cortez cultural center

Your guide to the Mesa Verde Area. But there are a lot of different ruins that are free to the public.

The gals at the CCC are super friendly & knowledgeable. Many good pieces to see and helpful info if you are unfamiliar with area.

We thought this place was awesome. I think the Cortez Visitor's center told us to go here, so we did. We caught a free Native American cultural dance, which was just awesome. Very moving. There's also a hogan outside to go in, and lots to see inside, too. You can buy hard-to-find Anasazi beans. But the best thing about this place was the Navajo Code Talker we got to listen to, and then meet, in the evening, all for free. It was amazing hearing his story. Once in a lifetime chance. The Cortez Cultural Center does great things. Don't forget to check out the awesome mural painted on the building's outside. (July 2013)

We saw the last dance of the summer season. Always interesting to see the Indian dancers and hear about the dances they do. Nice space, good local crafts, worth a visit. No charge.

Worth the time to call ahead and find out about the schedule - I saw several dance performances, story tellers and one WWII veteran's talk about this experiences and loved them all. It's a great little gem and the little center has some neat displays.

We happened by the cultural center on our way downtown and there was native dancing going on in the back amphitheater. Well done and entertaining as my son was happy to watch. Yes, the place is small, but that means it doesn't take you much time to stop in.

The web site is not kept up to day. Web site indicated in summer Indian dances every evening. Then a Mesa Verde park ranger checked internet for us; the cultural center web calender indicated dances would be on Monday 6/2. The hotel staff indicated they were advised the dances are every evening at 7:30, to get there early for a seat. We visited the Cultural Center to learn the dances did not begin until 6/4.

Very small collection of artefacts, books etc but nevertheless interesting and volunteer staff most helpful

Visit here only if time permits. Small place. Not very much to see. Takes 10 minutes. Staff friendly but asked too many questions of the visitors.

The Cortez Cultural Center offers a great overview of the culture of the area -- a perfect place to start for our visitors

Several times a week the Cortez Cultural Center offers Native American dancing - and it's free (donations accepted).

The ladies here were just lovely. So happy to talk to us about everything in and around Cortez. Lots of brochures and inside info.

This cultural center is very home grown in feel. Local senior citizens man the counter and can tell you something about most of the items for sale and show. They are certainly enthusiastic. Local artists sell jewelry, paintings, cards and other hand made items so you will find unique gifts and the overhead goes into the local economy. The back wall is painted to look like the building is a three-demensional pueblo and a replica of a hogan stands nearby an area used for native dances. Worth a stop if you are in Cortez.

We've been to Cortez about 50 times and have never taken the time to watch the evening Native American Dancing that takes place every night at 7PM. I'm now sorry we haven't been to it sooner! Last night the dancing was conducted by a husband and wife team, whose day jobs are teachers near Gallup. He was very funny, and told us about his family history and about the dances. The bead work on her dress was amazing. If you really watched her dance, you noticed that her heels never touched the ground. Tonight one of the last code talkers was going to speak, and I'm sorry we had to head home so we missed it. The little museum also has many nice exhibits, and art work by local artists. We will definitely go back! The show was free, and afterwards you could go up and talk to the dancers. (And did I mention he also plays the native American flute.) Donations were accepted.

We love this because of the Indian dances and programs in the summer, they are not in the spring or fall. Always there are art exhibits in the back. Look at the exhibits and the things to buy at the gift shop. The volunteers are happy to tell a lot of information about everything in Cortez and its history.