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Events at Oracle State Park in May and June

(Phoenix, Arizona - May 8, 2009) - Oracle State Park offers events in May, 2009 including educational workshops, bird walks, concerts, star-gazing and guided tours.

Saturday, May 9: Papermaking with Desert Plants Workshop from 1-4pm at the ranch house. Instructor Val Bembenek has been making paper from desert and garden plants for many years. The $20 fee includes the park entrance fee. Reservation is required as space is limited. For reservations call (520) 896-2425.

Sunday, May 10: Morning Bird Walk with naturalist, Kathe Anderson from 7:30-9:30am. Enjoy a Mother's Day morning together outdoors in the oak grasslands identifying birds, before heading to breakfast. Bird sightings will be submitted to the 2009 North American Migration Count for Pinal County. Support the annual bird count! Reservation is required by calling (520) 896-2425. Free with park entrance fee.

Sunday, May 10: Papermaking with Desert Plants Workshop from 1-4pm at the ranch house. Instructor Val Bembenek has been making paper from desert and garden plants for many years. The $20 fee includes the park entrance fee. Reservation is required as space is limited. For reservations call (520) 896-2425. (Mother's Day - make it a mother/daughter fun activity!)

Sunday, May 10: Music in the Park from 7-9pm with Diamond Jim Hewitt and Friends. The performance will debut the group "Strings and Ivory" for a moonlit concert on the upper patio of the Kannally Ranch House. The music will be Celtic-influenced bluegrass barn jazz and includes tunes from the O'Carolan harp tradition as well as originals of down home fiddling and folk ballads. Features Diamond Jim on Fiddle, joined by Judy Francis (Piano), Nay Arner (Irish Harp), Shelley McGrew (Cello), and special guests Scott McMullen and Stefin Gordon. Tickets are priced $10 in advance or the day of the event.

Saturday, May 16: Wormshop. Begins at 1:30pm in the living room of the Kannally Ranch House with Linda Leigh. Make your own worm bin for compost recycling with live garbage eating worms. This program is offered in collaboration with newly formed local group "GO Green Oracle." The worm-shop fee to cover materials is $30 plus the $6 park entrance fee (annual passes available). If 10 or more people sign up, the materials fee is reduced to $24. A reservation is required by May 8 to order the worms and materials to make the bins. Call (520) 896-2425.

Beginning, Tuesday, May 19: Oracle State Park Summer Hours Change! Oracle State Park's main gate will be closed to the public Tuesdays and Wednesdays through summer. The park will be open 7am-3pm Thursday through Monday. For more information, call (520) 896-2425.

Friday, May 29: Astronomy Night with Starizona from 7:30-9:30pm on the upper patio of the Kannally Ranch House. Starizona of Tucson experts will be on hand with two telescopes to interpret the planets, stars, galaxies, nebulae, star clusters, moon views and constellations of the early summer skies. No reservation is required. Free with park entrance fee of $5 per vehicle (summer fee). This event is family-friendly. For more information, call (520) 896-2425.

Saturday, June 6: Journal-Making Workshop from 1-4pm at the Kannally Ranch House. Taught by Val Bembenek, local papermaker and book artist. Learn to make different styles of stab-bound journal notebooks to use as a diary, for poetry, to record hiking field notes of wildlife sightings and more. Participants take home three unique journal notebooks. The class will repeat on Sunday, June 7. Reservation is required as space is limited. The $30 fee includes the park entrance fee. For reservations, call (520) 896-2425.

Sunday, June 7: Music in the Park from 7-9pm. Evening full moon performance at the Kannally Ranch House upper patio by Fiveway Street (www.fivewaystreet.com). Woodstock era tunes including Crosby, Stills & Nash and Beatles covers. The band is subject to change. Tickets are priced $10 in advance or the day of the event.

Sunday, June 12: Evening Wildlife Walk from 7-9pm. Start out on the trail for identification of birds and other wildlife at dusk. The trail ends with a dark-sky walk along the loop road back to the ranch house for star-viewing, bats and more. Family friendly. Free with park entrance fee of $5 per vehicle (summer fee). Reservation is required, call (520) 896-2425.

Ongoing Weekends: Historic Kannally Ranch House Guided Tours. The tours are each Saturday, Sunday and holidays at 10am and 2pm and are 45-minutes in duration. The four-level Mediterranean revival style adobe ranch house was built from 1929-33 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Guided tours are scheduled by reservation. To make a reservation, call (520) 896-2425.

Oracle State Park is a 4,000 acre wildlife refuge in the northern foothills of the Catalina Mountains. Once part of the Kannally family cattle ranch, the unique Mediterranean style ranch house in the park is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Ranging from 3,700 to 4,600 feet in elevation, the surrounding landscape transitions from oak woodland to desert grassland, with sweeping views of the Catalinas and granite boulder outcrops to the south; and San Pedro River Valley and Galiuro Mountains to the north-east. The diverse vegetation, slope and elevation within the park provide habitat for a variety of animals. Oracle State Park offers day-use picnic sites and over 15 miles of trail for use by hikers, bicyclists and equestrians. A four mile section of the Arizona Trail passes through the park, connecting Mexico to Utah. For more information, call (520) 896-2425.

For information about Arizona State Parks call (602) 542-4174 (outside of the Phoenix metro area call toll-free (800) 285-3703) or visit the website at azstateparks.com.

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