IFAM plans return of live folk market
Organizers aiming for early July if state health orders permit art event
The International Folk Art Market on Tuesday announced it plans to go forward with a live event in Santa Fe this year, provided state health orders allow for outdoor gatherings of at least 100 by this summer.
Right now, the mass gathering limit is five.
Organizers said they plan to hold the market July 7-18.
“We are optimistic the state, the country and the world will see some slight reopening, we assume by summer,” International Folk Art Market CEO Stuart Ashman told in a telephone interview.
It’s certain the event will not have 150 artists and 21,000 shoppers clustered on Museum Hill, as has been the case for the past several years. Organizers said the COVID-19-driven plan for 2021 is to have artists at two locations: Museum Hill and the International Folk Art Market Center parking lot, 620 Cerrillos Road.
There would be timed entrances, with 65 people allowed into each market for a 90-minute session with 15 artists. Visitors and artists would then cycle out and a new group of artists and visitors would cycle in for the next 90 minutes, Ashman said.
Parking would be on-site, with no shuttles.
Instead of the usual Friday-to-Sunday market days, IFAM would be open Wednesday night to Sunday, he said.
Ashman intends to limit the two-weekend event to 60 artists. The maximum amount of timed tickets available would be 6,200.
Ashman said he needs to know by April if outdoor gatherings of 100 people will be allowed. If the 100-person gathering is not allowed, “then we pivot to an online market,” Ashman said.
IFAM staged an online market last year after the coronavirus forced the cancellation of the in-person market.