International Folk Art Market (IFAM) — Attraction in Santa Fe

IFAM truly offers an incredible and large selection of folk arts from around the globe. There are no bargains for trinkets here -- these are the finest craftspeople in their fields who travel from far and wide to come to IFAM to showcase their art.

But from an attendees perspective, it was rather unpleasant. It was extremely crowded (like shuffling in tiny footsteps to get thru the vendor areas). There were not enough bathrooms. And not only were there long lines for all of the food booths, but there was a serious lack of places to sit and eat, even chairs or benches. We ended up sitting on a driveway curb.

The worst part of the day was checking out to pay for our item. Rather than paying the vendor directly, they have you take a price ticket to an invoice table, then take your invoice to one of 3 cashier areas in the whole market, then go back to the invoice table to retrieve your item. The whole process took us over 1.5 hours to check out. We thought about leaving our item behind numerous times but we waited because I really liked my 1 item. After that, I did not want to buy anything else.

If going to the market, be prepared for tremendous crowds and all of the hassles that...

I just can't believe how sloppy and dirty and poorly organized this event is. It just gets worse year after year after they left the location up on the hill. These poor vendors come all the way here with their chachkeys and are given a cheap tent on the dirt with no rhyme or reason hoping that they make a few dollars but all it is is a market to sell mostly cheap quality items, bags, bracelets, hats, blankets at astronomically high prices. The entry is a disaster, their electronics don't work, they don't know the procedures. There isn't a well organized food court, no water or treats stands and the railyard space is dirty, poorly maintained and out right uncomfortable and disgusting. A city like Santa Fe should have impeccable spaces, impeccable events, live music and a night life - it has none. Five great restaurtants at $200 a person and a Taco Bell - ok, two Taco Bells. Not what people come here believing for sure! But as far as this event - it is absolutely not worth going, it should be something special and it...

The bus system was excellent. Not too long a wait to get on.

The payment lines were horrible! I got in the cash line with about four people in front of me and I still had to wait 25 minutes to pay. If it is cash or check what could possibly take so long. I watched a man in front of me wait at the table for 15 minutes just to get checked out.

That is not even mentioning the lines to pay with a credit card, which looked about an hour long. That is an hour that could have been spent shopping and hurts the artists.

The offer of express pay was not stated clearly when you buy tickets. I and others around me thought it was about a fast way to buy tickets.

The market was just beautiful and fun as usual. I hope the payment problems can be improved in the future.

Lucie and...