winter wonderland. We like
to call it \u201cAmerica\u2019s
Natural Theme Park.\u201d
Most people having moved
here simply continue to
wonder why it took them
so long to make this
lifestyle decision. Tourism
and Economic
Development go hand and

hand. Our mild winter season is the best
marketing plan the state could have for
generating interest in Arizona.

This month\u2019s great news is that the
Arizona Office of Tourism is looking to
invest more into the marketing of
Arizona. This is more than great news,
it is a relief considering just a year ago
talk was on the table to eliminate the

I strongly encourage the powers that
be at AOT to look into the idea of the
\u201cup sell.\u201d Retailers do it as a lifeline.
The reasoning is simple. Advertising
and marketing dollars that entice shop-
pers into a retailer\u2019s property are only
half the equation. By training their
employees in the upsell they get the
most out of their marketing dollars.
Shoppers typically spend 10-25% more

I hope that one day the State of
Arizona and AOT will see the benefit in
working with AZ Tourist News. What
we could bring to up selling Arizona is
not even a question. The state spends so
much money enticing visitors to
Arizona\u2026 but does not give them the
kind of information that would help
them stay longer and do more. Instead,
visitors as well as residents lack choices
- and this is not only bad customer ser-
vice but we are losing money with
every car that leaves the region. By
reading AZ Tourist News as they drive,
however, travelers can find many sug-
gestions for things they would enjoy.
Why leave the state when there is so
much to see and do\u2026if only you were
aware of it.

AZ Tourist News is the only publi-
cation of its kind. We have been bring-
ing to the attention of readers so much
that they wouldn\u2019t have known other-
wise. There really is no printed publica-
tion that goes out monthly to over 1,000
locations that has the information we

This month we are having fun seeing
what works best in our centerfold map
page. We have determined that high-
lighting events would suit our reader-
ship nicely. Look at all the exciting fes-
tivals to choose among! There\u2019s the
very unique Ostrich Festival in
Chandler, Kokopelli Winery\u2019s Days of
Wine and Roses festival, the elite

Show, and the Historic Home and
Building Tour in Globe. Or how about
the Tucson Museum of Art\u2019s Spring
Artisans Market, the amazing Arizona
Renaissance Festival, the Thunderbird
Balloon & Air Classic now in Glendale
and last but not least, the Great Arizona
Beer Festival in Phoenix? And of course
there is our cover feature, the Casa
Grande Indian Days - O\u2019Odham Tash!

We wish you a month of fun explor- ing Arizona... find an attraction or two, a festival or three... and go for it!

To reach an account executive, associate editor or to contact the editor or publisher, call (800) 462-8705. Any editorial portion of AZ Tourist News may not be dupli- cated without written permission from the Publisher. Az Tourist News \u00a9 2004. 60,000 copies distributed monthly. Look for us at visitors centers, hotels, resorts, movie the- aters, restaurants, major attractions, major events, and everywhere else in Arizona!

Az Tourist News, P.O. Box 5083,
Tucson, AZ, 85703. Toll Free (800)
462-8705, (520) 624-2897, (520) 622-
7275 Fax, email info@aztourist.com,

\u2022 Arizona Tourism Alliance
\u2022 Ahwatukee Foothills C of C
\u2022 Black Canyon C of C
\u2022 Benson/San Pedro Valley C of C
\u2022 Bisbee C of C
\u2022 Bouse C of C
\u2022 Buckeye C of C
\u2022 Bullhead Area C of C
\u2022 Camp Verde C of C
\u2022 Carefree/Cave Creek C of C
\u2022 Chandler C of C
\u2022 Chino Valley Area C of C
\u2022 Chloride C of C
\u2022 Clarkdale C of C
\u2022 Coolidge C of C
\u2022 Copper Basin C of C

\u2022 Dolan Springs C of C
\u2022 Douglas C of C
\u2022 Ehrenberg C of C
\u2022 Eloy C of C
\u2022 Flagstaff C of C
\u2022 Globe-Miami C of C
\u2022 Golden Valley C of C
\u2022 Graham County C of C
\u2022 Grand Canyon C of C

