Movies on the Square is held each Friday night through the summer on Heritage Square. Bring blankets & chairs for this unique Flagstaff event.

The movie this week is Nacho Libre. Whiskey Rodeo is providing the entertainment at 6pm and the movie starts at dusk.

This week’s movie is sponsored by Fratelli Pizza. There will be information on the Olympics Opening night provided by the High Altitude Sports Training Center, where a number of Olympic athletes trained.

The Movies on the Square series is sponsored by Pepsi, Planet Nissan Subaru, the City of Flagstaff and presented to you by the Flagstaff Downtown Business Alliance.

A new addition is the information line where you can the movie schedule, and updates on weather. Just call 1-877-Movie-19! (1-877-668-4319)

One of Flagstaff’s best bands takes the stage prior to Movies on the Square this Friday. We haven’t seen them since their last notorious gig at Charly’s, and Flagstaff is ready to be rocked! If you haven’t seen Whiskey Rodeo yet:
1. You’re out of the Local Flagstaff loop.
2. You’re going to be blown away.
3. You’re going to become a die-hard fan.
4. You’re simply not as cool as you thought you were.

So - Heritage Square, Downtown Flagstaff just after 6pm….be there or be square.

Be sure to yell out for the “Shirt Box” (a slight adjustment to the traditional “Shot Box”, adjusted specifically for the Movie crowd). And don’t forget to eat some awesome Fratelli Pizza!!!

August 17, 2pm to 6pm at Hart Prairie Lodge at AZ Snowbowl.
One of the premier food & wine events in No. AZ. Spotlights a wide array of fine wines, gourmet food, specialty coffees & decadent desserts.

General event ticket prices are $75 per person. Must be 21. Contact Maria Bruggeman at NAU Athletics for more information - 928-523-2355.

On each full moon, May through August, Arboretum staff and bat expert Brian Keeley will guide you and your family in an exploration of bats. We will gather at 6:30 p.m. for an introductory slide presentation before venturing out into the garden where we will observe resident bats at dusk. Learn about echolocation, feeding habits and roosting preferences. A live bat, if available, will be on hand for viewing up close. Children’s activities include bat-themed crafts and stories. Pack a brown bag dinner and enjoy a twilight picnic in the Garden.

There is a $5 admission fee for members and $7 for non-members. No pre-registration is required; however, space is limited to first come, first served. For more information please call (928) 774-1442, ext. 110.

Summer Concert Series

2008 Summer Concert Series - Americana and the Great Beyond
Acoustic guitars take center stage this summer for an expanded Arboretum concert series. Folk, country and bluegrass-inspired singer/songwriters will fill most of the summer program, entitled “Americana and the Great Beyond”. This year we are adding a Sunday show as well on August 31. Greg Reiter and Puerta Del Sol will return to play Flamenco and classical guitar music with jazz influences. Rounding out the season, we are very proud to be able to bring in Julie Gribble, originally from Georgia, and Terri Hendrix from Texas, who will each perform their original alternative folk ballads.

All concerts take place from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. Bring a picnic dinner and blanket or concert chairs for an evening outdoors under the cool pines with a magnificent view of the San Francisco Peaks.

Prices for season concert series (all six concerts): Members $55; non-members $60. Individual concerts: Members $10; non-members $12. To order your tickets in advance, or for more information, contact Stephen England at 774-1442, ext 124, or email Stephen.England@nau.edu

The Del McCoury Band will headline Pickin’ in the Pines Bluegrass & Acoustic Music Festival this year, along with Nashville Bluegrass Band. We’re well into planning our third annual festival, which will take place September 12-14, 2008. Last year’s festival drew a crowd of about 1700 people from all over the Southwest and beyond to hear great traditional music in the open air setting of Pine Mountain Amphitheater at Fort Tuthill County Park.

Flagstaff Friends of Traditional Music (FFOTM) produces the festival, which includes performances, contra dancing, a band contest, jamming, workshops, and children’s activities. Children 16 and under are free with accompanying adult ticketholder.

The lineup includes the two bands listed above, plus Valerie Smith and Liberty Pike, with Becky Buller (valeriesmithonline.com and beckybuller.com), Carolina Chocolate Drops (carolinachocolatedrops.com), Steve Smith and Hard Road (hardroadband.com), Burnett Family Bluegrass (burnettfamilybluegrass.com), Spring Creek Bluegrass (springcreekbluegrassband.com), The Billy Pilgrims (billypilgrims,com), and Sawmill Road (sawmillroad.net).

Also featured are Sandia Hots (www.sandiahotsband.com), Fire Ridge (www.myspace.com/fireridge), Muskellunge Bluegrass (www.nolanmckelvey.com), Knockabouts (www.knockabouts.org), Springfed Band (www.tonynorris.com),
Reno & Sheila McCormick and Traditional Blend.

