Town of Camp Verde issued the following announcement on Aug. 20
Parks and Recreation announces the Theme and Parade Grand Marshal for the 64th annual Ft. Verde Days to be held Saturday and Sunday, October 10 & 11. In celebration of the establishment of Fort Verde as a State Park the theme is “Go for the Gold! – celebrating 50 years of Fort Verde State Historic Park.”
Fort Verde became a State Park in 1970 after many years of volunteer preservation work by individual community members and broad-based support of the community in general. Fundraising efforts, repair work, advocacy and a volunteer operated community museum helped to preserve and call attention to the former Fort as a historic asset to the State and larger world. A focal point of the early Anglo-European settlement of the Verde Valley, Fort Verde played an important role in the history of the area. Fort Verde Days was initiated 14 years earlier as a way to celebrate the history around the Fort and community. Today the Fort celebrates 50 years of interpretation and preservation around a turbulent period of Arizona history.
In addition to the obvious focus on the Park, we will be looking for parade entries speaking to various accomplishments and changes in the community over the last 50 years. More info will be coming but we are considering the categories of Business, Community and Family to showcase these events and milestones.
In this turbulent and unpredictable year of changes, the Parade Grand Marshal will honor a group of people we have suddenly realized is integral to the daily function of our society: Front Line and Essential Workers. While healthcare workers have always been essential they have assumed new risk and new importance during this time. In addition we rediscovered that many people we have come to expect will always be there are more important than we thought. These include retail and food workers at grocery stores, restaurants and gas stations and the delivery, maintenance and support people who repair our vehicles, keep our buildings open and deliver our mail and packages. Mechanics, plumbers, and electricians showed how integral they are to the functioning of our modern society. Finally, the operation of Government to provide public health information, safety and emergency response, as well as benefits, assistance and advice.
Many of you are in this category of Front Line and Essential Workers and it is you we celebrate as Parade Grand Marshal. Since you can’t all ride on one float we are looking for small group of people willing to represent each type of worker on the float. If you or someone you know fits in one of these categories and would be willing to ride on our float please contact us at Parks@campverde.az.gov.
Fort Verde Days is a sort of unofficial “Homecoming” for Camp Verde residents and visitors alike. While we anticipate some changes to the event due to COVID-19 concerns, we believe they will be part of the new changes we have learned to adapt to. The entire event will be outside this year and more spread out around the Town grounds. Additional cleaning, hand sanitizer, and hand washing stations will be in place as will a request to wear face masks and physically distance as much as possible. The regular events we enjoy most about Fort Verde Days will still take place:
- the Saturday parade,
- the 3 day Carnival,
- food vendors,
- beer garden,
- and fun stuff to do like a Sunday Corn Hole Tournament.
More information about the parade route and viewing options will be coming. Contact Camp Verde Parks & Recreation, 395 S. Main Street, parks@campverde.az.gov, (928)554-0828 or visitcampverde.com/events for more information or vendor and entertainment application
Original source can be found here.
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