schnepf farms

The population of Queen Creek is expected to nearly double on Saturday, causing local business owners and town officials to see dollar signs.

As attendees to the annual EdgeFest concert descend on the growing town of 20,000 , people will be buying snacks at local stores, fuel at gas stations and frothy refreshment at the event beer garden which benefits the town's Kiwanis Club. Town officials said Queen Creek stands to gain in tax dollars, exposure and nonprofit fundraising.

"Events like this are huge," Queen Creek Chamber of Commerce president Vince Davis said. "They bring a lot of people into the area to see what we have to offer. It gives exposure to Queen Creek that we wouldn't normally get otherwise."

EdgeFest will bring a different kind of audience to Schnepf Farms, normally a family entertainment venue, where the concert will take place, Davis said. Nationally known alternative rock bands will be performing from noon to 10 p.m. at the venue.

"Anytime we can introduce our community to potential customers, you're that much better off," Queen Creek Mayor Art Sanders said. "As long as what we show them is good, and I think it is."

Both town and chamber officials said it would be difficult to estimate in exact dollars the impact EdgeFest will have on Queen Creek, but Davis said businesses will benefit most if they take advantage of the crowds.

Queen Creek's Dippin' Dots on Ellsworth and Ocotillo Roads will be putting out balloons and signs to welcome concertgoers, store manager Sherry Erickson said.

"We're thrilled for the opportunity to have more people come in our door," she said. "We'll just make sure we have an extra person or two working."

Beyond businesses that display signs and banners, "businesses that will win by default are convenience stores and those with brand names people recognize, such as Circle K or McDonalds," Davis said.

Those businesses that could benefit from sheer exposure are the Queen Creek Performing Arts Center and local home developers along the route to the concert, he said.

He also pointed out the Kiwanis Club will have quite a fundraiser at the concert's beer garden because the club is sponsoring the liquor license.

"They're projected to make $20,000 to $30,000, and all of that money stays local and will benefit the youth in the community," said Mark Schnepf, owner of Schnepf Farms.

Aside from sales tax revenue and nonprofits benefiting from fundraising opportunities, there is marketing value in hearing Queen Creek mentioned on air and in print thousands of times leading up the concert, Schnepf said.

"That equates to $200,000 worth of marketing value for the community," he said.

Though the farm is popular for its fall Pumpkin and Chili Party and spring Peach Festival, Schnepf said it also is a great venue for concerts.

"We hosted Country Thunder for nine years," he said. "We've been active in trying to attract other large events to the community, and we recognize there's not just a benefit to Schnepf Farms, there's an economic benefit to the entire community."

Representatives with KEDJ (103.9 FM), which organizes EdgeFest, said they plan to make Schnepf Farms a permanent home for the alternative rock music festival because it has room for growth. Edgefest may not be drawing in massive crowds from around the country like Coachella or Bonnaroo, but its organizers are hoping to get to that status one day. At least a little bit closer.



One thing they are trying this year is allowing concertgoers to camp out the night before the big show, which takes place Sept. 29 at Schnepf Farms in Queen Creek.



"All the great major festivals in the country have camping . . . so our goal is to make Edgefest bigger every year," said Joshua Bassett, promotional director for the Edge 103.9.







To secure a camp spot is a bit pricey. Seventy dollars gets you and a friend a guaranteed campsite, which does not include festival passes. The whole package costs about $140, and campers must bring their own tents.



But those who rough it get to enjoy an intimate campfire concert, including local favorite Mat Weddle from Obadiah Parker.



"There will be an acoustic national act and local act, hosted by our Morning Ritual," Bassett said. "We're still working on the national act, but it will probably either be Bedouin Soundclash or Louis XVI."



With Halloween getting close, each camper has full access to the Nest, the haunted attraction at Schnepf Farms.



Because this is the first year with camping, organizers are trying to keep it small, allotting just 50 spots to see how people respond.



There will be no vendors on site, so campers should bring their own food and water. Camping is only for adults 18 and over. It's officially fall this weekend.

Leaves will start to change color and float to the ground. Days will get gloomier and colder. We'll want steaming bowls of soup and plates of comfort food, such as pot roast and potatoes. We'll cuddle with fleece blankets.

At least that's what the people are doing in the TV commercials. Sadly, it's not happening here. advertisement




Instead, fall in the Valley means griping about the never-ending heat.

Although summer is over according to the calendar, with the autumnal equinox Sunday, it's still too hot to feel how fall should feel.

It's football season, kids are in school and some stores already are stocking holiday decorations. So this is our fall. It's just a different fall.


Plant, snooze


Fall is planting season in Arizona. Ignore the decorative, dry corn husks and colorful gourds you'll see at every home store this time of year. Harvesting is for the rest of the country.

Vincent Molina, 41, spends his fall days planting vegetables at Schnepf Farms in Queen Creek. Molina plants a "bit of everything," while at the same time preparing for the farm's annual Pumpkin & Chili Party. Fall is the farm's busy season.

Fall also means Molina can hit the snooze button a couple times. Because the sun sleeps in, Molina can, too.

There isn't any snoozing for John Pavlik, 38, of Phoenix. If he did, he'd miss his surefire sign of fall: cool mornings. Pavlik, an Arizona native who works for Moon Valley Nurseries, said he knows the season has changed when he feels the cooler air on his morning hikes.

Once his air-conditioner switches off, summer's officially over.

"The leaves don't change color in the fall, but the license plates do," Pavlik said, a nod to the arrival of winter visitors. "That's a sign the season's changing."

A drop in humidity is the telltale sign for Nancy Selover, the state climatologist. Fewer daylight hours and refreshing evenings are, too.

"I think fall is the nicest season," Selover said. "I enjoy it the most because it cools off at night."

Scientifically speaking, the beginning of fall generally coincides with the end of the Valley's monsoon, which means less humidity and soon good reason to break out the "office" cardigan again.

"You're not a prisoner of the heat," Selover said.

Jerrid Sebesta is starting to feel like a prisoner to the heat, though he would hate to admit it. He knows he'll get an in-box full of mean e-mails if he says the heat is getting to him.

Sebesta, 28, had an inkling of what he was in for when he moved to the Valley in April. The Channel 12 (KPNX) meteorologist is from the North and his thick Minnesota blood is boiling.

"I can't wait for fall to get here," Sebesta said.

Sebesta is used to colorful leaves this time of year. He's used to hearing about hunting from friends. He's used to crisp nights.

Now, fall is weather maps and historical records. Experiencing his first Arizona fall, Sebesta is holding out for the big cool-down, just like the rest of us.

He checked a book inside the station's weather center. By mid-September, the book said, the average daily high would be just 99 degrees.

Sweet relief.

"I'm scared that even after four months, my blood has thinned already," he said. "It's going to be very strange for us to go through a Christmas without snow."