Celebrate the Arizona State Centennial with Prescott Best Fest

The Arizona Best Fest is a festival intended to present the state's diverse and vibrant culture to residents and visitors.

The "Best of Arizona" will include the "Local First" involvement of the many wineries, breweries, restaurants of local and state-wide renown, top chefs, foods, arts and merchandise crafted in Arizona.

 

Best Fest will comprise nine square blocks across downtown Prescott, including three cultural villages, five educational pavilions; several music stages; an art show; a film festival; Victorian fashion shows; tastings of food, wine, beer and margaritas; a kid's zone; storytellers; historical re-enactments and re-creations and more. Best of all, the event is free.

 

Three different villages across downtown Prescott during the Best Fest will highlight the cultural and historical contributions of three prevalent Arizona cultures.

 

The Native American Village invites you to step into a living village designed by tribal elders and youth, where guests will be transported to a world with traditional ancient dwellings, food demonstrations with cacti, hear the language of seven tribes and the stories of the elders; see the traditional music and dance of the longstanding Native American lifestyle.

 

The Hispanic Village is filled with food demonstrations, artists-in-action, strolling mariachis and dancers performing everything from Folklorico to Salsa. Equestrian dancers will wow the crowds and Mexican rodeos or "chariadas" will be a prime spectacle. 

 

The Western Village offers gunfights, campfires, saloons, horses, carriages and stagecoaches to help set the scene. A saloon will serve 'em up cold and don't forget the trick-roping, blacksmithing and even panning-for-gold demonstrations.

 

Five pavilions will be on the display across downtown Prescott for the Centennial Best Fest. These pavilions will showcase the following with regard to the state of Arizona: Science and the Future; Renewable Energy; Natural Resources; History, and Military.

 

Performing at the Best Fest Series will be nationally recognized "local" entertainers performing on the Arizona Best Fest Main Stage, as well as additional stages featuring local musicians located throughout the festival.

 

Entertainers for Prescott Best Fest include musician and singer Wayne Newton, pop singer Jordin Sparks of "American Idol" fame, an original guitar hero Nils Lofgren, veteran rockers The Tubes, official state historian Marshall Trimble, official state balladeer Dolan Ellis, the folk and bluegrass of Ronstadt Family Traditions and rock and blues musician Jerry Riopelle.

 

Prescott Western Heritage Days, in partnership with the Prescott Film Festival, the Prescott Regulators and Their Shady Ladies, and the Victorian Society, will host the largest gathering of re-enactors in Arizona at the Centennial Best Fest celebration in downtown Prescott. Family activities will include unique photo opportunities, cowboy and old-time music, cowboy poetry, costume contest, Victorian fashion show, gold panning, and numerous children's activities throughout the weekend. Learn more by visiting http://www.prescottwesternheritageday.org.

 

While not located in the central downtown area of the Prescott Best Fest, the Arizona Cowboy Poets will be performing throughout most of the festival--from September 15 to 17--at the Yavapai College (1100 E. Sheldon Street). The Elks Opera House (117 E. Gurley) hosts cowboy poet Don Edwards and a few others to kick things off on Friday September 15. The following two days will see multiple, concurrent sessions at Yavapai College, capping things off with a Saturday night concert featuring the Desert Sons from Tucson. Learn more by visiting http://azcowboypoets.org. 

 

The Granite Street Parking Garage in downtown Prescott will be closed to everyone except those downtown merchant employers and employees whose parking spots are being displaced with the street closures.

Two free park-and-ride lots with shuttle service to and from downtown Prescott have been established at Frontier Village on Highway 69, just west of Prescott (on the south side of Highway 69, between the Prescott Gateway Mall and the Prescott Resort); and at the Prescott Rodeo Grounds at 840 Rodeo Drive (northeast of Downtown on Miller Valley Road).

 

Everyone loves a party and this should be quite the festival. Learn more about Arizona's 100th birthday. and about Prescott