October 2026 NM History & Culture Opportunities

The Albuquerque Historical Society & the Historical Society of NM

Encourage your participation in the following history & cultural events:

HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH CONTINUES THROUGH OCTOBER 15

GREEK FESTIVAL October 3-5 AT ST. GEORGE GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH, 308 HIGH ST. SE, more info and schedule at ABQGreekFest.com.

OCTOBER 24, SATURDAY, 11am ROUTE 66 CENTENNIAL SPEAKER SERIES-FREE AT 12 LOCATIONS WITH 12 DIFFERENT SPEAKERS:

  • Roger Zimmerman speaks on Rerouting Rt. 66 through Tijeras Canyon, Fred Luna Multi Gen Center in Los Lunas;
  • Abraham Santillanes speaks on the Many Roads to Old Town – the original Rt. 66; Loma Colorado Library in Rio Rancho;
  • Donatella Davanzo speaks on Route 66 connected: A photo-ethnographic exploration of the contemporary Rt. 66 in NM, Martha Liebert Library in Bernalillo;
  • Lynne Peckinpaugh presents The Italian’s pathway to prosperity on ABQ’s Rt. 66, South Valley Library;
  • Jacqueline Loring speaks about the Kimo Theatre, Special Collections Library;
  • Gary Herron speaks on Motels on Rt. 66 in ABQ, Patrick Baca Library at Central/Unser;
  • David Montoya speaks on Land and Acequias along Los Ranchos Rt. 66, Raymond Sanchez Community Center on north 4th;
  • Hazel Lathrop speaks on Tijeras Canyon-Five Miles of Road and Hundreds of Stories, East MountainLibrary;
  • Roland Pentilla speaks about Route 66 Trivia !, International Library;
  • Jennifer Bohnhoff speaks about the Civil War along Rt. 66 (Battles of Glorieta, Peralta, ABQ), Wheels Museum;

McCall Pumpkin Patch, Moriarty NM. Saturday/Sundays from 10am-6pm, Fridays 12-6pm. More info and fee list, McCallPumpkinPatch.com.

OCTOBER 18-24 University of New Mexico Homecoming Week with various events, open houses, campus tours, games and more info at UNMalumni.com.

Petroglyph National Monument, 899-0205; Valles Caldera National Preserve, 670-1612; and Salinas Pueblos National Monument, 847-2585. Call and check their websites for details.

OCTOBER FEAST DAY DANCES AT PUEBLOS AROUND NM – Namber, Octobre 4. Call the individual pueblo offices to confirm times. 

INDIAN PUEBLO CULTURAL CENTER — Cultural dances every Friday at 2pm, Saturday and Sundays at 11am & 2 pm. More info and ticket prices at indianPueblo.org.

OCTOBER 2 and every Friday of OCTOBER 9, 16, 23, 30; 11am. Free Ranger led hike at Quarai unit of Salinas National Monument. More details call visitor Center, 847-2770. https://www.nps.gov/sapu/planyourvisit/calendar.htm

OCT. 2, 5-8 pm, free. Art Crawl at various galleries across ABQ. Come meet the artists. ArtsCrawlABQ.org.

OCT. 2, 5-8 pm, Downtown ABQ Artwalk – music & art along Central Ave. More details and maps at AbqArtwalk.com.

OCTOBER 3, 10:30 pm, free. Learn more about late 1800s pioneer Methodist missionary & Educator Emily Harwood-chautauqua style. Downtown Main Library, 2nd floor. Free parking in the City garage across the street at 5th and Copper.

OCTOBER 3, 3-5 pm free. Dia de los Muertos at the Gutierrez Hubbell House. Music with Tios Mios, dancing face painting, crafts. 6029 Isleta SW.

OCTOBER 3 and other Saturdays in OCT 10, 17, 31, 9am, free. Morning hike 2.2 miles of Rinconada Canyon. Meet at parking lot at Unser & St. Joseph NW. Sponsored by Petroglyph Nat Monument, 899-0205.

OCT 3, 8:30-11am, free. Bosque Wild Hike, meet at the Open Space Visitor Center, 6500 Coors NW, 768-4951 or Dione Epps at depps@cabq.gov.

