Keep Sedona Beautiful

Archive for the ‘Sedona AZ events’ Category

A “Celtic Cowboy – St. Patty’s Day Evening”

Lyn and Ken Mikell

Back by Popular demand, and about the most perfect entertainers to come down the lane for St. Patty’s Day Singin’ and Celebratin’, are Lyn and Ken Mikell! Music historians of the old west, they’ll perform at the Keep Sedona Beautiful Monthly Speaker Series event on Wednesday, March 17th (St. Patty’s Day, of course!) from 5:30 till 7:00 pm.

The Mikells play a wide range of traditional music, with particular attention to the Celtic roots of cowboy music. Using a wide range of musical instruments, Ken and Lyn animate and illuminate the music and poetry that followed the trail west.

From old time trail songs to the golden era of the radio and silver screen cowboy, Ken’s rich vocals and Lyn’s beautiful harp put a new twist on old time favorites. They have an extensive knowledge of the history of Western music and enjoy sharing it with audiences.

Residents of the Verde Valley since 1975, they performed at the first Arizona cowboy poetry gathering in Prescott in 1987. Since then they have been featured at gatherings all over the West. The music of the Old World found a new home at the hearths and campfires of the Old West. Ken and Lyn are proud to be a part of that continuing tradition, and have been making music together for over thirty years.

So, may the luck of the Irish be smilin’ upon ye, as you enjoy the evening, beginning at 5:30 with a warm Irish welcome to the public.  At 5:45 the program will begin. The Mikells will answer questions at the end of the evening which concludes at 7pm. Guests are $3, KSB members are free.

The Speaker Series takes place at the Keep Sedona Beautiful headquarters, the historic Pushmataha Center, 360 Brewer Rd. in Sedona. Held the third Wednesday of each month from October to June, the award-winning series presents an interesting diversity of programs relevant to our region. Keep Sedona Beautiful is a nonprofit organization dedicated to “Preserving the Wonder” of Sedona for future generations. For more information on Keep Sedona Beautiful, call 282-4938 or go to www.keepsedonabeautiful.org.

The 31st Annual Native Plant Workshop is Saturday, April 10 at the Sedona Red Rock High School.  The workshop is from 8:45am – 2:00pm, and doors open at 7:30am.

The 2010 workshop features two keynote addresses, “Organic Vegetable Gardening” by Cynthia Lee Cartier and “Turn your Desert Dust to Black Gold” by Merle & Michele Herrick.

Admission also includes your choice of two of the seven workshops:

1. Feather Jones:  The Power of Wild Desert Plants
2. Ross Hawkins:  Hummingbirds, the Servants of Plants
3. Tom DeGomez:  Pests in the Garden
4. Stephen DeVol:  Up Close and Digital in the Garden
5. Eric Moore:  Creating a Backyard Habitat
6. Jean Searle:  Get to Know the Natives
7. Chris Anderson: Rainwater Harvesting

Plus free plants, silent auction, raffle and lunch included!

Tickets are $15.00 for Keep Sedona Beautiful members, and $25.00 for non-members.  Program details and advance signup are available on the Keep Sedona Beautiful website.

Learn more about the Sedona-Red Rock National Scenic Area
Free to the public, with live music, light snacks and a cash bar
Wednesday, Feb. 17th, 5:00 – 7:00 pm
at The Hilton Sedona Resort and Spa,  Village of Oak Creek

Master of Ceremonies, Former Senator Tom O’Halleran and other invited guests will speak on how preserving the West’s special places for economic as well as environmental reasons is essential. As we all know, tourism is the economic driver in the Greater Sedona/Verde Valley area, and our product is our remarkable and accessible environment.  Our jobs and businesses depend on it…and we purchased homes here for these reasons. We ALL have a stake in maintaining our red rock forests, clean air and quality of life.

Event Reminder!

You are invited to attend the Keep Sedona Beautiful 38^th Annual Awards of Excellence for 2009. The Awards of Excellence luncheon will be held on Sunday, February 14, at Los Abrigados Resort and Spa from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm. Check-in will begin at 11:00 am. Popular Sedona entertainers Tom and Shondra will emcee the luncheon.  Tickets are $35 per person for Keep Sedona Beautiful members or $40 for non-members.  You can reserve a table for 10 for $325.  Call 282-4938 for reservations and information, or visit the KSB website at www.keepsedonabeautiful.org.

