Traditional Jemez Springs holiday event has new name

A holiday event in Jemez Springs, “Light Among the Ruins,” will now be known as “Lights of Gisewa” and will take place on Friday, Dec. 8, and Saturday, Dec. 9.

The name changed this year to acknowledge Gisewa, now known as Jemez Historic Site, which was once occupied by the people of Jemez Pueblo.

“We want to emphasize that there is an actual Jemez ancestral village and that it is not just an abandoned site in ruins. It is still a village that Jemez ancestors lived in and used,” Marlon Magdalena, instructional coordinator supervisor with the Jemez Historic Site, said.

The “Lights of Gisewa” event is a display of more than 1,500 farolitos that light the pathway and the perimeter of the site and historic mission church. Volunteers fold and fill the paper bags with sand and help light the farolitos prior to the event.

“With no light pollution, the contrast between the light and dark is striking,” a release reads.

The site will also have several food and crafts vendors available at the event.

Free shuttle service will be available to and from the Jemez Community Park to the site, with stops at the Village Plaza to allow visitors to disembark and shop area businesses or eat at the restaurants.

Tickets are available online in 30-minute time slots to manage crowds and enhance enjoyment of the event for visitors. Entry times are every half hour beginning at 5 p.m. and ending at 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 8 and 9. Pueblo residents are free.

The site will cap the number of attendees to 2,000 per day. Last year, there were an estimated 3,000 attendees at the event.

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit my.nmculture.org/events.