Looking for a fun way to celebrate this coming Independence Day? Look no further – we’ve rounded up some of the most fun-filled celebrations in your local cities and towns!

In cities and towns all across Arizona, enjoyable events are happening this upcoming 4th of July! Events such as rodeos, parades, fireworks, festivals and more will be going on throughout the weekend. Take your pick! Want an exciting adventure with the family? Perhaps head to one of this weekend’s rodeos or take in a fireworks show. Looking for a low-key weekend with friends? Try out one of the area’s local arts events or Fourth of July festivals. No matter what your age or interests, you will be able to find amazing entertainment and fun for the upcoming holiday!

View the list below for a sample of events happening in a city or town near you:

Prescott:

128^th Annual Prescott Frontier Days – World’s Oldest Rodeo

June 29 – July 5

http://azcitieswork.com/event/prescott-frontier-days-128th-annual-worlds-oldest-rodeo/

Taylor:

Taylor 61^st Annual Independence Day Celebration & Night Rodeo

July 3

http://azcitieswork.com/event/61st-annual-taylor-independence-day-celebration-night-rodeo/

Sierra Vista:

48^th Annual Fourth of July Celebration & Fireworks Event

July 3

http://azcitieswork.com/event/flyover-fireworks-highlight-fourth-of-july-festivities/

Florence:                                                                                                       

Florence Freedom Fest

July 4

http://azcitieswork.com/event/florence-freedom-fest/

Prescott:

35^th Annual Prescott Rodeo Days Fine Arts and Crafts Show

July 3-July 5

http://azcitieswork.com/event/35th-annual-prescott-rodeo-days-fine-arts-and-crafts-show/

Pinetop:

40^th Annual Fine Arts and Crafts Show

July 3- July 5

http://azcitieswork.com/event/40th-annual-fine-arts-and-crafts-show/

Flagstaff:

Flagstaff Weekend Events (Including 4^th of July)

July 3-5

http://azcitieswork.com/event/flagstaff-fourth-a-weekend-full-of-fun/

Sierra Vista:

Flyover, fireworks highlight Fourth of July Festivities

July 3- July 4

http://azcitieswork.com/event/flyover-fireworks-highlight-fourth-of-july-festivities/

Payson:

Independence Day Celebration

July 4

http://azcitieswork.com/event/7841/

Surprise:

Surprise’s 4^th of July Pool Celebration

July 4

http://azcitieswork.com/event/tickets-for-surprises-4th-of-july-pool-celebration-on-sale-monday/

Prescott:

Prescott Valley Fourth of July Celebration

July 4

http://azcitieswork.com/event/prescott-valley-fourth-of-july-celebration/

Tolleson:

Tolleson’s Annual 4^th of July Celebration

July 4

http://azcitieswork.com/event/tollesons-4th-of-july-celebration/

Surprise:

33^rd Annual 4^th of July Celebration

July 4

http://azcitieswork.com/event/33rd-annual-4th-of-july-celebration/

Oro Valley:

Oro Valley 4^th of July Celebration

July 4

http://azcitieswork.com/event/oro-valley-4th-of-july-celebration/

Peoria:

Peoria’s Annual Fourth of July All-American Festival

July 4

http://azcitieswork.com/event/thrilling-good-time-at-peorias-annual-fourth-of-july-all-american-festival/

Tempe:

July 4^th Tempe Town Lake Festival

July 4

http://azcitieswork.com/event/july-4th-festival-boasts-talented-entertainment/

Maricopa:

Maricopa Fourth of July Celebration

July 4

http://azcitieswork.com/event/schedule-set-for-fourth-of-july-celebration/

Mesa:

Arizona Celebration of Freedom Event

July 4

http://azcitieswork.com/event/arizona-celebration-of-freedom-event/

Buckeye:

City of Buckeye Independence Day Celebration

July 4

http://azcitieswork.com/event/city-of-buckeye-independence-day-celebration/

For even more events happening in the cities and towns, visit www.azcitieswork.com!

