Monumental Places: Arizona’s National Parks and Monuments

Pinal County Historical Society Museum 715 South Main, Florence, AZ, United States

Arizona is home to some of the crown jewels in America’s national park system, including Canyon de Chelly, Saguaro National Monument, and, of course, the Grand Canyon National Park. It also harbors lesser known treasures, such as Chiricahua National Monument, Hubbell Trading Post, and the recently added Agua Fria National Monument. Join McNamee in exploring […]

Free

An Immigrant’s Struggles: The Diary of Mary “Mim” Walsh

Sedona Winds Retirement Center 405 Jacks Canyon Rd., Sedona, AZ, United States

This illustrated presentation will introduce audiences to the lively voice of diarist Mary “Mim” Walsh.  Her 50-year-long journal reveals her heartfelt experiences as an Irish immigrant to Arizona. Her writings record her negotiations of several challenges, from invitations to “perform” as Irish characters at social events to the desire to become a successful fiction writer […]

Free

He Called It a Dream, but It Woke Us Up!

Gilbert Historical Museum 10 S. Gilbert Road, Gilbert, AZ, United States

Vicariously experience the environment and atmosphere of a 1960s-era Civil Rights Movement camp.  Through theatrical performance, music, poetry, and participatory activities, audience members will examine the culture of discrimination, racial prejudice, and social injustice in the United States as it was during the 1960s.  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s strategy of passive resistance will be […]

Free

The Vulture Gold Mine

Shalimar Country Club 2032 E. Golf Ave., Tempe, AZ, United States

Discovered in 1863 by Henry Wickenburg, the Vulture Gold Mine was the first big gold mine in Arizona. The mine and its colorful cast of characters, along with the town of Wickenburg, were instrumental in stimulating considerable growth and development in Central Arizona. This presentation will share the multi-layered story of the gold mine, thus […]

Free

The Billingsley Hopi Dancers

Good Shepherd of the Hills Episcopal Church 6502 E. Cave Creek Rd., Cave Creek, AZ, United States

In 1921 the Hopi were told that “church people” petitioned Congress to stop their “pagan” dancing.  A platform was erected on the U.S.Capitol steps where both Houses of Congress assembled with their families to see the Hopi dancers.  Following the performance, Congress passed a Resolution giving the Hopi permission to carry on their dancing “for […]

Free

Art of the Internment Camps: Culture Behind Barbed Wire

Arizona Western College 1109 Geronimo Ave., Parker, AZ, United States

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s 1942 WWII Executive Order 9066 forced the removal of nearly 125,000 Japanese American citizens from the west coast, incarcerating them in ten remote internment camps in seven states: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming. Government photographers Dorothea Lange, Russell Lee, and Ansel Adams documented the internment, and artists Toyo […]

Free

Arizona Kicks on Route 66

Saddlebrooke Mountain Clubhouse 38759 South Mountain View Boulevard, Tucson, AZ, United States

U.S. Route 66, known as the “Mother Road,” was built in 1926. It ran from Chicago to L. A. During the depression of the 1930s, it became the major path by which people migrated west, seeking work, warm weather and new opportunities. Shore shares the history of Route 66 in Arizona, including the impact it […]

Free

He Called It a Dream, but It Woke Us Up!

Mesa Arts Center 1 E Main St, Mesa, AZ, United States

Vicariously experience the environment and atmosphere of a 1960s-era Civil Rights Movement camp.  Through theatrical performance, music, poetry, and participatory activities, audience members will examine the culture of discrimination, racial prejudice, and social injustice in the United States as it was during the 1960s.  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s strategy of passive resistance will be […]

Free

The Harlem Renaissance: Literary Movement

Mesa Arts Center 1 E Main St, Mesa, AZ, United States

The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned the 1920s and early 1930s and it was an unprecedented period of expression by African Americans in music, literature, art, dance, poetry, politics, and economics.  Never before had America seen such a rich explosion of black culture.  This interactive presentation, which includes storytelling, poetry, theatre, art, […]

Free

With a Beefsteak and a Cup of Coffee: The Harvey Girls in the Southwest

ASU Colleges at Lake Havasu City, Santiago 109 100 University Way, Lake Havasu City, AZ, United States

The Fred Harvey company operated its exceptional chain of restaurants and hotels along the Santa Fe Railway from 1876 through the 1960s. Among its many innovations was the employment of “Harvey Girl” waitresses: single women who chose to leave their families and adhere to strict lifestyle restrictions for the opportunity to work at respectable jobs. […]

Free

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