SO MUCH HAS CHANGED—how we work, how we learn, what we eat, what we do for fun (at least virtual happy hours are cheap!). This week, with Passover and Holy Week, many of us have even had to adapt our holiday traditions. While none of that has been easy, we’re hoping these five ideas might help make things a little easier, tastier, and more joyous. Remember, enjoy your weekend but keep the governor’s guidelines in mind as you do.      

Chevel Shepard
Above: The Voice winner Chevel Shepherd plays a free live stream concert
Monday at 1 p.m.

Catch a live streamed concert benefiting local charities.    

Chris Diestler wasn’t about to let the music die. As program director at Radio Free Santa Fe (98.1-FM), he and his Hutton Broadcasting team understood the power of live music. “We all put our heads together on something we could do that would entertain people stuck in lockdown, but also help out some charities in the process.”  

They created the Band Together series, which brings local and national musicians to Facebook Live for concerts from their homes to raise funds for Santa Fe organizations such as the Food Depot, Kitchen Angels, and Feed Santa Fe’s First Responders. “We’ve already raised somewhere between $11,000 and $12,000 , and it’s only been one day.” 

The series’ first week included performances by New Mexico musicians Stephanie Hatfield, Jono Manson, and Alex Maryol. Friday you can catch a set by Kentucky Americana artist Stoll Vaughan, while country star Rick Trevino performs from his home in Texas Saturday at 3 p.m. Chevel Shepherd, the Farmington teen who won the 15th season of NBC’s The Voice, sings her heart out Monday at 1 p.m.  

Diestler plans to have daily performances once the series is in full swing with the opportunity for multiple performances on some days. “There are a lot of artists with a lot of time on their hands,” says Diestler. “The response has been overwhelming.”  A list of performers and how to donate can be found on SantaFe.com’s Facebook page.  

Rolling Still Spirits Sanitizer
Above: Rolling Still Distillery has pitched in by making hand and surface sanitizers. 

Get hand sanitizer and support a local business.  

Clean hands are our goal right now. And while washing with soap and water is best, some local craft distilleries have tapped their creativity to help us stay healthy, turning from spirits to hand and surface sanitizers.  

Among them, Rolling Still Spirits, known for its chile-infused vodka, consulted local healers for its house-made sanitizer blend, which meets the CDC’s standard of 65 percent alcohol by volume for sanitation. “After considering the local natural medicines available, we chose to use osha root and Great Basin sage,” says managing partner Liza Barrett. “Both of these natural medicines are known for their anti-viral properties and have been used for centuries to aid respiratory ailments.”  

The Taos craft distillery team forages the root and herb locally, with the former coming from a secret location in the Sangre de Cristos that has been sustainably harvested for generations. Rolling Still distributes the sanitizers on Tuesday and Thursday from noon to 2 p.m. on their outdoor patio. It has also given more than 100 gallons of free hand sanitizer to New Mexico sheriffs departments, emergency medical services, government agencies and individuals, says Barrett. “It feels great that we are in a position to be of service to our community at this time,” she adds.  

Create an at-home egg hunt for the kids.  

While none of this has been easy, it has been especially hard to maintain holiday traditions during Passover and Holy Week. Normally families would be gathered together, sharing in worship, food, and one another.  

Usually, the Santa Fe Botanical Garden hosts a mammoth Easter egg hunt with hundreds of children searching for 1,500 eggs scattered throughout the northside Santa Fe property. Since that’s not a possibility this year, we asked Mollie Parsons, director of education and interpretation, for some tips on creating an at-home hunt.  

“It’s all about getting creative,” says Parsons, who leads the Easter Bunny duties for the annual event. “In some other cities, people are hanging drawings of Easter eggs in their windows so kids can walk around the neighborhood and hunt that way.”  

Parsons suggests seeking alternative egg dying methods to avoid a trip to the grocery store. Yellow onion skins, flowers, beets, and purple cabbage create pigments that can dye your eggs naturally. You can also look for leftover food coloring or draw on the eggs with markers.  

Don’t have eggs? Try making paper ones. Make the hunting last by having the kids take turns as the Easter Bunny and re-hide the eggs, then make the parents hunt. You can create prizes for the most successful hunter, like a pack of pencils or their choice in a movie later. The most important thing is to have fun, says Parsons. Oh, and one more thing: “Don’t forget to leave a carrot out for the Easter Bunny,” she adds.  

Cook a New Mexican classic.  

You’re probably missing your favorite New Mexican restaurant by now. We get it. Us, too. This weekend, create some chile magic in your home kitchen by learning to make green chile chicken enchiladas with chef Noe Cano from the Santa Fe School of Cooking.  

With a résumé that includes Coyote Cantina, Hotel St. Francis, and La Casa Sena, Cano certainly knows his way around an enchilada. The free tutorial on the Santa Fe School of Cooking’s website, which includes a shopping list, teaches you to make green chile sauce and corn tortillas from scratch, and then assemble the ingredients into enchiladas.   

Shake it up.  

Dancing is an ancient way of celebrating, and a natural way to boost your mood in seconds. Things are rough right now, so it is important to create little moments of happiness wherever we can. Dancing and other exercises releases endorphins, so the sweatier you get the happier you feel.  

Start your Saturday with Farmington Zumba’s live-streamed 9 a.m. class via Zoom. The free classes, which happen three times during the week as well, suit all skill levels.  “Motion is medicine,” says instructor Shelby Maness, noting the benefits for weight control, heart health, mental well-being, and mood. “The benefits are vast.” Access the classes on Farmington Zumba’s Facebook page and wear clothing you can comfortably move in.   

Check on your neighbors. Watch the sun set. Count three things you’re thankful for as soon as you wake up.