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 Grammy-nominated Emerson Drive performing at Gold Rush Days
Thursday, Feb 16, 2012 7:30 PM $42 adults / $5 18 & under
Friday, Feb 17, 2012 7:30 PM $42 adults / $5 18 & under
Rocking country band Emerson Drive kicks off the Gold Rush Days celebration in Wickenburg with their high-octane energy, layered harmonies and extraordinary musicianship. Lead singer Brad Mates’ vocals on Grammy-nominated “Moments” and chart-topping hits, “Believe” and “I Should Be Sleeping” are combined with expert guitar pickin’ and fiddle playin’; proving why these Canadians are steadily rising through country music’s ranks. Call The Webb Center at (928) 684-6624 for tickets. |
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 New Book Celebrates the History of Wickenburg
Local authors pen history of western town through vintage photographs
New from Arcadia Publishing, Lynn Downey and Desert Caballeros Western Museum is Wickenburg. The book boasts more than 200 vintage images giving readers a unique opportunity to reconnect to the history that shaped their community.
Once known as the “Dude Ranch Capital of the World” Wickenburg, Arizona, has had many lives since its founding during the Civil War years. When German immigrant Henry Wickenburg discovered the Vulture Gold Mine in the fall of 1863 and put down roots as a miner and farmer, he also set down the beginnings of the city that would be named in his honor.
Early residents and visitors included miners, ranchers, gunslingers, newspaper editors and saloon keepers. Families made their way to town in the early 20th century and opened businesses, established churches and a library, and sent their children to local schools.
In the 1930s, dude ranches blossomed in and around the city limits and tourists were enchanted by the real Wild West ambience. As the century progressed, people remained in town for generations, while newcomers regularly moved in to enjoy Wickenburg’s desert setting and modern amenities.
Join the Authors for a Book Signing!
Desert Caballeros Western Museum, Wickenburg
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 1:00 p.m.
Available at area bookstores, independent retailers, and online retailers.
Arcadia Publishing is the leading publisher of local and regional history in the United States. Visit www.arcadiapublishing.com.
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Western Fun Rides In With The 64th Annual Gold Rush Days “Out Wickenburg Way!” – February 16-19, 2012
This event celebrates the town’s origins as a ranching & gold mining center in the days before there was a Phoenix. The heritage event was founded over 60 years ago, and today Gold Rush Days draws tens of thousands of visitors, during the three days of activities.
Festivities begin on Thursday, February 16, with the Family Fun Carnival opening at 4:00 p.m., in the downtown district. Joining us in Wickenburg for special performances is”Nashville Recording Artists, Emerson Drive” who will appear in concert on Thursday and Friday Night at 7:30 p.m., at the Del E. Webb Center for Performing Arts.
The official opening gets underway on Friday, February 17 with the Opening Ceremonies on Frontier Street at 10:00 a.m. with gunfight demonstration with stuntman Joey Dillon, and gold rush officials kicking off the event. Friday is the only day you will be able to see beautiful classic cars on Frontier Street from 9am -3 p.m. The main festival area on Valentine Street in the historic district will see 200 exhibitors at the artisan faire, a family fun carnival, juried art show, free stage entertainment, gold panning, and much more from 10:00 a.m. – 5 p.m., with the carnival running throughout the evening. One of the highlights on Friday is the first show of the Desert Stagers old fashioned melodrama, held in the historic Saguaro Theatre at 7:00 p.m., nightly throughout the celebration. And a second performance at The Webb Center at 7:30 p.m. with Emerson Drive.
The parade on Saturday at 10:00 a.m., is one of the largest in Arizona, with over 100 entries including close to 1,000 horses, classic auto’s, floats, marching bands, and youth groups participating. Spectators line the street as one of the largest parades in Arizona passes by.
The parade theme is: “Centennial Gold” On Saturday the main event activities are the same, but include the additions of a Western Barbeque, and the first performance of the Senior Professional Rodeo held at 2:00 p.m. at the Everett Bowman Arena, located off of Constellation Road, just one mile east of the downtown area. Admission is $10 adults, $8 seniors, $6 students, children $3, and under 5 Free. Gates open at Noon. Again this year is the addition of the Grand Canyon PRCA Rough Stock to the rodeo. The “Arizona Outlaws” is the band playing on Saturday night inside the Wickenburg Community Center from 9:00 p.m. –Midnight for the Gold Rush Days rodeo dance with great music. Admission is $8 each or $15 couple.