Chino Valley:

Chino Valley July 4th Fireworks

July 4

http://azcitieswork.com/event/chino-valley-july-4th-fireworks/

Phoenix (Ahwatukee Village):

Red, White and Boom

July 3

More boom than ever: Red, White and Boom celebrates 40 years

http://azcitieswork.com/event/more-boom-than-ever-red-white-and-boom-celebrates-40-years/

Quartzsite:

4^th of July Celebrations

July 3

http://azcitieswork.com/event/quartzsite-fun-food-and-fireworks-july-3/

Bullhead City:

Oatman Sidewalk Egg Fry and Fireworks

July 4

http://azcitieswork.com/event/fireworks-egg-fry-part-of-july-4-events-in-bullhead-city/

Clarkdale:

Clarkdale: Parade and traditional 4th celebration

July 4

http://azcitieswork.com/event/4th-of-july-festivities-in-clarkdale/

Winslow:

4^th of July Freedom Festival Freedom festival

July 4

http://azcitieswork.com/event/4th-of-july-fun-in-winslow/

Holbrook:

Holbrook 4^th of July

July 4

http://azcitieswork.com/event/holbrook-annual-4th-of-july-event/

Chandler:

Chandler 4^th of July Fireworks Spectacular

July 4

http://azcitieswork.com/event/chandlers-fourth-of-july-fireworks-spectacular/

Apache Junction:

Apache Junction 4^th of July Event

July 4

http://azcitieswork.com/event/4th-of-july-celebration-in-apache-junction/

Douglas:

Douglas Independence Day Celebration

July 4

http://azcitieswork.com/event/douglas-independence-day-celebration/

Yuma:

All American BBQ & Fireworks Spectacular!

July 4

http://azcitieswork.com/event/all-american-bbq-fireworks-spectacular/

Tucson:

“A” Mountain Fireworks Celebration

July 4

http://azcitieswork.com/event/a-mountain-fireworks-celebration/

Scottsdale

Scottsdale 4^th of July at Westworld

July 4

http://azcitieswork.com/event/scottsdale-4th-of-july-at-westworld/

Sedona

4^th of July Concert and Laser Show

July 4

http://azcitieswork.com/event/4th-of-july-concert-and-laser-show/

It’s time to ring in 2015! As we bid farewell to an amazing 2014 year, we’re looking ahead to 2015 with possibility on our minds.

Have you made your New Year’s Resolutions yet? If not, we’ve got 10 resolutions right here for you. From getting outdoors to learning something new, Arizona’s cities and towns have a variety of opportunities to help you experience the possibilities in this New Year.

Abraham Lincoln once said, “Your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other.” This year, our plan is to stick to our resolutions. Join us! Each day we’ll feature a new way to accomplish – and stick with – those resolutions this year.

2015 New Year’s Resolutions:

1. Get Outdoors

2. Learn Something New

3. Get Involved

4. Stay Fit

5. Have a New Experience

6. Celebrate our Great State

7. Build a Better Hobby

8. Save the Environment

9. Spend Time With Loved Ones

10. Take Pride in Your Community

Image courtesy of arizonascenicroads.com

Plan to motor west? Take the highway that is best.

Historic Route 66 is the most popular of US roadways and Arizona happens to be home to its longest remaining stretch. Start a little off the route in Lake Havasu City, where you’ll behold the London Bridge – an Arizona treasure and bucket list bastion. Traveling north, hit up Kingman, the heart of Route 66. Here you’ll find a Route 66 Museum and the home to the 2014 International Route 66 Festival, which will bring visitors worldwide to the city of Kingman August 14 – 17.

From Kingman, drive through Williams, where you can hit up Bearizona or take a ride on the Grand Canyon Railroad. From there, it’s just a quick trip to Flagstaff for a venture into the Lowell Observatory or a hike at Canyon de Chelly, and then it’s on to Winslow, where you can stand on the corner and enjoy a night stay at the historic La Posada Inn.

You know what they say… it’s the place to get your kicks.

Image courtesy of Arizona Highways

The Hualapai Mountain Park near Kingman provides for a vast collection of majestic views, hiking trails, picnicking, camping, wildlife viewing, biking or cabin rentals in this county park nestled in the forest. Higher elevations are home to mule deer, elk, mountain lions, foxes and a wide variety of birds. Hiking trails wind up Aspen Peak and over to Hayden Peak, and depending on how adventurous you feel, the hike can last anywhere from 1 to 4 hours.

Take a hike on one of 14 trails.  These include 6 miles of developed trails and 10 miles of undeveloped trails ranging from elevations of 6,300 to 8,240 feet.  Enjoy the cool shade of Ponderosa Pine, Pinion Pine, White Fir, Aspen, Gambel, Scrub Oak and Manzanita, among granite rock formations.

Want to plan a hike overnight? With more than 70 individual camp sites available in three separate areas with grills and picnic table, and a limited supply of water, the Hualapai Mountain Park has you covered.

At an elevation 7,601 feet, towering in the high desert landscape about 30 miles southeast of Kingman, Wabayuma Peak is the second highest peak in the Hualapai Mountains, and dominates the 40,000-acre Wabayuma Peak Wilderness. There are two routes to the trailhead, but the better and slightly easier road lies south of Kingman. At the trailhead elevation of 6,047 feet, the rewards of this wilderness reveal themselves in instant solitude, birdcalls and the rough expanse ahead.

