Bienvenidos, Mah-waan Mah-waan, Ya at eeh, Kawatsi, Loloma
Welcome to our World
Southwest Seminars is a cultural educational organization that also offers event planning services. We take pride in the quality of our study leaders, frequently scholars, who are knowledgeable beyond the realm of ordinary guides, yet are also charming, entertaining and capable of tending to group dynamics. And because of our educational focus we also are known for our ability to arrange visits to sites that are generally not open to the public.
Visitors to this community frequently wish to see well known sites or request activities, such as walking tours, or visits to Bandelier National Monument, Santuario de Chimayo, Abiquiu and O’Keeffe Country, modern Indian Pueblos, museums and famous galleries. Southwest Seminars can take your group to those locations with former directors of the local museums, published authors, art historians and working archaeologists, Native or Hispanic cultural ambassadors. Accompanied by scholars and quality study leaders, the ordinary becomes outstanding.
Or we can schedule visits to sites off the beaten path that require special permission and negotiation to secure, such as archaeological sites, grid gardens, ancient puebloan foot trails, artists’ homes and studios. We are able to make these arrangements as a result of the contacts and goodwill engendered by our popular public lecture series and our standing in the professional community of museum officials, scholars, authors, artists and Native American cultural contacts.
While we are educational in nature, we offer all the services of a regular DMC, including catered or themed events, transportation, musical bookings, cooking schools, balloon rides, golf, hiking, shopping and more, We put our energy into our programming, not our brochure, into securing the services of special study leaders who convey the history, arts, and culture…the very heart of Santa Fe.
We welcome the opportunity to be of service.
Connie Eichstaedt, Director
Southwest Seminars
Possibilities...
Southwest Seminars
Is a noted cultural and educational organization which provides custom itineraries and events for special clients who wish to experience the best of our diverse cultures, art, archaeology, and history, We work with museums, universities, corporations, and private groups to plan and execute customized programs to meet your interest in Santa Fe and the Southwest, one of the country's most unique settings. We can offer you ideas or work with your specific interests to make your visit memorable.
Custom Events in Private Homes, Gardens and Galleries
Santa Fe abounds with unique and special locations for dinner or receptions. Private homes of well-known artists, sculpture gardens of famous art galleries, the elegant courtyard of the O'Keeffe Museum or the distinctive architecture of the Fine Arts Museum, cookouts on wild and wooly western movie sets, or enchiladas and Spanish flamenco or mariachi music at a beautiful and historic Spanish Colonial village.
The Unique Culture of Santa Fe Captivates All
Enlightening walks on the plaza with a charming historian, day trips to artist's studios, hike to ancient sites and explore spectacular cave dwellings with archaeologists, visit eye-popping museum collections with renowned art historians, See Georgia O'Keeffe's home in Abiquiu by special arrangement, and tour her beloved Ghost Ranch, at the foot of mystical Cerro Pedernal, explore the fascinating world-class Santa Fe Opera behind the scenes, Marvel at a giant volcanic crater, the Valles Caldera, with a Fulbright scholar and vulcanologist who will share the incredible geologic story.
Recreational Opportunities and Beautiful Scenery go hand-in-hand
A horseback ride through red canyons and pinon-covered hills will become a chance of a lifetime to see ancient sites seldom seen, a golfing trip to a scenic and award-winning Native American course will become a cultural immersion, a majestic balloon ride over the magical Rio Grande valley will open up vistas of stunning landscape and a rich story of the human adaptation to the natural world, a hike into Santa Fe's wilderness areas with a naturalist will enrich you with the diversity of the ecosystem and its fabulous flora and fauna, a mountain climb will take you to the legendary home of the katsina, messenger spirits of the Puebloan world, a whitewater rafting or more gentle float trip down the legendary Rio Grande will thrill you as our experienced 'river rat' knows the incredible stories behind every bend in the river.
Evening Entertainment may be Joyous or Enlightening
Consider the sacredness of a Native American flute player, storyteller. Listen to the stamping feet of Flamenco dancers accompanied by Spanish Colonial guitarists, sing along with festive Mexican mariachi singers, enjoy classical or medieval music ensembles or even rock 'n roll bands, as well as legendary country western singers. Experience the world famous Santa Fe Opera. Meet famous New Mexico Santeros (saint makers), Native American potters, painters, jewelers and katsina carvers, and Navajo weavers. Learn from archaeologists, historians or art historians. Appreciate Santa Fe's distinctive architecture, and its sacred, ancient sites, Crypto-Jewish history, visit battlefields of the Civil War in New Mexico, or marvel at Los Alamos' world famous scientists with a catered cocktail party or dinner at historic Fuller Lodge.
Exceptional Lecturers, Scholars or Native Cultural Ambassadors
We provide special speakers on diverse Native American and Hispanic cultures and traditions, archaeology, anthropology, southwestern history, art and artists, literature, vulcanology, ecology and natural sciences. Many are authors, scholars or regional experts in their field. Presenters and guides have a broad understanding of Santa Fe and northern New Mexico, coupled with a unique ability to express their particular scholarship in an engaging manner. We are indeed fortunate in working with such distinguished specialists who are captivating speakers, charming companions and guides, and experts in their fields.
Traditional Northern New Mexico Cooking to Contemporary Cuisine
We also work with and recommend award-winning restaurants and delightful caterers to make sure your visit is a culinary treat. We can provide visits to renowned cooking schools, small vineyards, beautiful gardens, and the very enchanting Santa Fe Farmers' Market.
Our Clients Have Included...
McGraw-Hill Publishing, Yale University Alumni Association, UCLA Alumni Association Travel, The American Indian College Fund, Association of Federal Administrative Law Judges; Abbott Laboratories, International Hardwood, Plywood and Veneer Association, Northstar Institute, University of Minnesota ElderLearning Institute and many more.