Sunday, the activities include the arts/crafts area, gold panning, family carnival, rodeo performance, melodrama, and special day events such as the Pancake Breakfast at 7:30 am – 11 am inside the Community Center; traditional Mining events - Mucking & Drilling Contest at 10:00 a.m. where contestants compete for money and prizes and spectators can bid in a Calcutta Auction for a contestant; and the Arizona Gold Panning Championship, where contestants compete for money and prizes while panning for gold starts at 1:00 p.m. The second performance of the Senior Pro Rodeo is at 2 p.m.
This annual celebration is one of the Signature Heritage events for Wickenburg, and was named in 2009 as Arizona’s Best Special Rural Event by the Arizona Office of Tourism. This event was selected by the Library of Congress, and named as one of America’s Living Legacies. And in 2011 and for 2012, the Arizona Centennial Commission has recognized Gold Rush Days as a signature event. For more information, and tickets call (928) 684-5479 or visit the event on www.wickenburgchamber.com. Tickets for the Webb Center concert call 928-684-6624. Flyer | Schedule of Events (pdf) |
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 All Aboard the Drover Caboose!
During the past three years, chamber volunteers Jim and Jeanne Bansner have seen a total of 6,020 visitors go through the historic Drover Caboose, located on Frontier Street next to the Chamber of Commerce. Pictured to the right is Jim in his locomotive engineer attire. The chamber manages the Drover Caboose for the Town of Wickenburg as requested by the late Viola Wellik. The caboose closes for the summer months and will re-open Friday, Oct. 14. It will be open Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. through 2 p.m. through May. For more information, call the chamber at 684-5479. |
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 Western Range Catering - Fine Chuck Wagon Cuisine Catering
Western Range Catering, owned by Joe & Vicki Jones is a full range catering outfit that can accommodate all of your occasions.
Weddings, reunions, family get together, private parties, corporate events, promotional outings, historical gatherings, festivals and everywhere in-between.
The original 1800's chuck wagon can set up with all the extras to make it an original cowboy camp and can cater to your occasion in that style of
cooking with open pits, irons, dutch ovens, and they also have big smokers and grills so can cover most all menus and party themes.What a great addition our community!
Take a moment and check out their web site: www.westernrangecatering.com or contact them at 307-248-2483.
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 Recharge at The Ranch!
Who says a ranch vacation has to be all about working hard and getting dirty? The best thing to do after a nice long ride through the Sonoran Desert is pamper yourself with some rest, relaxation and an indulgent treatment from our full-service spa.
If you haven’t had an opportunity to visit The Spa at Los Caballeros, it’s definitely something to put on your “to-do” list for your next trip to The Ranch. Whether you’re looking for relief from sore muscles after a round on our championship golf course, or just an hour or two of complete peace and tranquility, we have exactly what you need to make all of your tension and stress melt away.
Here’s a small taste of the unique treatments you can find at The Spa at Los Caballeros:
- Desert Oasis Massage: Paradise in the desert. A masterful blend of tropical flower essences and exotic sweet lime make up our tropical mango massage oil. This unique blend provides relief of stress, anxiety and depression, while providing emotional optimism. This oil balances the tart and sweet, evoking images of a lush oasis after a desert crossing.
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“Rusty” Brown Sugar Scrub: Reveal your softer side with this sweet, one-of-a-kind treat infused with brown sugar, oils of sweet almond, apricot kernel and jojoba. This exceptional exfoliating and mega-moisturizing treatment will energize your senses with orange, tangerine and mandarin essential oils.
Next time you visit The Ranch be sure to call us at 800-684-5030 and ask for The Spa, or call directly at 928-684-4869 to book your indulgence—after all, that’s what vacations are for! Our spa is very popular, so we recommend reserving your spa services at least 7 days prior to arrival. |
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 Surrey Rides Are Back!
Surrey rides resume each Saturday, starting on October 1st through May. Take a ride throughut the historic Wickenburg Downtown District! Event Flyer (pdf) |
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Conversation with the Artist - Thursday, January 12, 2012 @ 6pm
Join the Webb Center’s Executive Director, Cathy Weiss, for a conversation with the performing artists of Ghost Towns. This open dialogue with John Schuck, Harry Clark and Brad Richter will include the history of the group, their collaborative work and the creative process behind Friday’s performance. Admission to the museum’s photography exhibit “Arizona Ghost Towns”, cocktails and hors d’oeuvres included. Space is limited; contact the Webb Center Box Office for reservations. $25 per person. Desert Caballeros Western Museum | 21 North Frontier Street, Wickenburg. |
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Chamber Music Plus! Ghost Towns Friday, Jan 13, 2012 @ 7:30 PM
Sinners and saints, cowboys and crooks, ranchers and rowdies make up the colorful past of the Grand Canyon State. Celebrate Arizona's Centennial (1912-2012) with a theatrical glimpse into the people and places that shaped our history. Presented in vignette form, actor John Schuck brings to life colorful pioneering characters as photographs and videos provide a backdrop, showcasing the influences that forged Arizona. Guitarist Brad Richter and cellist Harry Clark provide a musical score that resonates with the legacies of our common history. Del E. Webb Center for the Performing Arts. www.chambermusicplus.org |
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Wickenburg Chamber Of Commerce Publishes Wickenburg Hispanic Pioneer Families: “Nuestras Memorias”
While the flamboyant pages of Arizona history like to linger around Wickenburg’s gold mining days and the colorful characters and stories from them, some of Wickenburg’s most memorable moments of courage, faith, and public service from its familias. Convinced they could find a better life amidst the social inequities that roiled before the Mexican Revolution, Hispanic pioneers traveled from their Sonora, Mexico homes to this northern reach of the Hispanic ranching frontier.
