The 24th annual National Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show returns to the Sandia Resort and Casino Events Center March 2-4, 2012.

If you like warmth on your palate and have never experienced the Fiery Foods Show you should put it on your short list of places to go and thing to do. Great books, clothing, and decorator items – anything related to chili peppers – you’ll find at this hot annual show.
 
Public show hours are 4-8 p.m. March 2; 11 a.m.-7 p.m. March 3; and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. March 4. Parking is free at Sandia Resort and Casino, which is located just east off the I-25 at the Tramway Exit north of Albuquerque.

For more information visit http://www.fieryfoodsshow.com/

The most delicious weeks of the year are back, with even more ways to experience the incomparable cuisine of Santa Fe, Las Cruces, Albuquerque and Taos.  New Mexico’s third annual Restaurant Weeks, March 4 through April 1, 2012, introduce the “Let’s Do Lunch” program, giving daytime diners the opportunity to feast on two- or three-course prix-fixe lunches as well as dinners. 
 
Santa Fe Restaurant Week kicks off a month-long, statewide culinary celebration that continues in Las Cruces (March 11-18), Albuquerque (March 18-25) and Taos (March 25-April 1).  Some 100 restaurants statewide are expected to participate.  In addition to value-priced lunches and dinners, people can take advantage of great lodging packages and expand their epicurean horizons through a variety of cooking classes, wine & spirits tastings and other special events.

Visit www.nmrestaurantweek.com to sort by price category, location and cuisine type to compare menus. Reservations are highly recommended for both lunch and dinner to ensure seating.

Creativity is in bloom at Albuquerque's first major art event of the year, the Rio Grande Arts & Crafts Spring Show March 9-11, 2012, at the Manuel Lujan Exhibit Complex at Expo New Mexico in Albuquerque.

The Festival features the work of more than 225 artists and craftsmen from all over the nation. The juried arts and crafts show is one of the largest in the state and is expected to attract more than 30,000 visitors; and was recently ranked among the "Top 200 Events Coast to Coast" by Events Business News.

Creativity and uniqueness abound in pottery, paintings, jewelry, woodworking, clothing, and handcrafts of all kinds. Bring your children to the Kid's Creation Station, where they can learn about and create their own works of art, for free. Kids also love the magic shows, which dazzle and entertain.

Visit http://www.riograndefestivals.com/2012/march2012.html

The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque February 4, 2012, opened its new, "100 Years of State & Federal Policy: The Impact on Pueblo Nations," an examination of the human experience behind enacted policies and laws that have changed and affected the core values of the pueblo people.

While written "Indian" policies date back as far as the mid-1700s, this exhibition will look at federal and state policies from 1912 to 2012 that have had positive and negative impacts on the Pueblo tribes.  

The exhibition will include an interactive media component and throughout the year, updated interviews and lecture podcasts will be placed online as well.  A short video about the 100 years exhibition is available online at http://indianpueblo.org/100years/.

 "100 Years" is supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, New Mexico Humanities Council and in-kind support from our Pueblo community members, and the New Mexico Centennial Foundation.  The School for Advanced Research http://sarweb.org/index.php and the Leadership Institute http://www.sfis.k12.nm.us/leadership_institute  both located in Santa Fe, also contributed and collaborated on the exhibition and post exhibition continuing education.

The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center is owned and operated by the 19 Pueblo tribes of New Mexico and is located at 2401 12th St. NW in Albuquerque.

Taos kicks off its yearlong celebration of the “Remarkable Women of Taos and Northern New Mexico” March 22, 2012, with a special event featuring actor and New Mexico resident Marsha Mason and other notables at the University of New Mexico Harwood Museum of Art.

The impressive list of “Remarkable Women” includes Taos Modernist Beatrice Mandelman; arts patron and salon hostess Mabel Dodge Luhan; high-society model, designer and Standard Oil heiress Millicent Rogers; and renowned San Ildefonso Pueblo potter Maria Martinez.

Museums, galleries and institutions with events relating to the “Remarkable Women of Taos & Northern New Mexico” include the Harwood Museum, the Millicent Rogers Museum, the E.L. Blumenschein Home, Hacienda de los Martinez, Mabel Dodge Luhan House, Mesa’s Edge, RANE Gallery, the Parks Gallery, Taos Institute of Glass Arts, and the Red Willow Market at Taos Pueblo.

For a full listing and description of each museum exhibition and tour itineraries,

visit http://taos.org/women