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After hosting the Arabian Horse Show, WestWorld of Scottsdale will pivot quickly to accommodate one of the largest Quarter horse shows on the planet. (Courtesy of
Kristen Spinning)
Sun Circuit Quarter Horse show promises thrills and pageantry
BY ALEX GALLAGHER Progress Staff Writer
ust days after Arabian equines today vacate WestWorld of Scottsdale, Quarter Horses will stride into the renowned venue for their own show.
The 49th annual Sun Circuit Quarter Horse Show is building off the 2021 event, which had a reduced crowd but attracted a record number of vendors.
“Last year, from an exhibitor standpoint, was one of our biggest shows because a lot of shows had been canceled for a year and people were sick of being cooped up,” said Sun Circuit Quarter Horse Show spokesperson Kristen Spinning. “We anticipate this to be the same, if not bigger, this year.”
Most of the events are divided into classes based on the skill levels of the riders and horses.
That makes it way for patrons to be
Guests will board “Ollie the Trolley” and be transported around some of the city’s most inspiring spaces to watch local dance companies perform. (Special to the Progress)
Trolley Dances realize a long-held dream here
BY ALEX GALLAGHER Progress Staff Writer
What began as an epiphany over half a decade ago is set to become a reality on the trails that line Old Town.
Mary Anne Fernandez-Herding was in La Jolla, California, for a dance conference in 2015 when she first witnessed people dancing in front of a trolley.
She was so inspired by watching performers twirl and twist under bridges and in washes that she wanted to bring the concept to Arizona, particularly Scottsdale.
“I could just picture the trolleys around downtown Scottsdale,” Fernandez-Herding recalled. “The thought of creating something smaller and more intimate in a comfortable environment like OldTown Scottsdale, it was a perfect fit.”
Fernandez-Herding later approached Jean Isaacs, Trolley Dances founder and former artistic director of the San Diego Dance Theater, and conveyed her enthusiasm for seeing the concept in Arizona.
“The talent of the dancers, the creativity of using the spaces in the outdoor sites and having the dancers make performances specific to the sites was really exciting to me,” Fernandez-Herding said. “It made me feel like an array of possibilities could occur from that.”
However, it was not until FernandezHerding was invited to bring her dance company The Movement Source Dance Company, which she co-directs, to perform as part of the San Diego Trolley Dances that she knew it was now or never to bring the concept to Arizona.
Fernandez-Herding then approached the Scottsdale Center for the PerformseeTROLLEY page 36
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socially distant while marveling at the ability of the competing horses, Spinning said.
“This year we’re trying to push (the event) because it is a good familyfriendly activity that allows guests to be safe while at a distance,” Spinning said. “The competition is set up so that there are classes for the super elite but also for people who are starting out and we have everything from walk/ trot classes and basic classes to things for people who win world championships in these sports.”
“Because of the diversity of the horses, there is a diversity of classes,” she said. “People can expect to see just about any kind of activity that someone will do with horses and find something that will interest them.”
No matter the class that these riders or horses compete in, there remains a consistent level of competitiveness.
“Our competitors are extremely competitive but this is also very community oriented,” Spinning said. “These people go all over the country and compete with each other but they form very intense friendships which they call their ‘horse show families.’”
It also evidences how hard it is for these riders and horses to be on their A-game.
“This is really about the horses,” Spinning said. “No person can be at 100% every day and no horse can be at 100% every day – which is the fun and the challenge of it.”
This also displays the contrast between various breeds of steeds.
“If people are interested in horses in general, it’s a great comparison to see the elegance and the showmanship of the Arabian horses and bring it back to our Arizona roots for what a horse does,” Spinning said. “They can do the fancy classes but then they can see what is typically seen around the state with the types of horses we have around here.”
In addition to putting the talents of competing riders on display, this will be the first year that the show will feature a new event in the National Snaffle Bit Association’s “Heroes on Horses” – which encourages participation. By any disabled veterans, active duty, wounded warriors and able-bodied veterans who enjoy riding.
“This is very exciting because there are programs all over the country that use horses to help veterans and wounded warriors,” Spinning said. “’Heroes on Horses’ is taking that another step in that it’s honoring veterans and it’s an avenue for some people that are doing those therapeutic riding things to have a place to show.”
