SANTA FE – The New Mexico Tourism Department (NMTD) is further expanding its investment in New Mexico’s tourism events and festivals for fiscal year 2025.

The Tourism Event Growth & Sustainability Program offers eligible New Mexico entities that host tourism-related events with technical assistance, marketing resources and sponsorship support for those events. For FY25, NMTD is awarding $533,238 in support to 38 events, both a record for the agency. The investment by NMTD in this program for FY25 represents an increase of $77,536 in grant funding compared to FY24.

This program offers three options of support. The first option is an event accelerator that helps tourism events level up through technical support and strategic planning. The second option is a cooperative marketing model that pools resources between NMTD and participating entities. The third option is sponsorship support established tourism events. For FY25, 10 events will be participating in the accelerator, 14 will be participating in the marketing cooperative and 14 will be participating in the sponsorship module.

Tourism events in 16 destinations across New Mexico will be supported by this program in FY25. Of the 38 participating tourism events, 21 are hosted in communities outside of Albuquerque or Santa Fe.

New Mexico’s Native American and Hispanic American heritage is represented and supported through this program. The FY25 cohort includes six events that celebrate Native American culture and heritage and four events that celebrate Hispanic American culture and heritage.

“This program was created not just to offer technical support and financial resources to tourism-related events – it exists to take participating events along a journey of actual growth; one where events are building capacity, programming, attendance, quality guest experience or any other element of the event’s strategic vision,” said Acting Secretary Lancing Adams. “I’m happy to see that participants in this program are actually ‘leveling up’ and taking these events to new heights through our collaboration.”

The FY25 cohort includes 11 first-time participants for the program, ranging from the Silver City Blues Festival to Chama Christmas in the Mountains. The other first-time participating events in the program include: Blossom & Bones Ghost Ranch Music Festival, Chama Yak Attack, Cloudcroft Heritage Days Celebration, Indian Pueblo Cultural Center Dance Program, Recycle Santa Fe Art Festival, Red River Oktoberfest, Santa Fe Studio Tour, Tejano Fest and Vino in the Valley.

Below is a complete list of program participants for FY25:

 

Event Accelerator

 

Chama Christmas in the Mountains

Chama

$5,000

Chama Valley Art Festival and Studio Tour

Chama

$5,000

Chama Yak Attack

Chama

$5,000

Farmhouse Ale and Bernalillo Blues Festival

Bernalillo

$5,000

Great American Duck Race

Deming

$5,000

Nakotah LaRance Youth Hoop Dance Championship

Santa Fe

$5,000

Recycle Santa Fe Art Festival

Santa Fe

$5,000

Santa Fe Studio Tour

Santa Fe

$5,000

Smokin’ on the Plaza

Lovington

$5,000

Tommy Knocker 10

Santa Clara

$5,000

 

 

Cooperative Marketing Support

 

8750’ Festival

Red River

$7,682

Aspencade

Red River

$7,682

Bernalillo Indian Arts Festival

Bernalillo

$7,682

Blossoms & Bones Ghost Ranch Music Festival

Ghost Ranch

$10,000

Day of the Tread

Albuquerque

$5,000

Fiesta Latina

Silver City

$10,000

Indigenous Ways Festival

Santa Fe

$10,000

Mariachi Spectacular de Albuquerque

Albuquerque

$10,000

Red River Oktoberfest

Red River

$10,000

Silver City Blues Festival

Silver City

$10,000

Tejano Fest

Lordsburg

$5,682

Traditional Spanish Market

Santa Fe

$10,000

UFO Festival

Roswell

$9,510

Vino in the Valley

Red River

$10,000

 

 

Sponsorship

 

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta

Albuquerque

$50,000

Cloudcroft Heritage Days Celebration

Cloudcroft

$5,000

CURRENTS New Media

Santa Fe

$10,000

Festival Flamenco Albuquerque

Albuquerque

$30,000

Gathering of Nations Powwow

Albuquerque

$50,000

International Folk Art Market

Santa Fe

$30,000

Indian Pueblo Cultural Center Dance Program

Albuquerque

$20,000

Las Cruces International Film Festival

Las Cruces

$20,000

Santa Fe Indian Market

Santa Fe

$50,000

Santa Fe International Film Festival

Santa Fe

$20,000

Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta

Santa Fe

$10,000

The Burning of Zozobra

Santa Fe

$50,000

The Paseo

Taos

$10,000

Up & Over 10K Trail Run Weekend

Taos Ski Valley

$5,000