OCTOBER 3, 8am-11am. Historic Fairview Cemetery, 700 Yale SE. Come clean a plot to commemorate the past. The cemetery is open dawn to dusk and accessible through the gates of Fairview Memorial Park. www.HistoricFairviewCemeteryABQ.org or Facebook.com/The communityofHistoricFairviewCemetery. “Where the Past meets the Present”.

OCTOBER 3, $10. Brandon Morgan from CNM speaks about Pancho Villa’s 1916 raid and the rise of capitalism. CNM Workforce Training Center, 5600 Eagle Rock NE. Sponsored by the NM Holocaust & Intolerance Museum.

OCTOBER 3, 2-3pm, free. Noted pueblo historian Jon Ghahate speaks on Chaco Canyon, then and Now. Placitas Community Library. 867-3355.

OCTOBER 3-4, admission. Indian Arts Festival, Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. IndianPueblo.org.

OCTOBER 3/4, 10am-4pm, free. Stephanie Zuni demonstrates traditional pottery making techniques. Petroglyph National Monument Visitor Center, 6510 Western Trail NW. 537-4595.

OCTOBER 3, 10am, free. Beating Heart of the World, The Taos Art Colony, pueblo resistance and Battle for Indigenous America presented by Steve Davis. Wheels Museum, 1100 2nd St. SW. More info at wheelsMuseum.org or call Leba Freed at 243-6269, or info@WheelsMuseum.org.

OCTOBER 3, 12noon-1pm, free. ABQ’s Roman Catholic Heritage presented by historian author John Taylor. Wheels Museum, 1100 2nd St. SW. More info at wheelsMuseum.org or call Leba Freed at 243-6269, or info@WheelsMuseum.org.

OCTOBER 3 and every Saturday in OCT 10, 17, 24, 31, 11am. Ranger led hike at Gran Quivira unit of Salinas National Monument near Mountainair. Call 847-2770 for more info.https://www.nps.gov/sapu/planyourvisit/calendar.htm

OCTOBER 4 and every Sunday in OCT  11, 18, 25- 11 am. Ranger Led hike at Quarai unit of Salinas National Monument. Call 847-2770 for more info.https://www.nps.gov/sapu/planyourvisit/calendar.htm.

OCTOBER 6  Early voting starts at the Bernalillo County Clerk’s annex, 1500 Lomas NW, 468-1291. Clerk@bernco.gov. Other sites open October 16.

OCTOBER 8, 5:30 pm, free. Let Books Be:  Banned Books Week Panel Discussion, Protect the Freedom to Read. Book Works, 4022 Rio Grande NW, bkwrks.org.

OCTOBER 8 and other Thursdays in Oct. 22, 29, 4 pm free.  Afternoon 1.5 mile hike at Pierdras Marcadas Canyon. Meet at parking lot at 9421 Jill Patricia NW. Sponsored by Petroglyph National Monument. Call 899-0205 for more info.

OCTOBER 9, FALL BREAK FOR APS.

OCTOBER 9, 6-8:30pm, free. Dark Skies/Bright Stars at Abo. (telescopes, star information) Salinas Pueblo National Monument, Mountainair NM. Call 505-847-2585 for more info.

OCTOBER 9, $12 (includes one drink), doors open 5:30pm, program 6pm. AMPLIFI, nuclear security technology development.  Museum of Nuclear Science, 601 Eubank SE. NuclearMuseum.org.

OCTOBER 10/11, all day. World Migratory Bird Day. Hikes, talks, bird demos. Quarai unit of the Salinas Pueblos Monument 10 miles north of Mountainair, 122 Manzano Quarai Rd. Nps.gov/sapu/planyourvisit/calendar.htm.

OCTOBER 10, 1-3:30 pm, free. Time Travel back in History. Casa San Ysidro in Corrales. Interact through games, music and more. Contact Aaron Garner.

OCTOBER 10, 11am – 4pm, free. !! Last time for open house !! Historic northern NM “High Road” Catholic churches open to visit & tour interior (4TH Sat of the Month). Includes Truchas, Las Trampas, Cordova, San Jose de Gracia. Brochure info at Prayatalltimes.com/mission-churches.