\u2022 Greater Florence C of C
\u2022 Greenlee County C of C
\u2022 Green Valley C of C
\u2022 Holbrook C of C
\u2022 Jerome C of C
\u2022 Kingman C of C
\u2022 Lake Havasu C of C
\u2022 Marana C of C
\u2022 McMullen Valley C of C
\u2022 Oatman C of C
\u2022 Page/Lake Powell C of C
\u2022 Pearce/Sunsites C of C
\u2022 Phoenix C of C
\u2022 Pinetop-Lakeside C of C

\u2022 Rim Country C of C
\u2022 Scottsdale CVB
\u2022 Sedona/Oak Creek Canyon C of C

\u2022 Seligman C of C
\u2022 Snowflake/Taylor C of C
\u2022 Southwest Valley C of C
\u2022 Springerville C of C
\u2022 St. Johns C of C
\u2022 Tombstone C of C
\u2022 Wickenburg C of C
\u2022 Willcox C of C
\u2022 Winslow C of C
\u2022 Yarnell-Peeples Valley C of C

Astronomy...................................................................................33 Attractions.............................................................................34-35 Bed & Breakfasts........................................................................27 Birdwatching...............................................................................33 Casinos.........................................................................................37 Central Arizona.........................................................................4-9

Events, Featured.........................................................................25 February Events....................................................................30 March Events..........................................................................31 April Events............................................................................32

Flagstaff..........................................................................................11 Globe-Miami...................................................................................9 Grand Canyon...........................................................................12-13

Lodging..........................................................................................26 Mexico............................................................................................41 Native American Culture......................................................36, 38

Pet Friendly Arizona....................................................................28 Phoenix Metro.............................................................................4-5 Public Lands..................................................................................39 Regional.........................................................................................23 Rim Country....................................................................................7 RV Resorts & Campgrounds..................................................42-47 Scottsdale....................................................................................6-7 Southern Az..............................................................................16-22 Statewide Map........................................................................24-25 Tombstone.....................................................................................22 Tucson........................................................................................16-19 White Mountains..........................................................................10 Wineries, Regional.......................................................................40

Since the rollout of our new online
edition in September of 2003, we have
seen hundreds of thousands of visitors
from more than 40 countries generate
nearly 2 million page views seeking
information about Arizona. Become a
member TODAY and receive our monthly

Department of Economic Development,
Az Tourist News now provides the latest
census bureau and economic profile sta-
tistics for Arizona cities and towns as
well as County and Native American

Tribe profiles. Be sure to take a look at
the detailed information available to you
providing vital statistics about all of
Arizona's communities.

of Guide distributors throughout Arizona
please visitwww.EGQ.us/az. This quar-
terly publication, now an Arizona stan-
dard for statewide events and festivals,
will provide listings for all 50 states in an
online edition in spring 2004 located at
www.EGQ.us. With our model expansion
and our efforts of collecting and verifying
event information throughout the US, the
Event Guide Quarterly will not only be
providing event listings for all 50 states
but will soon be offered as a print publi-
cation franchise to 49 other states.

For more information about the future
franchising of Event Guide Quarterly
Magazine please contact J. R. McGowan
at 1-800-462-8705 or visit www.EGQ.biz
- and look for the Az Event Guide
Quarterly magazine on newsstands
throughout Arizona in 2004!

Do you like to write? Like to travel?
Write about your travel experience in
Arizona and we will save you up to 50%
of your travel costs in some of Arizona's
finest resorts.

Download AZ Tourist News - View this month's entire information-packed issue using Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader.

In 1967 the town of Casa Grande held
a BBQ for their Native American neigh-
bors - the Tohono O\u2019Odham
Nation, Ak-Chin, Gila River
and Salt River Pima-
Maricopa Indian communi-
ties. Each year the tradition
continued... and grew, as
various activities were
added. Today theO\u2019Odham

contest pow wow, carnival,
parade and much more. You
are warmly invited to come along and
join in the fun on February 13-16!

Here is an opportunity to appreciate
the skills of riding and roping, buy fine
juried Native arts and crafts, cheer your
favorite team at the softball tournament,
eat lots of good food, marvel at the
pageantry of the pow wow, test your
nerve on the carnival rides or try
\u201cChicken Scratch\u201d dancing. No matter
what your interests, you are bound to find
an activity to suit you at the Casa Grande
Indian Days.

