New Mexico Historic Sites

Summer Fun at New Mexico Lincoln & Fort Stanton Historic Sites

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 20, 2018

MEDIA CONTACT


Delve into history where it happened this summer at events at New Mexico Historic Sites. Upcoming events include:

San Juan Day Cultural Festival in Lincoln Saturday, June 23, 2018, from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. -- San Juan Day Cultural Festival in Lincoln is a cultural celebration of Saint John. Grab the camp chairs and sunscreen and set out for the Lincoln Historic Site Saturday, June 23, for 2018’S annual San Juan Day celebration. This family-friendly event celebrates the region’s multicultural heritage through music, art, food and more and is a fundraiser for the Friends of Historic Lincoln and the continued preservation of Lincoln Historic Site.

The community gathering has its roots in the San Juan feast day celebrations held by Lincoln County’s earliest non-native residents who named their mission church in Lincoln after St. John the Baptist. This year’s event on June 24 will be held on the grounds of the San Juan Mission Church in historic Lincoln. There will be plenty musical and stage performances, arts and craft vendors, local food vendors and a game area for children. Visitors can also explore new exhibits in the Lincoln Historic Site visitor center including the reinstallation of local historian and artist Polly Chavez’s Lincoln County Santera exhibit, a collection of contemporary retablos.

San Juan Cultural Festival schedule of events: 

10 a.m.: Art and Food Vendors Open (San Juan Grounds and throughout Lincoln Village)

10 a.m.-12 p.m.: The Flying “J” Wranglers concert- one of Lincoln County’s most treasured musical acts combining traditional country and western, bluegrass, and more into their own special brand of music.

12 p.m.: Catholic Mass (San Juan Church)

1:15 p.m.: “Our Mother’s Before Us,” one-woman show performed by creator & actress Elise Gomber (San Juan Church)

2 p.m.: Presentation by Miss Mescalero (San Juan Church)

2:30 p.m.: Traditional Mescalero Dancers (Main Stage Area)

3 p.m.: History and heritage of the San Juan Mission Church from Scott Smith, New Mexico Historic Sites

4 p.m.: Lone Piñon - Lone Piñon is an acoustic conjunto from Northern New Mexico whose music celebrates the diversity and integrity of their region’s cultural roots. Using violins, accordion, quinta huapangera, bajo sexto, guitarrón, tololoche and vocals in Spanish, English, Nahuatl, and P’urépecha the group has revived and updated the Chicano string band style that once flourished in New Mexico, bringing a devoted musicianship to Northern New Mexican polkas and chotes, virtuosic Mexican huapango and son calentano, and classic borderlands conjunto.

Stanton After Dark Saturday, June 30, 6 p.m. – 9 p.m. – During the Stanton After Dark events visitors can explore the grounds and buildings, interact with costumed living historians, storytellers, and investigators from the Lincoln County Paranormal Historical Society. During 160 years in operation, Fort Stanton’s served as an Army post, tuberculosis sanatorium, internment camp and correctional facility. The self-guided tours will begin at 6 p.m. and end at 9 p.m. Cost is $5 per person, Children under 10 are free.

Fort Stanton LIVE! – Saturday, July 14, 2018, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. -- Fort Stanton Live! event brings costumed reeanactors from the Civil War and Indian Wars era to the Fort for demonstrations, presentations, concert and a military ball which will have visitors dancing into the night!  Additionally, the event brings authors, historians, photographers, artists, and a variety of historical vendors to site to share their crafts and other handiwork. Local food vendors are on hand to provide sustenance for your day at the Fort as well, so bring a healthy appetite for knowledge, food and fun.  Reenactments represent fort life as it was in 1850 through the 1870.

Old Lincoln Days in Lincoln, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Aug. 3, 4, 5 from 8:30 a.m. – 10 p.m. – Old Lincoln Days is a folk pageant with re-enactors portraying Billy the Kid’s last escape and the notorious Lincoln County War - plus food vendors, live music, food and a parade.

All Day – Food Concessions & Arts and Crafts by Dr. Woods House, Pageant Grounds and Community Church

8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. – Museums Open

9 a.m. to 5 p.m. – Shops Open

8 p.m. – Presentation to Hall of Fame recipient at Pageant Grounds

8:30 p.m. – Performance of “Last Escape of Billy the Kid” at the Pageant Grounds

 

About New Mexico Historic Sites: http://nmhistoricsites.org/ On March 14, 1931, the New Mexico Historic Site system was established by an Act for the Preservation of the Scientific Resources of New Mexico, to "declare by public proclamation that historic and prehistoric structures and other objects of scientific interest that are situated upon the lands owned or controlled by the State of New Mexico, shall be state monuments, and may reserve as a part thereof such parcels of land as may be necessary to the proper care and management of the objects to be protected." Under the direction of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, six sites are open to the public: Coronado, Fort SeldenFort Stanton, Fort Sumner Historic Site/Bosque Redondo Memorial, Jemez, and Lincoln. The Los Luceros Historic Property is open to the public during scheduled events and by appointment (505) 476-1130.

In 2004, the J. Paul Taylor Family bequeathed the Barela-Reynolds House and Property on the Mesilla Plaza to the Department of Cultural Affairs.  Still serving as J. Paul Taylor’s private home, the property will become a Historic Site after his passing. Events, news releases and images about activities at New Mexico Historic Sites, and other Department of Cultural Affairs divisions can be accessed at media.newmexicoculture.org.​

 


Related Photos

13-Lincoln Re-Enactor
Fort Stanton Live

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