For Immediate Release

Media Inquiries: Marie Demarais

(520) 908-4830

Date: January 8, 2013

Old Tucson and Pima County Parks and Rec Host 23^rd Annual Ted Walker Youth Day

 

(TUCSON, AZ) Old Tucson will welcome 4,000 fourth, fifth and sixth graders from Tucson and Pima County school districts during the 23rd Annual Ted Walker Youth Day on Thursday, January 31, 2013 from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. The children will receive complimentary park admission and enjoy a hot dog lunch donated by the Dan Felix Memorial Foundation and Pima County Parklands Foundation. Old Tucson will be open to the public until 2pm during the event.

Co-sponsored by Old Tucson and Pima County Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation, Ted Walker Youth Day is a one-of-a-kind field trip for students, allowing them a chance to learn and to have fun outside the classroom. The event is dedicated to enhancing the childhood experience and knowledge of our Western heritage for Southern Arizona kids. Pima County Parks and Recreation Commissioner Ted Walker started Youth Day in 1988 and the annual event was named for him after his death in 1993 in recognition of his charitable and civic contributions to the community.

The event, which features Wild West entertainment and educational exhibits, is designed to provide a fun-filled day of activity and education to local area school children who might not otherwise have this opportunity. Old Tucson will present western entertainment and educational Living History programs covering topics like Schools on the Frontier, History of the Stagecoach and Sheriffs of the Old West throughout the day. Other organizations participating include 88-Crime, Buffalo Soldiers, Colossal Cave Mountain Park, Drexel Heights Fire Dept., Pima County Sheriff’s Dept. and many more.

New this year is participation by Horse Tales Literacy Project, a non- profit organization that motivates children in classrooms and community-based programs such as the Boys and Girls Clubs, YMCA’S, Girl Scouts, and Public Libraries to read and enjoy books. Teachers and Community Program Directors receive a comprehensive curriculum that is aligned to horse-themed books and to Arizona State Learning Standards. The innovative program includes hands-on visits by or to horses. On Youth Day, the group will bring horses to Old Tucson to teach children about horse anatomy and grooming. Children also will read to horses and enjoy a western performance.

 

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Pima County Supervisor Richard Elias, Old Tucson CEO and
General Manager Pete

Mangelsdorf, and a representative from the Horse Tales
Literacy Project will be available for

interviews between 11:00 am and 12:00 noon during the
event.

 

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For information on including a school group for 2014, please
contact Kelly Cheeseman (Recreation Program Manager, Pima County Natural
Resources, Parks and Recreation) at 520-877-

6155 or Kelly.Cheeseman@pima.gov.

Old Tucson is Southern Arizona’s premier
location and Hollywood’s most famous western movie location and has been
immortalized in over 300 feature films and TV Westerns. For more information
about Old Tucson, Where the Spirit of the Old West Comes Alive, please visit
our website at www.OldTucson.com or call us at 520-883-0100.
Old Tucson is located at 201 S. Kinney Road, Tucson, Arizona 85735.

 

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