Wine, gem, fiber art, classic car and Old West events in Cochise County

May 15 & 16, Wine & Music Festival, Willcox

Carlson Creek will be one of the wineries featured

Join Willcox Wine Country members as they host a weekend of wine, live music and food to cap off the Sulphur Springs Valley Historical Society’s Historic Preservation week. Local favorite Nowhere Man and Whiskey Girl will provide music, as will The Trail Mix Trio.

Details: Wine garden open Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Six tastes and a commemorative glass for $10. For more info, visit http://www.AzWineFestival.com.

May 15, Fiber Arts Festival, Bisbee

Celebrating its 18th year, the Fiber Arts Festival will be held in Vista Park in conjunction with the Bisbee Farmer’s Market. The Fiber Arts Show will present sheep-shearing, fiber demonstrations and vendors that sell finished products along with natural fibers and equipment.

Details:   8 a.m. – 1 p.m.at Vista Park in the Warren section of Bisbee. Admission is free. For more info, call 520-642-3603 or go to www.bisbeefiberarts.com.

May 15, Guided Tour of Buffalo Soldier Historic Sites

Learn about the accomplishments and history of Fort Huachuca’s Buffalo Soldiers during a tour around Fort Huachuca. The tour is given by a member of the Southwest Association of Buffalo Soldiers. Call 520-417-6960 or 1-800-288-3861 for more details.

Note:  Fort Huachuca is an active military installation.  U.S. citizens may take the tour and must provide valid photo identification for all over the age of 13.

May 29 & 30, Bisbee Gem and Mineral Show, Bisbee

Gems and minerals from many regions will be on display in historic Bisbee at the Queen Mine Tour. Call 520-432-2071.

Details: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the Queen Mine Tour building in Old Bisbee. Admission is free. Call 520-432-2071 or visit www.DiscoverBisbee.com for more information.

May 29-31, Wyatt Earp Days, Tombstone

Gunfight reenactments fill the streets, along with a chili cook-off, hangings, street entertainment, look-alike contests and an 1880’s fashion show.

Details: The fun begins at 10 a.m. each day during Memorial Day weekend in historic downtown Tombstone. Admission is free. Call 520-457-3511 for more info.

May 29 & 30, Willcox Rod & Classic Car Show, Willcox

The 3rd annual car show will be held in the Willcox Historic District on Railroad Ave. For information contact the Willcox Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture at 520-384-2272 or the Rex Allen Museum at 520-384-4583 or info@rexallenmuseum.org

June 19 & 20, Tombstone Gem Show, Tombstone

An exhibition featuring gems, jewelry, mineral specimens and fossils. Great for jewelers, hobbyists and collectors.

Details: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Express. Admission is free. For more information call 1-888-457-3929 or visit www.tombstonechamber.com

June 26 & 27, Sabaar Shriner’s Tombstone Sweet Onion Festival, Tombstone

Enjoy a weekend with parades, costume contest, music, Taste of Tombstone and the crowning of the Onion Queen!

Details: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Allen Street in Tombstone. Admission is free. Call 520-457-9327 for more info.

May 15, Guided Tour of Buffalo Soldier Historic Sites

Learn about the accomplishments and history of Fort Huachuca’s Buffalo Soldiers during a tour around Fort

Cochise County events: street dance, motorcycle rally, birding celebration

This weekend, you’ll find lots to do in Cochise County for Mother’s Day. In the serene setting of the  Holy Trinity Monastery, you’ll find the annual spring festival. If you’re looking for something with a little more action, try the Border to Border Run, a motorcycle rally during the day and street dances at night in Douglas. Want to commune with nature? Check out the International Migratory Bird Day at the San Pedro House, located on the river just off Highway 90 between Bisbee and Sierra Vista.

May 8 & 9, Holy Trinity Monastery Fiesta de la Primavera, St. David

The Holy Trinity Monastery will hold its annual spring festival on Mother’s Day weekend—a lovely place to take Mom! Visit more than 150 arts and crafts booths plus enjoy entertainment and food.

Details: Sat., 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sun. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Holy Trinity Monastery, St. David, AZ. Admission is free. Call 520 720-4642, ext 22 for more info or visit http://www.holytrinitymonastery.org.

May 8 & 9, Border to Border Cinco de Mayo Run, Douglas

If you like motorcycles, this is the place for you! Bike show, car show, raffles and drawings, plus a poker crawl make for a rousing weekend at the border. Street dancing on Friday evening will feature Déjà vu, and Elvis will appear on Saturday.
The Border to Border Run starts at 9 a.m. Street Dancing will be Friday from 8 p.m. to midnight at the Gadsden Hotel, Douglas, AZ.  Admission is free. There is a small fee for specific events. Call 520-364-4481 or 520-234-3901 for more info.

May 9, International Migratory Bird Day, Sierra Vista

With talks, walks, exhibitions and children’s events, visitors can learn about birds, beavers, wildlife and native plantings. The Gray Hawk Nature Center will showcase a variety of snakes and lizards. This event is co-sponsored by the Friends of the San Pedro River, the Sonoran Joint Venture, Coronado National Forest, Cochise County Master Gardeners and the Bureau of Land Management.

