By Linda Kor The Holbrook Chamber of Commerce met last week and provided updates on what is taking place in the community as summer events approach. The annual summer cultural dances are set to begin on June 15 and last through July 24, with social distancing measures to be in place and no plans to have concessions open. July 4 will bring the annual Fireman’s Barbecue held at the firehouse on Airport Road. Food Truck Saturday will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 8. The Annual Old West Fest has been moved to October and the Navajo County Fair is slated for September 16-19. Although prefacing that nothing is definite, Adam Marsh noted that the Petrified Forest National Park is hoping to at least have the park road open by the end of May and then phasing visitor center openings going into June. Tara Young, director of the Petrified Forest Museum Association added that they have target dates to open the north visitor center on June 5 and June 12 to open the south visitor center. “These are target dates and of course anything can happen between now and then. “We’re actively working to install all the safety measures that we can and are taking down a wall in the north visitor center in order to have more space and encourage better traffic flow while providing enough room to safely social distance,” she added. The field institute offerings will be on hold the time being. The chamber is looking into hosting a star gazing event in the city. Currently a location is being sought for vehicles to park safely. The objective is to have speakers and perhaps have those talks broadcasted over the local radio station. “Kind of like a drive-in experience only it’s going to be star gazing, listening to the radio,” explained Chamber Director Cindy Tafoya. The board currently has two vacant positions. Although Tafoya noted that no new nominations had been received, Jason Danch, the owner of the Winner Circle was nominated during the meeting and he accepted, with his name added to the ballot with the nomination deadline set for May 27.
