NAU helps celebrate Southside
Northern Arizona University's Program in Community, Culture and Environment and the Southside Community Association will join with local businesses, nonprofit and campus organizations and performing groups for three days of free, all-ages activities that honor Flagstaff's south side.

The Southside Celebration Weekend begins Friday, Oct. 8, with the Changing Seasons Tour, 10 to 11 a.m. Brad Blake, manager of NAU's research greenhouse, will lead a descriptive walking tour of trees and plants on NAU's north campus. Participants should meet on the steps of Old Main. (See separate story on the arboretum.)

Friday from 6 to 9 p.m. Indigo Movement will celebrate its grand opening at its new headquarters, the historic church on the corner of Dupont and San Francisco streets. This event will feature music, poetry, and blessings/prayers for peace from the community's religious leaders. The Indigo Movement is a program for children ages 5-17 that focuses on preventing violence and delinquency.

The Southside Celebration Weekend's biggest event will be the Southside Block Party, Saturday, Oct. 9, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at South Beaver School. The block party will combine dance performances, live music, food by local vendors, games, raffles, a silent auction, a contest for best-decorated bike, and information about Southside community-building efforts. Attendees may show their block party stamps at participating Southside businesses for special discounts.

Also on Saturday Jack Welch of Flagstaff Biking will lead walking tours of the Southside neighborhood's historic treasures at 8 a.m., 10 a.m. and noon. Marie Jackson, geologist and historian, will join the 8 a.m. tour to speak about Basque influences in the architecture of the Southside. Participants should meet at South Beaver School.

The Flagstaff Community Market season finale kicks off Sunday's events. The market will be open from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The Flagstaff Community Market is located on the corner of Beaver and Phoenix streets, just south of the tracks.

"Our Roots, Our Treasures: Mapping Memories and Envisioning the Future in the Southside and Plaza Vieja Neighborhoods" is a free, drop-in workshop on Sunday, Oct. 10, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at South Beaver School. Community members are invited to bring their stories and photos of the Southside and Plaza Vieja neighborhoods. This workshop helps the public record what they most value about these special places, for use in future neighborhood planning.

The final event in the Southside Celebration Weekend will be the Harvest Hoot, Sunday, Oct. 10, at 4 p.m. The potluck party lets participants share food and music as they celebrate the harvest and the unveiling of the Art in Action mural. The event will take place at the Southside Community Garden and Historic Church (corner of Dupont and San Francisco).

The Southside Celebration Weekend was organized by the Program in Community, Culture and Environment in partnership with Liz Archuleta and the Southside Community Association. For information: (928) 523-0499, Community.Culture@nau.edu and www2.nau.edu/community.