Details: 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. at the San Pedro House, 9800 Hwy 90, at the San Pedro River. Admission is free. For more info call 520-459-2555.

Places for more info:

Sierra Vista tourism info

Benson Visitor Center

Douglas Arizona

Tombstone’s rose tree in full bloom

Tombstone's famous rose tree

The trunk of the rose tree

This rose tree covers over 8,000 square feet!

Wine: A visit to the Carlson Creek Tasting Room

I tasted some great wines in Willcox today and talked with John Carlson, one member of the  family who runs the Carlson Creek, a vineyard in Cochise County.

I uploaded a short video to youtube.com. John was a bit nervous, but he did great! Check it out at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnZZ8kXvl-E

Tasting room hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday thru Sunday. $6 will get you a taste of their Chardonnay, Sangiovese, Syrah and Cabernet. Plus you get a souvenir glass!

For more info, check out http://www.carlsoncreek.com/carlsoncreek/index.jsp.

If you’d like ideas on other things to do when visiting Willcox, call the Willcox Chamber of Commerce at 1-800-200-2272.

Fresh beer at Old Bisbee Brewing Company

On March 14, 2010, freshly brewed beer started flowing on Brewery Gulch. It happened at the Old Bisbee Brewing Company on the corner of Brewery and Review Avenues in Bisbee. Dale Fountaine and Victor Winquist partnered to produce fresh beer after research in England’s brew pubs and across America. They’ve have taken their cues from the great beers they sampled.

The Tap Room in the Old Bisbee Brewing Company. Photo (c) Victor Winquist

Winquist says that brewing great beer is much like brewing a great cup of coffee. Just as coffee tastes better if you use fresh beans, so does beer tastes better if you brew with fresh hops. So fresh hops it is for the 7 beers Winquist and Fountaine produce.

Old Bisbee Brewing Company consists of two buildings that sit side by side. Beer is made in one building, and flows through to the adjacent tap room.

You can sign up for their mailing list at http://oldbisbeebrewingcompany.com/ or call the brewery at 520-432-BREW (2739).

So raise a glass and enjoy a brew the next time you’re in Bisbee!

For more info on things to see and do in Bisbee, visit the Bisbee Visitor Center website. For surrounding communities and other things to do, visit the Cochise County website.

Bluegrass in the Park in Benson

If you’re of a certain age and you were into comedy during the 70s, you probably remember Steve Martin’s white-suit-wearing, banjo-picking days. If so, you might also remember his advice about Nixon after Watergate. Martin said the banjo could have saved Nixon! All he had to do was go on television playing the banjo with a smile saying “hey, everything’s great!”

Seriously, how can you be sad when you’re listening to the banjo? For that matter, how can you be sad when you listen to any bluegrass music? I dare any of you to listen to a rousing rendition of Foggy Mountain Breakdown and not tap your toes.

Bluegrass, that happy, foot-tapping genre is coming to Benson in Cochise County in April for the 5th annual Bluegrass in the Park. I went two years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. (I remember my pregnant friend and I listening to great music in simply gorgeous weather. We decompressed after both of us had had hectic weeks.)

This year’s lineup will include Goldwing Express, Whistle Stop, Cedar Hill, Lonesome Traveler, Silverado, Bost Family Traditions, the Artichoke Sisters and many more! See the full schedule for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Festival Details: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., Fri-Sun., April 23-25 at Lions Park in Benson. Admission is $8-$12 for adults 19 and older, $4-$6 for teens (14-18) and kids age 13 and younger get in free with an adult.

Bring lawn chairs and blankets and have a great time listening to some fantastic music!

For more information, contact the Benson/San Pedro Valley Chamber of Commerce: 520-586-2842 or visit http://www.bluegrassben.com/

Bisbee baseball autographs

A baseball fan posted photos of an autographed baseball he got from his parents who live in the Warren district of Bisbee. The cool thing is he’s got history in his hands. Someone else commented that there’s a lot of history in that signed ball. Indeed!

Next month Bisbee will hold the Copper City Classic Vintage Baseball Tournament. Looks fun!

For more info on Warren Ballpark, check out my previous post on Bisbee’s baseball history. Also, you can look at the Bisbee website for more info on where to stay and things to do while you’re in Bisbee.

Batter up!

Cochise County: put it on the weather map

If you’ve spent some time in Cochise County, you know that the mountains and grasslands make for some beautiful scenery. Want to share some of those great scenes?

Put your photos on the weather map in Phoenix and Tucson! The television stations often feature photos from viewers. Here are the links to Phoenix and Tucson TV stations that show photos from viewers like you.

In Phoenix, you can submit weather photos to these Phoenix news stations:

• AZ Family (3TV): photos and video. Look for the “Your Photos & Videos” section on the bottom right hand side of the page.
• 12 News is the Phoenix area’s NBC affiliate. Submit your photos at the link provided.
• Submit your weather photos to KPHO, CBS 5.
• Log in to ABC15’s photo gallery to submit a photo on their website.
• Finally, you can submit your photos to Fox News Phoenix.

