"Unfortunately, EACA must cancel its 2026 Winter and Holiday Art Shows." That is the first line of the Eldorado Arts & Crafts Association's announcement, signed by EACA President Chuck Boxwell. In most years the Winter Art Show fills the Eldorado Community Center on the last weekend of November, with 20 to 30 local artists selling handmade work from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This year that weekend falls on November 28 and 29, and the show won't be there.
Much of Eldorado's winter calendar depended on that one building. Readings, trivia, chess and a book sale have somewhere else to go. A holiday art market does not.
The show needed a room where art could be sold
EACA's explanation is more specific than "the building is closed." The association writes that renovations at the Community Center this fall made the facility unavailable, so it looked for another venue. The first candidate was the Eldorado Library meeting room, where EACA has held meetings and presentations before. According to the announcement, that room would have fit only about 15 artists, in smaller booths than the show usually provides.
So EACA kept looking for a larger room in Eldorado or the Santa Fe area and found none that was both available and affordable. Then, while confirming the library reservation, the association learned of a County policy it says it had not been told about. In EACA's words:
"The Library meeting room cannot be used for events where artwork is sold or money changes hands."
That rule closed the last option. The Winter Art Show exists so artists can sell holiday gifts, so a room where nothing can be sold can't host it. EACA canceled both the Winter and the Holiday shows for 2026.
Looking ahead, EACA says it hopes the renovation will finish in time for its annual Spring Art Show. It also says the future cost and terms of using the Community Center "remain uncertain," so it is looking at other Santa Fe-area venues for later shows. Even after the remodel, the art shows may not automatically return to the Center.
The remodel has a starting point but no published dates
The Community Center project had been in planning for two years before it moved forward. ECIA's September 2026 Vistas newsletter says Executive Director Charity Avé-Lallement worked with the association's architect to get bids, the board picked a contractor at its June meeting, and construction was "scheduled to begin after the Eldorado Studio Tour." The same issue says she was working with facility renters "who will be displaced during the upcoming major renovation project."
The board set that order at its June meeting. According to the July 2026 Vistas, EACA members came to the meeting while the board discussed the timing of the renovation, which includes ADA upgrades and repaving the parking lot. The board decided construction could not begin until after the Studio Tour, and noted that once work starts, "all uses of the facility, including but not limited to rentals and Board meetings, may be limited or cancelled through the end of the projects."
The repaving is on its own track. At its September meeting, the board approved a contract with an engineering firm for a drainage study of the Community Center parking lot, which comes before the repaving specifications are written.
ECIA has published no firm start date or completion estimate for the building work. The October newsletter still scheduled the Harvest Festival for October 24 at the Community Center. ECIA's online calendar still shows the regular groups at Center rooms through November, including yoga, tai chi, chair aerobics, the fiber group and AA meetings. Since the board has said uses may be limited or canceled once construction begins, check with the group leader or the ECIA office at 505-466-4248 before driving over for a class.
November runs through Vista Grande Public Library
With the Center's calendar uncertain, Vista Grande Public Library carries most of Eldorado's November. The library is independent and posts its schedule at vglibrary.org. Its events are readings, games, sessions and a book sale, so they don't run into the problem EACA did. Here is what the library has listed, starting the week this post goes up:
| Date | Event | Time | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu., Nov. 5 and 19; Wed., Nov. 25 | Medicare Information Sessions with state-certified volunteer Nancy Johnson | 10–11 a.m. | Library meeting room |
| Nov. 12–14 | Bi-annual Book Sale | Hours not yet posted | Library |
| Fri., Nov. 13 | Trivia Game, a library fundraiser | 4–6 p.m. | Nuckolls Brewing Lamy Railyard |
| Mon., Nov. 16 | VGPL monthly board meeting, open to the public | 5:30–6:30 p.m. | Library |
| Sat., Nov. 21 | Jeanne Simonoff reads from Woman of Valor and leads a discussion | 1–3 p.m. | Library |
| Every Friday | All Ages Chess | 3–5 p.m. | Library |
| Third Wednesdays | Santa Fe Stargazers | 7 p.m. | Library |
| Tuesdays | Eldorado Fiber Arts Group | 10 a.m. | Library |
| Thursdays | Toddler Story Time | 10:30 a.m. | Library |
The third Wednesday this month is November 18. ECIA's October newsletter describes the Woman of Valor reading as a memoir of family, memory and caregiving, followed by an audience discussion.
The week of November 12 is the busiest stretch
Two library events land in the same few days. The bi-annual book sale runs Thursday, November 12, through Saturday, November 14. The library's October listing describes fiction and nonfiction for many ages, along with DVDs, audiobooks, CDs and some specialty items, and calls the sale a fundraiser for the library.
On Friday the 13th, the library's monthly trivia moves to Nuckolls Brewing at the Lamy Railyard, 152 Old Lamy Trail in Lamy. It's $10 per person at the door, you can come alone or bring a team, and all proceeds go to the library. According to ECIA's October newsletter, the games run on the second Friday of each month at Nuckolls from 4 to 6 p.m., and the library has called them a successful fundraiser.
The library's paid trivia was already held at the brewery, so the Community Center work doesn't affect it.
Fewer fixtures on the December calendar
Last December, Santa made his third annual visit to the ECIA Community Center on December 6. Families decorated ornaments, posed for photos, wore holiday sweaters and stopped to see the horses. No 2026 version has been announced so far. ECIA's December calendar lists only an evening AA meeting on December 6. ECIA posts announcements in its monthly Vistas newsletter and its e-blasts, which you can sign up for at eldoradosf.org.
The Saturday market at La Tienda has also ended for the year. The Flea at La Tienda lists its weekly season as May through October, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., so there are no November or December dates.
A few practical services run past the holidays. Santa Fe County's Re-Use Area at the Eldorado Convenience Center reopened September 30. It's open Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon, and anyone can take usable items for free. Dropping items off requires a permit or bag tag, and Eldorado/285 Recycles helps maintain the space. At the same September meeting, ECIA's board also voted to keep the weed dumpster open through the end of the year, after a trial with fencing and closer rule oversight kept costs under control.
If you usually buy holiday gifts from Eldorado artists at the Winter Art Show, the next scheduled chance is the Spring Art Show. EACA has tied that date to the renovation schedule and to the terms it can get for the Center, and it has not been set.
At Ayden Gramm Real Estate, we follow changes like this Community Center remodel because they shape life in Eldorado well beyond any single listing. If you have questions about how ECIA projects such as the remodel and the parking lot repaving fit into owning a home here, please schedule a consultation. We're happy to talk it through.
