A Holiday Visit to the Taylor-Mesilla House

Join the Friends of Folk Art for a trip to Mesilla and Las Cruces.

Participants will travel to Las Cruces, New Mexico, on Wednesday in time for a 2:00 p.m. docent-led tour of the Branigan Cultural Center and its current "Land of the People" exhibit of art from six indigenous groups whose cultures intersect at the Borderlands. After settling into rooms at the historic Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces, we will meet at the D.H. Lescombes Winery & Bistro at 6:30 to enjoy wine and appetizers, followed by a 7:30 dinner featuring a selection of entrees.

We will spend Thursday morning on the Mesilla Plaza, where all destinations are within easy walking distance of one another. At 9:00, we gather at the Reynold’s Store Visitors Center adjacent to the Taylor-Mesilla House, where the group will divide: As one group takes a docent-led tour of the House with the Taylor family’s wonderful collection of nacimientos and other holiday folk art on view, the other group will take the Mesilla Plaza Walking Tour. The groups will then switch places, so everyone can enjoy both experiences. At 11:15, we’ve arranged a tour of the Basilica of San Albino for anyone wanting to see the church’s interior. At noon, we will gather for an end-of-trip lunch featuring a selection of entrees at La Posta de Mesilla, which occupies an 1840s building that was once a stop on the Butterfield Stagecoach Line.

Ticket Price: $115 per person**Includes Wednesday night’s dinner, Thursday’s lunch, and related gratuities. (Please note: No refunds will be given unless we have someone on the waiting list to fill your spot.)

Donation: $30 to MNMF paid separately

For the MNMF donation, make your check payable to MNMF and write “Taylor-Mesilla Trip” in the memo line. Send your check to Attn: Laura Sullivan, MNMF, 1411 Paseo de Peralta, Santa Fe, NM 87501. If you would prefer to make your contribution online, please go to museumfoundation.org/give-moifa, choose the drop-down option "General Programming," and indicate your contribution is in support of "Taylor-Mesilla Trip."

Additional details:

Participants will provide their own transportation. The drive from Santa Fe to the Branigan Cultural Center in Las Cruces takes about four hours; participants are encouraged to plan time for lunch on their way to our first stop. Recommendations for routes, restaurants, and other area attractions will be offered to registrants in a pre-trip packet. There is a block of rooms reserved at Hotel Encanto under FOFA Trip. The room rate with taxes is $164.56. Participants should make their own reservations, as this expense is not included in the trip cost.