No matter what event guests come to view, Spinning recommends that they bring boots made for walking as they will be doing lots of it.
“Guests should be prepared to walk around,” she said. “We have classes going in seven different arenas just about every day.”
She also hopes that spectators find something they enjoy during the various classes and events held during the Sun Circuit Quarter Horse Show.
“This may spark in somebody that this is something they would like to do or that they would love to learn how to ride,” Spinning said.
If you go
What: Sun City Quarter Horse Show When: March 5-13 Where: WestWorld of Scottsdale 16601 N. Pima Road Cost: Free Info: suncircuit.com
SCOTTSDALE PROGRESS | WWW.SCOTTSDALE.ORG | FEBRUARY 27, 2022 35 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT ArtWalk pays homage to Native American works
PROGRESS NEWS STAFF
Native American culture will be front and center at Native Spirit Gold Palette ArtWalk in Scottsdale this week. From 6:30-9 p.m. Thursday, March 3, the Scottsdale Arts District along Main Street from Scottsdale Road to Goldwater Boulevard and north of Indian School on Marshall Way to 5th Avenue will host the Scottsdale Gallery Association’s homage to the city’s Native heritage and vibrant culture through art and entertainment such as performances by authentic Yellowbird dancers.
“Many of our galleries within the Scottsdale Gallery Association represent a wide variety of native artists on a regular basis. But each year with our Native Spirit Gold Palette ArtWalk, we further highlight this community to bring awareness and attention to its part in Scottsdale’s history,” said Scottsdale Gallery Association President French Thompson.
“We invite artist enthusiasts to discover all the incredible mediums that are inspired by and created by Native American artists.”
The Native Spirit Gold Palette ArtWalk recognizes Scottdale’s rich native culture and history with activities, entertainment and exhibits taking place within participating galleries as well as along the streets of the Scottsdale Arts District. Participating galleries include:
King Galleries, 7077 E. Main St.
In alignment with the Native Spirit ArtWalk and throughout the month of March, King Galleries presents “Messages and Messengers” with artist Roseta Santiago, whose thoughtful and creative paintings each tell a unique story. Also new in gallery are the works of Acoma Pueblo Rain Scott, who puts a new approach to traditional Acoma pottery and vessels by creating them using thousands of pieces of paper.
The Legacy Gallery, 7178 E. Main St.
During the ArtWalk Palace Jewelers hosts a trunk show within Legacy Gallery, featuring two of the most renowned Native artists in the industry — Wes Willie (Diné) and Albert Lee (Diné). Both artists will be in attendance and the gallery will be some of their most brilliant and one-of-a-kind creations featuring very rare materials.
River Trading Post, 7033 E. Main St.
The gallery is showcasing multiple artists in honor of the Native Spirit ArtWalk including sculpture artist Cliff Fragua (Jemez Pueblo); jewelry artist Jack Tom (Diné); sculpture artist Mark Fischer (Oneida); jewelry and Kachina artist Raynard Lalo (Hopi); pottery artist Carlos Laate (Zuni); jewelry artist Roxanne Seoutewa (Zuni); and pottery artist Michael Kanteena (Laguna Pueblo).
Performances of Native American dances will delight people as they stroll among the galleries during Thursday’s ArtWalk. (Special to the Progress)
The Telegraph Quartet will present a workshop and concert as Desert Hills Presbyterian Church, 34605 N. Tom Darlington Road, Scottsdale, wraps up its season at 4 p.m. next Sunday, March 6. The San Francisco quartet is currently on the chamber music faculty at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music as the Quartet-in-Residence. The workshop is 2:30-3:30 p.m. but space is limited and must be reserved by calling 480-488-3384 or emailing music.arts@deserthils.org. (Special to the Progress)
Final event
Territorial Indian Arts, 7100 E. Main St.
The gallery presents an open house celebrating the arts and jewelry of Native America.
Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West, 3830 N. Marshall Way.
Ever dedicated to showcasing the Native Spirit as represented in art of the past and present, Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West showcases “Canvas of Clay: Hopi Pottery Masterworks from the Allan and Judith Cooke Collection,” which has been called a national treasure and features more than 65 examples of Hopi pottery spanning six centuries.
Wilde Meyer Gallery, 4142 N. Marshall Way.
