Consider these Gifts for your Teen

f� your Teenby Aaron “Trey” Thompson III, AmeriCorps VISTA, The Launch Pad Teen Center Consider these gifts

If you ask teens in Prescott what they do for fun, a common answer will contain the keywords “Walmart” and “parking lot.” The Launch Pad Teen Center is trying its best to add new vocabulary to those responses.

The center likes to use experience as a way for teens to make memories and help them build better inperson relationships. So for the holiday season, with the challenges of buying gifts online and high demand for popular teen items already low in stock, The Launch Pad staff has selected their favorite teen-centered activities that parents and caregivers can gift this holiday season.

James Malek, The Launch Pad’s program director, recommends going in on season tickets for our new Indoor Football Team, the Northern Arizona Wranglers! “We had a great time taking teens to a game at the end of their inaugural season this year, and there’s just something more personal and fun about local sports!”

He adds: “One of my favorite gifts I’ve ever received was a family cookbook! You collect favorite recipes from your family members, compile them into a short book and leave plenty of blank pages at the end for your teen to fi ll in as they get older and fi nd their own recipes! Take the time to practice the recipes with your teens as well. Bake bread to break bread!”

Courtney Osterfelt, executive director, suggests using Harkins’ “rent a theatre” opportunity to have a private big screen video game party for up to 20 of your teen friends. You can also rent the theatre to have a private movie party with a movie of your teen’s choosing.

Suzanne King, director of operations, suggests taking your teen on a tour of the Japanese Friendship Garden in Phoenix. If you really want to provide a unique experience you can sign up your teen and four of their friend for a “Chanoyu Experience the Way of Tea” private Japanese tea ceremony. Teens must be 12 and older to participate.

Make the most out of the challenges traditional shopping is bringing to everyone this holiday season and remind your teens what this special time of year is all about, the spreading of forgiveness, peace and love.

Campaign Launched Discover Chino Valley Tourism

by Maggie Tidaback, Economic Development Project Manager, Town of Chino Valley

The Offi ce of Economic Development has partnered with the Arizona Offi ce of Tourism to launch the fi rstever tourism campaign for the Town of Chino Valley.

The cooperative program between the Arizona Offi ce of Tourism and the Town was awarded in 2020 and consisted of a full branding campaign (website design, brand, logo and more), Google ads, Tripadvisor, geogtargeted display ads, Visit Arizona marketing, rack cards, a Local First Arizona community profi le page and two Lamar billboards in the Phoenix area.

From an online presence, the campaign wrapped up with more than 1.4 million impressions!

To begin, the Town partnered with Mountain Mojo Group out of Flagstaff to create a brand kit, website and logo. They also off ered their photography and videography services. In what took a year of creative engineering, we now have discoverchinovalley.org. Don’t forget to check out the video with music toward the bottom of the home page. You can also fi nd all upcoming visits on the events page. Once the website was ready to launch, we were ready to hit the ground running on the remainder of the campaign. In the midst of that, we partnered with Local First Arizona to create a community profi le page. However, this could not be accomplished without fi rst hosting a community rural round table where we invited about 30 community stakeholders to get involved and talk about why we love Chino Valley. The Town loved it; go to Localfi rstaz.com/explore-az and click on Chino Valley.

Some of the slogans that came out of the campaign were “Come Up and Cool Down” and “Cooler than you’d think.” Both were used on the billboards. Also, “Escape to wide open spaces.”

Tourism in Chino Valley is primarily outdoor recreation, but we also have some amazing and unique restaurants, an amazing vineyard with wine tasting and weekend music and great brewery!

We have the best off -roading in the quad cities and routes that will take you from Perkinsville Road to Jerome, Williams and Sedona.

presents

Wedding & Events Special Section

Does your business provide a product or service to Weddings and Events? Don’t miss your opportunity for advertising in the May edition of Prescott LIVING Magazine’s special Wedding & Events section.

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Potential advertisers include:

Gowns & Formal Wear Cakes & Favors Consultants, Decorators & Planners DJ’s & Musicians Event Venues Florists Hair & Makeup Health Insurance & Finance Transportation & Limousines

New Year,

Time to Plan your Events!

by Kelly Tolbert, Recreation Coordinator, City of Prescott

The end of the calendar year is speckled with holidays and dreams of the future.