Thanks to the western movie traditions
most of us grew up with, rodeo is associ-
ated with \u201ccowboys\u201d - who most certainly
can\u2019t be \u201cIndians\u201d - weren\u2019t they on
opposite sides in all those films of the Old
West? The truth is that rodeos, which

were originally a Hispanic tradition, test the skills of those who work with horses and livestock, as Native Americans have

done for many years. In fact, in 1916 a
Nez Pearce cowboy
named Jackson
Sundown was the first
Native American to win
the world bucking

In addition to compet-
ing on the regular rodeo
circuit, Native
Americans have also
organized their own
rodeo clubs. The

Two novelty events
have also been added
- mutton busting, an
event where children
under the age of 6
will try to stay on the
back of a bucking
sheep, and steer rid-
ing for youths 8-12.

The pow wow is
another event that
will open your eyes to Native American
culture. Originally a celebration held in
the spring to welcome the beginnings of
new life, the pow wow was a chance for

people to get together. It was a time to
meet old acquaintances, make
new friendships, for young
people to court, for holding
religious ceremonies, and for
dancing and singing. Pow
wows are still very much a
part of the lives of Native
Americans today.

The O\u2019Odham Tash is
holding a contest pow wow,
rather than a social pow wow.
Competitive singing and
dancing for prize money is a
fairly recent development in
the pow wow tradition. Only
registered contestants can take
part in the contest dances, but
everyone can participate in

the \u201cintertribal\u201d dances,
visitors included! The
Master of Ceremonies
this year is Tom Phillips,
a popular MC from

It is very interesting to
learn about the drums
and the dances. There
are two types of drum,
Northern and Southern -

these refer to styles
rather than geographical location. In fact,
the host Northern Drum is Star Mountain
from Gila River. Northern drums keep a
steadier tempo, the singing is high
pitched, and the group stays together.
Southern drums, on the other hand, have a
more varied rhythm and often the head
singer starts and then the others join in.
Singers must learn a strict and exacting
protocol to be observed while sitting at
the drum.

Only Southern can drum for the Gourd
Dance, originally performed by the
Kiowa nation. The Gourd dance is a war-
rior dance performed by veterans and
other elders. Other dances are the Men\u2019s
Traditional, which is patterned after the
movements of various animals and birds,
the Men\u2019s Fancy Dance and the Men\u2019s
Grass Dance, one of oldest surviving trib-
al dances - borrowed from the Omaha
tribe. Women\u2019s dances include the
Traditional, the Women\u2019s Fancy Shawl,
and the Jingle Dress Dance, which origi-
nated in the Chippewa Ojibway territo-

under way on Friday. Thearts and crafts
vendors also begin their sales and demon-
strations on Friday. This is a juried show
so whether you are a serious collector or
just looking for an authentic \u201csouvenir\u201d
you can be assured of quality works of
art. Theparade takes place on Saturday
at 9am. This year\u2019s theme is \u201cPreserving
Culture through Children.\u201d There will be
somewhere between 75 and 100 entries
with equestrians, bands, floats and much
more. There\u2019s nothing like a parade...

On both Friday and
Saturday nights there will be
a Chicken Scratch dance.
What is Chicken Scratch,
you may wonder? This is the
social dance music of the
Tohono O\u2019Odham. It
includes the waila (polka),
the chote (scottische), and
the cumbia. Bands include
electric 6-string and bass
guitars, button accordion,
alto saxophone and drums.
The O\u2019Odham dance a
smooth and graceful walking

Well known and popular bands per-
form throughout the festival. On Friday
night \u201cKyyitan\u201d performs and the
Saturday evening band is \u201cFriends;\u201d both
dances run from 7pm - 1am. Live Native
American bands also entertain at Peart
Park all weekend. You will also find vari-
ous commercial and food vendors at Peart
Park, including traditional Indian fry

The profits from the Casa Grande
Indian Days fund scholarships and
achievement awards to Native American
students. Casa Grande is located about
half-way between Tucson and Phoenix
where Interstates 8 and 10 cross. It\u2019s not
far from where you are... so hop in the
car, drive over and have a wonderful

O\u2019Odham Tash at 520-836-4723 or the
Casa Grande Chamber of Commerce
at 800-916-1515.

Ed Hooper Park, Pinal Ave. & Rodeo
Rd. Wed-Mon; Advance Tickets (Ride
All Day Passes) $15.00

Rodeo Grounds. Fri & Sun 1pm, Sat
1:30pm, Mon 12 Noon. Children\u2019s
Special Rodeo Events. Fri 8am. $10-$5