Park: Slide Rock State Park
Guest: Frank VanDevender, Assistant Park Manager & Volunteer Coordinator
Summary: Details about the 4th Annual Apple Festival at Slide Rock State Park, including this year's theme: Moving Toward Sustainable Living. Plus, a brief history of the park.
Intro Music
Host:
Welcome to the Arizona State Parks Audio Update, today we're talking about the 4th Annual Slide Rock Apple Festival which will be held September 20 and 21 at Slide Rock State Park, just north of Sedona. This event is sponsored by the Arizona State Parks Foundation, a non-proft group that promotes public advocacy and financial support of the Arizona State Park system. Joining us today to tell us more about this event is Assistant Park Manager and Volunteer Coordinator at Slide Rock State Park, Frank VanDevender. Welcome to the program Frank.
Frank VanDevender:
Welcome Tye, glad to be here.
Host:
Now Slide Rock State Park is an incredibly beautiful place. I understand that this year's Apple Festival will feature a theme of "Moving toward Sustainable Living," tell us more about that.
VanDevender:
That's correct it's being put on by the Ecological Monitoring and Assessment (EMA) Program at Northern Arizona University. It's going to feature a solar cooking demonstration, and also talking about sustainability of the environment, demonstrations on wind and solar power, the green building movement, and things of that nature.
Host:
And what sorts of other activities are at the Apple Festival?
VanDevender:
There's going to be live entertainment, we have bands playing throughout the day. There's going to be local vendors featuring homemade arts and crafts. There's going to be, very limited, but we should be offering You Pick apples, which was very successful last year. The public really loved going out and picking apples off the trees. We're going to have a little bit of that. We're also going to have apples available for sale. There's going to be a dessert auction. It should be a good time for everybody.
Host:
And I understand a number of band's are also schedule to appear.
VanDevender:
There's bands starting at nine o'clock in the morning and playing throughout the afternoon.
Host:
Please tell us a little bit about the history of Slide Rock.
VanDevender:
Slide Rock has a very storied history going back to 1907 when Frank Pendley first came to Oak Creek Canyon to hunt and fish. He was working on the Roosevelt dam project as quarer and a driller and has heard that there was excellent hunting and fishing up here in Oak Creek Canyon. He fell in love with a particular parcel of property, which back then was almost 60 acres. He quickly applied for the homestead act in 1910 and acquired the property by the homestead act. And shortly moved onto the property and built a small cabin residence and started farming. Specifically he wanted to grow fruit trees; apple trees primarily.
Host:
And there's about 300 apple trees still left at the park.
VanDevender:
Well, yes. Of the original orchard there's maybe 300 plus or minus another dozen. But we actually this past spring replanted almost 200 new trees that are genetic cousins, offspring of the original trees. So now we're almost up to 500 trees on the property.
Host:
And finally Frank, how long have you worked at Slide Rock and what do you think is special about the park?
VanDevender:
I've been working at Slide Rock for almost 8 years. It will be 8 years for me this November. I think the primary attraction for me at Slide Rock is the variety; I love the fact that we're so busy and so popular in the summer, yet in the off season we get to go back to our roots and enjoy the homestead property for what it is. And be more agrarian and focus on the homestead property and the upkeep of the historic buildings and taking care of the apple trees.
Host:
Thanks so much for joining us today Frank.
VanDevender:
Thank you Tye, I appreciate it. I hope everyone gets to come up here and take advantage of the free weekend we're offering to the public. I look forward to having another popular Apple Fest this year, and for it to get bigger and better every season.
Host:
Slide Rock State Park is located about 7 miles north of Sedona on highway 89A in Oak Creek Canyon. The 4th Annual Slide Rock Apple Festival will take place September 20 & 21. Both days of the Festival are free to the public. If you're interested in exhibiting at this event please call Susan Wiseberger at (928) 282-1418. To learn more about the Apple's Festival's sponsor, the Arizona State Parks Foundation please visit their website at ArizonaStateParksFoundation.org. We're also looking for Volunteers to help at this event, to learn more about volunteering opportunities visit our website AZStateParks.com and click on the Volunteer for Service Projects button on our home page. For Arizona State Parks I'm Tye R Farrell.
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Commentator:
Arizona State Parks: Managing and serving Arizona’s natural, cultural and recreational resources for the benefit of the people both in our parks and through our partnerships. Visit us on the web as azstateparks.com.
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