3rd Annual Slide Rock State Park (AZ) Apple Festival
The Arizona State Parks Foundation celebrates the 3rd Annual Slide Rock Apple Festival on October 6-7, 2007 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Slide Rock State Park. The park is just north of Sedona in Oak Creek Canyon. This year on Saturday, the Apple Festival will feature Arizona State Parks’ 50th anniversary with dignitaries and a cake cutting under the big tent at 11 AM. Both days of the Apple Festival are free to the public.
The Park for many years was a large orchard and today is still a working commercial apple ranch producing more than 1,200 boxes of apples in 2007 in the park. Apple Festival guests will be encouraged to pick apples from the 13 varieties of trees in the park and take them home. Apple recipes can be taken from the first ever Apple Fest Cookbook featuring recipes from Arizona notables, local celebrities and other Slide Rock friends.
Frank L. Pendley arrived in the canyon in 1907 and acquired the land title as part of the Homestead Act in 1910. He put in the irrigation system and planted the apple orchard in 1912. In 1933 he built the rustic cabins seen in the park today. It was sold to the Arizona Parklands Foundation for $3.6 million in 1984 to become a State Park. An original vintage 30-foot-long apple-sorting machine reconstructed by volunteers is still in the historic Pendley apple shed. Volunteers will be demonstrating the art of sorting different sizes of apples for boxing and selling.
The Apple Festival activities will include a bird walking tour, history walk, arts and crafts, food, music, games for kids, and a silent auction benefiting the Arizona State Parks Foundation and Slide Rock State Park. Delicious apple pies and other gourmet apple delicacies will be offered for sale.
The Arizona State Parks Foundation was formed in 2004 to support the continued effort of Arizona State Parks’ mission of managing and conserving Arizona natural, cultural and recreational resources for the benefit of the people.
This event is part of Arizona State Parks 50th Anniversary celebrations which began in October 2006 and will run through December 2007. Special events are held at each park such as a traditional mariachi festival, plein art shows, geocaching, solar energy celebrations and astronomy galas. Hiking, fishing, boating and mountain biking await those individuals with an adventurous attitude. Come uncover the many secret places and stories that are still to be found in Arizona’s State Parks.
The Arizona State Parks Board was established in 1957 to acquire and manage park and cultural areas. Over the years, legislation has added other programs to Arizona State Parks and as a result, the volunteer Board is responsible for a much broader spectrum of duties. These duties are related to historic preservation, archaeology, outdoor recreation, resource conservation/education and grant administration.
For information about the Apple Festival, participating vendors and activities visit www.arizonastateparksfoundation.org or call (928) 282-3034. To get to Slide Rock State Park from Phoenix go north on I-17 to Hwy 179, west through Sedona to Hwy 89A north, and then seven miles up Oak Creek Canyon. From Flagstaff take Hwy 89A and go 20 miles south.
For information about Arizona State Parks call (602) 542-4174 (outside of the Phoenix metro area call toll-free (800) 285-3703) or visit the website at www.azstateparks.com.
Source: Arizona State Parks
To read more about the desert, go to DesertUSA.com.