The Superior Chamber of Commerce will be hosting its fifth annual Prickly Pear Festival and this year the event will be two days with plenty more to see, do and taste!
The event begins on Saturday, Aug. 20, 2016 with a hike to the old tunnel on the canyon segment of the Legends of Superior Trails at 7 a.m. On Sunday a prickly pear harvesting walk will start at 8 a.m. Participants will need to bring tongs, gloves and bucket or container to cary their fruit. For both hikes participants should bring plenty of water and wear a hat along with sunscreen and other protective clothing.
Bring your appetite for the annual Prickly Pear Pancake Breakfast hosted by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post on Saturday morning. Breakfast will be sold at the Magma Club from 8-11 a.m. and will include pancakes, eggs, bacon and sausage along with prickly pear syrup to top your pancakes. The VFW will also be hosting the “Cactus Lounge” at the Magma Club, where they will be selling beer and prickly pear margaritas on both days. Live entertainment is also scheduled throughout the two day event featuring Uno Dos, Trio Salado and David Martinez.
Many of the local restaurants will be featuring Prickly Pear inspired foods from ice cream to traditional Spanish meals or prickly pear barbecue. Jade Grill will be serving prickly pear BBQ pork buns and egg rolls with prickly pear sauce. Los Hermanos will be featuring a napalito dinner with red chile. For dessert, you can head over to Felicia’s for prickly pear ice cream or fin the Superior Sweets booth and sample Nancy Vogler’s prickly pear cookies. There will also be several food vendors on Main Street including the Baltierra Fish Tacos and Irma’s Hamburgers both days.
Vendor booths will be open at the original Superior High School gymnasium from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Keep your eye out for custom art work, desert edible products and that delicious prickly pear candy, syrup, cookies and fudge.
A variety of speakers on topics from symbiotic mushrooms, harvesting prickly pears and desert rescues will be held in the library of the original Superior High School throughout the two day event. The Awesome Possum Chair Auction for the JFK Arts Program will also be held at the gymnasium. Additional speaker sessions will be held at the Superior Chamber of Commerce office on Main Street. Please see official schedule online at: http://bit.ly/2aWh6Zw
On Saturday, the VFW and the Superior Rotary Club will host a cornhole tournament at the VFW beginning at 2 p.m. Proceeds will benefit both organizations.
Saturday evening there is a Prickly Pear inspired dinner catered by the Copper Hen Cafe from Globe, Arizona. The menu will feature salmon or chicken, salad, dessert and sides, all with a fusion of the beloved prickly pear. Entertainment that evening is Zona Flamenco who will be performing traditional flamenco dancing. Tickets are $35 per person and limited tickets are available. Please contact Nancy Vogler at 520-827-9461 to reserve yours.