In Tucson, submit photos to these stations:

• KOLD, Channel 13 is the CBS affiliate in Tucson. You can submit your photo at their “See it, Snap it, Send it” page.
• KVOA, the NBC affiliate. Viewers can submit weather photos on the bottom right of the weather page.
• Submit photos and videos to KGUN, the ABC affiliate. Find the photo/video link on the bottom right.
• FOX11: Photos and video can be submitted at the link  on the bottom right.

Here’s a photo I snapped with my cell phone last summer. This was just south of Tombstone. I love the fluffy white clouds, blue skies and the gorgeous mountains!

Hwy 80 outside Tombstone. (c) Luanne Mattson

Keeling-Schaefer Vineyards to open tasting room March 13

Another new tasting room will open in Willcox on Saturday, March 13, 2010!

Rod Keeling and Jan Schaefer of Keeling-Schaefer Vineyards have been renovating the old Willcox Bank and Trust building. Their tasting room will open this week. On Saturday the winemaker will be on hand to sign bottles from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

It used to be that you could taste their wines by appointment only at their Chiricahua Mountain foothills tasting room. Wine lovers will be able to sample their Three Sisters Syrah, Two Reds Grenache, Best Friends Chardonnay and Rock Creek Rosé vintages.

The Keeling-Schaefer Vineyards tasting room is in the former Willcox Bank and Trust Building, which was built in 1917 and sits next to Willcox’s famous Rex Allen Museum on Railroad Avenue. The wine library will be housed in what used to be the bank vault.

Hours for the tasting room are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday through Sunday.

Details: Keeling-Schaefer Vineyards, 154 Railroad Avenue, Willcox, AZ, 520-824-2500, www.KeelingSchaeferVineyards.com.

For nearby accommodations or other attractions in the area, call the Willcox Chamber of Commerce at 1-520-384-2272.

Cochise County events: tribute, auction, quilt show and reenactment

If you head down to Cochise County this month you’ll have one more chance to see sandhill cranes. They are still around, but they usually head for home in March. Check out the Willcox and Douglas areas for prime viewing locations. You can have some spectacular birdwatching sessions on the Willcox play, the Whitewater Draw area and  many other places in Cochise County.

Other events include the annual tribute to Arizona native, Marty Robbins, the annual art auction in Bisbee and the Singing Wind Bookshop’s annual quilt and trunk show. Enjoy!

March 5 & 6, 19th Annual Tribute to Marty Robbins, Willcox

Special guest, Rex Allen Jr., joins in this 19th annual celebration of the country-music legend with afternoon and evening concerts, carriage rides, a viewing of Robbins’ race car. Entertainment will be held on historic Railroad Avenue, and the concert will be held at the Willcox High School.

Details: 6 p.m. concert, March 6 at the Willcox High School Auditorium, Bisbee Ave., Willcox, Ariz.  Admission is $10-$15. Get more info at 520-766-1404; www.friendsofmartyrobbins.org.

March 6, Annual Art Auction, Bisbee

Historic Bisbee’s 18th annual art auction features nationally recognized artists from southern Arizona. The event includes an artists’ reception, live and silent auctions. Overnight packages at Bisbee inns are available during the art auction weekend. Packages include a night’s stay, dinner and admission to the art auction for two.

Details: 6-9 p.m., March 6 at the Copper Queen Plaza Convention Center, Main Street, in Old Bisbee. Admission is $10. Get more info at 520-432-3554 or 1-866-2-Bisbee; www.discoverbisbee.com

March 14, Quilt & Trunk Show: a brown bag lunch lecture, Benson

The Singing Wind Book Shop presents its Quilt & Trunk Show, a brown bag lunch lecture featuring Lynn Haak, the Sharlot Hall award winner for history. Haak is a designer who has been quilting all her life. She serves in several quilting organizations including the Arizona Quilters Guild, the Arizona Historical Society and others. She is a board member of the Arizona Quilters Hall of Fame. Haak and her husband bill will bring 20-25 quilts to the Singing Wind along with their book, Images of America: Globe.

Details: 1 p.m. at the Singing Wind Bookshop in Benson. Admission is free. More info at 520-586-2425.

March 20, Fairbank Days

Fairbank Days is a monthly event planned with different themes and re-enactors. Visitors can enjoy tours, exhibits and talks. This month there will be live music, art exhibits, re-enactments of “the Great Fairbank Train Robbery” and tours of the Townsite and cemetery. In addition, Tucson’s 2nd Catalonian Infantry Spanish Soldiers will travel to Fairbank to perform. Visitors can participate in a hike to the Presidio Santa Cruz de Terrenate.

Details: 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., Saturday, March 20 at Fairbank (on Highway 82 east of the San Pedro River between Tombstone and Whetstone). Admission is free but donations are accepted. You can get more info at 520-457-3062.

Why not plan a weekend of it?

For nearby accommodations, restaurants or attractions, check with the local visitors center in Benson (520-586-4293), Bisbee (1-866-2-BISBEE, 1-866-224-7233), Tombstone (1-888-457-9317), Sierra Vista (1-800-288-3861) or Willcox (1-800-200-2272).