Dia de los Muertos Storytelling with Zarco Guerrero

City of Surprise City Council Chambers 16000 N. Civic Center Plaza, Surprise, AZ, United States

Dia de Los Muertos is a highly celebrated and significant holiday held throughout Mexico, Latin America and the Southwest. It is a day when homage is paid with prayers, offerings of food and the building of altars to those who have gone before us. Join Zarco and his unique masked characters as they celebrate Día […]

FREE

Flying Through Arizona: The Story of the First National Women’s Air Race with Natalie Stewart-Smith

City of Surprise City Council Chambers 16000 N. Civic Center Plaza, Surprise, AZ, United States

In 1929, the first national women’s air race from Santa Monica, CA to Cleveland, OH passed through Arizona. Stopping in Yuma, Phoenix, and Douglas, the intrepid fliers solidified their determination and sisterhood along these Arizona waypoints. Who were these aviators? What were their planes like in 1929? What challenges did they encounter along the way? […]

FREE

Growing in the Desert: The History & Culture of the Tohono O’odham with Jacelle Ramon-Sauberan

City of Surprise City Council Chambers 16000 N. Civic Center Plaza, Surprise, AZ, United States

Many Arizonans call the Sonoran Desert and its striking landscapes home. Long before our urban centers and city lights lit up the dark desert skies, the Tohono O’odham were cultivating and shaping the land with abundant agriculture—from squash and beans to corn and cotton. For generations they passed down their rich knowledge and culture grown […]

FREE

Chiles & Chocolate: Sweet and Spicy Foods in the American West

City of Surprise City Council Chambers 16000 N. Civic Center Plaza, Surprise, AZ, United States

Come have a taste of the rich and savory history of these food favorites, explore how early peoples used them, and how they have evolved and spread to all corners of the world. Food is a portal into culture and can convey a range of cultural meaning including occasion, social status, ethnicity, and wealth depending […]

The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) of WWII

City of Surprise City Council Chambers 16000 N. Civic Center Plaza, Surprise, AZ, United States

During World War II over one thousand women served as Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), freeing male pilots for combat roles at a critical time during the war. The WASP ferried planes from factories to embarkation points; performed engineer test flying of repaired aircraft and did target towing for gunnery training. By the spring of […]

On the Road Since 1925: The Colorful History of Arizona Highways Magazine

City of Surprise City Council Chambers 16000 N. Civic Center Plaza, Surprise, AZ, United States

The first issue of Arizona Highways magazine was published in April, 1925. In this presentation, former publisher Win Holden will share the fascinating story of how a brochure produced by the Arizona Highway Department evolved into one of the most respected and revered publications in the world. With annual economic impact of over $65 million, […]

Arizona Outlaws and the Law (Surprise)

City of Surprise City Council Chambers 16000 N. Civic Center Plaza, Surprise, AZ, United States

Taking the events from Billy the Kid, who killed his first man in Arizona, the Gunfight at the OK Corral, and the arrest and trial of Ernesto Miranda, this presentation will explore how these seminal events became watershed experiences for the American legal system, and still impact the lives of individuals living in the United […]

Free

John Wesley Powell: Into the Great Unknown (Surprise)

City of Surprise City Council Chambers 16000 N. Civic Center Plaza, Surprise, AZ, United States

Millions of travelers visit the Grand Canyon each year, but just 150 years ago, this was still considered the "last blank spot on the map." One man, a one-armed civil war veteran, was determined to navigate and document the Colorado River as it winds through the canyon. Therefore, on May 24, 1869, John Wesley Powell […]

Free

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