Many couples become engaged around the winter holidays and wedding planning commences. Perhaps it’s not a wedding one is looking to plan, but rather an important graduation party, family reunion, birthday party or a picnic gathering.

Did you know that the City of Prescott Recreation Services Department off ers aff ordable rental facilities in all of our lakes and in many parks?

Depending on individual wants and needs, the local parks system likely can accommodate your event while off ering a safe and aff ordable option. Covered picnic areas, called ramadas, range in size and come equipped with picnic tables, barbecue grills (make sure to check local fi re restrictions), restrooms and other amenities depending on the location.

Find the location that works for you.

For example, Flinn Park has a small ramada that will accommodate 40 people, limited parking and restrooms (due to winterization in the cold months), a large grass fi eld, playground, half-court basketball pad, barbecue grills and picnic tables. This park is ideal for children’s birthday parties, baby showers, family picnics and similar smaller events.

Ken Lindley Park ramada is small in size, as well, with limited parking, but has a state-of-theart skate park within walking distance. This park is also perfect for birthday parties, baby showers, picnics or any smaller gathering benefi tting from a playground and restrooms open year round.

Two medium-sized ramadas are available for reservation. Granite Creek Park ramada has a 200-person capacity (due to parking availability), restrooms, horseshoe pits, volleyball net, walking track, picnic tables and barbecue grills. This will accommodate most any event. Vista Park will hold 75 people comfortably. Parking is a bit limited, but there are restrooms, two age-specifi c playgrounds, hiking trails and large turf areas for lawn games, etc.

Watson Lake features both a small (Lower) ramada and a large (Upper) ramada available for reservations. The Lower is located next to the playground, adjacent to a large grass fi eld, has barbecue grills, short walk to restrooms and will accommodate up to 40 people. The Upper ramada reservations include a large ceremony pad situated next to the ramada with breathtaking views of the lake. Barbecue grills and restrooms are nearby. This location does not limit group size but does require a parking fee in addition to the rental fees unless it is a Wednesday (fee free day).

Watson Lake is home to the City’s only campground and off ers 35 campsites (19 can be reserved at least a week in advance), all of which are “dry camping.” Camping is open seasonally from April through the fi rst part of October.

Willow Lake off ers two ramada options considered to be large ramadas. They are called the Hilltop ramada (located on top of a hill) and the Garden ramada (located closer to Heritage Park athletic fi elds and restrooms are in close proximity). They will both accommodate large groups (no size limit) and also require a parking fee unless it is a Wednesday.

Willow Lake off ers great hiking trails, barbecue grills, restrooms and a playground over near the athletic fi elds. Prehistoric archeological ruins remain on site with volunteers from the local chapter of the Archeological Society providing tours the fi rst Saturday of the month from 10 a.m. to noon.

Goldwater Lake is home to three large sized ramadas, but they are limited to groups of 100 due to limited parking. Because of limited parking and the lake’s popularity, requests for reservations can be made via “reservation request” in the City’s online system. Staff review the requests, either accepting or denying (and provide other available options). Then, an invoice will be created and emailed to the customer that can be paid easily online.

Goldwater Lake off ers many amenities, including volleyball court, horseshoe pits, barbecue grills, hiking trails, restrooms, two playgrounds and a ceremony pad all surrounded in towering pine forest.

Third-party concessionaires operate seasonally at Watson and Goldwater lakes renting watersport equipment such as kayaks, canoes and stand-up paddle boards. Fishing is allowed at all three lakes provided Arizona Game and Fish Department regulations are followed (license may be required).

All facility rentals require a refundable security and damage deposit along with either a half day rental fee (4 hours or less) or full day rental fee (anything over 4 hours). Commercial rentals require a certifi cate of liability insurance.

Rental rates vary among location as do operational park/lake hours. City residents who pay for City water service are eligible for a 25% discount on their rental fees with proof of water bill.

For more information or to reserve one of the facilities please visit: bit.ly/3jIpEsZ.