The 14th annual Walkin’ on Main event will return to Old Town Cottonwood on Saturday, Nov. 11, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The free all-day event will include live music, wine tasting, a classic car show and numerous local vendors set among the shops, galleries and restaurants that line the streets of Old Town.
“This is one of the city’s most widely-attended events, where we can showcase all that Cottonwood has to offer to visitors from across the state,” festival organizer Paula Woolsey said in a press release. “From classic cars and live music to local wine and artists, there is something for everyone in the family to enjoy.”
Walkin’ on Main is co-hosted by the city of Cottonwood and the Verde Valley Wine Consortium. Wine tastings will be held in a featured wine garden. Local wineries in attendance will include Alcantara Vineyards, Arizona Stronghold Vineyards, Da Vines Vineyard, Cove Mesa, Laramita Cellars, Oak Creek Vineyards and Winery, Page Springs Cellars, Pillsbury Wine Co., Winery 101 and Su Vino Winery.
The classic car show, sponsored by Red Rock Collision, will have unique cars, trucks and collectible models on display for photo opportunities and a chance to strike up conversations with other car lovers.
Live music will be played throughout the day, starting with Toucan Eddy at 11 a.m., who will be followed by the Sammy Davis Band at 1:30 p.m. Aslan’s Road, who play classic rock and more, will close out the afternoon from 3:30 to 5 p.m.
The Mingus Union Art Club will be creating live art on the sidewalks throughout Old Town. The Cottonwood Community Club House will be hosting “Double Vision,” an art show organized in collaboration with the El Valle Artists’ Association and the Verde Valley Photographic Society. All of the artwork was created locally and will be available for sale.
Artists, craft makers, artisans and other vendors will line the streets selling their homemade goods and wares. Attendees will also be able to visit the numerous art galleries and boutiques of Old Town.
The event also celebrates the history of Old Town and will have displays calling attention to local history. Cottonwood was founded in 1879 after Charles D. Willard and other settlers came into the area. According to a statement by William H. Michael, the town’s name was derived from a ring of 16 large cottonwood trees growing near the Verde River. The area became a farming settlement and experienced a boom by 1917.
The event’s website states that Cottonwood had a reputation for lawlessness and thereby appealed to independent business owners as well as those on the run from company towns. Cottonwood was notorious for its bootlegging during the Prohibition era. A series of underground smuggling tunnels ran beneath Old Town and the entrance to one can be seen inside the Old Town Copper Company on Main Street, which was lined with pool halls and restaurants often doubling as speakeasies.
By the 1920s, Cottonwood was known as the “Biggest Little Town in Arizona,” with over 60 businesses for a population of around 1,000.
