April 2024

Pine Ridge Marketplace to Host Prescott Chamber of Commerce Business Expo

Business Expo Showcases Local Innovation and Entrepreneurship on April 6

PRESCOTT, Ariz – Pine Ridge Marketplace, in collaboration with the Prescott Chamber of Commerce, is pleased to announce a unique and engaging business expo on April 6 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Pine Ridge Marketplace. This event is intended to bring together local businesses, entrepreneurs, and the community to celebrate innovation and collaboration.

The Chamber business expo is poised to showcase the incredible business talent in the community and provide a fun and informative experience for residents and visitors.

“This expo is one of the most anticipated events of the year,” said Anji Rodarte, Pine Ridge Marketplace marketing coordinator. “Local businesses will have the opportunity to set up booths and showcase their products or services to a diverse audience of shoppers and visitors.”

In addition to a diverse exhibitor showcase, attendees are invited to participate in engaging activities, informative workshops, and exciting giveaways throughout the day. A highlight of the event will be the Prescott Business Passport, available at the expo registration desk. This passport will serve as a guide for attendees to explore participating booths and vendors.

“The Prescott Chamber of Commerce is committed to supporting local businesses and fostering a dynamic economic environment,” said Prescott Chamber President and CEO, Sheri Heiney. “We look forward to providing a place for businesses to connect, exchange ideas and build new partnerships.”

This expo aims to strengthen community ties by connecting residents and businesses in a festive and supportive atmosphere. For more information on the business expo at Pine Ridge Marketplace, please visit pineridgemarketplace.com/event-details/business-expo-1 or follow us at @shopineridge.

To participate in the expo, or inquire about sponsorship opportunities, please reach out to Crystal Stewart at Events@Prescott.org or 928-445-2000 ext. 117.

Ariel Cunningham Earns Prestigious Performing Arts Scholarship

YC Actress will study at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy

Prescott, AZ (March 25, 2024) Ariel Cunningham felt ‘confident and good’ walking away from her February audition. “I didn’t think ‘Oh, I got it.’ But I got through all my stuff – my song, and contemporary monologue. The auditioner said she might stop and work with the actors a bit. But when I finished, all she said, was ‘thank you.’” Three days after returning to Prescott, Ariel – a twenty-year-old YC Performing Arts student – was notified that she was the newest member of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA).

“It’s such an honor,” she says.

One of the country’s preeminent schools for performing artists, AMDA has launched some of the most successful careers in theatre, film and television. Staffed with a faculty of working Broadway and film directors, choreographers, actors, producers and casting agents, AMDA instills a standard of excellence, and a strong, well-rounded skill set.

“Even during my high school years, I knew about AMDA,” says Ariel, who initially shied away from the idea of attending there. “It was a big city, and a big jump. I wanted something more familiar.”

Instead, the Prescott High School graduate pursued an Associate of the Arts Degree at Yavapai College. “Each class was small, so teachers could work with you one-on-one. My main Theatre professor, Nanette Hofer, is good with helping people reach that higher level.” She credits Mary Heller, her dance instructor, and Chamber Choir Director Chris Tenney, with helping her develop her movement and vocal skills. “All the professors at Yavapai College want you to succeed and grow. Being in [the YC production] Singin’ in the Rain last November was amazing, as well. It taught me how to be a professional.”

That approach came in handy when AMDA’s national audition tour rolled through Phoenix in February. “I was nervous. But at the same time, I went in with a kind of ‘can-do’ attitude.”  She says. “If I want to be a professional in this field, I have to get used to auditioning and rejections.”

Ariel begins classes in the American Musical Dramatic Academy’s Bachelor of Fine Arts Program this October, in Los Angeles.

Yavapai College operates six campuses and centers throughout Yavapai County and offers over 100 degrees and certificates, two baccalaureate degrees, student and community services, and cultural events and activities.

To learn more about YC, visit www.yc.edu.

PV Council hears results of Town-wide traffic speed study

Prescott Valley Town Council heard the results of a speed study contracted by the Town during its Thursday, March 7 Study Session.

A traffic engineering consultant Lee Engineering has been collecting speed and volume data throughout the Town. Initial draft reports were submitted to the Town in October 2023. The second phase of data collection has involved study of 19 travel corridors within the Town, considering roadway environment and character, geographic context, collision history, and speed distributions (pace speed, median speed, and 85th percentile speed).

Appropriate speed limits promote roadway safety while maintaining traffic circulation and roadway connectivity and encourage driver compliance.

