The 2009 Sedona Community Fair, an event for all ages

The 2009 Sedona Community Fair held on the Airport Mesa on Sept 19 & 20.

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by Carl Jackson

SEDONA, AZ (September 20, 2009) - What do wine, music, kids, sky divers, classic cars and Arizona's District 1 Rep Ann Kirkpatrick have in common?

Over a two day period from Sept 19 & 20, they all made an appearance at the 2009 Sedona Community Fair held on the Airport Mesa in Sedona, a testament to the variety of activities offered to kids of 'all ages' thanks to the hard work of volunteers like Al Comello, Shondra Jepperson, and Sandy Moriarty, to name just a few; and the sponsorship of Horizon Air which flies from Flagstaff to Los Angeles twice daily.

Entrance to the Fair was free with ample parking on the mesa, and a close and convenient layout that made wandering around the tarmac to different event areas easy and fun.  The event areas were:

The Community Pavilion where local businesses and organizations like The Picture Window, the Verde Valley Caregivers, Sedona Woman fragrance, and the Sedona Visual Arts Coalition had set up tables to display their products and services;

Janet Layfield (left), owner of The Picture Window, an award winning supplier of quality window fashions in the Verde Valley and Sedona area, with Penny Tardiff (right), working their booth in the Community Pavilion at the 2009 Sedona Community Fair on Airport Mesa in Sedona.  Visit them at www.thepicturewindow.com

The Entertainment Pavilion where local musical duo Tom & Shondra emceed each day's musical activities and where local dignitaries like Sedona Mayor Rob Adams and Arizona District 1 Rep Ann Kirkpatrick spoke;

A classic car show held on the airport tarmac;

A 1931 Cord L-29 classic car at the 2009 Sedona Community Fair held on Airport Mesa in Sedona on Sept 19 & 20.

A Kid's Zone sponsored by Camp Soaring Eagle and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northern Arizona;

An Artists in Action tent sponsored by the Sedona Arts Center where local artists turned clay into art in front of mesmerized onlookers;

J. Wolter creates a masterpiece in the Artists in Action tent sponsored by the Sedona Arts Center at the 2009 Sedona Community Fair.

A food court with local eateries like Red Rock BBQ and Taco Del Mar;

A WineFest tent that played host to all of the local wineries and vineyards in the Verde Valley; and

A central courtyard surrounded by booths hosted by Canyon Moon Theatre, MatForce Coalition Against Substance Abuse, the Sedona Metaphysical Association, Prepaid Legal Services, Imagine Art pottery painting, and a Heritage Village sponsored by the Sedona Heritage Museum.

There were also airplane, biplane and helicopter rides.

The event officially began with a welcome introduction by Sedona's Mayor Rob Adams, followed by the singing of the National Anthem by Tom Jepperson, as two sky divers descended from the sunlit blue sky on to the Airport Mesa tarmac.

A sky diver descends from the sky with the American Flag flowing behind him to officially launch the 2009 Sedona Community Fair on Airport Mesa in Sedona held Sept 19 & 20.

Arizona District 1 Representative Ann Kirkpatrick made a special appearance at the event. She announced that her office would be moving forward to draft legislation for community input that, if presented to and approved by Congress, would federally recognize Sedona as a National Scenic Area that would protect its forest land from land trades.

Sedona.biz was on hand volunteering at the Sedona WineFest area and live tweeting and posting photos and videos of the day's events over the Internet as they unfolded.

The 1st Annual Sedona WineFest was the result of the dedication, smarts, and hard work of 35 year Sedona resident Sandy Moriarty.  A long-time local government volunteer and self-professed wine lover, Sandy was able to negotiate the maze of local and state permitting to put together a consortium of Verde Valley wineries and vineyards under one tent that included: Page Springs Cellars, Alcantara Vineyards, Javelina Leap, Oak Creek Vineyards, Jerome Winery, Caduceus Cellars, Kokopelli Winery, Pillsbury Wine Co., and the Freitas Vineyard.  Admission to the WineFest which included 6 wine tasting tickets and a commemorative Sedona WineFest glass was $12.

The WineFest tent at the Sedona Community Fair opened at 10:00am on Saturday, September 19, 2009 and ran through Sunday, Sept 20, 2009.  All of the vineyards and wineries in the Verde Valley were represented. Above: Winefest organizer Sandy Moriarty (left) with Ray Freitas (right), owner of the Freitas Vineyard in Cottonwood. Freitas Vineyard is a micro-vineyard producing small quantities of handcrafted estate grown wines. Visit them at www.freitasvineyards.com and locate the wine at your nearest retailer.

At about 1pm on Day 1, black threatening clouds appeared to the north and east of Sedona above the Mogollon Rim and the Munds Mountain Range.  When claps of thunder and a bolt of lighting cracked, a jolt of fear ran through some who experienced the devastating flash flooding of the Tlaquepaque Arts & Crafts Village only the week before and the many Sedona residents who are still shoveling thick red mud out of their driveways and garages.  However, in West Sedona over the Airport Mesa mostly sunshine and blue sky reined down.  Even the fickle Sedona weather Gods wouldn't play such a mean trick two weeks in a row.

By Day 2 the crowds had thinned out considerably, with all day jazz from Northern Arizona musicians on the docket at the Entertainment Pavilion.  Some blamed the slow day on the baseball game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies.

Local musician Steve Douglas (l.) on bass with singer Gail Kennedy were just some of the jazz offerings on tap at the 2009 Sedona Community Fair.

The WineFest tent was slow in the morning (who drinks wine at 10 a.m. on a Sunday?) but by noon the wine tent was flowing with people.

See you next year.

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