15th Annual Fred Harvey History Weekend

The 15th Annual Fred Harvey History Weekend in New Mexico takes place October 24th-28th.

Don’t miss your chance to:

Attend engaging Harvey History Talks at the New Mexico History Museum (or online) on Friday and Saturday afternoons, October 25th & 26th. Enjoy a historically delicious Fred Harvey Foodie Dinner & Auction at the La Fonda Hotel Ballroom on: Saturday night, October 26th. Participate in other exciting events throughout the weekend (details coming soon).

Net proceeds benefit the New Mexico History Museum, specifically projects concerning Fred Harvey, the Santa Fe Railway, and the cultural, culinary, architectural, and economic history of the Southwest.

Saturday, Oct. 26 NMHM Lecture Schedule:

12:00-Doors open for pre-ticked check-ins and seating

       (All seats must be pre-reserved. No tickets will be sold at the door)

       Bottled water only-No food or other beverages allowed.

12:30 pm El Navajo and Gallup, the Tribal, Railroad and Harvey Culture Crossroads, architectural historian Matt Kluge on the fascinating and sometimes frictional relationships in the ATSF town closest to a major reservation, where the Harvey Native art business began and, in 1923, where controversial murals in the new wing of the hotel became the nation’s first flashpoint over cultural appropriation.

1:30: The Appropriation Challenge: From the Fred Harvey Indian Room and El Navajo to the Contemporary Clash, talk by Lucy Fowler Williams, University of Pennsylvania Museum curator, offers a new view of the debate over commercial relations with Native artists from the Harvey heyday through today.

2:30: The Bully Saga of Teddy and Fred: From the Rough Riders Reunion to Grand Canyon National Park, How the President Teddy Roosevelt, the Harvey Company and the Railroad Helped Open the American West debut talk at the Harvey weekend by FredHead California school teacher Justin Riner on the important role that Harvey and the ATSF had in Roosevelt’s career and the early American Century

3:25 short break

3:35: How the Railroad and Fred Harvey Forever Changed Navajo Textiles, talk by Laurie Webster, independent scholar and expert in SW weaving traditions, followed by rugmaking demonstration and dialogue with Navajo weaver Brenda Spencer from Wide Ruins, Arizona, and is Towering House clan, born for Edgewater; Brenda worked at Hubbell Trading Post for many years.

4:40-5:15 The Harvey Family Still Has a Few Things They Want You to Know: Panel including the Harvey family members who most lived through the glory days of the company and its culture: siblings Daggett Harvey, Jr. & Jean Harvey Vanderbilt, Helen Harvey Mills & Julian Harvey, and others. They will tell stories, show family photos, take questions and maybe settle a few scores.

5:15pm Firm Exit

For those attending the Pre-Ticketed Dinner note:

5:30 check-in and cocktails begin at La Fonda on the Plaza.

Reserve your seats! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fred-harvey-history-weekend-2024-tickets-919703155897

Tickets to the Harvey History Talks and Foodie Dinner & Auction are available on Eventbrite. In-person lecture tickets: $50 (guaranteed seat for both days) Online lecture tickets: $25 (includes recordings of the talks) Foodie Dinner & Auction: $150 (includes cocktail hour, four-course dinner, Mimbreno China gift) Sponsorship packages are also available here. https://www.museumfoundation.org/harvey-weekend/ Full schedule and reservation information for bonus activities will be posted by Labor Day.  

Event Sponsors:

Corporate sponsor: La Fonda on the Plaza Major private donors: Susan and Thomas Kevin Golden Mimbreno dinner gifts: HF Coors Foodie Dinner wines: Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits Special auction items: Bronzesmith Fine Art Gallery and Foundry Historical donations and inspiration: La Posada & Hotel Castaneda

Questions? Email: schweitzermeredith@gmail.com

Image Credit: Chef Konrad serving New Mexican food, La Fonda, Santa Fe, New Mexico, circa, 1930-1945. Santa Fe, New Mexico. Courtesy New Mexico History Museum, Photo Archives (NMHM/DCA), Neg. No. 055607.