Page 36 - the NOISE July 2013

Fritz Andrews of Black Sails Tattoo from Tempe is at the Close Enough String Band is at the Americana Northern Arizona Tattoo Festival July 5-7 (COURTESY PHOTO). Music Festival July 6 (COURTESY PHOTO).
Prescott in July is hopping with plenty of arts ‘n culture events. The monsoons typically hit right around the 4th of July, cool- ing off the Arizona heat, but this little moun- tain town won’t let a little rain slow down the steady flow of goodies.
It’s impossible to talk about the 4th of July in Prescott without mentioning the World’s Oldest Rodeo. The rodeo/Frontier Days kick off on July 1 and run through July 7. There are tons of rodeo events, dances and general cowboy-ish mayhem to be had. Be forewarned, Prescott’s population dang near doubles in size during the rodeo, so parking and housing are an issue. For a full listing of rodeo events and ticket prices, hit up their website at worldsoldestrodeo.com.
With the rodeo taking up the first full week in July, plenty of other arts organizations jump on the cowboy/historical bandwagon. If white tent arts ‘n crafts on the Courthouse Square is your idea of fun, then you’ll be hap- py to hear the Prescott Rodeo Days Fine Arts and Crafts Show is setting up Friday, July 5 and running straight through ‘til Sun- day, July 7. This is by far the biggest white tent event of the year. Again, parking will be an issue so plan to either get there early or park and walk a few blocks.
If you’re looking to groove on some music while avoiding the madness in town over the holiday weekend, then the Americana Mu- sic Festival may be exactly what you’re look- ing for. Held in the lovely outdoor pavilion at the Highlands Center for Natural History, this concert will feature local favorites Just 4 Mama, Tom and Christina Agostino, Salt of the Earth and Brad Newman. Also play- ing is The Close Enough String band from the Valley. Tickets for the July 6th show are $12 in advance or $15 at the door and can be purchased online at folksessions.com or at the Highlands Center Gift Shop.
The Mountain Artists’ Guild (MAAG) is throwing a fundraising shindig on Sunday, July 28th at the Antelope Hills Golf Course
Centennial
Center. “Jazzy
Summer Daze” will feature live jazz music, art raffles, a silent auction, plus wine, appe- tizers and deserts by Manzanita Grill chef Joel Sugahara. Proceeds from the event will go to MAAG. Tickets are $35 or $250 for an 8-person table. Call the MAAG office at (928) 445-2510 or check online at mountainartist- sguild.org for more info.
Probably the best Sharlot Hall event of the year is happening the weekend of July
13-14 on the museum grounds. The 16th An- nual Prescott Indian Art Market will set up in the shady gardens, showcasing a wide array of Indian arts. Expect everything from jewelry and blankets to exquisite paintings and baskets at this juried show.
If you dig Hopi art, then you will want to check out this year’s featured artist, Gerry Quotskuyva. Hailing from Second Mesa, this award-winning artist will be on hand with some of his sculptures, paintings and carved katsinas. Then, of course, there is the live entertainment with dancers, singers and musicians, not to mention the incredible fry bread. Admission is $8 for museum members, $10 for the general public, with kids admit- ted at no charge. Visit the museum online at sharlot.org or stop by 415 W. Gurley Street.
Another favorite summer event is hap- pening a bit out of town. On Saturday, July 20, fans of live opera, fantastic food and gor- geous architecture won’t want to miss the famous Arcosanti Italian Night. Dinner un- der the vaults will be followed by a concert in the Colly Soleri Music Center. This year’s concert will feature opera singer Jayne Cas- selman, pianist Lynne Haeseler and their en- semble. This event is well worth the relatively short drive from Prescott to Arco. For dinner and the concert, tickets are $40 or $30 for students. Concert only tickets run $20 or $10 for students. For more info or to purchase tickets in advance, call (928) 632-7135 or visit their website at arcosanti.org.
Folks looking to stay cool and catch up on some indie movies will have their chance July 24 – 31 at the 2013 Prescott Film Festival. That’s right, eight days of indie
movie goodness will be showing at two lo- cations at Yavapai College. There will also be guest speakers, Q and A sessions after movie showings, after parties and special events.
In addition to the regular roster of indie features, documentaries, dramatic shorts and animated shorts, this year, for the first time ever, the Prescott Film Festival is pre- senting a program of Prescott shorts! That’s right, so many local folks caught the indie movie bug and made short movies that the festival was able to create a slate of all Prescott short flicks. Tickets and movie pass packages are on sale now. Even if you’re not able to take advantage of the bigger pack- ages, at $10 per showing it’s an event well worth checking out. For ticket info and a full festival schedule, hit up prescottfilmfestival. com.
Which leads us to the number one don’t- even-THINK-about-missing-this event for the month of July, the Northern Arizona Tattoo Fest. Tattoos have moved way out of the un- derground and into the mainstream over the past 10 years or so, and now is your chance to check out why this art form has become so popular. From July 5th through the 7th, tattoo artists from across the nation and the world will gather at the Prescott Resort to showcase their work. And yes, you can also get a tattoo while you’re there.
Local tattoo artist Tony Carey has dreamed of hosting an event like this for ages. He finally decided the time was right and has been hard at work organizing the festival since last year. Carey works at Hold Fast Tattoo in Prescott and Hold Fast jumped on board to serve as festival host. With 63 booths and 120 tattoo artists show- ing up, festival goers are pretty much guar-
anteed to see just about every style of tattoo art available.
The cool thing about this festival is its ac- cessibility. Hard core tattoo fans need no en- couragement, but it’s also a great event for those just curious about the art form. With artists coming from Amsterdam, Ireland, England and Japan, this is a rare opportunity to take a gander tattoo styles from across the world. The festival organizers also want to make sure this is a family friendly event, so there will be face painting for the little ones and kids under 14 get free admission.
The shindig is kicking off with a welcome party at Raven Café on Thursday, July 4. Be- sides getting a chance to meet several of the artists, there will also be an art show of Hold Fast Tattoo artists on display. Hold Fast has had an annual art show at the Raven for the past seven years, so it was a natural choice to hold the welcome party there. Head over to 142 N. Cortez Street on the 4th, grab a beer and get a look at what our local artists have been up to.
The tattoo festival kicks off fer really reals the next day at the Prescott Resort with the doors opening at 3 p.m. and running through
10 p.m. There is live music scheduled for Fri- day (The High Rollers) and Saturday night (We Were There), as well as seminars on everything from Japanese symbolism to oil painting techniques running throughout the festival. So if you’ve ever wondered how a Maori tattoo is designed and applied, or if you want to see an artist creating an authen- tic Japanese or Traditional American tattoo, this is your chance. For a full listing of festi- val events, seminars and guest artists and to purchase tickets, visit northernarizonatat- toofest.com.
| angie Johnson schmit wears so many hats she may need a new closet. slackerwriter@gmail.com
36 • JULY 2013 • the NOISE arts & news • thenoise.us