This summer marks the first Taos Mountain Music Festival at Taos Ski Valley, Saturday, Aug. 15, and many lodgings in the area are offering special packages and free Festival tickets the weekend of the event.

All of the following Ski Valley properties are offering a package that includes a one-night stay for two plus two free tickets to the Festival (starting rates are in parentheses): Alpine Village Suites ($150), The Bavarian Lodge and Restaurant ($150), Edelweiss Lodge and Spa ($160), Kandahar Condominiums ($170), Powderhorn Condominiums ($130), Rio Hondo Condominiums ($170), Sierra Del Sol ($130), and Snow Bear Inn & Condominiums ($160). Rooms at Ski Valley properties are expected to fill up fast, so it's recommended that you make reservations as soon as possible.

The Festival, being held at the base of the ski runs at Taos Ski Valley Resort, is an all-day event that starts at 10:30 a.m. and continues into the evening, ending at approximately 9:45 p.m. The Festival has a full roster of musicians from a wide spectrum of musical traditions, including Ozomatli, with its collision of hip hop and salsa, dancehall and cumbia, samba and funk, and Jamaican reggae and Indian raga; the reggae band, The Wailers; soul singer Joan Osborne; Nosotros and their blend of flamenco, jazz, salsa, and rock; the Rico Blues Project, a mountain blues band from the Southern San Juan Mountains of Colorado; and the Afro-coastal-and-Americana Brent Berry Band.

All-day Festival tickets are $35 in advance and $38 the day of the Festival. Children 10 and under accompanied by an adult are free.

More information: Lodging and the Festival; tickets or call 888-512-7469.