OCTOBER 10, 12 noon-1pm, free. Suzanne Stauffer presents “French Toast a la Santa Fe”. Learn about the 1920 Fred Harvey Detours & Tours. Wheels Museum, 1100 2nd St. SW. More info at wheelsMuseum.org or call Leba Freed at 243-6269, or info@WheelsMuseum.org.

OCTOBER 10, 10:30am-12 noon, free. Dr. Roger Zimmerman speaks on  The Boundary Dispute with Texas. National Hispanic Cultural Center Domenici Building. Sponsored by the Hispanic Genealogy Resource Center NM.

OCTOBER 10, 3-4 pm, free. Albuquerque Mandolin Orchestra plays at the Patrick Baca Library @ Central/Unser NW.

OCTOBER 10, all day, regular admission. Family Day–Spooky Sciece skulls & skeletons. New Mexico Natural History Museum. NMNaturalHistory.org.

OCTOBER 10, 10 am-4pm, $2 free after 12 noon.  THEME IS BANNED BOOKS & SPOOKY BOOKS. Monthly sale of used books, vinyl, posters, music & more. Craft/fabric/knitting supplies are new bonus ! Sponsored by the Friends of the ABQ BernCo Public Library. Main branch, 5th & Copper NW. Will carry purchase to your vehicle. Two-hour free parking across the street at the City garage. Bring your ticket in to be stamped. All proceeds benefit the Library. FriendsofthePublicLibrary.org.

OCTOBER 11, 2-3 pm, free. Three Westward expeditions launched from NM: Dominguez Escalante Miera Expedition, History of the Old Spanish Trail. Presented by Dr. Julianne Burton Carvajal. Martha Liebert Library, 124 Calle Malinche in Bernalillo. More info at BernalilloLibrary.org or 505-867-1440.

OCTOBER 11, 2 pm, free. Jemez Mountains: A Cultural and Natural History presented by Dr.Thomas Swetnam, resident of Jemez Springs. Sandoval County Historical Society Museum. Off 550 just west of Coronado Monument in Bernalillo. More info at SC-hsm.org. SandovalHistory.org

OCTOBER 11, 11am-3pm, free. Fall Farm Festival at Gutierrez Hubbell House. 6029 Isleta SW.

OCTOBER 11, 10am-5pm fees. Fermentation and Fungi Festival, Fusion Building, 708 First St. NW.

OCTOBER 12 INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ DAY (Columbus Day) Federal Holiday. Events throughout the metro area. APS closed. Speakers and dancers all day 9am-5pm at Indian Pueblic Cultural Center.

OCTOBER 12, 11:30 am, free. Press Women & Friends. Diane Schmidt, speaks about the online newspaper, New Mexico Jewish Journal. Weck’s restaurant, 7301 Paseo del Norte NE, turn on Holly from Wyoming NE. Order your own food.

OCTOBER 13 & 14, 6-7:30 PM, APS presents its 2027 budget. Oct. 13 at City Center board room and Oct. 14, Truman Mid School Cafeteria.

OCTOBER 15, 7 pm, free. Rev. William Cornick Jr. speaks on “I am a member of the AME (African Methodist Episcopal) church and this is what I want you to know about it”. Grant Chapel AME church, 7920 Claremont NE. Sponsored by the NM Interfaith Dialogue.

OCTOBER 15, 5-8pm, free. 3rd Thursday at ABQ Museum featuring “Arrival of Autumn”. Celebrate birthday of Rudolfo Anaya with screening of Bless me Ultima, folklore talks, strange objects from the AM collection.  Wear your costume. food & beverage for sale. ABQ Museum in Old Town. More info from dianadelgado@cabq.gov

OCTOBER 17, 1pm, free. Valencia County historian/author John Taylor describes how Route 66 affected Valencia County. Los Lunas Museum of Heritage and Art, 251 Main St. in Los Lunas at the Water Tower.

