Activities ★
The Burning of Zozobra
Fort Marcy Park, Santa Fe, New Mexico, the Friday before Labor Day
Santa Fe burns a fifty-foot marionette called Old Man Gloom, and the whole city turns out for it. The artist Will Shuster built the first one in 1924 as a way of setting fire to the past year's troubles, and the ritual has run every year since, now organised by the local Kiwanis Club. In the weeks beforehand anyone can submit their divorce papers, medical bills and other misfortunes to be stuffed inside him. He groans and flails as he goes up, which is genuinely unsettling to watch. The 2026 burning is the 102nd, on Friday the 4th of September, with gates at four and the programme from six.
- Where
- Open in Maps
- Website
- burnzozobra.com