Nine years ago I started harranging Arizona about the upcoming Statehood Centennial–which happens next week on Feb. 14 when the State of Arizona is officially 100 years old.
I threw out all kinds of ideas about the kinds of things we could do to celebrate this milestone and showcase what’s right with Arizona–since so much of the national press we get points out, painfully, what’s wrong with some of the folks who call this home.
One idea I suggested way back then was this: “If we want to be authentic, we won’t have a ‘ball’ or a ‘dance’ but a ‘fandango,’ which is what they called dances in those days. We’ll have giant picnics and ice cream socials and bands in the streets and parades.”
The Centennial Commission adopted the fandango idea, but, well…..something got lost in the translation. Their idea of a fandango is a black tie cocktail, silent auction and dinner celebration that costs $250 a plate–that’s $500 a couple.
Silly me, I was thinking of something that MOST Arizonans could enjoy, not an elite affair. Oh well, I’m just going to dance down Central Avenue with my friends and call it our own fandango.