Fiesta Sahuarita celebrates 15 years

Sahuarita will celebrate its 15th birthday at Fiesta Sahuarita 2009 on Saturday with music, entertainment, activities, food and exhibits.

The event is free, but each person is asked to bring a non-perishable food donation to support the Green Valley Community Food Bank.

The first 1,000 people will receive a free Fiesta Sahuarita 2009 T-shirt with this year’s logo designed by 14-year-old Kevin Arreaga. Ronald McDonald and Grandpa Gardener will be there to share their wisdom with kids. There will also be carnival activities, face painting, clowns, pony rides and train rides along with a climbing wall, relay races and an old-fashioned pie-eating contest.

Those more artistically inclined will have the chance to decorate ornaments in Arizona keepsake style and to purchase arts and crafts, including needlework, jewelry, ceramics, jams and jellies, and an array of specialty items.

On the informational side, there will be exhibits by the Sahuarita Police Department, Rural/Metro Fire and the military.

Bruce Burkhart and his fellow Optimists will be there to grill their famous, secret-recipe sausage, along with hamburgers and hot dogs, while providing valuable information on the club’s activities to support the local youths.

For those who enjoy living on the wild side (or at least viewing it), critters will be brought to Fiesta Sahuarita from the Desert Museum raptors’ exhibit. Sahuarita police will have a K-9 demonstration to show the special skills of highly trained police dogs and their handlers. But don’t bring your own animals — they’re not allowed for safety reasons.

More events

The One Mile Family Fun Run will begin at 8 a.m., and the 5K race begins at 8:30 a.m. The race course for both will start and finish at Anamax Park. Register by calling Steve Taggart at 820-6447; email taggrunningevents@yahoo.com; or go online to taggrun.com. The 5K fee before 6 p.m. Thursday is $20; after that is $25. The fee for the One Mile Family Fun Run is $15 before or on the day of the event.

The Skateboard Competition will take place from 3-6 p.m., with registration at 2:30 p.m. It is sponsored by the Sahuarita Teen Advisory Council.

The Battle of the Bands will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., also sponsored by the Sahuarita Teen Advisory Council.

Jeannie Applegate is a freelance writer in Sahuarita. To contact her, email wordwizard@cox.net.

IF YOU GO

What: Fiesta Sahuarita

Date: Saturday, Sept. 26

Time: 3-8 p.m. (teen event till 9)

Location: Anamax Park, 17501 S. Camino de las Quintas, Sahuarita

Pets: No pets allowed.

Questions: Town of Sahuarita Parks & Recreation Department, 822-8896

Parking

Free parking at the Anamax Expansion parking lot, Great Expectations Charter School and at Good Shepherd United Church of Christ at La Canada Drive and Camino Antigua, as well as at Unity Church and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Camino de las Quintas. Free shuttles to Anamax Park.

The Anamax Park northeast parking lot closest to Anamax Bark Park is reserved for Fiesta Sahuarita staff, volunteers and vendors. The dog park will remain open; the south portion will close for a police K-9 demonstration. Dog park patrons can use the parking lot on the west end of Anamax Park off Camino de las Quintas or the new Anamax Park Expansion parking lot.