HISTORIC HARVEST
Fall festival celebrates apple bounty at 18th century Los Luceros
Every day is an adventure at New Mexico Historic Sites.
And the state division wants to welcome visitors to the second annual Los Luceros Fall Apple Harvest Festival on Sunday, Sept. 17.
“It’s very exciting,” says Patrick K. Moore, director of New Mexico Historic Sites. “We’ve been looking at how to reinvent how people see the historic sites. It’s about getting people out to the sites and participating in what we have to offer.”
The festival will feature demonstrations on heritage apple cooking, cider pressing, shearing of the Navajo-Churro sheep, a crop blessing, local farmers market, historic tours, hay rides, fishing, a live concert, food vendors and tours of the property.
The centerpiece of the historic Los Luceros ranch complex is Casa Grande, a 5,700 square-foot, 18th century Territorial-style adobe home, which was renovated by the Cabot Foundation in 2004 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The property also includes a visitor center, director’s residence and a small gallery. In addition to the hacienda and the visitor center complex, the property contains three
residences, an 18th century chapel, the original village jail, numerous farm buildings, apple orchards, irrigated pasture and bosque on the Rio Grande.
The New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, which purchased the property from the family of Frank and Ann Cabot in 2008, is the state’s cultural steward and is working to ensure the site’s preservation and integrity in perpetuity. The department’s intent is to bring together historic preservation, filmmaking education and training, agricultural and environmental interests.
“If you look at the history of New Mexico and how it was created,” Moore says, “El Camino Real goes up to Los Luceros, and it was part of the Spanish land grant. Los Luceros served as a pivotal point, and we’re opening the gates to let the community enjoy it.”
Moore says he hopes having the event on a Sunday will allow more people to attend.
“We didn’t want to compete with all of the other events going on,” he says. “Sunday is also typically a day that families spend together. Why not drive up north and see a spectacular site and learn some New Mexico history? We don’t really know what to expect. Last year, we drew in 400. We’ve changed dates and opened it up further to attract more people. There’s something for everyone at the event.”
Moore says events like this one will bring Native American and Hispanic communities together.
He says the Casa Grande was a county seat for a while and there are a lot of myths surrounding the property.
“It’s part of the identity of the site,” he says. “I’ve never met somebody who doesn’t just fall in love with it. The entire event is about having fun as a community,” he says. “We’re excited to be presenting the festival in a different way.”