For the first mile, the 2.5-mile trail climbs at a reasonable incline, with occasional steeper sections, through turbinella oak, pointleaf manzanita and scattered piñon pine and juniper trees. It takes about 45 minutes to travel 1 mile and reach the crest (elevation 6,700 feet) of a sharp ridge line and a couple of exceptional campsites, flat and shaded by tall ponderosa pine trees, which overlook the southern end of the mountains, this section is a great part to set up camp for the night and enjoy the cool pines. When you awaken the next morning, refreshed and ready for the next part, be ready for a little bit more of a challenge, and if you’re not careful, about a half-mile farther, you’ll miss a cairn that directs you toward the summit. If you read the cairn correctly you will encounter a steep climb of approximately 400 yards through thick brush takes you to the summit of Wabayuma Peak, where the western face of the wilderness opens before you. Feel like taking the long way around? Instead of following the cairn, wander north and downhill, along an overgrown jeep track through dense chaparral, which takes an extra hour to two hours (depending on your pace).

For more information, call: 928-718-3700

Buckeye Police Officer Jeffery Lumadue has been named School Resource Officer of the Year by the Arizona School Resource Officers Association!

In March, AZ Cities @ Work featured Lumadue for going above and beyond the call of duty with Officer Michael Miklus. The two helped a boy whose bike was stolen. Cities @ Work is overjoyed that Lumadue is being further recognized for his outstanding initiative.*

Lumadue is a 14-year law enforcement veteran who has been the SRO at Buckeye Elementary School for four years and Buckeye Union High School for another two.

Lumadue was cited by the state group for his strong stance with school children on truancy, drug use and bullying. It’s Lumadue’s pilot program, though, that has attracted the most attention. The program holds some parents criminally responsible for their children not attending school.

The program Lumadue initiated now operates at schools throughout the Buckeye Elementary School District. It has shown a significant drop in truancy rates.  Only a handful of parents have been ticketed by police for the continued absence of their children from the classroom.

“This process works because the school secretaries, counselors, assistant principals and principals are an integral part of the process before a citation is ever issued,” Lumadue said.  “We make every effort to work with the parent and child to find out what possible issues may be causing the child to miss school.  The vast majority of parents have been very receptive to the program.”

Lumadue is humbled   by the attention his SRO state award has brought because he feels it’s the consistency in the anti-truancy program – from the classroom to the courts – that has brought the positive results.

“Communication is the key,” Lumadue said.  “We don’t want to prosecute parents.  We want kids to have the chance to regularly go to school and to succeed, and this program has had some phenomenal results.”

But Lumadue’s efforts aren’t just limited to truancy.  Two years ago he spearheaded a move to redefine the Drug Free School Zone around Buckeye schools, a 1,000-foot sign-posted boundary now recognized at all the schools.

An anti-bullying campaign has also been in Lumadue’s focus.  The classes he teaches in the schools illustrate the importance of youngsters setting goals, to build character and develop leadership skills.

“We take a very pro-active stance on bullying, if we see or hear it, we indicate that it needs to stop,” Lumadue said.  “We tell students that they have a right to feel comfortable when they’re in school, and if they worry about bullying before school and it prompts fear of any kind, they need to talk to someone so it can be stopped.”

Like most professionals in public safety roles, Lumadue isn’t in it for the praise, accolades or headlines.  Since he first entered Buckeye Elementary School that first day of school, he’s relished the switch to this different kind of police work.

“All this is part of my job, and that’s why I enjoy going to work every day,” Lumadue said.  “I like working with kids and making a difference in their lives.  These are critical times in their lives, and these kids really look up to you as a role model and see police officers in a different role.”

*Watch the video that highlights Lumadue’s and Miklus’ outstanding work in March here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zkPQioaDhc

Nothing beats spending a summer day biking on a trail, playing in a park, or swimming in a refreshing pool.

During the summer months, we can’t get away from the outdoors. That’s why, as designated by the U.S. House of Representatives, Park and Recreation Month is being celebrated nationwide in the month of July.

Some Arizona cities that aren’t formally celebrating Park and Recreation month in July will instead be celebrating at a later time when the temperature cools down.

This year the National Recreation and Park Association has encouraged communities to show and share the love parks and recreation with a 2014 theme of “OUT is IN,” making this the year that people go outside, change their outlook, and get involved in their community through parks and recreation.

We love what Queen Creek is doing for Park and Recreation Month and hope other cities and towns follow suit.

