Bear Essential News November 2022, Phoenix Edition

B In This Issue!

Check out Bear’s Holiday Events Guide in this issue on pgs. 12–14 & online!

Page 2…Festival of the Arts, a free arts event for the family in downtown Phoenix!

Page 4…Bear Hugs, a column for grandparents, with a focus on education and sharing.

Page 5…News Highlights & In the Spotlight. The UK gets a new Prime Minister. What? Turtles can talk? Plus, a look at inflation and what it means for our economy.

Pages 7, 14 & 18…Get the Scoop! A visit to the Arizona Cardinals’ Nest, a review of the role playing game Dungeons & Dragons and a STEM article by a young Chief Science Officer.

Page 9…AZ Girl Scouts—A young Girl Scout takes a giant leap…into space camp!

Pages 10 & 11…I love a Parade! Bear looks at some world famous holiday parades, and two Arizona parades that focus on keeping the Old West alive.

Pages 12 & 14…A Holiday Events Calendar. Find a fun family holiday event.

Pages 13…Boomer’s Holiday Coloring Contest! Enter to win tickets to some great holiday events for your family!

Page 17…BoSa Donuts Teacher of the Month—Karen Lock!

Back Cover…A Holiday Dairy Game! See how your favorite holiday dishes are made even better with dairy.

Loghry

3 TIPS FOR A HEALTHY MOUTH

Brushing teeth is so routine, it can be easy to fall into bad habits. These tips, along with regular appointments, can help your teeth and gums stay healthy and strong!

BRUSH 2X2 In order to keep away plaque and gingivitis, brushing once a day won't cut it! You should brush at least twice a day, for two minutes at a time, to keep away harmful bacteria.

BE GENTLE! On the other hand, brushing more than three times a day, or too hard, can damage enamel and put a strain on your gums. If you feel any tooth or gum pain while brushing, come see us.

TONGUE CARE Your tongue can be a repository for plaque and other harmful bacteria. While you're in there, give it a good brushing! It will keep your breath fresh and your mouth healthy!

Bear Hugs: Engaging

by Mary DeStefano

As this Thanksgiving holiday approaches, I give thanks for the many opportunities I’ve had as an explorer around the world. I am currently traveling in Colombia, South America, and have wondered how to incorporate my travel into this column. There are so many ideas to enjoy those special moments with grandchildren that will be remembered as special. But I’m always looking for new ideas I might share. I believe I have a couple of amazing ideas.

Most of the folks in my travel group are grandparents so I hear daily how they are sharing their experiences with family, even from afar. When I sat down to visit with one fellow traveler, she stopped what she was doing to visit. I asked if I’d interrupted her and she informed me that she was choosing a couple of photos she took on our morning walk through Bogota that she would share via a special app. The app will take the chosen photo; print and laminate it; and then mail it to her grandchild. She explained that they love receiving mail as well as treasuring the photo.

Another great idea came during a “street art” tour with a local guide in Bogota. Our guide was passionate about the topic and shared the history as we walked along the streets enjoying the beautiful murals.

We talked with numerous street artists who were there with permission and asked many questions. Toward the end of the tour we were surprised to learn that our group would be trying our own skills at a piece of street graffiti. Large sheets of paper were taped to a wall, and, working in teams, we each came up with a letter that would identify our group. Each group then had a section of the paper to create our work of art after a few tips about spray painting lines and dots. When we were finished, our street art was taken down with no harm done to the wall.

Happy Thanksgiving!

As I walked away I suddenly thought what a wonderful family activity this art would be to try during your Thanksgiving holidays. Family activities bring families closer and can often make family bonds even stronger. It certainly did for our group of sixteen travelers. We all en oyed sharing how surprised we were at the enjoyment of creating a piece of art as a team.

News Highlights

New Leader for UK

The nited Kingdom has its third leader in seven weeks. ishi Sunak took office on Oct. after Liz Truss RESIGNED from office.

Truss resigned after ust days in office, making her Britain’s shortest-serving prime minister in histo ry. She was also the last prime minister sworn in by ueen Elizabeth II, only two days before the ueen died at the age of 6. Truss said she resigned after she lost the confidence of her political party due to a failed budgeting issue that hurt her country’s econo my. er brief time as prime minister followed a difficult end to Boris ohnson’s time in the role.

ollowing her departure, there was a brief lead ership election process that led to Sunak being selected to serve as the first British prime minister of Asian descent. Sunak’s leadership was confirmed when he met King Charles III at Buckingham Palace. Like Truss, Sunak was appointed by Conservative lawmakers and not elected by .K. citizens. This is because the party with the most lawmakers in the ouse of Commons, the elected house of the .K. Parliament, is able to appoint a new leader without holding a nationwide election.

Sunak is a banker and Britain’s former finance minister. e is years old, which makes him the

youngest prime minster in more than 00 years. e acknowledged the challenges the country faces in a brief speech after being elected.

