Courtesy photo
KIWANIS News:
SANTA FE — Following the fun tree-lighting ceremony on the Santa Fe Plaza, Santa Fe citizens have begun collecting candles and sweeping up sand for their farolitos. Soon, our Santa Fe community will say ¡Adios 2025 y Bienvenidos 2026!
The Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe is honored to be the host for the City of Santa Fe’s FREE 11th Annual New Year’s Eve on the Plaza, beginning at 8 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025.
The Plaza will shimmer with twinkling Christmas lights, with the scent of piñon wafting from crackling bonfires, and cozy warm-up spots near the stationary heaters to keep everyone toasty right up to the midnight countdown.
Music from some of Santa Fe’s Favorite Musicians
- Lumbros
- The Alex Maryol Band
- Sol Fire
- High Altitude
- Marcos Vigil will perform the National Anthem to welcome 2026 and our country’s 250th anniversary
Follow the delicious aromas to the food trucks on hand to satisfy sudden late-night cravings. And for a sweet seasonal treat, Kiwanis will serve free hot chocolate and biscochitos. Don’t forget to stop by the festive Hopes and Dreams banner and add your thoughts and wishes for a bright New Year!
Just before midnight, Mayor Alan Webber will lead the crowd in the official countdown to 2026. Then, as the clock strikes twelve, New Mexico’s iconic Zia symbol—authorized by Zia Pueblo and handcrafted by a local artisan—will ascend into the night sky, glowing brilliantly above the Plaza.
Watch as a dazzle of fireworks erupts from the roof of La Fonda on the Plaza while we ring in the New Year with the timeless songs Auld Lang Syne and Las Mañanitas.
Says New Year’s Eve Event Chair Ray Sandoval, “There is no more powerful way to welcome a new year than by honoring the traditions that truly make Santa Fe the City Different. Instead of dropping a ball, we raise the Zia—a symbol of our state’s spirit—into the New Mexico sky, illuminated by colorful fireworks off the roof of historic La Fonda on the Plaza, sparkling against the backdrop of the iconic Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi. It is a moment that unites our community in reverence.”
Randy Randall, Tourism Santa Fe’s Executive Director, notes that, “Santa Fe’s New Year’s Eve celebration has become one of our most beloved events because it captures the soul of our city in a way only we can. As the Zia rises into the night, lit by a blaze of fireworks above La Fonda, greeting the new year with refrains from the song Las Mañanitas, it reminds both residents and visitors why we are known as the City Different—a place where tradition, culture, and beauty come together to create something unforgettable.”
The Santa Fe Kiwanis Club warmly invites all to join in a joyful New Year’s Eve celebration in the heart of Santa Fe. Let’s welcome 2026 together at the Plaza on Wednesday, Dec. 31.