Each year since 1972 Keep Sedona Beautiful, a non-for profit organization dedicated to preserving the wonder of Sedona, has recognized individuals, businesses and organizations in the Greater Sedona area for architectural designs, landscaping, lighting, signage, conservation, and outstanding community service which contribute in a significant way to “Keeping Sedona Beautiful.”

This year, the following individuals, businesses, and organizations will be honored: the Oak Creek Canyon Task Force, Ciera Crawley, Rita Livingston, Jim Eaton, Beatrice Welles, Barbara Litrell, the Jordan Road Project, the Sedona Volunteer Park Rangers, the West Sedona Elementary School and the Big Park Community School.

The winner of the 3^rd Annual Keep Sedona Beautiful “Capture the Wonder” Photo Contest will also be recognized at the awards luncheon.

In conjunction with the award winning Keep Sedona Beautiful Speakers Series, acclaimed TV journalist and western lands activist, Larry Warren, will be featured at a free special event supporting the Sedona-Red Rock National Scenic Area (NSA). Co-sponsored by the Hilton Sedona Resort and Spa and the NSA Coalition, ALL are welcome to come, learn, be inspired and step up to do your part to save our red rock forest lands!

Article: Wandering the West, by Larry Warren

When: Wednesday, February 17th, 5:00-7:00 p.m.
Where: The Hilton Sedona Resort and Spa, off SR 179 in the Village of Oak Creek
What: A terrific evening of inspiration, music, fun and energy, light snacks and a cash bar.

Grape Expectations Revealed at KSB Speakers Series

What’s going on out there in our Verde Valley backyard? If you’ve driven the pretty, winding Page Springs Road lately, you’ve got the idea…we’ve got a real wine country in our paradise…and it’s serious.

It’s so serious that Yavapai College has now launched a Viticulture and Enology program, is planting a 40 acre vineyard and building a greenhouse and science lab at the Clarkdale campus, all of which will serve the local wine industry. But that’s not all. They’re doing it right, using the latest in energy efficient and sustainable technology, solar power, a reclaimed water system and dry land farming. And this is only the beginning of what is hoped to become a major economic force in the entire Verde Valley.

Keep Sedona Beautiful’s “Preserving the Wonder” Speakers Series will offer an inside look at the burgeoning wine industry in red rock country on Wednesday, November 18, 2009 at the historic Pushmataha Center, 360 Brewer Road in Sedona. A welcome reception for the public will be held at 5 p.m. with the opportunity to taste our local wine, and the program will follow at 5:30, concluding by 7 p.m.

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ADOT Presents 89A Roadway Lighting Options
Wed., October 28th from 5:30 to 9:30 PM in Sedona City Council Chambers

Here’s What You Need To Know
by Robert Carabell, KSB Vice-President

Photo by Bob Coates

ADOT will present to Council a list of 68 Roadway Lighting Design Alternatives for West 89A with a power point presentation by John Harper of ADOT and discussion between ADOT and the Council.

The meeting will then be opened up for public comment. No final decision is expected at this meeting, however, it will be important to hear the discussion between ADOT and Council in order to better understand the eventual decision, and for making relevant comments when the meeting is opened for public feedback.

Following that meeting, ADOT will conduct a public Open House, similar to a charette, at the Sedona Public Library on November 5 from 4:00 to 7:00 PM. Based on the feedback received from the Oct. 28th and Nov. 5th meetings, ADOT and City Staff will then narrow down the list of 68 alternatives to a smaller. optimum list. Then, perhaps in Jan. 2010, ADOT will present more detail on this smaller list for Council’s review and possible approval. Some of these alternatives include over 100 lights!

The ADOT alternatives being presented are all complex, all virtually incomprehensible to a layman, and all include continuous roadway lighting in one form or another; the option of “no lighting” or last year’s Safety Panel recommendation is not an alternative being considered. ADOT has also made it very clear that any alternative other than the original proposal (ie. 76 high pressure sodium Cobra head lights, standard ADOT issue) will cost the City the difference and some of the alternatives are very expensive. To view these ADOT alternatives, go to City Council’s section on the www.SedonaAz.gov website and look for the meeting date October 28 and click on meeting materials/packet details. You may find some of the information confusing, but it can be simplified with this one question:

Why is ADOT not presenting the best overall alternative: the Feb. 2008 recommendation from the “89A Pedestrian Safety Advisory Panel” consisting of Sedona citizens, ADOT representatives, and International Dark Sky Association? This recommendation was as follows:

• NO continuous roadway lighting on West 89A, and
• Signalize the Andante intersection, the location where three fatal accidents occurred over a 5-year period.