Wickenburg Chamber of Commerce's book, Nuestras Memorias, recall Wickenburg’s Hispanic Pioneer Families and celebrate the town’s rich cultural heritage with photographs and anecdotes from Mexican pioneers that helped tame this desert mining town, as well as their descendants that still live here today. These homesteaders established the town’s first school, St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, Cattle ranches, worked the area mines, and opened businesses to accommodate the growing community. These are the people who helped make Wickenburg the culturally rich town it is today. Meet the people, their remembrances, and the traditions that make Wickenburg the kind of place where people put down roots.
This160 page book, published by the Wickenburg Chamber of Commerce through a grant from the Arizona Office of Tourism, and written for the Chamber by Julia Macias Brooks, a 5th generation descendant and Executive Director of the Wickenburg Chamber of Commerce, who collected and curated all of the photographs. Juan C. Jimenez of Jimenez Design designed the layout with the author.
This book is available from the Wickenburg Chamber Visitor’s Center, and in selected local stores will serve for many years as Wickenburg's Historical Hispanic Families reference, as well as the book of choice for those wanting information on genealogy.
Log onto the publisher's website www.wickenburgchamber.com or www.outwickenburgway.com for additional information on this western community.
Special discounts available for multiple orders. Call The Chamber at 928-684-5479 or email info@wickenburgchamber.com | Order Form (pdf) |
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Desert Caballeros Western Museum presents The Grandest Ride by acclaimed photographer Tom Brownold
The Grandest Ride is a breathtaking photographic exhibit of mule trains on their journey into the majestic Grand Canyon. Accompanied by a video, these images reveal the daily lives of the wranglers, barns, and mule trains of the Grand Canyon. Don’t miss a special lecture at the Museum by Tom Brownold on September 22 at Noon! More Information >>
Desert Caballeros Western Museum 21 N. Frontier St. Wickenburg, AZ 85390 westernmuseum.org | Tombrownold.com |
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 Birding in Wickenburg
By Richard Fredrickson, Resident Naturalist at Rancho de los Caballeros
Wickenburg is becoming a not-so-well-kept secret area for birding in Arizona – with over 280 species of birds confirmed! The jewel in our birding crown is undoubtedly the Hassayampa River Preserve, owned by The Nature Conservancy, and stretching five miles along the Hassayampa River. For most of it’s course through the desert, the Hassayampa runs beneath the surface and is invisible except for the cottonwoods and willows tracing it’s flow; however through the Preserve, the water is forced above ground by the granite bed rock.
There are also natural springs and a small man-made lake at the Hassayampa River Preserve. Water in the midst of the Sonoran Desert is the draw for many of those 280 species: bitterns and herons (7); geese and ducks (19); raptors (20), with probably 7 species nesting including the first ever recorded nesting of red-shouldered Hawks in the state; hummingbirds (6); “flycatchers” (17); warblers (21); sparrows (21) blackbirds and orioles (11).
A short trip up the Hassayampa River puts you in Box Canyon, often showing surface water to draw many species, including Peregrine Falcons.
Wickenburg’s two golf courses have become oasis for many species of desert wildlife, certainly for many birds. The Wickenburg Country Club and Los Caballeros Golf Club course are both home to resident Harris’ Hawks, the Los Caballeros course also is blessed with resident Vermilion Flycatchers. Late spring and summer bring Orioles and Zone-tailed Hawks to the courses.
Last, but certainly not least, Wickenburg is surrounded by thousands of acres of Arizona Uplands sub-division of the Sonoran desert. Gila Woodpeckers and Gilded Flickers nest in the saguaros, and their abandoned nests provide homes for at least a dozen species of secondary cavity nesters, including Kestrels, Elf Owls, and Ash-throated Flycatchers. Phainopeplas are abundant, with plenty of Canyon and Abert’s Towhees.
