36 October 2010 LeisureGroupTravel.com on location: west ❖ sue arko A n Arizona vacation is much sweeter when choosing a package based on your group’s special interest. And a great way to customize your visit is to include one or more of Arizona’s nu- merous festivals and events into your itinerary. A wide variety of niche events can be found throughout the state and themes are as diverse as Arizona itself. Themes include holiday, cul- tural, sports, arts and crafts, wine and culinary, faith-based and educational. Following are just a few top events with an Arizona flavor: Eventful Arizona Towns ThroughouT The sTaTe celebraTe everyThing from cowboy and indian lore To apples and leTTuce Visions of the West enthrall groups at Prescott Frontier Days – The World’s Oldest Rodeo and the Navajo Nation Fair. Miller Photo Navajo Times
Transcript
36 October 2010 LeisureGroupTravel.com
on location: west � sue arko
An Arizona vacation is muchsweeter when choosing a packagebased on your group’s special interest.And a great way to customize your visit is to include one or more of Arizona’s nu-
merous festivals and events into your itinerary. A wide variety of niche events can be foundthroughout the state and themes are as diverse as Arizona itself. Themes include holiday, cul-tural, sports, arts and crafts, wine and culinary, faith-based and educational. Following are justa few top events with an Arizona flavor:
Eventful Arizona
Towns
ThroughouT
The sTaTe
celebraTe
everyThing
from cowboy
and indian
lore
To apples and
leTTuce
Visions of the West enthrall
groups at Prescott Frontier Days –
The World’s Oldest Rodeo and the
Navajo Nation Fair.
Miller Photo
Navajo Times
RODEO EVENTS
Prescott Frontier Days – The World’s Oldest Rodeo,Prescott. July 4, 1888, became the birthday of professionalrodeo when a group of Prescott merchants and business-men organized the first formalized “cowboy tournament”and offered cash prizes. These “Cowboy Contests” con-tinued, and rodeo has grown into a multi-million-dollarsport with more than 700 professional rodeos in 50 states.In addition to bull riding, steer wrestling, bronc riding andother events at the world’s oldest rodeo, this week-longfestival includes the Frontier Days Parade, a dance, finearts and crafts show, Kiddies Parade, and Rodeo QueenContest and Coronation. Date: June 28-July 4, 2011.(866-407-6336, worldsoldestrodeo.com)
PARADES
Fort McDowell Fiesta Bowl Parade, Phoenix. Pre-sented by Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, Arizona’slargest single-day spectator event annually attracts thou-sands of people who line the downtown Phoenix paraderoute. It is a favorite of locals and of fans traveling toArizona for college football, featuring colorful floats, he-lium balloons, marching bands and equestrian units.Groups can easily get to the parade via Phoenix’s newMETRO Light Rail. Date: Dec. 31, 2010. (480-350-0900, fiestabowl.org/index.php/events/parade)
Parada del Sol Horse-Drawn Parade, Scottsdale.An annual event since 1953, the world’s largest horse-drawn parade features about 150 entries marching upScottsdale Road. The theme for 2011 is “ScottsdaleSalutes the Troops in Cowboy Boots.” As the paradeconcludes, a big party called Trail’s End offers kids’games, pony rides, Old West gunfights and trick rop-ing. Parada del Sol is a non-profit corporation that pro-vides financial and volunteer support to local charities.Date: Feb. 12, 2011. (480-990-3179, paradadelsol.us)
CULTURAL
Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff. The mu-seum produces four festivals, plus monthly programs,that highlight the region’s cultures. The festivals offera balance of ancient and modern cultural presentations,performances and activities, providing insight into theHopi, Navajo, Zuni and Hispanic cultures living on theColorado Plateau and in the Four Corners region.
20th Annual Zuni Festival of Arts and Crafts, May28-29, 2011. A celebration of the Zuni way of life andZuni expressions of creativity.
77th Annual Hopi Festival of Arts and Culture, July2-3, 2011. A celebration dedicated to encouraging thesurvival of Hopi arts and crafts.
LeisureGroupTravel.com October 2010 37
61st Annual Navajo Festivalof Arts and Culture, Aug. 6-7,2011. An authentic presentationof the Navajo “Beauty Way” phi-losophy of living in harmony.
7th Annual Celebraciones dela Gente, Oct. 29-30, 2011. Anexemplification of the Dia de losMuertos, or Day of the Dead, anancient Meso-American holidayheld throughout Mexico, LatinAmerica and the SouthwesternUS. (928-774-5213, musnaz.org)
Navajo Nation Fair, WindowRock. The largest Native American fairin the country features cultural experi-ences, including a pow-wow, an arts andcrafts fair, and traditional song anddance performances by numerous In-dian tribes. Miss Navajo is crowned an-nually during the festival and theNavajo Art Walk fine art exhibit is held
at the Navajo Nation Shopping Center.The Navajo Flea Market is buzzingwith excitement during the fair, anddances are held nightly in big tentsalong the highway. Date: Sept. 8-11,2011. (928-871-6647, navajonation-fair.com)
HOLIDAY EVENTS
Ghost Tour and Historical Walk,Mesa. This Halloween-season walkingtour of downtown Mesa pairs historicalsites with tales of ghosts and goblins.Docents lead guests above and belowMain Street. At several stops businessowners provide accounts of paranormalhappenings in some of Mesa’s oldestbuildings. Downtown Mesa’s architec-tural history is displayed as guests visitestablishments that date back to theearly 1900s as well as more recent build-ings. Private group tours can be arrangedwith advance notice. Date: Oct. 21-22,2011. (480-835-7358, mesahistorical-museum.org)
CULINARY
Apple Harvest Celebration, Will-cox. Southern Ari-zona’s elevation isperfect for orchards,and every LaborDay weekend AppleAnnie’s Orchard in
Willcox hosts a harvest cele-bration. Guests can pick RedDelicious, Rome and Criterionapples, fill up on pancakesdoused in cider syrup, or opt forpeaches and pears, which arealso ready for pickin’. Also stopat Stout’s Cider Mill, known bylocals as “that apple place inArizona,” for an enormous pieceof delicious apple pie madefrom home-grown apples. Localwineries, you-pick orchards,and plenty of places to hike and
picnic make the Apple Harvest Cele-bration a fun-filled day for tour groups.Date: Sept. 3-5, 2011. (520-384-2084,appleannies.com)
Yuma Lettuce Days, Yuma. In part-nership with the Southwest Ag Sum-mit, this event connects the agriculturalindustry with the community and visi-tors. The celebration of Yuma’s thrivingveggie business includes seminars,games, kids’ activities, live music and afarmers market. New in 2011, the festi-val will include a new epicurean com-ponent, where local chefs, restaurantsand grocery stores provide an array oftantalizing tastes highlighting Arizona’sproduce. A surprise celebrity chef, alongwith other nationally recognized re-gional chefs, will demonstrate theirskills throughout the weekend. Date:March 11-13, 2011. (928-782-5712,yumalettucedays.com) LGT
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38 October 2010 LeisureGroupTravel.com
ONLINE EXCLUSIVE
For more ideas on group-friendly Arizona events, go
online and see the article on yuletide celebrations in Mesa,
Prescott, Flagstaff and Lake Havasu. Log on to http://leisure-
