Exploring your authentic Arizona lifestyle
Meet the interesting people in our communities!
In a sport dominated by male coaches, Ashley Wilson-Hammer is breaking through the gender divide of reining with poise and confidence. While her boots may be smaller and she may be lighter in the saddle, there is nothing soft about her drive to be the best.
For many chefs and culinary professionals, the most coveted and meaningful recognition in the industry is the James Beard Award. The James Beard Foundation represents excellence in the culinary industry through its awards, advocacy training, educational initiatives and scholarship programs. In late September, the James Beard Foundation will come to Phoenix as part of its 10-city annual Taste America tour.
Back in the 1600s, a wave of immigrants from Ireland, Scotland and England made their way into remote areas of North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia, bringing with them ideas and music from their native countries. As they cultivated the land and forged new lives, they began singing songs and playing music that not only reflected their day-to-day struggles, happiness and loves, but that also gleaned bits and pieces of the cultures from which they came.
Musician, songwriter and producer Drew Tyler is home from Los Angeles for a brief visit when he sits down to talk with me. He’s got an easy smile and boy band good looks, but behind the made-for-an-album-cover exterior, Tyler has talent and a work ethic that have taken him from making a racket on his first drum set at age 2, to a 26-year-old who’s about to release an album of his own under the name “Fly Felix.”
In the aisles of Desert Foothills Library, David Court is a rock star. Though he lacks a swagger and the button-up shirts he wears are far from flashy, when he steps inside this building, he’s a hero.
Touchdowns, cheers and school fight songs—it’s as American as apple pie and the Fourth of July. Yet in Cave Creek, the sound of the band has been nearly non-existent in recent years. Budget cuts all but amputated funding for music, and the high school band program tapered down to a dozen or so students.
Centuries ago, according to legend, the French writer, historian and philosopher Voltaire is believed to have said, “With great power comes great responsibility.” If he were to glance down from his heavenly abode (or wherever it is that his soul has been all these years), he could hardly find a better example of his words in action when it comes to the Valley’s own Larry Fitzgerald.
It’s the dawning of the Age of Aquarius. Every one of us is in the midst of a global conversation on a scale never before experienced in history. For the first time, thanks in large part to technology, we are seeing and hearing voices and perspectives of people outside our own echo chambers of experiences and ideas, and it is changing our political and cultural landscapes.
Walking into the art studio of James Muir’s well-appointed Sedona home, I can’t help but feel a sense of reverence. Gentle music is playing in the background, and deep fabrics and rich woods surround us.
Writer Amanda Christmann Photographer Scott Baxter rizona is unique. Perhaps it’s the subtleties of the seasons that make us appreciate life’s moments all the...