Presenting various artists’ interpretations of Native Spirit from both native artists and artists who are non-native but inspired or influenced by Native American culture, images and stories, the gallery will showcase work by New Mexico sculptor Upton Ethelbah, aka Greyshoes (of Native American heritage, Santa Clara Pueblo and White Mountain Apache), artist and storyteller Lance Green and other artists.
The Gold Palette ArtWalk brings together the finest art in Scottsdale including 28 galleries and two museums — Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art and Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West.
The Scottsdale Gallery Association hosts its weekly ArtWalk most every Thursday evening from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. In partnership with the City of Scottsdale, the SGA also presents eight Gold Palette ArtWalk events per year that feature a dedicated theme and activities specific to the theme including demonstrations and more. For more information, visit www.scottsdalegalleries.com.
The Scottsdale Gallery Association (SGA) consists of gallery owners that promote fine art galleries in the Scottsdale Art District. Scottsdale is home to more than 100 galleries dedicated to exhibiting the visual art from around the world as well as local Arizona art.
Information: scottsdalegalleries. com.
SCOTTSDALE PROGRESS | WWW.SCOTTSDALE.ORG | FEBRUARY 27, 2022
Waterfront hosting Persian New Year Festival
BY ALEX GALLAGHER Progress Staff Writer
After last year’s festivities were scaled back like many other grand events, the Scottsdale Persian Festival is returning to scale at the Scottsdale Waterfront Saturday, March 5.
The festival – celebrated by those who consider the spring equinox as their new year – will feature live music, food tastings, dancing and public art installations.
“This is something that is not just celebrated by Persians,” said Lawdan Shojaee, festival co-founder. “Any cultures that recognize the equinox as its calendar celebrate this.”
Shojaee sees a need for representing Persian culture in Scottsdale and the nation as a whole.
“When you live in a diverse community, there’s always a lot of food, flavor, excitement and things to do,” she said. “When we were looking around, we didn’t see a good representation of the Persian culture as far as the New Year’s celebration goes and we thought this would be a fun way to do that.”
Scottsdale is also one of the few places in the country to celebrate the holiday.
“This is a great time of year in that we have a lot of people coming in from out of town,” Shojaee said. “But when we look nationwide, there is no other event that celebrates Persian New Year the way that we do.”
The festival generally attracts between 8,000 and 10,000 people and nearly 20% of visitors come from out of state — mainly from California.
Shojaee is expecting a big crowed, noting, “We’re banking on events like BarrettJackson and the WM Phoenix Open, where there were so many people.”
The festival also saw promotional videos on social media go viral.
“In two videos we have posted went viral with the first one hitting over 200,000 views and the other had less but was still considered viral,” Shojaee said.
Organizers have put together a starstudded lineup headlined by renowned performer Hengameh and producer/songwriter Ramin Zamani. Live music will be performed by Scottsdale’s own DJ Vahid Shad, Seattle-based No Band and a dance performance by Ballet Afsaneh.The event is also slated to be emceed by comedian Tehran and actor/comedian Leila Parnian.
Music and dancing are not the only things that event attendees can expect. Also planned are an elaborate public art display along with vendors providing food and tea.
Vendors include lavashak.com, which makes a fruity taffy, and Saffron Jack, which will be selling pizza crafted on stone-made bread.
“It is a colorful experience with dancing and inviting music,” Shojaee said. “We have
Haft-sin marks the beginning of the Persian New Year one was it is celebrated is with a table that has a minimum of seven items that start with the same letter in the Persian alphabet and represent the beginning of spring. (Special to the Progress)
seePERSIAN page 37
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ing Arts.
“Movement Source came to us after performing in the San Diego Trolley Dance and we figured that Scottsdale is the perfect place for this,” said Diandra Adamczyk, senior programming coordinator at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts. “We have a trolley system already in place and some really cool locations around Old Town to explore along with a beautiful public art division that some of these dancers will be activating.” “We then pitched it to the City of Scottsdale and they felt that we would be some great people to help get this off the ground,”Adamczyk said.
The next step was devising a route that showed off some of the city’s hidden gems and offered a unique backdrop for the on-site dancers.
