Did you know that The Patagonia Fall Festival is known throughout the state as one of Arizona’s best small town celebrations? With 125 exhibitors and non-stop entertainment, the Fall Festival is well-attended by local town folk as well as by all the visitors who descend on Patagonia for the three day event. This year marks the 25th year for the event – which has gained a reputation as one of the best events in Southern Arizona for quality arts and crafts, great entertainment, and fantastic food.
Whether you take advantage of all the unique arts and crafts to do a little early holiday gift shopping, or just enjoy wandering through the park and people watching, there’s a lot to see and do…and eat. More than a dozen food service booths will be offering favorites, such as Zuni and Navajo Indian fry bread and tacos, Greek foods, Texas Twister fruit drinks, vegetarian offerings, and gourmet sandwiches.
This year’s entertainment includes the country western duo, Partners. They’ll be on stage Friday serenading the crowd with waltzes, two-steps, country cha-chas, line dances and much more. Next comes Ft Huachuca’s 62nd Army band and the Brass Quartet, bringing the sounds of Dixieland. Saturday kicks off with our own Aztec Blue, followed by Nancy McLallion and Danny Krieger. Danny is one of the Southwest’s most respected guitarists and Nancy is a well-known singer songwriter formerly with The Mollys. They play Americana music with Celtic influences. The rest of the day the park will resonate with the sounds of blues, folk, and some rock by Grams and Krieger, members of the Arizona Blues Hall of Fame, to leave you dancing, singing, and smiling.
On Sunday, Gazebo action begins with Acoustic Starseed Band. Utilizing acoustic guitars, mandolin, accordion, and drums, the band seasons its global mix with fiddles, steel drum, penny whistles, and a variety of shakers, rattles and percussive odds and ends. Next on stage is the Bluegrass band, The Mule Boys. The festival wraps up with Scott & Becky Reyes, Jim Harrelson, Mike Montoya and Anji Kate in the Latin Powerhouse band, Conjunto Royal. This amazing group is a must-see for any lover of authentic latin dance music—bossa nova, trova, foclorico, tango, cumbia, and more.
This year’s Silent Auction will offer nearly 100 works contributed by participating arts and crafts vendors. The revenues from the auction, and from the festival will benefit the Patagonia Park Preservation Fund and will be used to help maintain and preserve the Patagonia Town Park’s facilities shade trees and landscaping. Festival Coordinator Kazz Workizer states, “The Town Park is the heart and soul of Patagonia. It’s the site for Tai Chi exercise, picnics, Fourth of July festivities, birthday parties for people and pets, leisurely strolls, and reunions of all kinds. It needs to be protected and preserved.”
Once again, McKeown Avenue will be closed to traffic. So after you stroll through all that the Festival offers, check out the enterprising local vendors that set up on McKeown, for even more treasures.