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Want to learn more about the stars? The Oracle State Park is hosting a Star Party. Bring your own telescope or use one of the volunteer’s.
The June 25-26 weekend will offer visitors to Oracle State Park two amazing views of our world: the big night sky overhead and the 24/7 work of pollinators.
An afternoon-into-evening star party with live music and stargazing telescopes will be held Saturday, June 25. And on Sunday, June 26, the park invites everyone for a celebration of National Pollinator Week. Both events are free with park admission.
Kevin Pakulis and his band will play from 6-8 p.m. on Saturday, sharing his original brand of Americana — where rock, blues and country meet! Enjoy the sunset from the upper patio of the Kannally Ranch House; perhaps with your own picnic munchies and beverages. The Star Party is set from 8-10 p.m. with telescopes and interpretation of night sky objects provided by Saddlebrooke Stargazers Club volunteers and Oracle Dark Skies Committee. Event support is provided by Friends of Oracle State Park.
National Pollinator Week, June 20-26, was designated nine years ago unanimously by the U.S. Senate for the protection and promotion of pollinators and their ecosystems. Hilary Cox will give a presentation on the valuable ecosystem services provided by bees, birds, butterflies, bats and beetles at the ranch house at 5PM on Sunday, June 26, followed by a short guided trail walk. Pollinator Week has now grown into an international celebration because pollinators positively affect all of our lives, supporting wildlife, healthy watershed and more. Park gates will close late, by 8 p.m. Reservation suggested.
Oracle Sate Park park is open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays; park admission is $7 per car at the main gate on Mt. Lemmon Rd. in Oracle. Reservations are made by calling the park office at 520-896-2425. Up-to-the-minute Oracle State Park event information is always posted on the state parks website: www.azStateParks.com/Parks/ORAC.
Guided tours of the historic Kannally ranch house are scheduled for 11 a.m. every Saturday and Sunday. The 45-minute tour visits rooms and patios extending down the hillside. The multi-level Mediterranean-Revival style house, built in 1929-33 by one of the earliest cattle ranching families in Oracle, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. An exhibit of impressionistic-style cowboy paintings by self-taught artist Lee Kannally is on display in the living room and dining room. Or do you own self-guided tour anytime during regular park hours.
For information about all 28 Arizona State Parks, the Trails and Off-Highway Vehicle Programs, and the State Historic Preservation Office, call 800-285-3703. Campsite reservations can be made online here or by calling the reservation call center at 520-586-2283. Follow AZStateParks on Twitter and Facebook.
There are news or informational items frequently written by staff or submitted to the Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner, Superior Sun, Pinal Nugget or Oracle Towne Crier for inclusion in our print or digital products. These items are not credited with an author.
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