PIMA — There will be plenty to do across the Gila Valley this weekend, with the annual Pioneer Days celebration and Eastern Arizona Museum and Historical Society celebrating its 60th anniversary.
The theme for this year’s Gila Valley Pioneer Days is “Roll Forth” and everything starts with a pickleball tournament Friday, July 21, from 6-9 a.m., at the Thatcher High School tennis courts.
The first of three guest speakers will be featured at Eastern Arizona Museum in Pima on Friday, starting with Ross Bryce at 10:30 a.m., followed by Chuck Maxwell at 12:30 p.m. and Venla Kaye Kitcheyan at 2 p.m.
At 4:30 p.m. Friday, the variety show will take place at the David M. Player Center for the Arts in Safford, followed by the family rodeo at 7 p.m. at the Vard Line Roping Arena in Pima, and family dance from 8:30-10:30 p.m.
Saturday starts with more pickleball, from 6-9 a.m., and a 5K fun run, also starting at 6 a.m.
Although not officially part of Pioneer Days, a celebration of a Gila Valley pioneer will also take place Saturday, with a Bryce family reunion remembering Ebenezer Bryce.
“Bryce Canyon in Utah is named after Ebenezer Bryce, and his family, his descendents, have secured his original homestead (in Bryce, Ariz.),” said Clint Woods with the museum. “They’ve restored it and they’ve started the Ebenezer Bryce Foundation. They are restoring it and turning it into a museum. You can go visit and walk through there.”
There will be a flag-raising and pancake breakfast.
The co-ed volleyball tournament in high school gymnasiums across the Valley will run from 8 a.m. to noon, followed by the 3-on-3 basketball tournaments from 1-5 p.m.
The museum will host its second set of guest speakers Saturday, starting at 10:30 a.m. with Keith Crockett, followed by Helen Ruth Cole at 12:30 p.m. and Ray Luster at 2 p.m.
The museum will also feature refreshments, door prizes, performances of ragtime piano, Max operating the blacksmith’s forge, and a raffle of a diamond pendant.
Admission to the museum is free; however, donations are welcome.
The parade starts at 5:30 p.m. on East 400 South near Dan Hinton School. The parade travels east to South Main Street, north to East 200 South, east again to South 200 West, north to West 100 South, west to South Main Street, south to East 200 South, east to South 200 East, and finishing at Pima Park.
That will be followed by the community barbecue and entertainment at the Pima High School football field starting at 6 p.m., and Pioneer Days will close with a fireworks show at dark.
For more information, go to the Pioneer Days Facebook page.