Del McCoury’s website is delmccouryband.com, and information about Nashville Bluegrass Band is at cmt.com/artists/az/nashville_bluegrass_band/artist.jhtml

The Carolina Chocolate Drops includes Arizona native and former FFOTM member, Dom Flemons, who lived in Flagstaff for a number of years before heading east. Dom was a familiar figure at FFOTM campouts and the Folk Festival, so we’re honored to be able to bring him back for Pickin’ in the Pines.

Pickin’ in the Pines Bluegrass and Acoustic Music Festival is sponsored by Arizona Music Pro, Northland Beverage, Blue Moon Brewing Company, Flagstaff Cultural Partners, the City of Flagstaff, and the Coconino County Board of Supervisors.

Early bird weekend tickets are on sale through June 30 for $50, a savings of $20 over the gate price of $70. From July 1 through August 31 weekend passes are $60. Buy tickets from Pickininthepines.org, or locally in Flagstaff at the Wine Loft, 17 N. San Francisco St., 928-779-9463 and at Arizona Music Pro, 122 E. Route 66, 928-556-9054. Tickets are also available from Rainbow’s End Imports, 12 E. Route 66, 928-774-5535 and pinemountainamphitheater.com for a small service charge.

Contact the festival through our website, pickininthepines.org, or by phone at 928-525-1695.

Flagstaff, AZ: Riordan Mansion State Historic Park is pleased to announce the following special events for the month of July 2008. These events are free and open to the public.

Please note that we are now on our Summer hours, open daily 8:30a.m. - 5:00p.m. with tours beginning at 9:00a.m. and continuing throughout the day at the top of the hour, the last tour of the day is always 4:00p.m.

On-Going Series of Brown Bag Lunch Lectures, 2nd Tuesday of Each Month 12:15pm, Free!
Jul 8
Map in Hand and Pack on Back: Mary-Russell Ferrell Colton Susan Olberding, M.A., MNA Research Associate Co-founder of the Museum of Northern Arizona with her husband, Harold Colton, Mrs. Colton was an accomplished artist and saw the museum as an opportunity to foster art on the Colorado Plateau. In this presentation, Mary-Russell Ferrell Colton’s journeys around the west in the early 1900s are shared through her letters home and her beautiful paintings. Our hometown museum with a world-class reputation celebrates 80 years of existence in 2008. Susan will also share some of the plans for the next 80 years.
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Evening Slide Presentation Series, 7pm RSVP Free!
(Program is Free. Reservations are recommended due to limited availability.) Jul 12 West on Route 66: Americans on the Move Sean Evans, Librarian, NAU Cline Library History of Route 66 with lots of photos illustrating the people and places. Photos will also show how Route 66’s geography and personality change as one moves westward. Sean will also discuss the NPS Corridor Preservation Office and the ARC initiative, plus the growing digital archives at NAU’s Cline Library.

Jul 19
National Old Trails Highway (Hot off the Press!!) Richard and Sherry Mangum, Flagstaff Historians Before there was Route 66, there was the National Old Trails Road. It was boldly conceived in the early days of automobile travel as the nation’s first coast-to-coast highway, running from New York to Los Angeles. When the people of Flagstaff realized that they had a shot a routing the highway through town, they reacted vigorously and effectively, and Flagstaff became a memorable stop on the fabled road, with tremendous consequences for the town.

The talk is lavishly illustrated with old photos, maps and colorful graphics, showing the history of the National Old Trails Road in Arizona. You will have fun seeing this presentation and will learn a lot about a fascinating chapter in the history of Flagstaff, one that has had a lasting impact, still benefiting us today.

For more info on events at Riordan, go to www.azstateparks.com.

Flagstaff, AZ: 7/10/08

Lowell’s website has a feature now where you can sign up to receive “StarTales” delivered to your email box. For more information, go to: http://www.lowell.edu/outreach/startales.php.

Flagstaff, AZ: Wednesday, June 18th - Bat Houses
Have you ever wondered if there are bats in your garden? Would you like to attract bats to live in a bat house? Do you have a bat house that is not occupied? This presentation offers an introduction to bats and focuses on how to provide them a home. Learn how to design, build and properly place bat houses to maximize the chances of success. If we are lucky, we will be able to capture a wild bat for a close look at one of these benevolent creatures.

Find out about these fascinating programs, and other Arboretum events at their website.

Flagstaff, AZ: Sunday, June 15th - Father’s Day Star Fest at Lowell Observatory. Howard Israel presents “We’re all made of Stardust” at 7:00 p.m.; telescope viewing included 5:30-9:30 p.m.; fathers admitted free. 928-233-3211 More information about this event, and other happenings can be found at www.lowell.edu.

Flagstaff, AZ: Come to the Center for the First Look Members Preview on Friday, June 13th between 6pm and 8pm. Refreshments and beverages will be served.

The Auction itself takes place on Saturday June 14th - 10am to 4pm are the previews and the Auction starts at 5pm. Hundreds of authentic Navajo Weavings at Great Prices. Frybread and Navajo tacos will be served. Go to the website for more information.