Community Happenings

This year’s Prescott Film Festival (PFF) promises to be special. Not only does it mark the event’s fifteenth year, but it also includes nods to the festival’s history and to those who have grown and improved it throughout the years.

This year, when the festival runs July 16–20, “We’re going back to our roots,” PFF Co-Founder and Director Helen Stephenson said during a recent interview in her office at Yavapai College (YC).

That means returning to some of the festival’s original venues for screenings and honoring timeless local stories. Meanwhile, in celebration of this milestone year, there will be some special events

Dancing for the Stars returns for its 9th season, Dancing in the Moonlight

The premier fundraising event to benefit our local Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Arizona is back! Dancing for the Stars is celebrating its 9th season. Another cast of celebrity fundraisers and local professional dancers will dazzle and delight guests and supporters.

Mark your calendar: the Annual Prescott Gem & Mineral Show is happening August 1–3 at the Findlay Toyota Event Center at 3201 N. Main Street in Prescott Valley.

Immerse yourself in the richness of cowboy culture as the 37th Annual Arizona Cowboy Poets Gathering takes center stage at the Jim and Linda Lee Yavapai College Performing Arts Center August 7–9, 2025. One of Prescott’s most anticipated annual events, the Gathering promises an unforgettable celebration of the American cowboy way of life through music, poetry, and storytelling.

Bringing together more than 40 authentic cowboy singers, poets, and storytellers, the event offers two full days of free on-campus breakout sessions and three nights filled with inspiring performances designed to honor the heritage, values, and vibrant traditions of the Western lifestyle.

The tour will feature five gardens, each with a slightly different take on gardening in our mild four-season climate. Whether you are looking for the perfect show of color or need inspiration for your own garden, this tour is for you. Perhaps you will enjoy the serenity of a water feature trickling through a meditation area or the gentle breeze of a kinetic sculpture or a riot of color designed to attract the birds, bees and butterflies. There is something for everyone. In addition to these wonderfully designed gardens, club members and Master Gardeners will be available to answer questions and local artists and musicians will add to the ambience of each garden setting.

“Into the Woods,” a musical by Stephen Sondheim, intertwines the plots of several fairy tales, exploring themes of desire, consequence, and the complexities of human relationships. The narrative follows characters such as Cinderella, Jack (of Jack and the Beanstalk), Little Red Riding Hood, and a Baker and his Wife as they venture into the woods to fulfill their wishes. However, as their stories unfold, they encounter challenges that reveal deeper truths about life and morality.

Footlight Productions is set to present this captivating musical May 9, 10, 16, and 17, 2025 at the Hazeltine Theater in downtown Prescott. This production promises to bring Sondheim’s intricate score and poignant storytelling to life through talented local performers.

The ‘Tis Art Center & Gallery in Prescott is set to host the highly anticipated annual “Journeys in Spirit 2025: Traditional and Contemporary Native Art” exhibition from May 22 to June 24. The event aims to showcase the rich cultural heritage and artistic expressions of Native American communities. In collaboration with the Museum of Indigenous People, this year’s exhibition promises to be a vibrant celebration of both traditional and contemporary art forms.

Join the Phippen Museum May 24 to 26 for its 51st Annual Western Art Show & Sale, a cherished tradition that brings the best of Western art and family-friendly entertainment to the Yavapai County Courthouse Plaza in beautiful downtown Prescott.

Memorial Day weekend, immerse yourself in an unforgettable celebration of Western culture, featuring fine art, live events, and activities for all ages. Recognized as one of the top Western art gatherings in the nation, this open-air show invites attendees to connect with artists, experience their work firsthand, and even take home an original masterpiece.

Prescott Frontier Days®, Inc- World’s Oldest Rodeo®, is gearing up to celebrate its 138th year in 2025 with an empowering and historic theme: “Women in Rodeo.” This theme pays tribute to the remarkable contributions of rodeo cowgirls, highlighting their indomitable spirit, skill, and perseverance in a traditionally male-dominated sport.

The history of rodeo cowgirls is rich and inspiring. In the early 20th century, women began to carve out their place in rodeo events, despite significant societal and cultural barriers. Pioneers like Fannie Sperry Steele, Mabel Strickland, and Prairie Rose Henderson broke into the scene, competing alongside men in bronc riding, trick riding, and steer roping. These trailblazing women set the stage for future generations, proving that talent and tenacity know no gender.

The STEPS (Supporting Teaching and Engaging People in the Arts) program offers free art education classes at the ‘Tis Annex in Prescott. This initiative is designed to provide accessible art education to individuals of all ages and backgrounds, fostering creativity and artistic expression within the community. The program emphasizes inclusivity and removes barriers that often prevent people from engaging in the arts.

STEPS provides diverse classes catering to various skill levels, from beginners to more advanced artists. These classes include drawing, painting, sculpture, and mixed media. Each course is structured to encourage participants to explore their creativity while learning fundamental techniques and concepts related to different art forms.

The place is the deep South, the time 1948, just prior to the Civil Rights Movement. Having recently demolished another car, Daisy Werthan, a wealthy, sharp-tongued Jewish widow of 72, is informed by her son, Boolie, that henceforth she must rely on the services of a chauffeur. The person he hires for the job is a thoughtful, unemployed Black man, Hoke, whom Miss Daisy immediately regards with disdain and who, in turn, is not impressed with his employer’s patronizing tone and, he believes, her latent prejudice.

But, in a series of absorbing scenes spanning twenty-five years, the two, despite their mutual differences, grow ever closer to and more dependent on each other until they eventually become almost a couple. Slowly and steadily, the dignified, good-natured Hoke breaks down the stern defenses of the ornery old lady as she teaches him to read and write and, in a gesture of goodwill and shared concern, invites him to join her at a banquet in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. As the play ends, Hoke has a final visit with Miss Daisy, now ninety-seven and confined to a nursing home, and while it is evident that a vestige of her fierce independence and sense of position remains, it is also movingly clear that they have both come to realize they have more in common than they ever believed possible—and that times and circumstances would ever allow them to admit publicly.

Driving Miss Daisy reinforces the moral lesson that every stage of our life is precious and should never be taken for granted.