Fifty years ago, organizers of Santa Fe's 350th anniversary celebration raised money by putting men without beards inside a fake jail on the Plaza until they posted $10 "bail."

Raising cash to commemorate 400 years has been on a totally different scale. Nonetheless, members of the committee planning events over the next 16 months were dealt a serious dose of reality when their dreams of a $7 million operating budget turned into more like $1 million.

Forget about hiring former Beatle Paul McCartney to headline a concert. Strike the idea of luring the king and queen of Spain for opening ceremonies. But keep planning the best event you can for the cash you have. That's the philosophy adopted by committee chairman Maurice Bonal.

"I want to have Santa Fe be able to look back in 2011 and say 'Jeez, we did the best job that we could have done,' with pride. That's my goal," he said. "We want the kids to be involved and have a lasting memory."

Bonal remembers his dad getting "locked up" as part of the last anniversary party, when Bonal was a teenager, and recalls festivities including a parade as joy-filled and fun, although "not as big as this."

This weekend's "Viva Santa Fe" program kicks off more than a year of planned events for the anniversary of the "settlement" of the city in 1609-1610.

A free, family-friendly fair is planned for Saturday and Sunday at Fort Marcy Park, with music, dance performances and workshops, cooking demonstrations, puppet shows and arts and crafts.

On hand will be the rare, 120-year-old carousel called "Tio Vivo" that belongs to the Taos Lions Club and was once carted around Northern New Mexico by burros. A hands-on area called "Give Me Shelter" will feature an exhibit about historic and modern adobe and give participants a chance to mud a wall and peel a viga.

An opening ceremony that includes speeches and the placement of documents and other items into a "legacy time capsule" is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Sunday.

Two ticketed concerts offer free admission for kids under 12 but charge adults up to $25, partly to raise revenue for various commemoration projects. Saturday's lineup includes Ozomatli, Lila Downs, Tobias Rene, Blackfire and Black Eagle, while Sunday's concert will feature the Santa Fe Symphony.

Libby Dover, executive director for the anniversary organization, would not say Tuesday how many tickets have sold, but said both events are near or beyond the 1,000-ticket mark so far.

"We feel good going into the weekend. We know that Santa Fe is a last-minute ticket buyer kind of town," Dover said. "We are watching the weather very closely and feel like it's going to be a good event."

Just Tuesday, organizers agreed to give a 25 percent discount on tickets to all government employees, including school-district workers.

After the kickoff, residents and tourists alike can attend all or part of a lecture series that will begin Oct. 8.

Next summer, a portable movie screen will be set up at various city parks for screenings of free films from June to August.

Two anthologies about the last 400 years are scheduled for publication. The end of the commemoration will be marked with a gala called the "Legacy Ball" that will include dinner, dancing and live entertainment on New Year's Eve 2010 at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center.

The organization is operating with the help of two appropriations of city money and a grant from the state Legislature that total about $1.1 million. Dover said most of that money is committed for advertising, merchandise, payment of performers and otherwise putting on the Viva event, and for more than a year of office rental, a half-dozen staff salaries and other overhead that runs about $40,000 a month.

Corporate sponsors and in-kind donations make up the rest of the resources, and the success or failure of the first events will dictate the next course of action.

If there is bad weather or low attendance, Bonal said, "it wouldn't be very good," and would require a second look as to what "the city of Santa Fe wants to do with its anniversary."

For more information about events, parking, sponsors or to volunteer, log on to www.santafe400th.com, or call 986-1610.

Contact Julie Ann Grimm at 986-3017 or jgrimm@sfnewmexican.com.