Held the Friday before Labor Day in Fort Marcy Park, the burning of Zozobra is the strangest, loudest civic event in Santa Fe. A 15-metre marionette of "Old Man Gloom" — papier-mâché, white-robed, animated by puppeteers — groans and rages on a tall stage while dancers below taunt him with torches. At the climax he is set alight and the crowd of 60,000 cheers as he burns.
The event has been running annually since 1924 and is regarded as the unofficial end of summer. Buy tickets online weeks ahead; come hours early for a decent spot.