With more and more people birding, sightings of “rare” birds are on the increase, the last couple of years have brought us Ruddy Ground Doves, a Rufous-backed Robin, and Lawrence’s Goldfinches.
Bring your binoculars and enjoy the beautiful outdoors birding “Out Wickenburg Way!”
HOWDY! BIENVENIDOS! WILLKOMMEN! BIENVENUE! WELCOME!
Experience the Old West - "Out Wickenburg Way!"
Our old west ambience will bring you through the passage of time. The historic district has unique shopping and dining experiences, and offers you a glimpse of Wickenburg as it did at the beginning of the 1900's. Many of the local businesses have specialty gifts and services, some of the merchants you'll find personal gift & shopping service, western wear apparel and tack, art galleries, antique stores, old time photography, Mexican furniture and gifts, jewelry designs and Southwestern items, Native American jewelry and handcrafts, women's apparel & designers who can create your own sense of style right in their store.
Walk around the historic district, feel the experience of true western hospitality as you stop for refreshments or a bite to eat at one of our local eating establishments. You'll find treats such as sweet fruit smoothies, Café Mocha & Espresso, delicious pastries & homemade ice cream, sandwiches & wraps, Mexican Food, Steaks & Chops, Chicken Fried Steak, Hamburgers, Seafood, Italian, Chinese & German cuisine. And of course all of the brand name fast food restaurants. Leaving the historic district will take you out west along Wickenburg Way, for more shopping and dining pleasures, and leading you many other attractions.
Take an adventure back in time, while exploring the area's attractions. Visit the 45-year old Desert Caballeros Western Museum, featuring Native American and 19 th century decorative arts, as well as 19 th & 20 th century Western American paintings and sculptures, including many Remington and Russell. Period rooms give you a glimpse to the early 1900's of what Wickenburg was, including an exhibit of living out on the ranch!
The Historic Vulture Mine and Robson's Arizona Mining World offer you an outdoor experience from the early gold mining era. Other outdoor adventures include: Hot Air Balloon Rides, Jeep Tours, Hiking, Horseback Riding, or scheduling tee times to hit golf balls at Los Caballeros Golf Club and Wickenburg Country Club. ( Summer hours change, please call the Chamber for updates! )
To get your bearings in Wickenburg, it's helpful to make the stop at the Wickenburg Chamber of Commerce, housed in the restored 109-year old Santa Fe Depot, located on Frontier Street. You'll find pleasant and helpful employees who will answer your questions, assist you with dining reservations, and provide you local information on the area attractions and business services. The Chamber also keeps an updated Calendar of Events list, along with other seasonal activity information and contacts. We can be contacted seven days a week - 24 hours a day online at: www.wickenburgchamber.com
"Der Wickenburg Weg"
Ein freundliches "Willkommen" liegt in der Luft. Freundlichkeit und
Gastfreundschaft sind in Wickenburg genauso allgegenwärtig, wie der schier endlose Vorrat an Sonnenschein, der sich über die gesamte Region ausbreitet. Der Besucher trifft überall auf Wärme und Freundlichkeit, egal, ob auf einem Geschäftsbesuch , als Tagestourist oder bei einem Aufenthalt auf einer der Guestranches, die zu den gastfreundlichsten der Welt gehören.
Wickenburg ist eine Stadt, in der Besucher, unabhängig von der Dauer ihres Aufenthalts, immer willkommen sind.
Es ist nicht wichtig, woher Sie kommen, oder wer Sie sind - das Wichtigste ist, dass Sie hier sind.
Wickenburg, Arizona
Wickenburg ist eine Stadt mit reicher Geschichte. Sie verdankt ihre Gründung im Jahre 1863 Henry Wickenburg, der die heute noch zu besichtigende Vulture Mine entdeckt hat. Besuchen Sie das Desert Caballeros Museum, welches Ihnen einen guten Einblick in die Gründerzeit bietet, oder verbringen sie den Tag mit "bummeln" in der historischen Altstadt. Die zahlreichen kleinen Geschäfte und Galerien bieten ein grosses Angebot an authentischen Kunstgegenständen, Antiquitäten, Souvenirs und typischer Südwest Bekleidung. In den gemütlichen Cafés und Restaurants findet der Besucher alles was das Herz begehrt, von hausgemachter Eiscreme bis zu deftiger Mexikanischer Küche.
Bleiben Sie in einem der gastfreundlichen Motels oder Bed & Breakfast Pensionen über Nacht, und erkunden Sie die Umgebung auf Wanderwegen, zu Pferd oder per Jeep - es lohnt sich!!
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