The Sedona Main Street Program is proud to nominate
the first annual “Sedona Arts & Heritage Days” (SAHD) activities as the
state’s Best Special Event.
Six Sedona arts and culture non-profit organizations
came together under the leadership of Chamber Music Sedona to create
this first annual festival. The event was a collaboration to integrate
several existing group’s programs into a larger, more widely marketable
event, integrating the performing and visual arts along with local
history and heritage themes. The event was held on May 4-8, 2005 after
one year of planning. All the events were held in the Sedona Main
Street District with the exception of the school events and one concert
(an available venue size issue).
The SAHD began on Wednesday with in-school concerts
by the award winning Fry Street String Quartet. The Fry performed at
the Verde Valley School, where they also enjoyed lunch with students,
Sedona Red Rock High and West Sedona School (the 3 public schools in
Sedona). Their informal performances were engaging and commanded the
attention of students grades 4-12.
On Thursday, SAHD partnered with the Sedona Gallery
Association’s monthly “Thursday Evening in the Galleries” when
the Fry Quartet offered three ‘informances’ (Informative Performances)
at the Sedona Arts Center*, The Cottage Gallery, Gifts & Garden and
Goldenstein Galleries attracting many who had never experienced Chamber
Music Sedona’s presentations, nor had heard of the Sedona Arts and
Heritage Days, attracting broad attention to the next three days’
events. The Sedona Gallery Association’s monthly gallery walk is an
established event and well attended by out-of-town visitors.
On Friday, the Fry provided a free outdoor noontime
community concert at Tlaquepaque Arts & Crafts Village*. An evening
opening reception for SAHD was held at Los Abrigados Resort*. Guests
were treated to a performance by Grammy winning guitarist, luthier and
performer, William Eaton, who was joined by Native American flutist Mary
Redhouse and percussionist Will Clipman. This special evening began
with a Native American blessing of the festival by Havasupai Medicine
Man Uqualla, who later joined the three musicians in an improvisational
original piece incorporating music, song, and inspiration. The audience
embraced and was one with this once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Saturday and Sunday concerts and heritage activities
were hosted at the Sedona Heritage Museum*. The collaboration required
for this event was really apparent and was showcased on these two days
as representatives from all the partnering groups provided a different
experience for attendees. Saturday evening the Fry Street Quartet
performed in concert as the Chamber Music Sedona* season closer.
Concerts over the two days included Flagstaff
Symphony principal musicians as the Oak Creek Brass, the 2004 Telluride
Bluegrass Festival award-winning Burnett Family Bluegrass, the [A] List
Jazz Quintet featuring a Sedona Jazz on the Rocks Youth Band member
invited to ‘sit in’, and the Fry Quartet on their own and in an “Apple
Jam” session with Flagstaff country western group Custom Country.
The Sedona Historical Society* arranged a staged
‘gunfight’ as comic relief, and brought old-time crafts demonstrators to
the park, coordinated a theatrical narrative of Verde Valley history by
actor Michael Peach, and the “world debut” of an original musical play
about Sedona Schnebly, our town’s namesake. The Sedona Arts Center*
made arrangements for a working artist to do their thing, on-site each
day. Canyon Moon Theater arranged for costumed historic enactors to
interact with attendees. Sedona Jazz on the Rocks coordinated the [A]
List Jazz Quartet performance. The Sedona Film Festival’s outdoor film
event was cancelled due to weather but their future participation is
expected to expand. Chamber Music Sedona held their season finale
Mother’s Day Chamber Music Brunch at the Sedona Apple Barn.
This event required the coordination of a great many
volunteers provided by the Sedona Historical Museum and Chamber Music
Sedona. Local businesses were engaged to assist with promotion,
lodging, food - and as a ‘park ‘n ride’ venue, the Sedona Trolley*
transported guests to the Museum. The Civilian Air Patrol cadets were
given a booth for soft drinks sales and some of the cadets assisted with
traffic management duties.
Promotion included volunteers selling tickets for
four days at the local Bashas store, posters and flyers distributed to
all lodging places and many businesses, and the use of newsletters,
group faxes, group emails, and special invitation mailings by
participating groups, plus directional signs on the street during
events. SAHD was also promoted with television PSAs in the Flagstaff
market, regional newspaper articles and with mention in Phoenix
Magazine.
The purpose of this event, especially in its first
year, was not to be a fund-raiser. The budget for the event was $20,400
and current accounting appears that the event made a profit of just
under $1000. In addition to cash, approximately $4000 of in-kind
contributions were incurred for a variety of purposes. Grants from the
City of Sedona Arts & Culture Commission ($1750) and the Arizona
Commission on the Arts ($7025) were pursued and received because as a
first-year event it was anticipated that costs would exceed income.
These grants should not be necessary in future years as a tested budget
and an event “following” or positive reputation is established for SAHD.
The economic impact to the community is much harder to analyze since
attendees were not surveyed as residents vs. out-of-towners.
Over 300 people attended the Gallery Walk evening,
approximately 700 students were beneficiaries of the school concerts,
and almost 1100 members of the public attended the different components
of SAHD. This was slightly less than hoped for, but a conflict with a
major event in an adjacent community and the possible conflict with
Mother’s Day for the last day of SAHD will be taken into consideration
for future scheduling.
* Supporting SMSP
members or organizations
Photos included with Nomination
Page 1 &
Page 2