“We brainstormed some locations with Movement Source and asked the city for their input too,” Adamczyk said. “We took some trips out to the sites and got a feel for how dancers could activate certain spaces and what may be
The first stop on the Arizona Trolley Dances is outside the Scottsdale Artists School.
(Special to the Progress)
appealing for people who haven’t been to OldTown before.”
“We thought that another dimension would be to find spots that are more unknown,” Fernandez-Herding adds.
The route begins at the Center for the Performing Arts, where the audience will convene at the south entrance of the facility before boarding “Ollie the Trolley.”
From there, passengers will be transported to the Scottsdale Artists School, where Fernandez-Herding’s dancers will put on a performance on the grass in front of sculptures outside the site.
The next performance comes from the Artists School in front of Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West, where musician Drew Bollman will accompany a dance performance in front of the facility’s famous rustic metal sculpture.
The tour then steers off the beaten path with the next dance location falling at a dome that was one of the stops the trolley originally made in OldTown.
This stop will pay homage to Isaacs as her San Diego Dance Theater team will pull a piece out of its repertoire that fits with the space and gives spectators a taste of the Trolley Dances in California.
Guests then will be transported to Michael Maglich’s Horseshoe Falls – which Fernandez-Herding insisted on placing on the route due to the piece’s unique timed steam features – where Jukebox Family dance will perform its own routine.
The tour will end near Sixth Street and Stetson Drive, where performers from Grupo Axé Capoeira will put on a unique martial arts performance.
“These are fairly familiar spots if you’ve been around OldTown but we chose a circuit that would be convenient for the trolley, spots that were visually interesting and had a variety of looks and places,” Fernandez-Herding said. “Each group of people that gets off the trolley to see each site will have a different interaction with the performers and have a different response,” “I love the idea of bringing dance to the people rather than asking people to go to a theater,” Fernandez-Herding said. “I think this is a wonderful way to share the art of dance by having this out in the community and in cool spaces where people would be surprised to see it.”
This also provides the dancers themselves with a unique opportunity to display their talents. “I love the site-specific aspect of this because your decisions are made for you as soon as you see the site and you know what you’re doing,” Isaacs said. “The value of sitework is that you bring people to the site and this is a great way to normalize the experience.” Added Adamczyk: “I think this may help make dance more accessible to people who may find it off putting or too serious to see in a traditional theater. I hope this attracts some nondance fans.”
If you go
What: Arizona Trolley Dances When: March 4-5. Tours are one hour long Where: Tour begins at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts 7380 E Second Street Cost: $20-$30 Info: All guests aged 12 and older must provide a negative COVID-19 PCR test, taken within 72 hours of the performance date, along with photo ID. As an alternative, guests may provide proof of full vaccination. Masks are encouraged to protect artists, staff and patrons. Scottsdaleperformingarts.org/events a lot of art and this is one of the best ways to get exposed to the best that the Persian culture has to offer.”
A portion of the festival’s proceeds will go to Kids Inspire Difference, a nonprofit founded and run by two local high school students that advocates for youth activism among social justice issues.
“You get to see a little bit of philanthropy, lots and lots of art, connect with food and hear the language of the music,” Shojaee said.
A top attraction is an art installation inspired by the tradition of Haft-sin, which marks the beginning of a new year and is celebrated by a display of items representing the changing of the seasons.
“Just like a Christmas tree, Persians have a table that they put together that has a minimum of seven items that start with the same letter in the Persian alphabet and represent the beginning of spring,” Shojaee said.
This installation will be on display at the waterfront until Mar. 7 when the installation will move to a temporary home at Scottsdale Quarter — where it will remain until the end of the month.
No matter what draws members of the crowd to the waterfront on Mar. 5 for the Scottsdale Persian New Year Festival, Shojaee feels this is the best way for visitors and residents to experience her culture.
“This is the best way for anyone who is not familiar with the culture to come and experience it,” she said. “With the smells, the visuals, the people and the hospitality, you will feel it.”
She also hopes that people share in her culture.
“I hope that people come with open hearts and open eyes, experience the culture in their own way and share it with us,” she said. “If we can represent our culture in the best light, I would love that.”
If you go
What: Scottsdale Persian New Year Festival When: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday March 5 Where: Scottsdale Waterfront 7135 E Camelback Road Cost: Free Info: persiannewyearfestival.org
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