The nited Kingdom is a great country, but there is no doubt we face a profound economic challenge, Sunak said. We now need stability and unity, and I will make it my utmost priority to bring our party and our country together because that is the only way we will overcome the challenges we face and build a better more prosperous future for our children and our grandchildren. I pledge that I will serve you with integrity and humility, and I will work day in, day out to deliver for the British people.

Turtles Can Talk? Only If You Listen Closely!

Oh sure, there are the Teenage Mutant Nin a Turtles or King ertle the Turtle, but biologists really didn’t have proof that turtles could talk—until now!

at the niversity of urich in Switzerland, wondered if animals thought to be MUTE unable to produce sounds through vocalizations ust might be the uiet types!

sing a microphone and a recorder, he started listening to his pet turtles. e found that his turtles regularly made several different sounds. A research team, including ohn Wiens, an evolutionary biolo gist with the niversity of Arizona, started collecting sounds from all sorts of turtle species and also stud ied lungfish a primitive type of fish , lizards from New ealand called tuataras, and strange, legless amphib ians called caecilians. In all, the scientists listened to species. The team’s results were published in the Oct. edition of Nature Communications orgewich-Cohen and his team discovered that many of these creatures with lungs, once believed to be mute, actually could vocalize. And their study hints that this ability may have evolved from a common ancient ancestor of all lunged vertebrates!

Inflation. What Is It?

In ation is a big word that sounds pretty intimidating, but the basic definition is this: an increase in the prices of goods and services.

Like most things in life that re uire mod eration, in ation is actually a good thing in a certain amount. The ederal eserve, the cen tral bank of the nited States, usually aims for a target in ation rate of around two percent. This type of moderate increase is normal and actually means the economy is healthy.

owever, between September 0 and September 0 , the annual .S. in ation rate hit . percent. What this means for everyone is that it costs more to buy many of the same products than it did a year ago.

There is not one simple reason that in ation happens, but there are three main categories of explanations. The first is when the supply

Inflation Facts:

Current annual in ation: .

Most expensive areas: food, shelter, medical care

Common in ation measurement: Consumer Price Index CPI

Who calculates the CPI: .S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

of products or services can’t keep up with demand and companies raise prices because some people are willing to pay more. The second happens when the cost of making products or providing services goes up and businesses raise their prices to keep making money. The final category is built-in in ation, meaning that workers need to make more money to keep up with rising living costs.

So now that you know what it means, the uestion becomes what can people do It’s certainly not your ob to worry about these things, but you may hear the adults in your life talking about ways to cut costs and save a little money. This can be disappointing and scary, but it may be helpful to understand some good options.

ozens of vertebrates creatures with a backbone and spinal cord long-believed to have no voice, including turtles, recently have been discovered to speak, according to a team of researchers! abriel orgewich-Cohen, working on his Ph. .

r. Wiens doesn’t agree with all of the team’s conclusions, though, pointing out that more research needs to be done to make sure that these vocaliza tions are indeed used to communicate with each other.

One STRATEGY for many families is to reduce spending on non-essential items: visiting the local library, organizing clothing and toy swaps with friends and neighbors, and taking shorter or more local vacations are all places to start. ood is an area where many families spend a lot and small changes can help you save. Making pizza at home instead of ordering out, sticking to a meal plan to avoid wasting leftovers, and swapping fresh fruits and vegetables for canned or frozen can all add up. Many of these have the added benefit of being good for the environment as well!

Photo:

OV. K

Let’s Go... VALLEY METRO!

Check Out the New Artwork and Streetcars in Tempe!

Have you ever taken the Light Rail in Phoenix or the streetcars in Tempe? If you have, have you noticed the art at the bus stops? I interviewed MB Finnerty, the Public Art Administrator for Valley Metro, to learn more about this and the new Tempe Streetcar Art Installations. She shared some interesting facts about the artist selection process, the streetcars and the final artworks chosen.

Finnerty has been with Valley Metro for 20 years. When I asked her what the best part about working for Valley Metro was, she said “My favorite part is working with the artists.” Her career grew out of volunteer work with the City of Mesa. She enjoyed exploring public art, building up civic space and giving back to the community. Before the Tempe Streetcar project, she worked with the City of Phoenix, to bring original art to each light rail station, as well as substations. And who are the artists who come up with these ideas Let’s find out!

The artists are selected on various criteria. For example, there are smaller projects for emerging artists, and larger projects for more established artists. The first step is to issue a re uest for ualifica tions, where artists can submit their portfolio. These are reviewed by community members which is important because they want to represent the community. In this meeting, each member gets to decide “yes” or “no” on each artist. And even if only one person likes that artist, they get to move to the next round. Then in the next round, the artists are ranked and narrowed down to five to 10 from a group of around 100. And then at this point, the artists can write about why they want to design a station. Finally, they are

ranked again and one is chosen for the project. In the City of Phoenix, there is usually one artist per station. In the City of Tempe, since there are a smaller number of stations, each artist selected gets to design two or more.

The Tempe Streetcar opened on May 20, 2022, with a total of 14 stops and two light rail connections, costing 200 million dollars. Both the streetcars and Light Rails run on electricity. There are a few things that make the streetcar different from the Light Rail. For example, the streetcars are smaller. Automobiles and streetcars can both travel on the same road. The Light Rail operates from 4:40 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday–Saturday and 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Sundays and holidays. The streetcar operates from 6 a.m. to midnight Monday–Saturday and 8 a.m. to midnight on Sundays. And best of all, there is no cost to use the streetcar for the first year!

There are many different types of installations, including glass, metal, mosaics, and more. Some are lit up at night. At some of the stops, one artist silk screened photos on glass as a canopy. The glass has UV protection to preserve the photos in the hot Arizona sun. There were pictures of dogs, cats and butter ies.

Another artist created clay figures of simple people, then made metal casts and welded them onto a metal cut out board of a town. You can see this one at the stop at 9th Street and Mill and also College and Apache.

Most importantly, people need to be able to board and exit the station safely, so the artwork must re ect that.

If you have not yet seen the artwork in Tempe, now would be a brilliant time to do it! It’s free!

It’s new! And fall is in the air!! Take a look at the artwork tonight!

by Young Reporter Nava Nelson, Homeschool

“The Hands” by artist Suikang Zhao

Get the Scoop!

I Visited the Arizona Cardinals Nest

by Reporter Ezekiel Perez, Homeschool

On Oct. 14, I went to the Arizona Cardinals corporate office. As soon as I entered into the parking lot, I began feeling the Cards spirit. It was fun to see the big logo at the entrance. I walked a long outside hallway with more logos and the name of the football club.

The office is big inside. They have a display of player’s shirts, trophies and pictures. Each week they show the Cardinals helmet next to the helmet of their opponent team. For example, that week they had the Seattle Seahawks’ helmet next to the Cards’ because they had a game on Oct 16.

“Slim,” the security manager, allowed me to come into the room where president Michael Bidwill signs the contract with a new player. It was exciting to be sitting right where the players oin the team.

I learned that the players spend most of the day there where they have everything they need. There are three outside fields and one indoor field. There are great people working and supporting them. President Bidwill and head coach Kliff Kingsbury make sure the team is ready for the next week’s game.

Visiting the Arizona Cardinals Nest was a great experience. It is where the Cardinals get everything ready for new seasons, where new players are welcome, and where they prepare for great games.

Go On a Quest with Dungeons & Dragons!

by Reporter Parker McGowan, Homeschool

As the traveler walked through the dark hallway, he took his tinderbox out and lit his torch. The walls were wet and covered with cobwebs. He spots a small man with a large, white, smooth beard. He readied his spell of teleportation to get away should he need to. This is the world of Dungeons and Dragons (D&D). In it you will have great adventure!

D&D is a role-playing game, where you make and pretend to be someone you’re not. In this game you roll dice to decide what happens to your character. For example, if you’re umping off a building into water, if you roll a twenty you might do a perfect headfirst dive into the water. But if you roll a one you might miserably fail and belly flop into the water.

D&D is a world of creativity, learning, socializing, adventuring and more! sing one’s brain and a set of seven dice to bring you through a quest of challenging puzzles. You make your own character entirely customized, choosing your character’s name, looks, and class. ou can be anything from a wizard to a knight.

The Campaign is the story you’re going through. ou could be in a ungle or in a boat, a castle, or a village. The Dungeon Master is the narrator of the story and guides the entire game! You can get a pre-written campaign, or you could make your own, it depends on what you prefer, and I recommend trying both! You can find books at your local library or purchase them used from Bookmans Bookstore. Online resources like dndbeyond.com will help new players make characters easier.

D&D is a fantastical game, it makes kids and teenagers and adults alike smarter, more creative, and the best part is making friends on the way to the end of the campaign. I hope you try playing D&D!

News Stories

by Kids— for Kids

Meet the Mayor of Guadalupe

by Reporter Georgiana Readhead Homeschool

Have you ever wondered what it is like being mayor? In the Young Reporters October Zoom Meeting, we got to speak with Valeria Molina, the current Mayor of Guadalupe! She had lots of interesting things to share.

The incorporated Town of Guadalupe is located between Tempe and Phoenix, near South Mountain, and is about 0.66 square miles with about 6,000 residents. Guadalupe was founded by the Yaqui Indians around the turn of the century.

Molina has served three terms and is about to start her fourth term. She has been a public servant for six years. As well as being mayor, Molina also works at a high school district and runs a special program where she gets to teach Native American students throughout the year. Molina has been running the program for 18 years.

Molina was born and raised in the Town of Guadalupe, moved away for 12 years when she started her family, then moved back to Guadalupe. Molina is very involved in her community and she has a specific love for STEM education.

The town was incorporated in 1975 because residents were afraid of being annexed by other cities and they wanted to make sure to preserve their culture by making their city official and legally recognized in the state. There are many cultural ceremonies practiced throughout the year at the Church Plaza.

MORE MAYOR, page 14 ➧

Ezekiel enjoys the Cards experience.

Arizona Girl Scout Takes Great Leaps at Space Camp

This summer, Girl Scout Elsa participated in Girl Scouts of the SA’s estinations and attended Space Academy in untsville, Alabama. uring this six-day program, irl Scouts were able to experience a simulated space mission, build and launch model rockets, and train on astronaut simulators!

Elsa (right) and other Girl Scouts got tospread their wings at Space Academy, oneof Girl Scouts of the USA’s Destinations.

When asked what she gained from attending this program, Elsa had this to share:

“Space camp inspired me to make new friends, get creative, and taught me how to work in a large group. When something didn’t go as planned, we had to think of new ways to fix the problem. I realized that there will always be a solution to a presented problem, it just takes time.”

Interested in attending a S SA estinations program in 0

Learn more at: https://forgirls.girlscouts.org/ travel/take-a-trip/destinations/

Start your Girl Scouts adventure

Contact Girl Scouts—Arizona Cactus—Pine Council to find out how.

girlscoutsaz.org

602-452-7030

844-317-9041

I LOVE A PARADE! PARADE!

People of all ages have enjoyed the excitement and celebrations of parades over the centuries. Parades date back to as early as 3000 BC when religious processions were considered a form of a parade. In years to come the military would have soldiers line up and march through the streets of their town so that civilians could see these brave soldiers as they marched off to war. Parades have EVOLVED with the times and now there are parades formed to celebrate sports teams after winning a championship.

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

Many of us grew up watching this parade on television on Thanksgiving morning. What many don’t know is that the parade was really a marketing PLOY to get shoppers to start their Christmas shopping at Macy’s. The first Macy’s parade took place on Nov. 27, 1924 in New York City. The parade consisted of Macy’s employees waving to the crowd, oats that had nursery-rhyme themes with Mother oose characters, live animals from the zoo and the fina le was a oat with Santa Claus, signifying that the holiday season was approaching. Since the Macy’s Thanksgiving ay Parade has been televised on NBC. The parade was canceled three years during World War II, but surprisingly the parade continued during COVI in 0 0, but it was televised with no spectators on the streets. This year the parade will be televised on Nov. with colorful balloons like Astronaut Snoopy, Bluey and Paw Patrol. loats like Baby Shark, Sesame Street and Blue’s Clues will delight spectators watching live, on television or streaming on phones or computers.

Fiesta Bowl Parade

This year celebrates 0 years of the parade with the theme Legends Made ere. The parade features horses, oats, giant balloons, marching bands, celeb rities and more. The two-mile parade begins south on Central Avenue, turns east on Camelback oad, turns south on Seventh Street and ends at Minnezona Avenue in Phoenix. The parade will take place on ec. , 0 at 0 a.m., and will be aired live on Arizona's amily TV, online and through the A amily app.

Parade Chair Ben Smith says this year’s parade will have over 0 entries and around ,000 participants. The rand Marshal will be NBA broadcaster Al McCoy. McCoy has been the voice of the Phoenix Suns for seasons.

The iesta Bowl Parade is an interactive parade and has something for everyone,” says Smith. e mentioned that there are be tween 0,000 to 0,000 spectators making the parade the highest attended single-day event in Arizona. We are the largest parade in the west with giant balloons, says Smith.

This is Smith’s first year as Parade Chair,

Rose Parade

This parade has taken place in Pasadena, California for over 0 years. The parade always takes place on New ear’s ay unless that day fall on a Sunday, then the parade takes place on an. . The 0 ose Parade will take place on Monday, an. , 0 . The theme of the parade is Turning The Corner.”

The 0 parade has Arizona participants. The rand Marshal will be former Arizona Congresswoman abrielle iffords and the Catalina oothills alcon Band from Tucson will perform. This is the largest high school marching band in the state of Arizona.

but mittee said parade definitely Contest. contest their Milk rade. www.arizonamilk.org resh

The first Macy’s parade took place in 1924!

The cast of Sesame greets the crowds New York from their colorful parade float.

Images: shutterstock.com

Image: tournamentofroses.com

Image: fiesta bowl

he has volunteered and worked with the parade for years. There are members of the parade committee who start planning the parade in May. Smith Marvel eroes and ustice League are part of the parade as well as other entertainment that people will definitely remember.

Arizona Milk Producers sponsor a alf-Pint udge Contest. Arizona students in grades can enter the contest by submitting a one-minute video telling about favorite dairy product. The winners will be Arizona Producers alf-Pint udges at the iesta Bowl Paeadline to enter is Nov. . To apply visit www.arizonamilk.org and click on Contests under the resh News tab.

Scottsdale Parada del Sol Parade & Trails End Festival

This annual parade in downtown Scottsdale started in as The Sunshine estival. Members of the Scottsdale community would gather to watch a parade and celebrate with a cookout where the parade ended. In the parade was renamed Parada del Sol which translates to walk in the sun. In 6 the first rodeo was added.

Scottsdale has bragging rights to being the West’s Most Western Town and spectators will see colorful oats, dancing horses, wagons, marching bands and gain insight to various cultures.

At the end of the parade the olbrook ashknife Pony Express will deliver mail to the Scottsdale Museum of the West. This is the only active Pony Express in the world and they have been part of the parade since . ozens of riders on horseback wearing authentic cowboy clothes transfer mail from olbrook to Scottsdale. Each rider is sworn-in as a postal carrier before they embark on the 00 mile ourney. See page to see how you can send a letter to be delivered by the olbrook ashknife Pony Express .

The Trail’s End estival is a huge party for kids and families. Live music, games, pony rides, a petting zoo and other entertainment will make it fun for all. The parade will take place on eb. , 0 at 0 a.m. The Trails End estival will follow. The parade route will begin on rinkwater Boulevard, travel along Scottsdale oad, and will end at Brown Avenue and Indian School oad.

La Fiesta del Los Vaqueros–Tucson Rodeo Parade

Billed as the Nations Longest Non-motorized Parade the Tucson odeo Parade is two miles long with horses, wagons, stagecoaches, buckboards, surreys, oats, music and more.

erb Wagner, Public Informa tion Officer has been a member of the Tucson odeo Parade Committee since 6. People come from all over the nation and the world to see the parade,” says Wagner. or many families, it is a tradition and a family reunion to gather at the parade every year. Wagner stated the 0 parade had entries with over ,000 participants. There were horses, 6 Tucson odeo Museum wagons and 0 other wagons. e mentioned there were musical entries and 0 of them were bands. The Tucson Arizona Boys Chorus has been participating for 60 years and the Tucson igh and A Bands have participated almost since the beginning of the parade, Wagner says.

Large balloons have been a feature in this parade for 50 years!

The parade began in and was held downtown until when it was moved near the Tucson odeo rounds. The next parade will take place on eb. , 0 at a.m. The parade route begins east on A o, turns south on Park, west on Irvington and ends on 6th Avenue at the Tucson odeo rounds. There is grandstand seating on Irvington near the rodeo grounds.

Since the 0’s, Tucson students receive two school days off so they can attend the parade and rodeo. We are the only place in the nation that closes schools for rodeo, Wagner explains.

still delivers in historic annual rides!

Although there are many parades that take place in the world, Arizona has its share of famous annual parades!

Sesame Street crowds in

Image: shutterstock.com

Image: scottsdaleparade.com

Image: tucsonrodeoparade.com Keen esign Photography

Holiday Performances

CALENDAR

There’s nothing like the thrill of a live performance, or a special out ing shared with family or close friends. The excitement before a show or event is electric! You might dress up in your holiday finery to go to the theater, pull on boots or sneakers to walk through a winter wonderland, or pile in the car to check out a fancy light show. However you choose to celebrate the season, attending a special event will make it even more memorable!

East Valley Children’s Theatre shows that the magic of Santa is real with its production of “Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus. Two compelling stories come together in this heartwarming play inspired by the famous editorial.

On Christmas Eve 1897, in New York City, 8-year-old Virginia is left pondering whether Santa really exists after a series of unhappy events. At the same time, a young newspaper editor is struggling to keep his ob. They don’t know each other, but the spirit of Christmas is about to bring them together. on’t miss this unforgettable and cherished part of classic Christmas folklore. es, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus, is a great holiday show for the entire family. Matinee shows are available for large groups of school age children. es, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus runs ec. . or tickets and show times, visit www.evct.org.

The erberger Theater Center will host its th annual estival of the Arts on Saturday, Nov. from a.m. to 6 p.m. ead to the erberger Theater Center in downtown Phoenix for this popular, admission-free event that celebrates the arts in our community. There will be performances by more than 20 local and diverse performing groups, including dance companies and live music. estivalgoers will also enjoy art demos, hands-on activities for kids, a vendor market, food and more!

This year, Childsplay Theatre will open their holiday show, udolph the ed-Nosed eindeer, during the festival. There will be $17 all-in tickets, exclusively for festival attendees, for the p.m. show at the erberger Theater. Childsplay’s production is a musical adaptation of the beloved television special. En oy holiday classics like “Rudolph the ed-Nosed eindeer and olly olly Christmas, and see all of your favorite characters. udolph the ed-Nosed eindeer runs 0 minutes and is recommended for ages . or more information about the festival and to see the list of performers, visit www.herbergertheater.org/ festival-of-the-arts/.

Shamrock arms wishes you and your family a dairy merry Christmas! Celebrate the holidays with the moo-vers and shakers—10,000 cows that produce the milk for your shakes—at the oy to the erd event.

Meet the herd on a guided tram tour through the farm. Then visit with Santa and Roxie the spokescow, make some holiday crafts, get your face painted and more. The tram tour starts at the big red Welcome Barn, then visits the milking barn, the feed zone, the cow lounge and an interactive play area.

oy to the erd happens ec. and from a.m. to p.m. eservations and prepayment are re uired. To oin the herd for the holidays, visit www.shamrockfarms.net

Take an enchanted oliday Train ide into a snowy Winter Wonderland this season! The Annual Winter Wonderland Express returns to Enchanted Island this ecember to transport you and your family to the snow filled Enchanted Island—the amusement park brings in 25 tons of snow! Go sledding, play in the holiday-themed bounce structures, take photos at the giant red in atable chair and more.

You can enjoy free candy canes and a cup of hot cocoa at the Santa area, and the Christmas decorations are sure to put you in a happy holiday mood. Keep your eyes peeled for Elves on the Shelves! If you locate all 10 elves in the amusement park, you will be entered to win an annual family pass to the park.

The Winter Wonderland Express runs ec. 0 and from 0 a.m. to p.m. ind pricing and more details at enchantedisland.com

A favorite Valley holiday tradition will be bigger and better this year! ZooLights will be even brighter than usual, with all new animal lanterns, new light displays, and a music and light show that promises to take viewers on a trip around the world.

ZooLights will also offer an enhanced Santa experience this holiday season. In addition, entry to ooLights will include the dino-mite display inosaurs in the esert. Bright lights and big dinos—it’s an experience you don’t want to miss! ooLights happens Nov. through an. , 0 . Sensory friendly evenings are offered Nov. and an. . or more information, visit phoenixzoo.org

Experience holidays the Old West Way at Old Tucson during Yuletide! Bring the whole family to enjoy fun holiday-themed shows like A uletide Christmas Carol, old-fashioned craft-making in Town all, and the nightly Tree Lighting Ceremony. In , electricity is the new wave of the future. On the East Coast, gas lights are being replaced for safer electric lamps. In Tucson, however, electricity is still an experiment. But a new com pany is bringing electricity to Tucson, and this momentous occa sion will be celebrated in Town S uare where the main Christmas Tree will be lit with electrical power for the first-time nightly, Thursdays through Sundays at 6: 0 p.m.

Set the Stage for the Holidays!Set the Stage for the

Color

“Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus”

Presented by East Valley Children’s Theater Nesbitt/Elliot Playhouse/Mesa Arts Center Dec. 1–11 • 480-644-6500 • evct.org

“Holidays at the Zoo” • Wildlife World Zoo & Aquarium Nov. 25–Jan. 4 • 602-254-2151 wildlifeworld.com

“Winter Wonderland Express” • Enchanted Island Amusement Park Dec. 10–11 & 17–18 • 10 am–7pm 602-254-1200 • enchantedisland.com

“Zoolights” • Phoenix Zoo Nov. 23–Jan. 15 5:30–10:30 pm • 602-273-1341 • phoenixzoo.org

LIGHT UP THE HOLIDAYS!LIGHT UP THE HOLIDAYS!

Color the Picture

Herberger Theater $100 Gift Certificate for Any Show! 602-252-8497 • herbergertheater.org

“Lights at the Farm” Presented by Vertuccio Farms with Dazzling Lights AZ • Mesa Nov. 23–Dec. 30 (not open 12/24 or 12/25) 480-882-1482 vertucciofarms.com/lights-at-the-farm

“Joy to the Herd” Shamrock Farms • 40034 W. Clayton Rd. • Stanfield Dec. 3 & 4 • 602-477-2462 shamrockfarms.net

“Yuletide”at Old Tucson 201 Kinney Rd. • Tucson Nov. 25— Dec. 24 • Thursdays–Sundays 520-883-0100 • oldtucson.com

Bearizona 1500 E. Rte 66 • Williams Open Daily • 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. 928-635-2289 • bearizona.com

Send in your completed picture for

Send to Bear Essential News/Holidays 2525 E. Broadway Blvd. #102 Tucson, AZ 85716

Entry Deadline: November 25, 2022 Name: Grade: Address: City: ZIP: School: Phone #: Parent Signature: E-mail: Must be

Holiday Performances 2022–2 3 CALENDAR

Take a ride on the Christmas Fantasy Train and enjoy traditional snacks and beverages while listening to Yuletide Carolers. In the Town Hall, children will have a chance to write a letter for Santa and place it directly into the mailbox in town.

If you’ve been naughty you may want to steer clear of the Krampus Koal Mine—the Krampus is never willing to let Santa have all the fun. If you’ve been nice, Santa and his elves are waiting to greet you in Christmas Cove! Watch the beautiful Sonoran sunset in the desert, take a walk lit by luminaries at the Mission, and end the night with a hayride. For tickets and more information, visit www.oldtucson.com.

Lights at the arm boasts the state’s biggest and best synchro nized Christmas light show. Walk through this dazzling, interactive display at Vertuccio Farms this holiday season, then enjoy the many other holiday offerings and fun activities. Check out the skate rink and giant snowman, meet Santa’s reindeer, see the Nativity and giant bubble Christmas tree, visit the petting zoo and much more. There will be games and food, and on weekends you can shop at the Holiday Boutique.

Lights at the Farm lights up the night from Nov. through ec. 0 closed ec. . Things get glowing at : 0 p.m. each night. Santa will be on hand from 6 to 0 p.m. on ec. 0, and 6 . So write up your wish list and head to the farm! For tickets or for more information, visit vertucciofarms.com/lights-at-the-farm/

Bearizona Wildlife Park is open year-round from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with the last car admitted at 4 p.m. Located in the cool Ponderosa Pine forest of Williams, the three-mile drive-through park offers views of animals in their natural habitats. More North American animals are exhibited in Fort Bearizona, a beautiful 20-acre walk-thru area. See bears, bison, bighorn sheep, wolves and more! For more information, visit bearizona.com.

Wildlife World oo, A uarium Safari Park is home to Arizona’s largest assortment of exotic animals. The zoo is open every day from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and the aquarium is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Lions, tigers and bears are just a few of the animals on hand— there are monkeys, cheetahs, giraffes, penguins, gazelle and so much more! For more information, visit www.wildlifeworld.com

Happy Holidays!

For a chance to win tickets to these holiday events, see page 13! Find links to the event pages at bearessentialnews.com Click In the Community’ then Things to o’

B

Get the Scoop!

The community of Guadalupe is working on park hours policy. “Right now, if you go to any [other] park, you will see hours posted...our community doesn’t have park hours so we’re looking at changing park policy,” says Molina. Molina also works with lots of different partners including the Arizona Coyotes, the fire department, the police depart ment and the iamondbacks.

The process of becoming mayor in Guadalupe includes going out and collecting signatures, getting a petition, and declaring that you want to be mayor or a council member. “You go out into the community, you knock on some doors, and ask them if they would sign your petition,” says Molina. Once the signatures get verified you are able to go on the ballot. After sending in all of the details of her campaign, Molina had to go door-knocking again and tell people what she hoped to accomplish if elected. It sounds like a lot of hard work to connect with the people she cares about in the community.

One of Molina’s greatest accomplishments was rebuilding a road. The road had not been done for over 40 years and was full of bumps, potholes and cracks. Guadalupe got a grant for $6 million to help rebuild the road.

Molina says she hopes to fortify the budget of the town. I’d like to make the budget stronger, here in Guadalupe,” she says. Molina hopes that the community will remain for a long time to come and hopes to accomplish this as mayor.

Fort Tuthill Is a Hidden Paradise

by Reporter Euwain Sheard, Homeschool

Have you ever wanted to get away from your daily routine? Have you ever wanted a sense of adventure? If you said yes to both questions, Fort Tuthill in Flagstaff is the place to visit.

A great feature of Fort Tuthill is their outstanding, high in the trees, obstacle course called Flagstaff Extreme. This course features five sections, with different skill levels ranging from green being the easiest to black being the hardest. The obstacles on these courses include moving platforms, bridges and zip lines. If this sounds daunting, do not worry, the course was intentionally made for all including you , so that you can go at your own pace and work at your own comfort level.

Another “must visit” adventure zone at Fort Tuthill is the state-of-theart bike park. From easy to difficult levels of tracks, it was designed for everyone who wants a challenge. The bike park can accommodate those just learning to handle hills and jumps to those looking for steep ramps and 10-foot drops. This bike park boasts jumps, pump track, wooden bridges, rocks, and everything in between.

Fort Tuthill has a disc golf course you will want to visit as well. With 18 holes, it is one of the largest disc golf courses in Flagstaff. It is also free! Imagine that. You get an awesome disc golf course for free!

There’s a great bike park that will meet you where you are at and then level you up. A crazy extreme obstacle course with so much opportunity. And finally, an entirely free disc golf course for you to enjoy. What are you waiting for? Pack your bags and head for Fort Tuthill.

More Mayor

Send A Letter By Pony Express!

ViaPonyExpress

Boomer Bear 2525 E. Broadway Blvd. Tucson, AZ 85716

You can go back in time and be a part of history when you mail a letter that will be delivered by the Holbrook Hashknife Pony Express. Dozens of riders on horseback will deliver the mail from Holbrook to Scottsdale and then your letter will be delivered to the address you write on your envelope.

This is a fun literacy project for students, classrooms and families. Kids will learn to properly address an envelope and gain a little history about the Pony Express. If you live near the Fountain

Hills or Scottsdale Post Office, you can purchase a “Pony Express Mailer” for $1, insert your letter into this special envelope, address the envelope and write “Via Pony Express” in the bottom left hand corner. Then add a postage stamp and drop it into the Pony Express canister located at the Post Office.

You can also mail your letter from home. Place your letter in an envelope, address the envelope and write “Via Pony Express” in the bottom left hand corner, then add postage. Put that letter into another envelope, add postage and send it to:

Postmaster Holbrook, AZ 86025

Letters must be received by Jan. 27, 2023

Turkey Troubles!

Boomer Bear can’t seem to get his work done because of the turkeys. Count the turkeys in the picture.

Giving anda Time for Thanks!

Many families volunteer to help local food banks, to serve holiday meals or give money to help purchase food for needy families.

Think about some ways you and your family can help others this year.

KIDS...

Make a Turkey Glitter Globe!

What

s the Story?

Look at the picture above, and write what you think is happening with Boomer and all the turkeys.

Turkey reporter is onthe scene!

Now, read your new story to your family!

Instructions:

1. Trace a child’s hand on a piece of scrapbook or colorful construction paper and cut out. ou will need three to five hand prints per globe.

2. Add a glue dot at the bottom of one handprint. Place another handprint on top but tilted slightly to the right. Continue process to create fanned out handprints that look like turkey feathers.

3

. Take a clean baby food ar and glue the turkey feathers to the back of the ar.

4

. Add wiggle eyes to the front of the ar. Cut out a small triangle of yellow or orange paper for the beak and add to the ar.

5

. Open ar and add water and glitter. se glue on the outside rim of ar to seal it.

Karen Lock teaches first grade at Esperanza Elementary. She says she thinks she always wanted to be a teacher, even when she herself was in elementary school.

Lock really felt the calling to teach when she had kids of her own. ou might even say, Lock loves to unlock kids potential!

When I did stay home with my kids and her nieces and nephews , I loved watching them learn, Lock explains. She says she loved seeing the excitement on her kids’ faces. She still gets that feeling when she sees her students learn something new.

That’s one reason that Lock enoys teaching first grade, which she has done for eight years. I like to see their excitement about learning, she says. irst graders are ready and eager to learn.

Lock says she en oys teaching her students math and English, which were also her favorite sub ects in school. or first graders math is hard, it’s all new, she explains. Spelling tests can be funny, she notes, as kids sound out new words and sometimes come up with creative, and at times perplexing, letter combinations. Luckily,

Lock likes to do puzzles!

Lock was born in Michigan and was the youngest of six kids. She moved to Arizona when she was .

Lock graduated from NA with a bachelor’s degree in Education. She has a -year-old son and a daughter in middle school. uring her free time, Lock en oys going for walks, yoga, reading, and playing games and doing puzzles with her family.

She also en oys music. I like to sing and dance. All day I play music in the classroom, reports Lock.

Lock was nominated by student Lilah. In typical first-grade fashion, Lilah has a straight-forward and to the point message: My teacher is great because she teaches us.

Lock says she tries to let her students know that it’s okay to make a mistake. Even adults make mistakes, Lock notes, and kids should not be afraid to make mistakes. In fact, it is important that kids do make some mistakes.

By making a mistake, that is how they’re learning, says Lock.

Teacher name: School: istrict: our name: rade: Phone: email:

Why is your teacher great

Get the Scoop!

by CSO Sofia Wolf

My name is Sofia Wolf and I am a Chief Science Officer. Being a Chief Science Officer is an amazing experience! I started off in seventh grade knowing two things: I LOVE Science and I want to share my love of science and education with the world.

I was introduced to the Chief Science Officer pro gram and my eyes opened up to a whole new world. Since I started being a Chief Science Officer I have be come a member of the Leadership Council, I have met people that work for NASA, I have been to VIP technol ogy events, I have met all of the mayors of Arizona, held my own events, and I got to spread so much S.T.E.M. throughout my community!

As CSO’s we all get to create an action plan. An action plan is our way of taking action in our world to spread education and STEM in any way possible. My current action plan is doing science every week with the 60 first- through third-graders at my school. I also hold a Kids Night Out event at my local science center—the Science Vortex.

Another action plan of mine is to create STEM kits for the first- through third-grad ers at my school, and let me tell you it’s not as easy as it sounds!

The CSO program has helped me see a world that I have never been in before. I get to be a teacher and still learn at the same time! I get to see the people in my community’s faces light up when they see me do a science experiment with them or

hand them a S.T.E.M. kit. Everything in our lives is a lesson and the lesson I'm learning how much good we can do in our world if we come together as a team and not hope it happens, but make it happen!

CSOs (Chief Science Officers) are students in grades 6–12 who serve as STEM ambassadors in their schools and communities. The CSO Program is part of the SciTech Institute. Look in the pages of Bear Essential each month to find out what exciting STEM projects CSOs are working on, learning about and sharing.

CSO Sofia

CSO Sofia shares her love of science and STEM with otherstudents at her school.

• Mashed potatoes– You can use butter and cream to make creamy mashed potatoes! You can also top with sour cream for even more dairy.

• Macaroni and cheese–use your favorite cheeses to make a delicious mac and cheese! Some common cheeses used in a homemade mac are cheddar, Monterey jack, gruyere, and parmesan.

• Butter– Nothing better than melty butter on your dinner roll!

• Glass of milk– enjoy a nice cold glass of milk to wash down your Thanksgiving meal!

• Ice cream– add some ice cream to your pie or enjoy it on its own, yum!

dairy recipes and ideas online at: