Imagine inviting folks to your birthday party and serving them slices from a 150-square-foot birthday cake.
That is what the City of Prescott will do at about 5:30 p.m., Friday, May 30, when Arizona’s first territorial capital celebrates the sesquicentennial of its founding.
It is the city’s way of saying, “Happy 150 Birthday, Prescott.”
And that is just the start for a three-day party.
Following presentation of colors by period-costumed color guard and music from a local band, Mayor Marlin Kuykendall and other city officials will gather on the north side of the Courthouse Plaza. That is where they will carve and serve the cake.
Then the party begins in earnest.
“We’re excited to celebrate the rich and vibrant history of what has become the state’s premier destination location in the Central Arizona Highlands. We want to share the party with our friends,” said Neil Thomas, the Sesquicentennial Celebration chair.
“We are proud of the heritage of our state’s first capital. We’re looking forward to its future,” Thomas said. “The May 30 party will be the first of a full year of celebrating where we’ve been and where we’re going.
Three Themes for the Celebration
Thomas and his colleagues on the planning committee determined the celebration will have three motifs – Old West, Wild West and New West. Designated areas adjacent to the Courthouse Plaza will be closed off to accommodate the three staging areas.
Friday afternoon, after the 150-square foot cake – one square foot for every birthday year – has been served, Sharlot Hall Museum will host a “Territorial Dinner” featuring authentic, historically inspired recipes from the 1860s. The $75 per plate dinner is limited to 150 people and is by reservation only, said Fred Veil, a Sesquicentennial Committee member.
“The dinner is a fundraiser for the museum, which, after all, is the home for the first governor’s mansion and thousands of artifacts relevant to the history of Prescott and the area,” Veil said.
Elsewhere on Friday evening, a free concert featuring the Central Arizona Band performing period music will have people tapping their toes and clapping at the south end of the Courthouse Plaza. A beer garden featuring 150 kinds and styles of beer—appropriately, one for each birthday year—will be open to adults, said Steve Gottlieb, another committee member.
An “Old West” area designed to showcase historical crafts and skills, such as blacksmithing and similar pioneer activities, will include “…wagonloads of free entertainment by some of the best talent we could schedule. Activities will range from ‘Buffalo Bill Wild West Show’ to the 9th Cavalry of Buffalo Soldiers to genuine chuck wagon cookin’ for public consumption,” Gottlieb said.
Concurrent with the Old West events are the “Wild West” re-enactments and entertainment, such as Arizona Gunfighters, Arizona Ghostriders, Prescott Regulators and their Shady Ladies, Boothill Express Company, Dr. Buck and the Wild Bunch, and others, Gottlieb said. “We’ll have kids peeking around their parents at the mock gunfights, and folks dancing in the streets to the many bands we have playing.”
Still other displays related to Prescott will be highlighted at the “New West” staging area on the Mile High Middle School athletic field just south of Goodwin Street. Coordinated by Judy Paris from the Children’s Museum Alliance, these displays and activities will focus on “…promoting a culture that celebrates and embraces education, research, collaboration, innovation and economic growth in the Quad Cities area, especially as they relate to science, technology, engineering, mathematics and the arts – STEM + A,” she said. “We need to focus on the future of Prescott as well as the past. Our displays and events will feature presentations from our local colleges and universities and education and environmentally-related groups, such as the Highlands Center for Natural History and Heritage Park Zoological Sanctuary.”
Events for all three areas are scheduled on both Saturday and Sunday, said Don Prince, director of tourism for the City of Prescott. “We’ve had tremendous cooperation among dozens of groups and organizations in organizing this birthday party. What’s more, this celebration is just the beginning of a year-long party for Prescott.”
Prince said the committee also has arranged for a Rough Stock Rodeo on Sunday afternoon at the Prescott Rodeo Grounds.
“The event will attract top cowboys and is being designed as a traditional 1880s rodeo. What’s really neat is that children under 18 will be admitted free to the rodeo,” said committee chair Thomas. Thomas, in addition to his activities with the committee, is in his sixth year as president of the Prescott Regulators.
Others active with the Sesquicentennial Committee during the past several months are Kendall Jaspers, who has served as liaison with Yavapai County, Dave Maurer, chief executive officer of the Prescott Chamber of Commerce who is coordinating fundraising, and Melisa Ruffner, longtime Prescott resident and historian.
Thomas says the group still needs community volunteers to help with some of the events. Those interested can call 928-499-0699 to volunteer or to get more information. QCBN
By Ray Newton
Quad Cities Business News
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