The Marana News previewed this weekend's Cotton Festival:
Monique Hagberg walks through a dry patch of ground nestled between a large swath of cotton and the constant hum of a housing development.
This sleepy patch of agrarian land, known as Marana Heritage River Park—with its bountiful Arizona cottonwoods and lush green grass, will soon transform into the entertainment epicenter of the town. Thousands of spectators are expected to pour through the park’s dirt-crusted entrance this Saturday for the town’s third annual Cotton Festival.
Hagberg, who is tasked with organizing the event for the town, estimates that upwards of 4,000 people will be there for this year’s event—up from last year’s 3,000.
Attendees will have the chance to participate in a number of events, from a chili cook-off under the park’s ramada benefitting the Marana Food Bank to carnival rides and a rodeo exhibition hosted by the University of Arizona rodeo team.
The best part, according to Hagberg, is the event’s price tag, or lack thereof.
“The reason we do our events in the town is really to give our residents something that they can invest in, and something they can come out and enjoy,” she said. “We really make a point of making our events as free as possible. For instance, for this event, the only thing that you pay for is the food, and the beer if you want to participate in that.”
Read the rest of the story at the Marana News.
