Payson Roundup

Rest up. There is another high-energy, action-packed weekend waiting right around the corner.

First up, Friday, Sept. 25, Homecoming Week festivities at Payson High School culminate with the Longhorns playing Santa Cruz at 7 p.m. and homecoming royalty crowned at halftime.

Things really start hopping Saturday with the opening of both the annual Payson Heritage Festival and the 39th annual Vertielee Floyd Memorial Old-time Fiddlers Contest.

The Heritage Festival will be held at Green Valley Park, opening at 9 a.m., and the Fiddle Festival will be basically across the road at Amity’s Acres, behind Main Street, with gates opening at 8:30 a.m. and opening ceremonies at 9:30 a.m. To get to Amity’s Acres take South McLane off of Main Street and follow the signs. Visitors to each event can use one of the three “Tractor Trams (hayride style)” that will be going back and forth from each event all day long.

The annual fund-raising banquet for the Northern Gila County Historical Society concludes Saturday’s heritage festivities. The highlight of the banquet will be the premiere of a stunning new video featuring recordings made for KMOG by the late Marguerite Noble paired with historic pictures from the Northern Gila County Historical Society archives. The benefit banquet is at the Mazatzal Casino. Historical Society members and Payson history buffs are invited to attend. Dinner is included in the price of admission, which is $35 per person. Tickets are available at the Rim Country Museum in Green Valley Park, which is open every day except Tuesday, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. The Rim Country Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Payson Public Library will also have the tickets available.

Enjoy the talents of fiddlers in the evening air from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 26 at a concert style jam session at Amity’s Acres (take Main Street to South McLane and follow signs). The fiddlers and other musicians will provide music. Cost of the event is $5 per carload.

Learn more about these events by contacting the Rim Country Regional Chamber of Commerce at (928) 474-4515 or the Payson Parks, Recreation and Tourism Department at www.paysonrimcountry.com.