OCTOBER 17, 1-10 pm, free. Cosmic Carnival Star Party. Open Space Visitor Center, 6500 Coors NW, 768-4951 or Dione Epps at depps@cabq.gov

OCTOBER 17, 11am-4pm, free. West Fest Route 66. Park and Ride from Westgate, West Mesa and Alamosa Community Centers. Car Exhibit, entertainment. Rt 66 Visitor Center, 12300 Central SW. See website for details of musical groups. 768-3556.

OCTOBER 20, 8:30am-1pm, free. Prime Time 50+ Expo. Free health screening, health information from numerous vendors, give aways and more. New location: Museum of Hatural History on Mountain Rd.

OCTOBER 22, 3pm, free. Groundbreaking at UNM for the new UNM Humanities and Social Sciences Building. Meet at Smith Plaza.

OCTOBER 24, 11 am, free. ROUTE 66 SPEAKER SERIES at 10 locations throughout metro area (ABQ, Bernalillo, Rio Rancho, Isleta Pueblo, Los Lunas) with different speakers. Go to www.route66speakers.org for list of speakers, details of talks and locations/ addresses.

OCTOBER 24, 4-7:30 pm, free. Napali Society presents Dashain Cultural Festival about the Nepal culture: Food, Music demos. Open Space Visitor Center, 6500 Coors NW, 768-4951 or Dione Epps at depps@cabq.gov

OCTOBER 24, 2pm, free. Singer composer Tomas Sanchez performs at the Los Lunas Museum of Heritage and Arts. Main St at the water tower. Calll 352-7720 for more info.

OCTOBER 24, 10am-12noon, free. Author Talk about local hiking with David Ryan, “60 hikes within 60 miles of Albuquerque” and Wandering in the Clear Light. Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge, 7851 2nd SW, 248-6667.

OCTOBER 24, 10 am-2pm, free. PNM Community Assistance Fair. Albuquerque HS, 800 Odelia Rd. NE. Info about help with utility bills and more.

OCTOBER 24, 2pm, free. Speaker Series-Author Christine Rogel describes her book Haunted New Mexico. Petroglyph National Monument Visitor Center, 6510 Western Trail NW. More info at 899-0205.

OCTOBER 24, 8:30-10:30 am, free. Elena Gallegos Foothills Wild Hike. Meet at the Elena Cottonwood Springs Trailhead. 7100 Tramway Blvd. NE. Contact Open Space division for more info.

OCTOBER 25, 10 am-dusk, $10. Voices from the Past Treasure Hunt, Historic Fairview Cemetery, 700 Yale SE. Buy ticket online or with cash that day at cemetery. More info at HistoricFairviewCemeteryABQ.org.

OCTOBER 25, 2 pm, free. Coronado Lecture Series. Will Grant describes his 2,000 mile horseback ride to trace the famous Pony Express.  Martha Liebert Library, 124 Calle Malinche in Bernalillo. More info at BernalilloLibrary.org or 505-867-1440.

OCTOBER 30, 4-5 pm, free. Celebrate the birthday of local author Rudolfo Anaya at his namesake library. North Valley, Rudolfo Anaya branch.

OCTOBER 30, 6:30-8:30 pm, free. Spooky Night Out at the refuge-story telling. Bring a flashlight. Contact  dakota_dominguez@fws.gov. Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge,7851 2nd St. SW, 248-6667.

OCTOBER 31, 9am-4pm, $25 in advance includes lunch. Libros of Enchantment, Southwest Writers Book Fiesta. Panel discussion, book signing, keynote at 10am by James McGrath Morris. Info at swwbookfiesta.com.

OCTOBER 31, 3-4 pm, free. An afternoon of Celtic music at the East Mountain Library.

OCTOBER 31, 11am-12:30 pm, free but must RSVP. Learn how to make paper marigolds for Dia de Los Muetos. Juan Tabo Library.

OCTOBER 31, 12 noon-2pm, free. Halloween Carnival at the Lomas Tramway Library.

OCTOBER 31, 11am-1pm, free. Fall Festival at Main Library downtown. Free parking in City garage across the street.

OCTOBER 30-NOVEMBER 1 Various Halloween and Dia de los Muertos events around metro area.

Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge. 7851 2nd St. SW, 505-248-6667.

