Schedule
We're very excited to be back for our 8th New Mexico Prickly Pear Festival. The festival will be Friday Sept 18th from 2pm-7pm and Saturday Sept 19th from 10am-4pm
The festival will take place at the Gutierrez Hubbell House
6029 Isleta Blvd SW, Albuquerque, NM 87105
Friday September 18th, 2025
2:00 - 2:30 PM
Opening
Our festival and vendor market opens, with vendors selling all kinds of prickly pear food, beverages, arts, and crafts. For a full list of vendors visit our vendor page
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2:00 - 3:00 PM
Prickly Pear Block Print Making
Renee Romero of Roadrunner Arts Hub will lead festival goers in making their own prickly pear block prints. Create your own beautiful prickly pear inspired art, at one of three sessions throughout the festival.
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2:30 - 3:00 PM
Acequia Walk and Talks
Walk the historic Pajarito Acequia that runs behind the Hubbell House, with members of Center for Social Sustainable Systems (CESOSS)
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3:00 - 4:00 PM
Prickly Pear Mini Watercolor Workshop
Join Scarlet Selleck for a prickly pear-themed painting class where you will get to make mini (3” x 3”) creations that will shine alongside the New Mexico landscape. One of two sessions during the day
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4:00 - 5:00 PM
“Which came first? The tuna or the TUNA?” Cooking with Chef Justin Pioche
Award winning chef and recent Chopped champion, Justin Pioche, will be showing folks how to think outside the box when using prickly pear, demoing how to make a seared prickly pear tuna marinade.
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3:00 - 4:00 PM
Prickly Pear Cochineal Dye Workshop
Learn about one of the worlds oldest natural dyes with Daisy Cortes, in this workshop attendees will dye fabric together with cochineal insects, which live on the pads of the nopal and have been harvested for dyeing for centuries. While getting their hands dirty, festival goers will learn about the history of dyeing with cochineal, as well as the processes involved in natural dyeing.
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5:00 - 6:00 PM
Prickly Pear Cocktails & Mocktails
Sip, snack, and see the desert in a whole new way! Join Jessica O’Brien, for a hands on cocktail demo where we’ll turn locally foraged flavors into two refreshing summer favorites: a floral Lavender Prickly Pear Lemonade and a vibrant Prickly Pear Sangria. Along the way, you’ll learn the basics of urban foraging, discover how wild ingredients can elevate your cocktails, and leave inspired to bring a little Southwest magic to your own happy hour.
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4:00 - 6:00 PM
Coming to the Prickly Pear Stage:
We have an awesome line up of local artists to grace our prickly pear festival stage including
Micah Thunder: The Korean Cowboy
&
Sat September 19th, 2025
Outside
10:00 - 10:30 AM
Opening
Our festival and vendor market opens, with vendors selling all kinds of prickly pear food, beverages, arts, crafts, and new for this year an ascension by special shapes, cactus shaped balloon, Cheekytita, and other RC balloonists. For a full list of vendors visit our vendor page
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10:00 - 11:00 AM
Prickly Pear Block Print Making
Renee Romero of Roadrunner Arts Hub will lead festival goers in making their own prickly pear block prints. Create your own beautiful prickly pear inspired art, at the 2nd of the three sessions throughout the festival.
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10:00 - 11:30 AM
Flight of the Prickly Pear
Join Cheekytita, the cactus shaped balloon and a number of other RC balloonists as they take flight over main lawn of the Guttierrez Hubbell House.
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Prickly Pear Cochineal Dye Workshop
Learn about one of the worlds oldest natural dyes with, Daisy Cortes in this workshop attendees will dye fabric together with cochineal insects, which live on the pads of the nopal and have been harvested for dyeing for centuries. While getting theirhands dirty, festival goers will learn about the history of dyeing with cochineal, as well as the processes involved in natural dyeing.
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11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Prickly Pear Agua Fresca & Crunchy Prickly Pear Granola Salad
Lilia Avila of Fiesta On the Go & Three Sisters Kitchen will show folks some easy but delicious way to enjoy fresh prickly pear tunas, by making them info an agua fresca or as part of a fresh salad with granola topping.
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11:30 - 12:00 PM
Acequia Walk and Talks
Walk the historic Pajarito Acequia that runs behind the Hubbell House, with members of Center for Social Sustainable Systems (CESOSS)
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12:00 - 1:00 PM
Prickly Pear Chutney Demo
Come join Chef Senida of Tiny Grocer as she shows festival goers how to make a unique prickly pear side, prickly pear chutney.
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12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Prickly Pear Block Print Making
Join us for the last session of prickly pear block print making with Renee Romero of Roadrunner Arts Hub.
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1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Prickly Pear Cochineal Dye Workshop
Come by for the final session of our natural dye workshop with, Daisy Cortes. She’ll show attendees will dye fabric together with cochineal insects, which live on the pads of the nopal and have been harvested for dyeing for centuries. While getting their hands dirty, festival goers will learn about the history of dyeing with cochineal, as well as the processes involved in natural dyeing.
–
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Prickly Pear Mini Watercolor Workshop
If you missed the first days sessions, join Scarlet Selleck for the third prickly pear-themed painting class session where you will get to make mini (3” x 3”) creations that will shine alongside the New Mexico landscape. Your can register in advance here or sign up in person
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2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Prickly Pear and Indigenous Foodways
Learn from nutritionist Denee Bex of Tumbleweed Nutrition about the role of prickly pears in Indigenous communities, dive into the traditional use of prickly pear in Indigenous communities and its potential as a nourishing addition to our meals, health and wellbeing.
2:00 - 4:00 PM
Coming to the Prickly Pear Stage:
We have an awesome line up of local artists to grace our prickly pear festival stage including
&
Inside the
Gutierrez Hubbell House
Programming for farmers, ranchers, and gardeners
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Using Prickly Pear in Dryland Tree Guilds
. Join certified permaculture designer, educator, project manager, landscaper, regenerative farmer and homesteader, Susan Cersosimo of Vital Soil Landscapes and discover how to incorporate one of the Southwest's most resilient native plants into productive, water-wise tree guilds. In this one-hour presentation, you'll learn how prickly pear supports soil health, conserves moisture, provides food and wildlife habitat, and complements fruit trees and other climate-adapted companion plants. Leave with practical design strategies for creating beautiful, regenerative landscapes that thrive in Albuquerque's high-desert environment.
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12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
What To Think About When Thinking About Growing Prickly Pear On Your Farm
Becca Marshall, co-steward of Yappy Dog Farm, a small cut flower and vegetable farm in Albuquerque’s South Valley, focusing on climate-adapted crops and ecological farming practices. She’ll be talking with folks thinking of dipping their toes into growing prickly about the basics and what to know before you grow.