Desert Messenger

4 www.DesertMessenger.com May 18, 2016 Rock Fiesta Producer thanks community VFW Post 769 VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS 305 N. Central, Quartzsite, AZ, 928-927-7697 UPCOMING EVENTS AT THE VFW VFW MEMBERS AND GUESTS NOTE: VFW Auxiliary is collecting coupons you may have that you won't use. These go to the military families who can use them up to 6 months after expiration. Please help us in this endeavor to assist our Veterans. Coupons can be left at Post. We are also collecting labels for the school. Can leave items at Post Lobby. MAY 21 Armed Forced Day - Flag Raising ceremony at the Post. 9am MAY 21 District Borderline Riders meeting Parker Post 1763 2pm. Meet at Post at 12:45pm if wishing to ride/follow with the riders MAY 30 Memorial Day - Program at Cemetery 10am JUNE 4 VFW AND AUXILIARY MEETINGS 9am House Committee at 11am Men's Auxiliary at 12 noon JUNE 8-12 State VFW Convention in Chandler. SEe brochure in Post for schedule JUNE 14 Flag Day Flag raising ceremony at Post 9am PLEASE CHECK AT POST AS ADDITIONAL EVENTS MAY BE SCHEDULED Check at the Post or on the VFW Post 769 website for information on additional activities being planned. www.vfwpost769.org Comrades meet –1st Saturday each month – 9:00 a.m. at Post Auxiliary meets – 1st Saturday in the dining room area at 9:00 a.m. House Committee meeting – 1st Saturday each month -11:00 a.m. at Post Men's Auxiliary 1st Saturday each month - 12:00 noon at Post Nature's Nuggets BUYS & SELLS GOLD Nuggets - Jewelry- Coins- Sivler Call Richard T 928-927-5479 Quartzsite YEAR ROUND! GOLD SHOW Feb. 10, 11, 12 2017 A huge thanks to the people and gov- ernment of Quartzsite for welcoming Rock Fiesta. The 3 year journey to mid-March consummated in a dream event materializing before our eyes. A huge production, great venue and dozens of helpful locals made Rock Fiesta a miracle in the desert. More than 60 positive articles have been written around the world. I was pleased to see that our fans did not terrorize the city as many thought. Once you met them, you were as im- pressed as I was. These were well behaved, polite people. Just two pot busts, I'll take that; and No violence. After searching many markets since 2014, we felt Quartzsite was the right place for Rock Fiesta, though it turns out the larger Latino com- munity didn't think so. We've heard a lot of comments from our Mexican and Mexican American friends that many felt there was a risk coming into Arizona, and many felt there would be ICE, Border Patrol and in- spections along the way, and other law enforcement agencies. Of course, there was none of that. The festival was a success from an enjoyment point of view. There is story after story online proclaim- ing what a great time was had. The camping went great with hundreds of Rock Fiesta flags flying at the foot of Q Mountain. The Quartzsidians worked very hard at long hours, with stars emerging everywhere, handling an intense job with no training. They just pitched in and performed far beyond what we expected. People like Lisa, Ve- ronica, Krissy and Leslie handling the crazy fiesta office, James and his team, again with Krissy keeping the entire site clean, Russ and Ted helping on just about everything taking ownership over many, many projects small and large. Desert Gardens Showgrounds was a terrific host. The Q bartenders put up with a lot, what a great local team. Many, many very good people. The Mayor, Police Chief the people in Town Hall, the Fire and Police departments, Town Council, were all very supportive. The support of the town overall was the highlight for me. Good people making a life in this desert town. The best days for Q are up ahead. On Mother's Day I announced to Den- nis at Desert Gardens that Rock Fies- ta cannot return. Dennis was a major reason why the first event even hap- pened. He accommodated our needs and worked hard on the event with his staff, Dave, Sherry and Ricky. The reasons Rock Fiesta 2017 will not be produced in Q: the event was a financial loss and a second year cannot be risked in Q, just too far away from major markets. The event cost more than $2.1 million. It is also too expensive to produce this level of event here. Everything had to be brought in. There are not enough hotels for staff to stay, so we spent more than $50,000 on rooms in Blythe and $50,000 on ground transportation. A hostile La Paz Co. Sheriff's De- partment. Larry Irwin needs to go. This guy threatened to arrest me. Some of the neighbors in a close-by residential area. Other than that, the place is perfect! We don't yet know if Rock Fiesta will happen somewhere else in the Southwest U.S., but the memories and kindness shown to me was re- markable. Thanks to Hal M. Da- vidson for lending us his truck and for Steve Schue for lending us his house. We hope Hal sees a speedy recovery from his recent hospital- ization. These are all good people who collectively created the village necessary to pull off such a great event of this magnitude. I lived here, knew many of you, and was very sad the day I left alone, as I arrived last August 18, 2015. I hope I can return for Silly Al's Pizza and to re-visit some of you. I am now in- volved with other festival projects and hope for new successes in the next 2 years. Quartzsite will see big events brought by others. It's inevitable. Parting is such sweet sorrow as Shakespeare said, and in my case, I will remember the characters and faces of the people of Quartzsite for the rest of my days. I wish everyone of you, success and happy days. Stay cool my friends. So grateful, Hal Davidson Festival Producer Rock Fiesta

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