THINGS TO DO AROUND ARIZONA
Old-Fashioned Fourth of July Celebration
Visit Tubac Presidio State Historic Park for free hot dogs, nachos, watermelon, lemonade and activities for kids including hula hoops, bean bag and ball toss, coin guess, adobe brick making and face painting.
10 a.m.-noon Wednesday, July 4. Tubac Presidio State Historic Park, One Burruel Street, Tubac. Free. www.azstateparks.com/tubac.
Medieval Mayhem in the White Mountains
Time to get your Dark Ages on at this festival that will be filled with knights, jesters and assorted royalty. Costumes are encouraged but not mandatory, so don’t worry if you show up as a T-shirted spectator amazed by how much work people put into an era that lacked smartphones. The fest features food, music, dancers and plenty of merchants happy to equip you in medieval style.
10 a.m.-7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, July 6-8. Mountain Meadows Recreation Complex, 1101 N. Woodland Road, PinetopLakeside. $10, $5 for ages 5-13. www.azmayhem.com.
Alpine Independence Day Celebration
Where is it written that Independence Day is July 4, besides in every history textbook covering the American Revolution? Alpine takes a bold step by holding its celebration on a Saturday, which is so convenient that surely the Founding Fathers would nod in approval. Live music starts at 9 a.m., followed by a 10 a.m. parade down Main Street. Stick around for worm racing at Ye Olde Tavern and a 10 a.m.-noon craft fair.
9 a.m. Saturday, July 7. Downtown Alpine. Free. www.alpine arizona.com.
Sunrise 3-D Shoot
Fancy yourself a crack shot with bow and arrow, or just like shooting targets? Sunrise Park Resort hosts this competition with targets along 10 fun courses or two extreme courses. Four of the courses are reached by chair lift. The competition includes various agebased divisions, so be sure to choose the right one when registering online. There also will be archery-based workshops and vendors.
Friday-Sunday, July 6-8. Sunrise Park Resort, on State Route 273 on the Fort Apache Reservation near Greer. 928-735-7669, www.sunriseski park.com.
Sunset Crater Volcano Solar & Star Party
It’s not that you shouldn’t look directly at the sun. It’s that you shouldn’t look directly at the sun without a proper solar telescope, which will be available at the Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument visitor center. Once the sun sets and stars come out, enjoy a celestial display through telescopes set up at the Lava Flow Trail parking lot.
1-4 p.m. (solar viewing), 8 p.m. (stars), Saturday, July 7. Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, 6082 Sunset Crater Road, Flagstaff. $20 per vehicle. www.nps.gov/sucr.