Queen Creek opened the community’s first dog park and first splash pad to celebrate the special summer month.  The town recently held a grand opening celebration for Queen Creek’s Pocket Park for Pups, located at 22526 S. Ellsworth Road. The ribbon cutting ceremony for the 4,100-square-foot Splash Pad will take place at Founders Park, 22555 S. Ellsworth Road, at 9 a.m. on Saturday, July 5.

Queen Creek’s Mayor Gail Barney says these unique features will “help increase [Queen Creek’s] property values, expand the local tax base, increase tourism and the attraction and retention of businesses, greatly improve community healthy and reduce the amount of crime in Queen Creek.”

Is your city or town celebrating Park and Recreation Month in a momentous way? We want to hear about it! Be sure to leave a comment about what your city is doing, today!

For more details other activities Queen Creek is offering throughout the month of July, visit QueenCreek.org/Recreation

It’s National Safety Month. To help kick off this month, Glendale is launching a campaign designed to reinforce safety messages during the summer. The campaign is called Operation: Safe Summer and it culminates with a public event at Westgate on June 20.

There are several departments that will offer programs and events to remind residents of their mission: to keep the city’s residents safe with an outstanding quality of life. These departments include the Police and Fire Departments, the Transportation Services Department and Parks, Recreation and Library Services.

With a dedicated website and logo, the campaign features a different safety message each week, covering timely summer topics such as kids out of school for the summer, children being home alone and out riding bicycles more often, heat-related issues, vacation and travel safety, BBQ and fireworks precautions, and of course, water and pool safety. Information will be distributed through public facilities in Glendale and at certain events, as well.

The public event will be held on June 20,  6:30-8:30 p.m., called “Surviving the Summer,” at Westgate Entertainment District, 6770 N. Sunrise Blvd. Held in the shopping center’s Fountain Park, this free event will feature a variety of agencies and vendors to educate residents on water and sun safety and much more.

For more information on the event and the Operation: Safe Summer campaign, including great tips and resources you can take advantage of, visit www.glendaleaz.com/safesummer.

The Town of Gilbert celebrates its 2014 Playful City USA status. Gilbert is one of four cities in AZ to receive the award eight consecutive times.

KaBOOM! recently announced its Playful City USA honorees: communities that are leaders in “playability,” the commitment to providing balanced and active play to children.

The KaBOOM! Playful City USA program honors cities, towns and communities across America that are taking bold steps to ensure that all children, especially the 16 million American kids living in poverty, have easy access to balanced and active play in their communities. 212 cities nationwide have been recognized this year, 12 of which are in Arizona.

Playful City USA honorees include major cities such as Washington, D.C., San Francisco and Chicago. In Arizona, these honorees include cities and towns across the state. They range from eight-time honorees like Chandler, Gilbert, Tucson and Yuma, to first-time recipient Prescott Valley.

Tempe is once again recognized by KaBOOM! as a Playful City USA community for its commitment to keeping kids active through accessible playspaces and youth sports programs.

These Playful City USA communities are making a commitment to transform their communities to become more playable by developing unique local action plans to increase the quantity and quality of play in their community.

Playful City USA Honorees in Arizona: 

Buckeye
Casa Grande
Chandler
Coolidge
Gilbert
Maricopa
Mesa
Oro Valley
Prescott Valley
Tempe
Tucson
Yuma

To see the full list of the 212 communities named 2014 Playful City USA honorees, or for more information on the Playful City USA program, visit www.playfulcityusa.org.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rb9YCVJUEHY&feature=youtu.be

Chandler’s year-long Centennial Celebration received one of the highest honors achievable for government communicators, the Savvy award, from the City-County Communications and Marketing Association (3CMA). The Centennial Celebration was selected as the outstanding one-time special event among communities with a population of more than 200,000.

The Savvy awards salute skilled and effective municipal and county communication professionals who have successfully demonstrated creativity, innovation and fiscal stewardship. The entries are judged by local government professionals and persons from the professional, consulting and academic communities who are highly knowledgeable in marketing and communications.

Chandler began planning for its 100th birthday more than seven years in advance, and formed a Centennial Steering Committee in 2009 to create a special community celebration. The committee included representatives from a broad cross section of the community, including Chandler schools, non-profit agencies, faith-based organizations, service clubs, businesses, Chandler Historical Society and the Chandler Museum. Much of the centennial effort was spearheaded by the City’s Communications & Public Affairs Department (CAPA), Museum Division, and Special Events staff.

The City of Glendale also received recognition for various city events held throughout the year. Their team received five awards from the festival industry’s top professional organization, the International Festival and Events Association, for excellence in event production.

Glendale took home several awards for the annual Glitter and Glow Block Party, including the best full-length TV program and best commemorative pin and best event photo. They also received awards for the annual Glendale Chocolate Affair.