The Burning of the Zozobra is a unique cultural event staged annually by the Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe on the Friday before Labor Day as an exciting and fiery kick-off to the historic Fiestas de Santa Fe.

Zozobra, also known as Old Man Gloom (OMG), is the creation of Will Shuster, one of a group of artists known as the Cinco Pintores, who made their way to New Mexico in the 1920s. Shuster’s creation first appeared in his backyard in 1924 as a six-foot puppet, and over the years, has grown to a towering 50-foot high marionette. Made of muslin and stuffed with hundreds of bags of shredded paper, Zozobra is a dark and eerie character, part ghost and part monster, who was introduced publicly as part of Santa Fe Fiesta events in 1926. Since that time, the people of Santa Fe, families and friends new and old, have annually made their way to Fort Marcy Park, a few blocks from the historic Santa Fe Plaza, to view this one-of-a-kind Labor Day Friday pageant.

The Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe became the pageant officials responsible for Zozobra when his creator, artist Will Shuster, assigned all rights to the Club on June 19, 1964 . To this day, the Club retains all the exclusive copyrights and trademarks to the figure. As the major fundraiser for the Santa Fe Kiwanis Club, Zozobra has become a welcome and entertaining opportunity for the citizens of Santa Fe––and visitors from around the globe––to participate in a community service event that benefits children via grants, scholarships, and activities.

If this is going to be your first time visiting this exciting event, you should take read our articles “Zozobra: The Burning of Renewal” and “5 Things to do in Santa Fe“.