Study locations included Antelope Meadows Drive, Bradshaw Mountain Road, Enterprise Parkway, Glassford Hill Road, Granville Fairway, Lakeshore Drive, Long Look Drive, Loos Drive, Navajo Drive and Old Black Canyon Highway – Stoneridge, Old Black Canyon Highway – Raven Ridge, Prescott East Highway, Robert Road, Santa Fe Loop Road, Spouse Drive, Stoneridge Drive, Tuscany Way, Viewpoint Drive – North of 89A, and Viewpoint Drive – South of 89A.

The study recommends seven speed limit changes within the Town. These include:

• Granville Fairway – 25 mph to 30 mph
• (Many of the Granville area collector roadways are posted at 25 mph. With no direct residential frontage, these roadways currently operate at higher speeds and would benefit from an increase to 30 mph.)
• Prescott East Highway – Antelope to Granville only – 25 mph to 30 mph
• Robert Road – Roundup to SR89A – 30 mph to 35 mph
• (With the proposed relocation/reorganization of HUSD schools, the recommended increase from 30 mph to 35 mph on Robert Road from Roundup to SR89A will require further study due to impacts related to school traffic.)
• Santa Fe Loop Road – 25 mph to 30 mph
• StoneRidge Drive – 35 mph to 40 mph
• (The proposed Stoneridge Drive speed limit increase from 35 mph to 40 mph should not take place until full buildout of the five-lane cross section.)
• Tuscany Way – 25 mph to 30 mph
• Viewpoint Drive – North of SR89A – 30 mph to 35 mph
• (The proposed fill-in development of the Viewpoint North area is expected to provide significant roadway improvements. The proposed increase from 30 mph to 35 mph should not take place until Viewpoint Drive is widened to a three-lane cross section.)

• The Council took no action on the study in Thursday’s session, rather the Public Works Department will bring a resolution at a later date for Council consideration to change speed limits in accordance with the recommendations provided.

View a presentation of study results online at https://pv-azgov.info/2023SpeedStudy

Call to Artists: 5^th Annual Plein Air Festival

Submissions close April 5 for participating artists and their works

Prescott, Arizona (March 4, 2024) – Calling all artists! Yavapai College’s Prescott Campus Art Gallery announces that submissions are now open for Art in the Pines: The Fifth Annual Prescott Plein Air Festival. Plein Air painters from everywhere are encouraged to bring themselves and their works to the beautiful mountain town of Prescott, Arizona and paint the pine forests, boulder-lined highland lakes and historic architecture.

Submissions for the Plein Air festival close April 5.

The Plein Air Festival celebrates Prescott’s gorgeous vistas, compelling history and architectural beauty, as artists create amazing works on the trailheads and scenic byways of the Prescott area during the festival.

The Festival runs October 9-13, with a reception and sale at YC’s Prescott Campus Gallery in the Jim and Linda Lee Performing Arts Center on October 13 from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Artists will receive 50 percent of sales of paintings completed during the Festival. The Best of Show winner will be awarded $1,000 and a solo exhibition at the Yavapai College Patty McMullen-Mikles Gallery in Clarkdale, AZ.

This year’s Plein Air Festival judges will be artists Bill Cramer and Dawn Sutherland. Cramer, a Prescott resident, has won the 2020 Oil Painters of America Virtual Salon Show Landscape Award of Excellence; the 2020 Prescott Plein Air Best of Show Award; the 2020 Grand Canyon Plein Air Artists Choice Award; and the 2019 Sedona Plein Air Festival Best in Show & Artist’s Choice Awards. Sutherland, a founding member of Arizona Plein Air Painters, has won a variety of awards including the 2023 Grand Canyon Celebration of Art Best in Show; the 2023 Mountain Oyster Annual Contemporary Western Art Show; and the 2022 Tubac Center for the Arts Show Award of Excellence. She teaches fundamentals of landscape painting in the Honors College at Northern Arizona University.

The artist application fee is $35. Plein Air artists may apply via the Yavapai College Prescott Art Gallery’s Submittable Page, at:

https://yavapaicollegeartgallery.submittable.com/submit

Fill out the Art in the Pines: The 5th Annual Prescott Plein Air Festival Artist Application completely, including uploading an artist biography, artist photo, and up to three photos of your plein air artwork.

The submissions will be juried, and 20 artists accepted for the festival. Artists will be notified of acceptance between April 12 and 15.

Each accepted artist must donate a signature painting to be included in a pre-festival charity auction to benefit scholarships and student art prizes at Yavapai College. The auction will take place from Sept. 15 – Oct. 9th. Donated paintings not sold at auction will become part of Yavapai College’s permanent art collection. Festival staff will arrange pick-up days for donated paintings in Phoenix, Sedona, and Flagstaff.

For further information on the submissions process, or Art in the Pines: The Fifth Annual Prescott Plein Air Festival, please contact Yavapai College Prescott Art Gallery Manager Tim Hull at: Timothy.Hull@yc.edu or call (928) 776.2031.

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