave and sanctuary portions of the ruins while others peered in from the sacristy. National Park Service Superintendant Kathy Faz Garcia noted she was impressed with the turnout despite the cold weather.

Following the mass, some attendees joined the parish for the posada, a traditional reenactment of the nativity. Others, as the sunlight faded, began to photograph the luminaria throughout the ruins. By the time the dark completely took hold of the ruins at Abó, many packed into the pavilion south of the Ranger Station where piñatas - and perhaps more pertinently for visitors, gas heaters, hot beverages, and cookies - awaited guests.