"SAMARITANS" Documentary Screening
2026-05-07 18:00 - 20:00 (America/Phoenix) | AZ
In the shadow of remarkable human struggle, “Samaritans” weaves a poignant narrative of hope and humanity on the US-Mexico border, shedding light on dedicated volunteers who challenge the harsh realities of migration through unwavering compassion and life- saving aid. After the film, join Writer and Director David Damian Figueroa for a Q&A.
Film Synopsis:
“Samaritans” immerses viewers in the harrowing yet heartwarming story of the dedicated older American volunteers known as the Samaritans, who have been steadfast in their mission to provide humanitarian aid along one of the world’s deadliest migration routes.
Filmed over three years, including the backdrop of the “Great Migration of 2024,” this powerful documentary navigates the severe challenges faced by tens of thousands of migrants seeking asylum in the United States, while simultaneously highlighting the transformative impact of community and compassion.
Set against the stark desert landscapes of Southern Arizona, where temperatures can be unbearably high in the summer and frigidly low in the winter, the film intimately captures the fierce dedication of “extreme volunteers’—individuals who risk their safety to confront systemic inequities and provide vital assistance. With access to the frontlines where tragedy and resilience collide, “Samaritans” humanizes those navigating perilous journeys filled with desperation, determination, and a relentless pursuit of a better life.
This documentary serves as a tribute not only to the countless migrants who have sacrificed their lives seeking the American Dream but also to the advocates who refuse to disregard their plight. Through their stories, we are reminded of our shared humanity and the critical need for compassion and systemic change in the face of a humanitarian immigration crisis.

S.E. Willis & Friends
2026-05-09 19:30 - 21:30 | Coconino Center for the Arts, 2300 North Fort Valley Road, Flagstaff, AZ, 86001, United States
An evening of Flagstaff blues

Back in Flagstaff in 1969 musicians worked in just a few places: fraternity parties, high school dances and the Oddfellows Underground on Arrowhead, a teen dance hall in the basement. We all played there. (There were country bands at the Museum Club, but no love for teenage rockers)
My band was the Vanilla Doorknob, a psychedelic name for a pretty conservative small town dance band. The other band was the Sympler Form, with Donny Roberts on guitar and Isidro Padilla on vocals. They were the bad boys, south side characters who played a lot of underground material. They were covering the Velvet Underground’s Heroin for heaven’s sake!
Isidro moved on, lineups changed, but Donny and I were pals and 17 years old then. Word got out that there was a new singer in town, an older guy from New York City who had been in the Army in Germany. That was Frank Manhardt and I remember watching him at the Underground.
He stuck around, bands changed, and he and Donny became locally famous as Freaky Frank and the Pistons. Big crowds for them down at Shaky Jake’s, the Zanzucchi family’s bar on South San Francisco. Then they moved to Tucson and did really well there as Straight Shot and the Frank and Woody Show.
Donny moved to Nashville and became a top studio musician, working with Webb Wilder and, famously, playing guitar on Steve Earle’s Copperhead Road.
I’ve been trying to think of something different to try at Coconino Center for the Arts. November’s “An Evening of Flagstaff Blues” with Tommy Dukes, Bob Blasi, Dale Caddell, Roger Smith, Chuck Curry and Greg Varlotta was quite successful, selling out for standing room only. Plans are being made for a Fall repeat, but on May 9 Roger Smith and I will be hosting a smaller gathering with Frank Manhardt (Freaky Frank) and Donny Roberts. Other guests to be announced.
This show will be more eclectic, not so Blues focused, with more Americana and even Country elements. We’re having a party 60 years in the making! I know most folks in Northern Arizona weren’t around in 1969 or even ’76, but I’m inviting you to come out and see what a lifetime of experience playing American music can achieve! Let’s have some fun!

Jill Sans Artist Talk
2026-05-19 18:00 - 19:00 | Coconino Center for the Arts, 2300 North Fort Valley Road, Flagstaff, AZ, 86001, United States
Jill Sans discusses INTERWOVEN, in CCA’s Project Gallery from April 18 – June 26, 2026.
INTERWOVEN portrays the interconnectedness of humans and the natural world. Interwoven is a remembering. Flagstaff artist Jill Sans makes inks and paints extracted from plants and earth to creative abstract paintings on organic surfaces. Through layered mark making, organic forms, and subtle patterning, her work encourages the audience to focus on the act of remembering, repair, and interdependence.