The benefits of this recommendation are many:A signalized intersection at Andante will contribute to safety both at night and day (over 90% of ALL accidents occur in the daytime),

• A signalized intersection at Andante will cost FAR less than the other alternatives,
• Little to no light pollution; learn more about the importance of reducing “light pollution” at www.darksky.org,
• No light trespass into nearby neighborhoods that overlook 89A and
• No degradation of our famous and gorgeous starry night skies.

ADOT is proposing to put a signalized intersection at Andante, but what will 76 or more lights do for safety when it’s needed most? Most of the pedestrian (and motorist) accidents have occurred during the busy daylight hours on West 89A. The solution to protecting pedestrians and motorists is not more lights but sensible and creative roadway precautions that monitor and slow traffic down.

98% of KSB Members rejected Continuous Roadway Lighting on West 89A in a recent survey; click here to read the respondents’ comments that provide insightful information on this issue. In addition, you may find reading the KSB Board’s recent resolution, “Continuous Roadway Lighting for West State Route 89A,” to be helpful as well KSB’s “dark skies” web page.

We urge you to attend the Council Meeting on Oct. 28th. Express your opinion; do not be afraid to stand up and be vocal. Be informed, be involved; it is the only way to make a difference and “keep Sedona beautiful.”

Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Arizona) announced she will move forward on the Sedona-Red Rock National Scenic Area designation at the 3rd annual Sedona Community Fair on September 19, 2009.

Representative Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Arizona) has just confirmed that she will be in Sedona on Saturday, September 19th and be speaking at the Sedona Community Fair, between 9:30 – 10 am, and making a statement regarding the Sedona-Red Rock NSA Designation. We’re told she will be informing the people of Sedona that she is going ahead with drafting the Bill to present to Congress. She also has stated that she intends to obtain (more) local input on the draft before she introduces the Bill which will be “sometime in the near future.”

Please join us by 9:30 am at our KSB Booth table and take part in the celebration – one more important step in our efforts to protect the integrity and beauty of Red Rock Country.

Spooky Halloween Speakers Series
Features “Bats: Fact or Fiction”

Allen's Big-eared Bat

It’s getting batty at Keep Sedona Beautiful! In the spirit of Halloween, on Wednesday, October 21st, conservationist (and REAL Bat Man) Brian Keeley will present “Bats: Fact or Fiction” at the Keep Sedona Beautiful “Preserving the Wonder” Speaker Series. Although the presentation is factual and informative, it is also highly entertaining for young people.

The former Facilities and Conservation Director of the Arboretum at Flagstaff, Mr. Keeley has been a conservation ecologist for over 30 years, working as a bat ecologist since 1994. He was in project development at the renowned Bat Conservation International in Austin, Texas, and has extensively studied bat and human relationships, tropical pollination and seed dispersal, etc. “No other animals I have worked with are as widespread and unusual as bats!” says Keeley.

“Bats are difficult to see or hear and even harder to catch, which may explain why myths spread faster than truth. This presentation will focus on the lives of bats from around the world, followed by a discussion of our own Arizona bats, as we are lucky to be living in one of the most bat-wealthy regions in the U.S. We will finally separate the facts from the often-scary fiction. If we are lucky, and we usually are, we will have a live bat for a close-up viewing and an echolocation demonstration where you learn to use a device called a bat detector that changes their inaudible voices into sounds you can hear”.

The “Preserving the Wonder” Speaker Series evening begins at 5:30 on Wednesday, October 21st with a special Halloween welcome reception for the public. At 5:45 the program will begin. Mr. Keeley will answer questions following his remarks and the event will conclude at 7pm. with a special surprise grand finale!

Speakers Series programs are presented the third Wednesday of each month from September through June at the KSB headquarters, the historic Pushmataha Center at 360 Brewer Rd. in Sedona. Featuring a wide variety of topics related to the “wonder” of our region, this popular series dates back to the early KSB organization with a mission to engage, inform and inspire the community. Donations are appreciated, members are free.