Valles Caldera National Monument on NM 4 north of Jemez Springs. Go to nps.gov/vall for information.  39201 NM 4. Jemez Springs, NM. Call 505-670-1612 for more info. https://www.fws.gov/refuge/valle-de-oro.

Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument near Mountainair.  Contact Natalia Sanchez Hernandez for more info. Call 505-847-2585, nps.gov/sapu/planyourvisit or call 505-847-2585 X 221.

Randall Davey Audubon Center and sanctuary, 1800 Upper Canyon Rd. in Santa Fe. Tour the gardens and historic Randall Davey house. Fridays @ 2 pm are docent led house tours, $5. Saturdays @8:30 am are guided bird walk. More info at RandallDavey.audubon.org. Monday – Saturday, 8am-4pm

INDIAN EDUCATION AT UNM, iaie.unm.edu. Watch several previously recorded programs about Native American education, the Dine language and more.

HISTORIC SANTA FE FOUNDATION (historicSantaFe.org) offers many free programs to watch: Ron Duncan Hart speaking on the Early Jews in NM; Rob Martinez – The Enduring Hispanic Music of NM.

The Wheels Museum, 1100 2nd St. SW. Monday – Thursday, 9 am-12 noon, Sat & Sunday, 10am-2pm. Call first to confirm, 505-243-6269 or info@wheelsmuseum.org

MURALS OF ALBUQUERQUE (www.murosabq.com) This shows over 130 murals in the ABQ metro area. You click on each picture and it shows the mural, gives its title and address, describes the image, and the artists.

Cibola County History Museum, 525 West High St., Grants NM. Go to the museum’s Facebook page for more information.

NUCLEAR MUSEUM – The Museum has a huge collection of oral history interviews (also transcribed) called Voices of the Manhattan Project. There are some 600 interviews of individuals who were either at the Manhattan Project or a family member who worked there. The  interviews are organized into 39 categories such as: Internment of Japanese Americans, Life in the Secret cities,  Hispanic employees, Native American. https://www.nuclearmuseum.org/educate/atomic-heritage-foundation  https://www.manhattanprojectvoices.org/

New Mexico event music groups at the Rt. 66 Visitors Center, music, exhibits. 12300 Central SW, 768-3556. Call city’s 311 for more info.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Historic Fairview Cemetery, 700 Yale SE. invites anyone to come and hoe tumbleweeds and goat heads. The cemetery is open dawn to dusk and accessible through the gates of Fairview Memorial Park. Wear hard soled shoes & bring your own tools. www.HistoricFairviewCemeteryABQ.org or Facebook.com/HistoricFairviewCemetery. “Where the Past meets the Present.

AMAZING HISTORY / CULTURE OPPORTUNITIES ONLINE

  • HAPPY BIRTHDAY NEW MEXICO. New Mexico became the 47th state on January 6, 1912. Read about it, https://newmexicohistory.org/nm-journey-to-become-a-state/. Visit – NewMexicoHistory.org to view thousands of entries: photos, videos, podcasts, Timelines for the five periods of NM History & More! The New Mexico State Historian Rob Martinez can be reached at 505-476-7911.
  • NEW MEXICO HISTORY IN TEN MINUTES (newmexicohistory.org) On the home page, go to the bottom and click on Video of the Month. The entire list of episodes will appear by clicking on the corner of the video. NM State Historian Rob Martinez is most engaging and informative and there are more than 40 Episodes. The episodes may be heard in chronological order or by topic which is introduced in the first minute or so of the episode.
  • CIVIC AUDITORIUM HISTORY VIDEO (1957-1986) www.modernabq.org. Go to the Resources Tab, then the drop down to the three Civic Auditorium videos. They tell the story of the structure: why it was built, how it was used and why it was ultimately demolished.
  • HOLOCAUST MUSEUM and GELLERT EDUCATION CENTER NM, 616 Central SW. Go to the website nmholocaustmuseum.org. Questions call 247-0606.

ALBUQUERQUE HISTORICAL SOCIETY ARCHIVED VIDEO PROGRAMS

The Albuquerque Historical Society provides videos of scheduled program presentations. The videos are linked from the appropriate AHS Program pages. Presentations captured on videos to date include: