Desert Mountain Carefree Cave Creek
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e d i c i n e A n t i - A g i n g M e d i c i n e H o r m o n e B a l a n c e W e i g h t L o s s I V T h e r a p y B i o E n e r g y T h e r a p y E x e r c i s e & F i t n e s s C o a c h i n g Fabio Almeida, MD, ABOIM, ABNM, ABOM Triple Board Certified Physician Founder | Medical Director Cindy Almeida, CNC Master Holistic, Sports & Obesity Nutritional Counselor Kelly Montana, CPT, TPI Fitness & Performance Expert T H E C E N T E R F O R I N T E G R A T I V E H E A L I N G & W E L L N E S S Civana Resort Spa Sanctuary | 37220 Mule Train Road, Carefree, AZ 85377 | drfabio com C a l l t o S c h e d u l e a n I n P e r s o n o r T e l e m e d i c i n e V i s i t 4 8 0 8 8 1 5 6 2 1 A D D L I F E T O Y O U R Y E A R S A N D Y E A R S T O Y O U R L I F E T H E C E N T E R F O R I N T E G R A T I V E H E A L I N G & W E L L N E S S I n a s l i t t l e a s 3 m o n t h s w e c a n h e l p y o u l o o k & f e el 1 0 y e a r s y o u n g e r , l o s e w e i g h t , p r e v e n t d i s e a s e , r e v e r s e c h r o n i c c o n d i t i o n s , r e l i e v e p a i n , i n c r e a s e f u n c t i o n , a n d i m p r o v e q u a l i t y o f l i f e ! D E S E R T M O U N T A I N ' S O N L Y L O C A L I N T E G R A T I V E P H Y S I C I A N
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S E R V I C E S & P R O G R A M S
2 imagesarizona.com May 2022
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Painting in furniture vignette “Song of the Wild” by Amy Lay 36” by 48”
10 imagesarizona.com May 2022 What's Inside?TABLE OF CONTENTS BEAT THE HEAT 58 NO PLACE LIKE HOME OPTIMA MCDOWELL MOUNTAIN VILLAGE 40 THE BEAUTY BETWEEN THE SPINES 46 18 COMMUNITY 6624RECIPE MISS CAVE CREEK
Bryan Black Francine Coles LoraleiCarlLazurekSchultz
Shelly Spence
Photographers
The
Images Arizona will temporarily pause publication this summer but its writers and I will remain hard at work as we prepare some extraordinary content for this fall. We will also be periodically posting small stories, podcasts and more on our newly designed website — imagesarizona.com — throughout the summer.
Images
Managing Editor
Two years ago last month, when the entire world essentially came to a sudden standstill as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, I described in this space the resilience of our incredible community. I wrote that I had no doubt that its talented individuals, innovative businesses and generous organizations would emerge from the uncharted waters that we had unfortunately found ourselves in stronger than ever.
Joseph J. Airdo Graphic Designer Meaghan Mitchell
Images Arizona P.O. Box 1416 Carefree, AZ. imagesarizona.com623-341-822185377
From the Publisher
Reproduction,
Publisher,ShellyCheers!Spence
Advertising Sales
Images Arizona magazine 623-341-8221shelly@imagesaz.com
Contributing Writers
As I look around today, I am so proud to see that I was right. Over this past year alone, our community’s artists have created some of their most imaginative work yet — and in ways that often expand far beyond the canvas or the stage. Our community’s stores and restaurants are busier than ever, with enhanced services that add value and convenience to our lives. And our community’s nonprofits have found new and improved ways to help those they serve.
While you wait for our next issue, continue doing what you have been doing — creating inspired works, supporting local businesses and helping one another thereby establishing a truly exceptional community that we are very privileged to showcase in this magazine. I cannot wait to see what you all will do over the next few months that we will get to feature this fall.
Shelly shelly@imagesaz.com623-341-8221Spence
Copyright
T
I also believe that, over the past year, Images Arizona has published some of its best stories to date — direct reflections of the community itself. However, there exist some byproducts of the pandemic that have created new challenges that we are all now having to navigate. As I wrote last month, one of those challenges is a paper shortage.
12 imagesarizona.com May 2022Publisher
Submission of news for community section should be in to shelly@imagesaz.com by the 5th of the month prior to publication. Arizona is published by ImagesAZ Inc. © 2022 by ImagesAZ, Inc. All rights reserved. in whole or part, without permission is prohibited. publisher is not responsible for the return of unsolicited material.
Joseph J. Airdo AmandaShannonFrancineChristmannColesSeverson
142 North Valley Management: The quality home watch service that comes with peace of mind—at no extra cost. 142northvalleymanagement.com • Tel: 925-336-1218 • Email: ivan@142northvalleymanagement.com 142 North Valley Management elevates home watch services to a level that aligns with your luxury custom home. With a focus on quality and craftsmanship, we visually inspect your unoccupied seasonal, vacation or second home weekly to ensure that no issues go unnoticed—with more than 20 items covered by our comprehensive interior/ exterior inspection checklist. Our team provides elite care for discerning clients who want the industry’s best residential home oversight. 142 North Valley Management will provide you with the confidence and peace of mind that your treasured home will receive the highest level of care. Let our eyes be your eyes while you are away from your investment. To arrange for a no-obligation assessment of your home watch needs, call us today at 925-336-1218, or ivan@142northvalleymanagement.com.email NORTH SCOTTSDALE’S HOME WATCH SPECIALISTS
Martin Blundell
Grace Renee Gallery
ARTISTThursday,RECEPTIONMay19
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With bold color and gestural brush strokes, Martin’s contemporary landscape art is captivating and unique.
14 imagesarizona.com May 2022 GRACE RENEE GALLERY MAY ARTIST
CONTEMPORARY LANDSCAPE ARTIST
Historic Spanish Village | 7212 E. Ho Hum Rd. # 7 | Carefree, AZ 85377 Hours: Tue.–Sat. 10 a.m.–5 p.m. By appointment Sun. and Mon.
15imagesarizona.com May 2022 CONTEMPORARY ART GALLERY CAREFREE ARIZONA LEFT PAGE : “Desert Sky” 36” by 48” ABOVE : “Storm over72”Sedona”by48”
Stacy Burk Photography and minister Karen Lynn met the couple at the bottom of the mountain and everyone rode to the top of the hill in a Jeep Rubicon. From there, they hiked a quarter mile to the cliff and Grenz-Roesch changed into her wedding dress behind a huge boulder.
Photo by Stacy Burk Photography
For the past four years, Scottsdale residents Dave Roesch and Shannon Grenz-Roesch have explored and hiked many Arizona trails with one another. During one such adventure two years ago, the then-dating couple discovered the Merry-Go-Round rock formation in Sedona and agreed that if they were to ever get married, it would be on that rock.
“The weather cleared long enough for our ceremony and some spectacular photos,” Grenz-Roesch says. “I had no idea the lightning was striking behind me in this epic photo. My veil blew out for a final picture and then blew off my head over the cliff, never to be seen again. It started raining and we all made a beeline for the Jeep. It was truly a fun, challenging adventure in gorgeous natural Arizona scenery!”
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“In August, he proposed to me while hiking in Bryce Canyon and, on October 5, we eloped in between rain storms on this beautiful-but-dangerous cliff,” Grenz-Roesch says. “It poured rain all day as I sat in a salon getting my hair and makeup done. The weather forecast called for a one-hour break between storms that afternoon and we decided to go for it.”
Writer Joseph J. Airdo
Photography by Nicole Walker
“I started making and selling personalized Christmas ornaments and donating 10% of my net profits
Enke began interviewing women across the Valley about their careers and publishing those interviews online, hoping to uplift, empower and prepare young women for financial independence and success by
As it turns out, The Wishful Project is just one of four businesses Enke has founded which, together, have generated more than 5,000 sales over the past few years.
“I actually changed all of my plans for the future,” says Enke, who last year won the title of Miss Tucson Desert Rose’s Outstanding Teen and went on to compete at the state level. “I remember the feeling of being around all of these amazing women and I just fell in love with it. I was originally wanting to go to college in Virginia. I had this whole plan lined out. But the spirit within the organization is amazing — so amazing that I changed my life for it.”
Little did she know that the decision would change the entire trajectory of her life.
North Phoenix resident Celine Enke recalls the moment she first set her mind on entering a local preliminary to Miss Arizona's Outstanding Teen
“Itcompetition.wasavery
sudden decision,” she explains. “I just told my mom, ‘Hey, I'm going to try this.’ And she was like, ‘OK, go for it.’”
The 19-year-old is now the very first young woman to ever hold the title of Miss Cave Creek. And with a social impact initiative of empowering other young women to achieve financial freedom and economic success, Enke is eager to see where the journey takes her.
“I have always been adamantly interested in selling and creating things,” says Enke, noting that in kindergarten she would sell paper fans to her classmates in kindergarten for play money. “Economics and finances have always been a big part of my life. One of the reasons that we moved to Arizona in the first place was for jobs because my parents did not have enough money to live in Colorado.”
to charity,” Enke says. “It has really turned into a tradition for me. Last year, I donated to Arizona Helping Hands, a local nonprofit organization that provides essential needs for children in foster care.”
In addition to helping her become more involved in the betterment of her community, The Wishful Project also provided Enke with a way to experience and practice entrepreneurship at a relatively young age, which is another one of her passions that is at the heart of her run as the inaugural Miss Cave Creek.
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N
WE ARE PROSPEROUS
“With this in mind, I was 100% confident that I had the resources and knowledge I needed to create a prosperous future for myself,” Enke says. “But the older I got, the more I realized that many of my friends and peers had absolutely no plans for their future. Many of them did not have a job, had zero plans for college and had no idea what they were going to do after high school. This blew my mind. I wanted to help these girls more than anything.”
Born in Colorado, Enke moved to Arizona when she was 10-years old. She homeschooled for three of her four years of high school with the intention of having more time to explore and focus on the things that interested her — one of which is The Wishful Project, a business that she started with her mother at age 17.
providing them with online resources and a clear path to economic “Financialprosperity.independence is so much more than having enough money to pay the bills,” Enke says. “What it really gets down to is freedom — freedom to spend time with your family and friends, freedom to explore your passions and pursue your dreams, freedom to live life to the Enkefullest.”callsthe project — which she would like to turn into a full-fledged nonprofit organization — We Are Prosperous.
Enke is so passionate about her project that she made it her social impact initiative while competing in a local preliminary to Miss Arizona — which she was inspired to do after winning Miss Tucson Desert Rose’s Outstanding Teen the year prior.
20 imagesarizona.com May 2022
Financial independence is so much more than having enough money to pay the bills. What it really gets down to is freedom — freedom to spend time with your family and friends, freedom to explore your passions and pursue your dreams, freedom to live life to the fullest. Celine Enke
“Every girl has a different path,” she acknowledges. “Not everyone needs to go to college, start a business or become a millionaire. We Are Prosperous is designed to help every young woman develop a plan for herself that will work best with her ideas for the future, and help her prepare for a future full of economic prosperity.”
WE ARE INSPIRATIONAL
“ youngfirstverytheisEnkeCelineresidentPhoenixNorthNineteen-year-oldCreek.CaveMissoftitletheholdevertowomanArizonaMissoftitlethewintolovecourse,ofwould,EnkeCelineCreekCaveMiss theHowever,competition.AmericaMissnationalthetoadvanceandsummerthis aswellaswriterabecometostudyingiswho—residentPhoenixNorth19-year-old won.alreadyhasshethoughasfeels—chemistcosmetica
The Miss Valley of the Sun Scholarship Organization is an official local preliminary to the Miss Arizona and Miss Arizona's Outstanding Teen competition. The organization crowns title-holders for Phoenix, North Phoenix, Scottsdale, Glendale and — beginning this year — Anthem and Cave Creek.
Cait Dempsey, executive director of the Miss Valley of the Sun Scholarship Organization, says that it is her mission to educate the future women leaders of Arizona about the Miss America program.
“The addition of the Miss Anthem and Miss Cave Creek titles was to spread more awareness about our program across the Valley
Previously referred to as platforms, social impact initiatives have in recent years become a much more prominent part of the Miss America competition and its preliminaries.
“Before, it was more about just wearing pretty dresses and things like that,” Enke says. “But now there is a much bigger emphasis on things beyond just physical looks. There is a huge emphasis on getting out into the community and making the world a better place. That is what really drew me into the Miss America competition and organization because it did not feel artificial. It felt very authentic to me.”
21imagesarizona.com May 2022
Since its inception in 1921, the historical and social significance of Miss America has evolved from a boardwalk beauty pageant to the world's largest provider of scholarship assistance for young women, awarding more than $45 million each year. Before one can compete to become Miss America, one must first win a title at the state level.
The bonds that Miss Cave Creek Celine Enke (second from left) has developed with her fellow title-holders make her more determined than ever to inspire other young women to become financially independent and reach their full potential, thereby truly making the world a better place.
22 imagesarizona.com May 2022
Celine Enke (third from left) has made many good friendships with her fellow titleholders since being crowned Miss Cave Creek.
“I want to represent all of those young women who are kind of unsure of themselves — because that is who I was just a few years ago. I used to have so much self-doubt. I did not know what I wanted to do. When I discovered the Miss Arizona and Miss America organizations, I feel like I stepped out of my comfort zone and stepped into who I was meant to be.”
Enke has developed with her fellow titleholders make her more determined than ever to inspire other young women to become financially independent and reach their full potential, thereby truly making the world a better place.
Instagram:missvalleyofthesun.comweareprosperous.com@misscavecreekaz
“I have even been able to get together with some of the girls outside of all the pageant stuff. We will go get lunch sometimes and just talk about things. I have made so many good friendships just by being a part of this Thoseorganization.”bondsthat
WE ARE SISTERS
Enke has also stepped into a sisterhood — something that she has never had before but always wanted.
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“Being crowned Miss Cave Creek has really been an experience and
Enke would, of course, love to win the title of Miss Arizona this summer and advance to the national Miss America competition. However, the 19-yearold North Phoenix resident — who is studying to become a writer as well as a cosmetic chemist — feels as though she has already won.
journey of personal growth for me,” she says. “One thing that I have really learned is that anything is possible.
“The sisterhood is just amazing,” she says. “That is something that I do not really have outside of the organization. I have all brothers and all of my cousins are boys. So that is something that I got through Miss Arizona.
“But having this title, I really want to get out into the community, attend different events and meet and talk with the people of Cave Creek,” she says. “That is something that I am really looking forward to doing. I am not just here to wear a crown and do all of that fun stuff. I want to become very involved within the community. I want to make a difference.”
Enke adds that, prior to being crowned Miss Cave Creek, she was somewhat introverted and tended to keep to herself.
Enke is thrilled to have been crowned the inaugural Miss Cave Creek and has already seen the positive impact that it has had on her life.
and to provide more opportunities for our titleholders to serve the great communities of Anthem and Cave Creek,” she explains. “We are so thrilled to have these titles and look forward to building relationships with local businesses and community members.”
“I feel like owning a title really pushes you out of your comfort zone,” she explains. “You have to really step into the role. You have to be an inspiration to the community and to the people around you.”
May 4–June 19
May 1
May 1
May 1
May 2
MusicaNova Orchestra will present the world premiere of Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4. $30+. 2 p.m. Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, 7380 E. Second St., Scottsdale. scottsdaleperformingarts.org
MUSICANOVA ORCHESTRA CONCERT
Orpheus Male Chorus of Phoenix will perform a concert of water-themed choral music — including sea shanties, rivers, weeping and baptism. See website for prices. 3 p.m. Camelback Bible Church, 3900 E. Stanford Drive, Paradise Valley. orpheus.org
TRAVELING WITH WATERCOLOR
Literate Foodie Club will host a discussion of Jose Andres’ “Vegetables Unleashed.” The club’s volunteer cooks will serve a sampling of foods related to the book. $10. 12:30 p.m. RSVP. Desert Foothills Library, 38443 N. Schoolhouse Road, Cave Creek. 480-488-2286; dfla.org
SPEM: SONGS OF HOPE AND LOVE
LITERATE FOODIE CLUB
YOU COME, TOO
May 1
COMMUNITY
SOMETHING ROTTEN
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Phoenix Chorale will perform Thomas Tallis’ 40-part Renaissance masterpiece “Spem in Alium.” Through bespoke staging concepts in each venue, the audience will experience total immersion in the sound of 40 solo voices, each singing a different line of music and all joining together to create a phenomenal sound. $42+; discounts available for students, seniors and active military. 3 p.m. Pinnacle Presbyterian Church, 25150 N. Pima Road, Scottsdale. phoenixchorale.org
The Phoenix Theatre Company will present its production of “Something Rotten,” a musical extravaganza about
WATER IN THE DESERT
May 3–24
Writer Joseph J. AirdoMay 2022
The Holland Center will welcome Larry Charles for a four-week workshop during which participants will learn techniques for capturing landscapes in fleeting sunlight; quick-sketch plein air pictures; lifelike characters; watercolor postcards; and travel journaling. $200. 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. RSVP. The Holland Center, 34250 N. 60th St., Building B, Scottsdale. 480-4881090; hollandcenter.org
Sonoran Desert Chorale will perform a concert of music that celebrates coming home, coming together, making a spiritual journey and spending time with loved ones. $18+; student and senior discounts available. 3 p.m. La Casa De Cristo Lutheran Church, 6300 E. Bell Road, Scottsdale. 480-305-4538; sonorandesertchorale.org
May 5–8
Ballet Arizona will pay homage to the legendary performer and music of Mexican singer and songwriter Juan Gabriel, who captured the hearts of millions worldwide and whose works have transcended generations. See website for price and times. Symphony Hall, 75 N. Second St., Phoenix. balletaz.org
NUNSENSE
May 6–15
Rosie’s House will host its annual ovation gala, featuring entertainment, a silent auction, dinner and a hosted bar. Rosie's House students will take center stage with impressive performances and stories of the life-changing impact of music. See website for price and time. The Camby, Autograph Collection, 2401 E. Camelback Road, Phoenix. 602-2528475; rosieshouse.org
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May 6–22
May 7
May 7 and 8
Arizona Masterworks Chorale will perform a concert of music by today’s most thrilling composers. $15+. Saturday 7:30 p.m. at Faith Lutheran Church, 801 E. Camelback Road, Phoenix. Sunday 3 p.m. at Ascension Lutheran Church, 7100 N. Mockingbird Lane, Paradise Valley. arizonamasterworks.com
Fountain Hills Theater will present its production of “Nunsense,” in which five nuns stage a variety show. See website for price and times. Fountain Hills Theater, 11445 N. Saguaro Blvd., Fountain Hills. 480-837-9661; fhtaz.org
conniving-but-clueless brothers who hatch a plan to cook up the next big stage hit. See website for price and times. The Phoenix Theatre Company, 1825 N. Central Ave., Phoenix. 602-254-2151; phoenixtheatre.com
JUAN GABRIEL
BUILDING A BRIGHT FUTURE
NEW WORKS: MADE IN AMERICA
Scottsdale Desert Stages Theatre will present its teen production of “Be More Chill” See website for price and times. Scottsdale Desert Stages Theatre at Fashion Square, 7014 E. Camelback Road, Suite 0586, Scottsdale. 480-4831664; desertstages.org
BE MORE CHILL
The Arizona Restaurant Association will host its annual event during which participating dining establishments will offer special three-course menus that showcase their culinary breadth and talent. $33+. See website for locations. arizonarestaurantweek.com
Writer Joseph J. Airdo
Desert Foothills Library will host a happy hour book club featuring Serena Valentino’s “Villains” series. Free. 5 p.m. RSVP. Mountain View Pub, 7033 E. Cave Creek Road, Cave Creek. dfla.org
May 12 and 24
May 13–15
May 10
GET LIT BOOK CLUB
May 13–Oct. 2
VISIONS ‘22
RETURN TO AFTERNOONDOWNTONTEAPARTY
SPRING RESTAURANTARIZONAWEEK
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May 14
Photo from Match Market + Bar by Timothy Fox Photography
The Holland Center will welcome Jim Sherbert for a lecture about the history of banking in America. $10. 4 p.m. The Holland Center, 34250 N. 60th St., Building B, Scottsdale. 480-488-1090; hollandcenter.org
BANKING IN AMERICA
Desert Foothills Library will host a book club featuring Li Cunxin’s “Mao’s Last Dancer.” Free. 10 a.m. RSVP. Desert Foothills Library, 38443 N. School House Road, Cave Creek. dfla.org
JURASSIC PARK IN CONCERT
May 10
The Phoenix Symphony orchestra will perform John Williams’ iconic score live to picture during a special screening of “Jurassic Park.” See website for price. Friday and Saturday 7:30 p.m.; Sunday 2 p.m. Symphony Hall, 75 N. Second St., Phoenix. phoenixsymphony.org
Scottsdale Arts Learning and Innovation will open a new exhibition showcasing the skills and inspiration exchanged between students and professional artists during art workshops throughout the school year. Free. Center Space Gallery at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, 7380 E. Second St., Scottsdale. scottsdaleartslearning.org
COMMUNITY
LIBRARY BOOK CLUB
English Rose Tea Room will host a celebratory afternoon tea in preparation of the release of the new major motion picture “Downton Abbey: A New Era.” Costumes are essential while “Downton Abbey”-inspired gifts, music and photo opportunities will be available. $55. 10 a.m.–5 p.m. RSVP. English Rose Tea Room, 201 Easy Street, Carefree. 480-488-4812; carefreetea.com
May 20–29
May 2022
CAREFREE ART NIGHT
Galleries throughout Carefree will host an event that offers art enthusiasts an opportunity to enjoy live music and refreshments as they stroll through the breathtaking shadows of Black Mountain in search of their next masterpiece. Free. 4–7 p.m. See website for participating galleries. visitcarefree.com
Musical Instrument Museum will celebrate the music of Hawaii with live performances and educational workshops. See website for schedule of events. $20; youth discounts available. 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Musical Instrument Museum, 4725 E. Mayo Blvd. Phoenix. 480-478-6000; mim.org
May 19
Ballet Arizona will perform a work with choreography that embraces and showcases the vast natural backdrop of the desert. See website for price. Tuesdays–Saturdays 8 p.m. Desert Botanical Garden, 1201 N. Galvin Parkway, Phoenix. balletaz.org
May 15
May 14 and 15
PHILHARMONICSCOTTSDALE CONCERT
AN EVENING AT DESERT BOTANICAL GARDEN
CELEBRATE MUSIC FROM HAWAII
Scottsdale Philharmonic will perform a concert of classical music. $15. 4 p.m. Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, 7380 E. Second St., Scottsdale. 480-499-8587, scottsdalephilharmonic.com
May 17–June 2
ON THE ROAD: ARIZONA TO WEST VIRGINIA
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May 14 and 15
In anticipation of its summer tour to the East Coast, Phoenix Boys Choir will perform a concert exploring the rich heritage and music of the American Southwest alongside several guest artists — including the Yellow Bird Apache Dancers and youth from the Tradiciones Dance Company. $20+. Saturday 7 p.m. at Mesa Arts Center, 1 E. Main St., Mesa; Sunday 3 p.m. at Willow Canyon High School, 17901 W. Lundberg St., Surprise. boyschoir.org
Fountain Hills Youth Theater will present its production of “Winnie the Pooh Kids.” $18; youth discounts available. See website for times. Fountain Hills Theater, 11445 N Saguaro Blvd., Fountain Hills. 480-837-9661; fhtaz.org
THEATER ARTS SUMMER CAMPS
May 29
May 31–June 24
Scottsdale Desert Stages Theatre will present its production of “Once Upon a Mattress.” See website for price and times. Scottsdale Desert Stages Theatre at Fashion Square, 7014 E. Camelback Road, Suite 0586, Scottsdale. 480-483-1664; desertstages.org
May 19–June 25
Writer Joseph J. Airdo
Six years after a tragic fire took the anchor building in the center of Cave Creek’s Frontier Town, Wade Hansen and Denise Goode have put their creative and culinary talent to work, introducing Hansen’s Cowboy BBQ. Rusty antique trucks and horse trailers have been renovated into bars and food service windows; the back porch houses several large outdoor grills and smokers; and the Frontier Town Stage plays host to a variety of talented musicians playing old school country music. 6245 E. Cave Creek Road, Cave hansenscowboybbq.comCreek.
Ballet Theatre of Phoenix will perform three short ballets to celebrate the season — including “Etudes,” “Enchanted Garden” and Paquita.” $30. 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Herberger Theatre Center, 222 E. Monroe Street, Phoenix. 602-9573364; ballettheatreofphx.org
COMMUNITY
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BALLET THEATRE OF PHOENIX SPRING RECITAL
ONCE UPON A MATTRESS
THE CURIOUS SAVAGE
June 3–12
WINNIE THE POOH KIDS
June 3–12
COWBOY BBQ OPENS AT FRONTIER TOWN
May 2022
Desert Foothills Theater will host a pair of one-week summer camps in which participants aged 7–13 will learn songs and dances from shows such as “Encanto” and “Moana.” The camps will also feature talent shows, dance parties, acting games, arts and crafts and special performances for parents. $595. 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Notre Dame Preparatory High School, 9701 E. Bell Road, Scottsdale. dftheater.org
Don Bluth Front Row Theatre will present its production of “The Curious Savage” — a heartwarming comedy about an elderly widow who inherits a fortune and befriends a lovely group of misfits after her stepchildren commit her to a sanatorium. $28+; youth, senior, student and military discounts available. Don Bluth Front Row Theatre, 8989 E. Via Linda, Suite 118, Scottsdale. 480314-0841; donbluthfrontrowtheatre.com
The Phoenix Theatre Company will present its production of “Always... Patsy Cline,” in which tales of musician Patsy Cline’s life on the road are told with downhome country humor and brought to vibrant life through her music. See website for price and times. The Phoenix Theatre Company, 1825 N. Central Ave., Phoenix. 602-2542151; phoenixtheatre.com
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June 11 and 12
Detour Company Theatre will present its production of “Once Upon a Mattress.” Free. 3 p.m. Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, 7380 E. Second St., scottsdaleperformingarts.orgScottsdale.
BOOK FESTIVAL
ROALD DAHL'S WILLY WONKA, JR.
Scottsdale Desert Stages Theatre will present its youth production of “Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka, Jr.” See website for price and times. Scottsdale Desert Stages Theatre at Fashion Square, 7014 E. Camelback Road, Suite 0586, Scottsdale. 480483-1664; desertstages.org
Fountain Hills Theater presents its production of “Urinetown: The Musical,” in which a water shortage has led to a government-enforced ban on private toilets, forcing citizens to use public amenities regulated by a single malevolent company. See website for price and times. Fountain Hills Theater, 11445 N. Saguaro Blvd., Fountain Hills. 480-837-9661; fhtaz.org
THE COLORADO RIVER AND THE GRAND CANYON
July 1–10
Detour Company Theatre will present its production of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” Free. 7 p.m. Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, 7380 E. Second St., scottsdaleperformingarts.orgScottsdale.
June 8–Aug. 7
June 14
URINETOWN: THE MUSICAL
June 10 and 11
THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM SPELLINGCOUNTYBEE
Desiring to connect personally with book lovers and to promote an appreciation of reading and the literary arts, a group of local authors will host an event during which attendees may meet and greet the community’s countless talented writers. The event will also feature a free raffle as well as an opportunity to purchase additional raffle tickets for gift baskets and other prizes while net proceeds from the festival will benefit local literacy programs. Free. 9 a.m.–2 p.m. The Holland Center, 34250 N. 60th St., desertfoothillsbookfestival.comScottsdale.
DESERT FOOTHILLS
ALWAYS... PATSY CLINE
The Holland Center will welcome Jim Sherbert for a lecture about the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon. $10. 4 p.m. The Holland Center, 34250 N. 60th St., Building B, Scottsdale. hollandcenter.org480-488-1090;
June 4
July 8–24
ONCE UPON A MATTRESS
July 29–Aug. 7
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Writer Joseph J. Airdo
GETS NEW LEADER
Keeler’s Neighborhood Steakhouse general manager Michael “Fish” Fischer has been appointed to head the Carefree Restaurant Association. Fischer has a rich background in the restaurant industry, including working at the Hard Rock Café in Florida before coming to Arizona in 1998 and working with legendary chefs such as Eddie Matney and Tomaso Maggiore and at the likes of the Arizona Biltmore Resort’s many restaurants. In 2012, he briefly left Arizona for an opportunity with Keeler Hospitality Group’s first restaurant — Spencer’s for Steaks and Chops. He eventually returned to Arizona to help the company open Keeler’s Neighborhood Steakhouse. carefreerestaurants.com
The Phoenix Theatre Company recently launched the final phase of its Centennial Capital Campaign in support of construction of a state-of-the-art, 500-seat theater along with the creation of an arts innovation and training wing to support its community service programs. Technical improvements will include a full fly loft, below-stage traps and a stage large enough to accommodate pre-Broadway show development. phoenixtheatre.com
Impact Museums and Lighthouse Immersive this spring debuted an immersive art installation featuring the works of Gustav Klimt. World-renowned master of digital art Massimiliano Siccardi brings patrons through Klimt’s evolution from thousands of handdrawn sketches to works from the pinnacle of his golden phase — such as the “The Woman in Gold,” “Tree of Life” and “The Kiss.” $39.99. Lighthouse ArtSpace Phoenix, 4301 N. Scottsdale Road, immersiveklimt.com.Scottsdale.
IMMERSIVE KLIMT ARRIVES IN SCOTTSDALE
COMMUNITY
THEATER ARTS SUMMER CAMPS
LITTLE WOMEN
THEATER ADVANCES TOWARD IMPROVEMENTS
Scottsdale Desert Stages Theatre will present its teen production of “Little Women.” See website for price and times. Scottsdale Desert Stages Theatre at Fashion Square, 7014 E. Camelback Road, Suite 0586, Scottsdale. 480483-1664; desertstages.org
July 11–29
Desert Foothills Theater will host a trio of one-week summer camps in which participants aged 7–13 will learn songs and dances from shows such as “Encanto,” “Frozen” and “Moana.” The camps will also feature talent shows, dance parties, acting games, arts and crafts and special performances for parents. $285. 9 a.m.–3 p.m. The Holland Center, 34250 N. 60th St., Scottsdale. dftheater.org
May 2022
RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION
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Photography Courtesy of the Desert Foothills Book Festival
Writer Joseph J. Airdo
Set for Saturday, June 4 at the Holland Center, the Desert Foothills Book Festival will begin with a storytime during which a local actress will read passages from children’s books written by some of the festival’s authors. The actress will return later during the event to read passages from adult fiction and nonfiction books.
If I can write something that inspires a child to keep reading, that is a good thing. Kids who read grow up to be adults who think. Caren Cantrell
That is especially true of books written by Arizona authors.
Among the many local authors who will be in attendance at the festival are Victorian historical mysteries writer Karen Odden and western, thriller and paranormal writer Dan Baldwin. The event will also feature a free raffle as well as an opportunity to purchase additional raffle tickets for gift baskets and other prizes while net proceeds from the festival will benefit local literacy programs.
There are few things on this planet that a good book cannot solve. From providing you with a source of entertainment or mental stimulation to widening your cultural perspective or palate, books possess just about everything you can possibly desire to know or experience.
Cantrell is the committee chairperson for the Desert Foothills Book Festival, a new free event conceived by a small group of local authors who desired to connect personally with book lovers and to promote an appreciation of reading and the literary arts.
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“Arizona authors are a vibrant, varied and caring bunch, eager to share their craft and enrich the lives of those in our community and beyond,” says Caren Cantrell, a children’s book author and Cave Creek resident. “Whether you are looking to escape into a world of fantasy and fiction or you want to know you are not alone in the problems you face, an Arizona author has what you need.”
“With the Tucson Book Festival to the south and the Payson and Prescott book festivals to the north, [we] felt the greater Phoenix, Scottsdale, Cave Creek and Carefree areas were missing a valuable opportunity to meet and engage with local authors from all genres,” Cantrell says.
CAREN CANTRELL
Children’s book author and Cave Creek resident Caren Cantrell is also the committee chairperson for the Desert Foothills Book Festival, a new free event conceived by a small group of local authors who desired to connect personally with book lovers and to promote an appreciation of reading and the literary arts.
CAREN CANTRELL
“Books became my friends — a world I could immerse myself in with no judgments or criticisms and no fear of failure,” she says. “They taught me compassion, empathy and different ways to interact with the world around me. I knew I wanted to be able to do that for other children.”
Cantrell spent 30 years as a banker, ending her career as an executive vice president in charge of operations with 600 employees in five states. Having never lost her love for books, she then founded 102nd Place — a publishing services company with which she helps other authors self-publish their books.
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Cantrell recalls being very shy as a child.
It was that role — and the role of grandmother — that convinced her to finally realize her earlier aspirations of authoring children’s books.
“Aside from the challenges I faced as a child, I feel the best teacher for me has been becoming a grandmother,” Cantrell says. “I have ten grandchildren and each one of them is unique and interesting. Watching them grow, listening to what they say and seeing them interacting with the world has given me so much more insight than any writing class ever Cantrellcould.”recently
that the effort is well worth it, though, especially if it ends up providing children with friends in her books — just as she had when she was a child — and the encouragement to keep reading.
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“A picture book has to have all of the same elements as any other story or novel and you have to do it in 500 words or less,” she explains. “You have to be concise and use a single descriptive word rather than a string of Cantrelladjectives.”believes
“I am very concerned with the low literacy rate among kids, particularly here in Arizona,” Cantrell says. “If I can write something that inspires a child to keep reading, that is a good thing. Kids who read grow up to be adults who think.”
expanded her repertoire to include a middle-grade science-fantasy novel, “The Sun Thief,” but most of her works are picture books for children such as “The Fastest Dinosaur” — which, the author says, are more challenging to write than you might think.
Since the Scottsdale resident’s first novel “A Lady in the Smoke” became a bestseller, she has written three more novels — “A Dangerous Duet,” “A Trace of Deceit” and “Down a Dark River.”
“I write historical mysteries and historical fiction,” Odden says. “Mysteries have life and death stakes and provide ample opportunity to explore themes of injustice, dysfunctional families, socioeconomic inequality, political upheaval and so on. Crimes and murders, in particular, are often driven by some combination of love, revenge, greed and fear, which occupy some of the darkest corners in the human heart.”
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KAREN ODDEN
KAREN ODDEN
Some kids who read also grow up to be adults to write — as is the case with Odden who, having previously worked in publishing, marketing and sales, made the leap to author in 2006.
Victorian historical mysteries writer and Scottsdale resident Karen Odden says that stories often drop into her lap as demanding attention “in the manner of an exuberant puppy or a ticking bomb.”
WhenNovember.Oddenis
not writing, she is hiking Arizona’s trails with friends — both the real ones and the characters she makes up in her mind.
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While the time and place of Odden’s novels are inspired by her experiences writing a college dissertation about Victorian literature and history and working at Christie’s auction house in New York, she says that the specific stories themselves often drop into her lap as demanding attention “in the manner of an exuberant puppy or a ticking bomb.”
For example, “Down a Dark River” was inspired by a nonfiction article Odden had read that got her thinking about how revenge is more complicated than the rather glib phrase “an eye for an eye” suggests.
Its sequel — “Under a Veiled Moon” — is scheduled for release this
“That is, I can explore contemporary racism by displacing it to 1870s London, where there was vicious anti-Irish sentiment in certain parts of England,” Odden explains.
Odden adds that setting her stories in 1870s London enables her to address contemporary issues at one remove.
“Revenge can be a form of communication, a last-ditch entreaty for empathy, a demand for understanding,” she explains. “So I wanted to write a book about revenge and the role empathy plays in bringing justice and mercy to our world. That book became ‘Down a Dark River.’”
Western, thriller and paranormal writer Dan Baldwin, a Mesa resident, was inspired to venture into writing novels while hiking at the foot of Weaver’s Needle and thinking that it would make for a great setting in a story.
“I am an avid hiker and camper with a love of nature and landscape photography,” says Baldwin, who is a Mesa resident. “I call the Superstition Mountains ‘Lil’ Danny’s Big Ol’ Sandbox’ because it is such a joy to explore. Several of my western novels employ specific places in the Superstitions and other Arizona locations.”
Tom Hopkins Institute in Scottsdale. He was inspired to venture into writing novels while hiking at the foot of Weaver’s Needle and thinking that it would make for a great setting in a story.
Experience Desert Foothills Book Festival Saturday, June 4 | 9 a.m.–2 p.m. | The Holland Center | 34250 N. 60th St., Scottsdale | Free desertfoothillsbookfestival.com
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Having spent much of his life working in advertising, Baldwin’s foray into writing books began when he was offered the opportunity to ghostwrite a sales book for
Baldwin says that he also enjoys playing with his “imaginary friends,” noting that, as a writer, he trusts completely in his own subconscious and the characters it creates.
DAN BALDWIN
DAN BALDWIN
“I am always surprised and sometimes startled to learn what my characters tell me,” Baldwin explains. “In a sense, I do not write; I transcribe.”
That is perhaps why Baldwin’s books — which include “The Ad Club: Quest for the Phoenix Award,” “Sparky and the Twins,” “A Stalking Death” and “The Paranormal Pendulum: Dowsing the Departed” — often transcend the very concept of genre.
“Truthfully, there is an ‘out there’ out there,” Baldwin says. “And I want to explore as much of it as the human mind can handle.”
“I am committed to writing my books my way and therefore write whatever genre I want to write,” Baldwin says. “For example, I began my current novel-in-progress, ‘Gabby Durango and His Rangy Texans,’ as something I thought would be a western. After writing the obligatory, ‘It was a dark and stormy night,’ I found Gabby and friends in 1919 Arizona making a stag film. Where this thing will end, I do not know, but it will be one hell of a fun ride.”
However, western novels are just the tip of the iceberg for Baldwin, who also writes thrillers, short story collections and paranormal nonfiction — the last of which has provided him an opportunity to “explore the furthest reaches of the human experience with other souls unafraid to break out of the box of conventional thinking.”
desertfoothillsbookfestival.com
VISIT IMAGESARIZONA.COM TO READ AN EXTENDED VERSION OF THIS STORY, FEATURING MORE INSIGHT INTO THE WORKS OF THESE THREE VERSIONEXTENDEDAUTHORS.
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Writer Amanda Christmann Photography Courtesy of Optima
Innovators like award-winning architects David C. Hovey and his son, David Hovey, Jr., are answering
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Every generation leaves its mark on our collective culture. Technology, world events and education mold our views of the world and our place within it, shaping our values and defining what is — and what is not — important in life.
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Their latest proposal, Optima McDowell Mountain Village, is a stunning residential and commercial development they hope to build on what is now a dusty vacant lot on the south side of Loop 101 near Mayo Avenue and Scottsdale Road on the cusp of Scottsdale Airpark.
It only takes a short drive through the North Valley to realize that a Pandora’s box of development has been opened wide. The estimated 2,000 jobs being created by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., and 3,000 jobs being created by Intel expansion are leading many to believe that the Valley of the Sun is the next Silicon Valley.
that call, and they’re doing it with the kind of thought and foresight needed to preserve the lifestyles and beauty that bring people here in the first place.
Other industries are hopping aboard too, bringing tax dollars, jobs and an influx of people — all of whom need things to do, places to eat and somewhere desirable to Developmentlive.is not going to stop. The question is, “How do we control it?”
Because of this, the Valley has become one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States.
The proposed development would eventually consist of six 11-story buildings with up to 1,500 condominiums and apartments, as well as 31,000 square feet of commercial space that can be used for amenities such as a high-end restaurant, a café and/or
The site is currently zoned for commercial use, but rather than building another car dealership or strip mall, Optima’s team envisions a dynamic and thriving community interconnected to the greater Scottsdale community by bicycle trails, public and open spaces and a community amphitheater for concerts, performing arts and other fun events.
“Optima has developed award-winning Arizona projects,” Hovey says. “We believe our proposal for Optima McDowell Mountain Village will enhance Scottsdale and stimulate healthy sustainable growth.”
Those values are undergoing a monumental shift. We are perhaps the first generation to honestly ask ourselves if we are really living the lives we want to live, and to trade convention for happiness.
Experiences have become a top priority. From how we work to how we vacation and where we choose to live, we no longer want to live to work; we want to work to live — and where we live matters.
Even if you don’t know the Hovey name, you likely know their work. Optima Biltmore Towers, Optima Camelview Village, Optima Sonoran Village and Optima Kierland are all beautiful examples that there is a viable intersection between sustainability, lifestylebased communities and visually attractive spaces. Arguably, there is not a neighborhood where Optima has built that has not been enhanced by their projects.
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coffee bar, office suites, a bicycle shop, a boutique spa or wellness center, schools or perhaps a bank.
WHAT WILL OPTIMA OFFER?
As bucolic as the outdoor areas will be, it’s the structures themselves that will be the stars of the show.
Upstairs, fitness centers that look out over the courtyard will include basketball courts, strength and aerobic training equipment, a yoga studio and locker rooms.
Any good architect knows that buildings are meaningless if they don’t enhance the lives of the people who live and work in them, and Optima intends to add value in spades.
“Optima McDowell Mountain Village provides a live, work, play environment that will appeal to a wide range of buyers and renters drawn to the architecture, open space, active lifestyle, sustainable design, health-based, amenity-rich community and service offerings, as well as its premier Scottsdale location,” Hovey says.
From the bottom up, glass-enclosed 15-foot groundfloor levels greet residents, and cascading plants and open spaces provide a relaxing respite from the summer sun. Ground floors will also hold management offices and business centers with conference rooms.
Outdoor plans for the encompassing land include a comfortable balance of indigenous plants and trees, and also children’s play areas, health and wellness features, a sculptural fountain, a putting green and seating and lounge areas complete with fire pits where people can congregate and relax. A 14-foot-wide bike and pedestrian path will wind through the property and connect to the City of Scottsdale Bicycle Master Plan of trails and routes.
The buildings are designed in Optima’s signature contemporary, eco-conscious style, with complex elevations that step in and out to emulate the shape of the McDowell Mountains that it overlooks. Private terraces with stunning waterfalls of greenery, also an Optima signature, blur the line between indoors and out.
All parking will be below-ground, reducing the environmental footprint on the 21.88-acre parcel and leaving room for a 10-acre public park and 80% total open space — a significant feat, but not unusual for Optima, whose team has won multiple awards for sustainable design.
David
We have designed the buildings to emulate the colors of the desert with bronze glass, railings, planters and privacy screens made of Cor-ten steel which weathers over time to warm brown and desert tones. C. Hovey
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Some have relocated because remote work options that opened up in
“Optima McDowell Mountain Village will draw the interest of residents interested in simplifying their lives without sacrificing quality,” explains Hovey, adding that residents have the option of opting into concierge services to bring convenience literally to their doors.
WHO WILL LIVE AT OPTIMA MOUNTAINMCDOWELLVILLAGE?
recent years have provided workers the option to live anywhere they want — and Optima Kierland is a place people want to live. Others have come in with the corporation boom that’s bursting in the Valley. Still, others have traded home ownership for the lower maintenance and greater convenience that Optima offers.
At the top, rooftop decks feature 50-meter Olympic-sized swimming pools surrounded by chaise lounges, running tracks that will follow the perimeter of the roofs, locker rooms, outdoor fireplaces, barbecues, seating areas, perimeter plantings and sheltering arbors covered with vines. These will provide spectacular views of the McDowell Mountains to the east, beautiful sunsets to the west, Pinnacle Peak to the north and Camelback Mountain to the south.
Though time will tell, Optima planners expect the demographics of Optima McDowell Mountain Village to resemble those of its sister, Optima Kierland. Located just 2.5 miles to the south of the proposed McDowell Mountain site, residents there range in age from 25 years to 75 years and older. They are singles, couples, empty nesters, families and retirees.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Homes will range in size from approximately 675 square feet for a studio to 2,221 square feet for a three-bedroom option — and like the rest of the plan, they will be comfortable and aesthetically attractive. Also, because of Optima’s vertical integration, buyers may combine homes and fully customize.
At Optima Kierland, there were several buyers who combined upwards of three homes.
“We have designed the buildings to emulate the colors of the desert with bronze glass, railings, planters and privacy screens made of Cor-ten steel which weathers over time to warm brown and desert tones,” Hovey adds.
Optima has repeatedly addressed these issues with creativity and innovation that helps to build quality industries, happy people, and communities that enhance our area. After all, there is no place like home, especially when “home” is our much-loved Sonoran Desert.
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Facebook:optima.inc @optimainc Instagram: @optimainc
It is no secret that Scottsdale needs housing, but not at the cost of the environment or of the lifestyle that people come here to enjoy.
Optima has put together a proposal for Scottsdale’s Design Review Board, Planning Commission and Airport Review Board, which it must pass through because it is in Scottsdale Airpark. It must also gain Scottsdale City Council approval. Optima President David Hovey, Jr. hopes to have that process completed by late summer/early fall.
Writer Joseph J. Airdo // Photography by Veronika Countryman
That contrast between danger and beauty encourages us to view the world around us — including people — with greater empathy and to understand that everything and everyone possesses qualities that exist on both ends of the spectrum. After all, as singer-songwriter Bret Michaels would tell you, every rose has its thorn.
Photographer Veronika Countryman is well aware of this, expertly capturing on camera one of the best possible examples of this phenomenon — cactus blossoms.
But the complete opposite is also true. And therein often lies the greatest treasures — and an even more important life lesson that lies adjacent to the one about never judging a book by its cover: It is when you learn to look for beauty between the spines that you are most richly rewarded.
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One of our earliest lessons in life is that we should never judge a book by its cover. That idiom is especially true here in Arizona when it comes to our state’s natural environment and all of the incredibly fascinating things of which it is comprised. At first glance, something may appear to be quite intimidating. But with the right perspective, these foreboding things are often responsible for the most beauty.
“Cactuses have a reputation of being inhospitable and painful,” Countryman says. “But the beauty that they put out in these blossoms is such a contrast to that. There are other flowers out there too. And I like them all. But there is just something about cactus flowers that is unique in that way.”
May offers prime time viewing of these remarkable miracles of our natural world, with saguaros, cholla, barrel cactuses and more suddenly showcasing some of the most colorful and dynamic flowers that you have ever seen. The prickly needles that surround them provide the perfect protection as well as a fair warning to the beholder: You may look but do not dare touch.
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A lot of people do not see the [cactus flowers] that bloom at night. If you are out in the desert around Midnight, it is really cool. By the time the morning heat comes, which can be pretty substantial pretty early, they are already wilted. Veronika Countryman
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Cactuses have a reputation of being inhospitable and painful. But the beauty that they put out in these blossoms is such a contrast to that. There are other flowers out there too. And I like them all. But there is just something about cactus flowers that is unique in that way. Veronika Countryman
Veronika
York, one of Countryman’s most vivid memories from youth is of her father taking photos and putting together albums.
Instagram:veronika-countryman.pixels.com@azveronika
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Countryman recalls the excitement that she had when, at six years old, her father let her hold his Agfa camera to take his picture on the front step of their house. In her early teens, she acquired her own Kodak Brownie camera, which she took out on rolling country bicycle rides to snap photos of wildflowers against old barns and gravestones.
About the Photographer
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Veronika Countryman’s Hungarian refugee parents brought with them to the United States only a few treasures — one of them being a Borncamera.inNew
Many cactus flowers bloom in April and May. You can see cholla, barrel cactus and prickly pears bloom into the summer, as well. Countryman
“He was a very visual person,” Countryman says. “I have always considered myself to be a visual person, as well, so I think that I inherited that trait from him.”
“I lived in a somewhat rural area and, as I would be out just riding around through neighborhoods or country roads, those were the kinds of things that caught my eye,” explains Countryman, noting that she saw the contrast of something so bright and colorful against something old and drab as being beautiful, organic and rustic. “To this day, I can still see those images in my mind, even though the pictures are long gone.”
Countryman moved to Arizona with her husband in 1978. The Mesa resident puts her college education in clinical laboratory technology to good use with a part-time job in a laboratory at a hospital but continues to enjoy photography as a hobby as often as possible.
“I consider it a privilege to share my captures and interpretations, to inspire you to enhance your world with the rich splendor of creation,” Countryman says. “I confess that on a rare occasion I have thought this passion might wane, but I am regularly reignited by the ravishing beauty here in Arizona where there is always a new treat for the eyes and the soul.”
51imagesarizona.com May 2022 Air Conditioning • Plumbing • Water Treatment Call to Schedule Complimentarya Estimate 480.463.1696 • Extends your A/C system’s Lifespan • Today’s Necessity to Lower Utility Bills all Year Long • Stay Cooler in the Summer and Stay Warmer in the Winter • Limited Lifetime Guarantee on homes fully Reinsulated Benefits of a Properly Insulated Home ProSkill Now InsulationOffersThe cholla cactus has a really bad reputation. I often see people buy a plot of land to build a house on and one of the very first things that they do is clear out all of the cholla. But cholla put out a lot of beauty. During the summer, they bloom in the evening around dinnertime and into the night.. Veronika Countryman “
Every stage production is the revelation of story — a new interpretation brought forth by the unique talents of a particular assemblage of performers.
Artistic director LaRiche Lamar, who is classically trained in opera performance and also directs the children’s Gospel Troupe at Paradise Valley United Methodist Church, first began her time at Detour Company Theatre as an audience member but was immediately compelled to become more involved. She saw how the organization
“I didn’t have a lot of experience with the disability community and so I came in with few preconceived
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meets a real need for adult programming that respects and develops the whole person.
Theater Without Limits Detour Company Theatre
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Writer Shannon Severson // Photography Courtesy of Detour Company Theatre
“I’ve been in performance my entire life,” Lamar says. “I’ve never seen accessibility in this way — where the artist is at the center of the production. It’s an authentic, true theatrical production with the same impact the arts in general have on typically-abled persons. Those same benefits are there for people with disabilities.
Lamar says that it all comes down to representation and opportunity, not a focus on diagnosis.
At Detour Company Theatre, the performers just happen to be adults with intellectual, developmental and physical disabilities who are dedicated to their craft and to sharing the joy of theater with the community.
Lastly, there is The Academy — a series of workshops and classes with a goal to build skills through vocal, creative drama workshops in acting, singing and movement.
“One of the really cool things we also have is a ‘Big Discussions Club,’” Lamar says. “One of the challenges this population faces is that it’s assumed they can’t talk about big topics. We have discussions about
Lamar oversees the four major programs at Detour Company Theatre, as well as the business side of this nonprofit that has been a community staple for over 20 years. There are 35–40 actors and 20 coaches who currently participate.
The Mainstage program produces at least two major family-friendly Broadway shows each season. Mainstage After Dark produces shows with more mature subject matter and themes. Boots Camp is a beginning workshop for new participants that covers acting, dancing and singing and each session ends with a showcase of excerpts from a particular musical.
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“Our current Boots Camp will feature excerpts from Beauty and the Beast,” Lamar explains. “We have very long rehearsal processes to make sure everyone has time to learn the music, lines, the blocking, the movements. Some artists start off timid, shy — they’re uncomfortable in conversations, but then they get a script in front of them and find their voice.”
notions about the artists’ limitations. As a result, I’m able to allow the artists to discover any limitations for themselves, and then can simply work to accommodate those limitations.”
LaRiche Lamar: Artistic director LaRiche Lamar first began her time at Detour Company Theatre as an audience member but was immediately compelled to become more involved.
Detour Company Theatre is about eliminating obstacles that systemically prevent marginalized people from participating and purposely creating a space to perform in. It allows our actors to have a place to be completely themselves. LaRiche Lamar
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“A big issue in the community is the idea of ‘infantilization’ — the assumption that someone will stay at a low grade level,” Lamar says. “That’s simply not true. Even if someone isn’t developing from an academic standpoint, we all continue to grow and mature socially, psychologically and physically.”
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The actors themselves have found friendships, romance and creative collaboration, as well as developing their own talents and establishing their own independent perspectives on the arts, themselves and their place in the world — things that everyone, regardless of ability,
the themes in our shows, what it means to be an actor and how to portray a character. One of our prominent artists was just discussing ‘inheriting a character’ versus ‘inhabiting a character.’ We have people at varying levels, but through examples, I find that most can grasp these Lamarconcepts.”emphasizes that a guiding principle of Detour Company Theatre is a focus on the fact that the participants are adults and the goal is to create a space where they can feel respected in that way.
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Mapstead says that stepping out of her comfort zone meant sharing who she is and what means the most to her. She’s a volunteer at the Phoenix Herpetological Society, where she works with crocodiles and snakes, has adopted a red tail boa constrictor of her own and is a voracious reader of books about theater to learn a range of perspectives on acting, directing and composing.
LJ La Vancil is a musician who came to Detour Company Theatre in 2018 without acting experience, but went on to starring roles, playing the title character in “Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka” this past January. He was discovered by a production crew who cast him in police training videos that teach officers how to interact with people who have Autism.
Leah Mapstead has been with Detour Company Theatre for 13 years, but she began acting when she was about 6 years old. She says that the program has given her more self-confidence and she’s used that to advocate for herself and for her friends. She is an active contributor to the Big Ideas Club.
needs in order to thrive and grow in life. For some, participation has helped them expand their own careers and advocacy.
“Being part of Detour Company Theatre has given me the chance to show the world that people with disabilities are normal like anyone else,” Mapstead says. “We don’t want pity or for people to feel sorry for us. We want to be treated equally. With the right approach and done in the right way, people with disabilities can do equally as much as people without disabilities.”
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LJ La Vancil is a musician who came to Detour Company Theatre in 2018 without acting experience, but went on to starring roles, playing the title character in “Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka” this past January.
Leah Mapstead has been with Detour Company Theatre for 13 years, but she began acting when she was about 6 years old. She says that the program has given her more self-confidence and she’s used that to advocate for herself and for her friends.
Davina Watson has been acting since she was five years old. She comes from a family of actors and singers and is starring as Princess Winifred in Detour Company Theatre’s production of “Once Upon a Mattress” June 11 and 12 at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts.
“It was my first acting break and I wasn’t nervous,” La Vancil reveals. “I did a lot of plays after that and I started writing and recording music. The first song I released is ‘Autism Music,’ a dance pop-synth song. My first solo album is called ‘Autism Star’ and I produced it all on my own. I want to bring this opportunity and open it up to people in the Autism spectrum community to thrive and express themselves with music. I’m always looking forward to a brighter future.”
La Vancil does voiceover work, sketch comedy and his own live productions. He says that being part of Detour Company Theatre ignited a spark within him.
“For disabled people [at Detour Company Theatre], everyone can be a star,” Watson says. “Every single one of us can be a star, as well as being one together. It’s about being accepted.”
Mapstead and La Vancil concur. They note that the friends they’ve met in acting have become a family where everyone can bring out their best. They credit their fellow participants and the coaches and leaders who guide them with fostering a spirit of collaboration that helps everyone feel like they don’t have to go it alone.
“I think everyone should be welcomed and not feel ashamed of who they are,” La Vancil says. “Sometimes you have to learn how to survive from where you’re at and that it’s OK to fail. Failing is not a person, it’s an event that can happen. This is why the most important thing is to let people have this opportunity.
“They have to start and practice until the right track comes to mind. They don’t want to feel lost in the world. I think that [those who] haven’t experienced [disability]
Davina Watson has been acting since she was five years old. She comes from a family of actors and singers and is starring as Princess Winifred in Detour Company Theatre’s production of “Once Upon a Mattress” June 11 and 12 at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts. She says that she’s met so many friends — including her longtime boyfriend — through her participation with the company.
Lamar says that she is building connections with other theaters in the area. She doesn’t want Detour Company Theatre to operate in a silo; instead it should be something people see all the time.
June 10 and 11 | 7 p.m.
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The growing team making this happen alongside her and these talented actors is a community of support accessibility consultants, disability consultants and coaches. They are there to run lines, review blocking and give reminder prompts. A few of the actors are moving into leadership roles including teaching. Lamar works to eliminate barriers for anyone who wants to be involved.
“Detour Company Theatre is about eliminating obstacles that systemically prevent marginalized people from participating and purposely creating a space to perform in,” Lamar says. “It allows our actors to have a place to be completely themselves. What is within our doors is wholly and totally theirs.”
Experience
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Once Upon a Mattress
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
need to have some compassion and accept who we are as human beings existing in our human populations.”
7380 E. Second St., Scottsdale | Free scottsdaleperformingarts.org
Instagram:detourcompanytheatre.org@detourcompanytheatre
June 11 and 12 | 3 p.m.
Klimt, who is probably most well-known for his “Golden Phase” in which he used gold leaf in “The Kiss.”
IMMERSIVE ART
At Immersive Klimt: Revolution, the iconic artist’s work is put into historical perspective as you are surrounded by projected images and accompanying music from both Klimt’s era and more recent years, that is a completely enveloping — and even meditative — experience.
There’s no doubt that Phoenix has a reputation for fantastic outdoor experiences... for most of the year. However, when our temperatures grow infernal, we tend to hunker down indoors or get out of town entirely.
Writer Shannon Severson
Descend from the street level in the heart of Scottsdale and enter the world of Viennese modernist painter Gustav
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Klimt was a leader of the Viennese secession that transformed European arts culture in the late 19th century. Despite the traumatic loss of his father and brother and the raging of the first world war, the artist continued to produce and evolve in his subject matter and use of color.
Beat the Heat
FeverofCourtesyPhoto//ConcertsCandlelight
But there’s no need for seasonal hibernation or an allout escape if you’re looking for some one-of-a-kind entertainment this summer. The buzz word of the moment is “immersion,” with indoor experiences that offer a feast for the eyes, ears and mind — while simultaneously providing a super simple way to beat the heat.
“Watching a crowd wave a candle in the air as they sing along to ‘We are the Champions’ or seeing a little girl dance with her mom to ‘Under the Sea’ with background animal noises at the Phoenix Zoo are things you’ll only catch at a Candlelight Concert,” Jad adds.
Leslie Jensen
If you close your eyes, music can transport you to another time and place, stirring emotions and memories as the melody ebbs and flows. When you open your eyes at a Candlelight Concert, you’re also in a beautiful space.
Richard Ouzounian, creative consultant for Lighthouse Immersive — which produces immersive experiences with Impact Museums for Klimt and Vincent Van Gogh in the same Lighthouse Artspace — says the motto for the show is, “Surreal. Seductive. Sublime.”
MOOD-LIT MUSIC
Farm Bureau Property & Casualty Insurance Company,* Western Agricultural Insurance Company,* Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company*/West Des Moines, IA. *Company providers of Farm Bureau Financial Services. PR-LI-A (6-21)
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More than 31,000 people have attended the experience in venues all over the Valley.
This May, The Children’s Museum of Phoenix will be the site of tributes to contemporary artists Taylor Swift and Queen by the Listeso String Quartet, as well as the music of pop sensation Ed Sheerhan. At The Phoenix Art Museum, patrons have their choice of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons or romantic jazz performances featuring Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole and more. Several of these artists will be featured in June performances indoors and outdoors at Butterfly Wonderland.
Feverup communications specialist Farah Jad says that Candlelight Concerts provide classical music fans an opportunity to be reminded of why they fell in love with the genre and music fans of all genres an opportunity to hear some of their favorite songs in a new way.
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“Klimt’s often surreal work kept bending the boundaries of reality in a manner made for this kind of all-encompassing show,” Ouzounian says. “His seductive works like ‘The Kiss’ acquire even more power when blown up to 50 times their original size. And the way that images, sound and color all unite wind up giving the viewer a truly sublime experience.”
Phoenix is one of 80 worldwide cities to host performances of this type in churches, libraries, mansions and museums. Classical music lovers, jazz fans and pop aficionados alike will probably find a performance that suits their taste.
6554 E. Cave Creek Rd., Ste 10 Cave Creek, AgentLeslieJensen.com480.575.0710AZ
Peace of mind for life.
Phoenix is just the second city to launch Artopia: The Immersive Art Experience after the innovative and collaborative exhibition’s successful opening in Chicago last year.
Those four exciting experiences are merely the tip of the iceberg, though, when it comes to the infinite number of ways that you can have fun while simultaneously beating the heat this summer.
One of Wonderspaces’ newest installations is “The Immigrant” by Perceptual Art pioneer Michael Murphy — a 3D halftone sculpture created from 2,300 wooden balls that, when viewed from a distance, reveal
Immersive Klimt: Revolution Photo Courtesy of Immersive Klimt: Revolution
Merging art and technology, visitors take a self-guided tour through a brightly-colored, creative world filled with large-scale light installations, massive sculptures and murals by street artists from Arizona and across the country. Projection mapping and sound reactive LEDs, including a healing Solfeggio frequency dome, draw visitors to participate in the art itself.
the image of the artist’s partner. Another is “Radiance (Infinity Box No. 6)” by Matt Elson — a two-person experience where the view from the arranged windows changes with your position.
The “Friends” Experience // Photo by Superfly X
FRIENDS, GENIES AND MORE
Meanwhile, a waitlist is forming for Genie’s Secret Bazaar: An Exploratory Magical Adventure — an experiential event set to debut in June at a secret venue. Visitors will explore a space modeled after the classic Arabian Nights tale of “Aladdin and the Magic Lamp.”
TECHNOLOGY AND WONDER
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Meanwhile, Wonderspaces — a 16,000-square-foot art venue inside Scottsdale Fashion Square — has, over the last three years, featured 60 different artists from all over the world. The installations are visually impactful and often interactive, all meant to make the viewer think, discuss and feel a sense of wonder.
Artopia: The Immersive Art Experience // Photo Courtesy of Fever
The “Friends” Experience will wrap up its run May 8 in Phoenix after having been a huge hit for both casual and superfans of the iconic 90s sitcom. Visitors walk through 12 rooms filled with set recreations, history and fun facts about the show. There are many photo opportunities and, just like the characters, everyone ultimately winds up at the Central Perk coffee shop with the legendary orange couch.
$24;
Paradise
See website for dates and hours
Secret Bazaar: An Exploratory Magical Adventure
Candlelight
Immersive Klimt: Revolution
See website for times Village Gateway 10845 N. Tatum Blvd., Phoenix | friendstheexperience.com
Immersive Klimt: Revolution
Genie’s
The “Friends”
$29+
See website for dates and hours
See website for dates, hours and location
61imagesarizona.com May 2022 Experience
See website for dates, times and locations $30+ | candlelightexperience.com
See website for dates and hours
7014
Lighthouse Artspace
Artopia:
Through
rooms
Scottsdale Fashion Square E. Camelback Road, Scottsdale youth, student, senior, teacher, military and healthcare worker discounts available wonderspaces.com
Visit Images Arizona’s website — imagesarizona.com — to discover additional air-conditioned adventures all summer long.
The Immersive Art Experience
Artopia 313 W. Apache St., Phoenix | artopiaexperience.com
$30.50+
where magicians, games, fortune tellers and other performers will entertain. Guests will also be able to purchase exotic food and drinks from around the world.
Concerts
Wonderspaces
4301 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale $35+ | immersiveklimt.com
May 8
Experience
$30+ | Doorsgeniessecretbazaar.comopentorevealsecret
“We have always been very active in the horse community,” Tina says. “We started out building custom gear out of necessity and that eventually turned into a storefront that has just gotten bigger and bigger. Today, we service the community through everything from completing small repairs to building custom saddles.”
“We are very happy to have had the privilege to serve and be a part of this community for the past 20 years,” Tina says.
She, Andy and their two sons build and repair everything themselves, committed to quality and craftsmanship from start to finish.
But Cave Creek Saddlery’s customers are always happy with their work — so much so that many part-time residents from Canada and beyond even save their cowboy gear to be repaired exclusively by Tina, Andy and apprentice Tyler Dimas and Elisabeth Cunningham.
STAGECOACHVillage
Cave Creek Saddlery
“Nothing is outsourced,” Tina adds. “We do all of our work right here ourselves. Everything is done by hand. We do not cut corners. And if you are ever not happy with our work, we will make it right.”
Pictured left to right: Tyler Dimas, Andy Incardona, Tina Incardona and Elisabeth Cunningham
Tina Incardona, who was born and raised in Cave Creek, is extraordinarily proud of what she and her husband, Andy Incardona — a working ranch cowboy who is also a longtime Cave Creek resident — have built over the past two decades.
Proudly celebrating 20 years of serving the community, Cave Creek Saddlery is a family-owned and operated business that has kept the area’s cowboys riding in style, safety and comfort since 2002.
62 imagesarizona.com May 2022 PStagecoachVillage7100E.CaveCreek Road #135 Cave Creek, 623-258-0207AZ
| 7100 E.
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Stagecoach Village in Cave Creek Cave Creek
Road | stagecoachvillagecc.com
Writer Joseph J. Airdo
DINING GUIDEGiordano's Trattoria Romana
Originally from New York City, Adele Giordano arrived in Arizona more than 18 years ago and saw an opportunity to bring a piece of her hometown and cultural heritage to the town of Carefree. Authentically capturing the feel and ambience of a little Italian eatery in New York, Giordano’s Trattoria Romana has become a true cornerstone of the community.
Giordano adds that she loves meeting her guests and getting to know each and every one of them. She also loves being able to share with them a tantalizing taste of the Italian flavors with which she grew up — such as osso buco milanese, featuring a succulent veal shank in red wine sauce with diced vegetables over fettuccine, and veal gorgonzola, prepared in a delectable cream sauce with mushrooms over capellini.
Giordano strives for a casual-yet-classy atmosphere and achieves exactly that with a focus on providing each and every guest an exceptionally personalized experience that is comfortable, relaxed and memorable. Reservations are, therefore, highly recommended.
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O
“We have so many repeat customers,” says Giordano, emphasizing her gratitude to the community for supporting her restaurant throughout the pandemic. “We have received so much support. We would have never survived without the help and support of all of the wonderful people who dine with us.”
“We have been known as the best-kept secret in Carefree, but we are not such a secret anymore,” says Giordano, who is grateful that the community appreciates the congenial service and delicious food that she, her chef and her staff are so incredibly proud to provide.
Giordano’s Trattoria Romana 7275 E. Easy St., Carefree giordanostrattoriaromana.com480-595-0233
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1 cup fresh peas (may substitute thawed frozen peas)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil parts only, sliced 1/4-inch thick)
Deglaze the skillet with wine, scraping up any brown bits stuck to the bottom with a wooden spoon. Cook until the liquid has almost completely evaporated, about 3 minutes. Add broth and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat and maintain a slow simmer for 10 minutes.
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
Writer and Photographer Francine thefancypantskitchen.comColes
About 15 minutes prior to the end of roasting the chicken, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add leeks and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add lemon zest and bay leaves and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 20 seconds.
3 large leeks (white and pale green
Directions:
1 tablespoon granulated garlic 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1/4 cup vegetable oil
In a medium bowl, combine garlic, paprika, cayenne and 1-1/2 teaspoon salt. Rub one tablespoon of the spice mixture under the skin of the chicken thighs, making sure to leave the skin attached.
RECIPEItisverydifficultto make crispy chicken thighs without searing them on the cooktop and making a huge-splatter mess, right? Wrong! With this method — along with the freshest spring ingredients — you will not have to go to a restaurant for amazing crispy chicken anymore!
2 pounds skin-on, bone-in Freshly ground black pepper chicken thighs
Crispy Chicken Thighs
Serves: 4
1/8 teaspoon cayenne Kosher salt
Arrange vegetables on a platter, top with chicken thighs and serve immediately.
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Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Pat the chicken thighs dry with a paper towel then season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Place chicken thighs on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Roast until the chicken is cooked through and the skin is crackly and crisp, 40–45 minutes.
4 garlic cloves (thinly sliced) 2 bay leaves
Ingredients:
1/2 cup mint leaves (torn if large)
5 2-inch long strips of lemon zest 1/3 cup dry white wine
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
In a large bowl, combine vegetable oil with the remaining spice mixture. Add the chicken thighs and turn to coat. Let sit at room temperature for 40–45 minutes, or cover and refrigerate for up to one day, turning the chicken thighs occasionally.
Add peas to the skillet. If using fresh peas, heat for 3 minutes. If using thawed frozen peas, cook until warmed through, about 1 minute. Toss in mint then season with more salt, if needed. Remove bay leaves.
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