Center 2 Center: Community Bike Ride
2026-06-05 16:00 - 17:30 | Coconino Center for the Arts, 2300 North Fort Valley Road, Flagstaff, AZ, 86001, United States
On Friday, June 5, meet at Coconino Center for the Arts at 4 PM for free Timberline Ice Cream, then ride to Heritage Square at 5 PM for Car-Free First Friday ArtWalk! ⁠
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Be prepared with layers, lights, and helmets, and bring a friend for some two-wheeled fun! This is a party-pace, family-friendly, ride-at-your-own-risk community ride, and we hope you can attend.⁠
This May-October 1st Friday ArtWalks will be street closure events, allowing artistic activations on Aspen Street! You can look forward to music, performances, interactive installations, youth activities, and many other creative displays. ⁠
The 2026 ArtWalk season is generously underwritten by Dapper Dre, supporting Car-Free First Fridays with traffic closures, allowing it to be a walkable way to connect with local culture and creativity.⁠

Pollinator Parade & Aerial Show
2026-06-05 17:00 - 19:00 | Downtown Flagstaff, Flagstaff, AZ, 86001
Join us for the Pollinator Parade on June 5th!
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Momentum Aerial will be marching through downtown, led by stilt walkers and drummers! Participate in the parade, then enjoy their dance and aerial performance in Heritage Square afterward.
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Parade participants should plan to gather downtown at Heritage Square at 4:45 pm on Friday, June 5. ⁠The parade will be short and sweet, looping back to Heritage Square by about 5:30 pm for the start of the show.⁠
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Dress up and join the fun! This is an ARTx project, proudly presented by Creative Flagstaff.

First Friday ArtWalk
2026-06-05 17:00 - 21:00 | Downtown Flagstaff, Flagstaff, AZ, 86001
⁠Flagstaff’s First Friday ArtWalk is a FREE monthly celebration of creativity that brings downtown to life on the first Friday of every month. Artist studios, galleries, shops, restaurants, and local venues open their doors in the evening, showcasing a diverse mix of art, from painting and photography to ceramics, jewelry, and live performance. ⁠
The 2026 ArtWalk season is generously underwritten by Dapper Dre, supporting Car-Free First Fridays with traffic closures from May to October. This allows Aspen Street to fill with artistic activations. You can look forward to music, performances, interactive installations, youth activities, and many other creative displays!
Whether you’re a dedicated collector or just looking for a lively night out, First Friday offers a welcoming, walkable way to connect with local culture and creativity.

Art for Life: Exploring Creative Aging in Flagstaff
2026-06-11 16:00 - 18:00 | Coconino Center for the Arts, 2300 North Fort Valley Road, Flagstaff, AZ, 86001, United States
Join the Arizona Commission on the Arts and Creative Flagstaff on Thursday June 11, 2026 from 4-6pm for an interactive session about Creative Aging, an exciting national movement to advance understanding of the vital relationship between creative expression and healthy aging.
Creative engagement through the arts is fundamental to the human experience and deeply linked to enhanced health and well-being. Older adults who engage in the arts experience better overall health, enjoy a higher quality of life, and are more active in their communities. Together we will dive into the why and how of providing high quality creative programming for adults across the aging spectrum
Anyone interested in the vital relationship between the arts and quality of life for older adults should attend, including aging or healthcare service organization staff, caregivers, volunteers, teaching artists, and arts organizations. Participants will connect with other providers and artists interested in enriching the lives of older adults in their community, and will leave with concrete tools and ideas for Creative Aging in their own programs and work.
Cost: Free. Advance registration is required.
Whether you’re an artist, a healthcare provider, or a community leader, you’ll walk away with actionable ideas and a fresh network of collaborators. Let’s redefine what it means to age well together!

Flagstaff Folk Festival
2026-06-13 - 2026-06-15 | Coconino Center for the Arts, 2300 North Fort Valley Road, Flagstaff, AZ, 86001, United States
Presented by Flagstaff Friends of Traditional Music and Coconino Center for the Arts

The Flagstaff Folk Festival is a family-friendly, live music festival nestled under the Ponderosa Pines in Flagstaff, Arizona. Festival attendees will access more than 100 musical acts on five different stages, a full schedule of educational music-related workshops, a selection of tasty treats in our Food Court, and an Artisan Market offering one-of-a-kind creations by local artists. New festival features this year include: enhanced focus on performances by Teen musicians; a Route 66 Centennial Songwriting Competition; and a special tribute the late great cowboy poet Tony Norris. We’ll also introduce a new festival app that will allow greater connection between festival attendees and our artists, vendors and sponsors.
$20 for each indvidual day or a $35 full weekend pass
Free admission for youth 16 and under.

NightVisions: Amber Opening Reception
2026-06-27 17:00 - 20:00 | Coconino Center for the Arts, 2300 North Fort Valley Road, Flagstaff, AZ, 86001, United States
Opening Reception: June 27
Members’ Preview 5-6 pm
Jurors Talk 6 pm
Public Reception 6-8 pm
NightVisions: AMBER is an international juried art exhibition that seeks to explore and celebrate our deep connections with the night.
This special exhibition celebrates the 25th anniversary of Flagstaff’s recognition as the world’s first International Dark Sky City. Expanding upon the established NightVisions: Cultural Interpretations of the Night Sky concept, this exhibition explores the theme of amber lighting and highlights the critical role that amber-spectrum lighting plays in Flagstaff’s dark-sky conservation efforts.
We are thrilled to partner with the Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition for this exhibition, and we can’t wait for you to experience the array of pieces featured in this collection.
Image credit: Carla Olson | All at Once (detail, left side: original; right side: under amber lighting) | oil on linen panel, 12″ × 9″

Full Moon Concert at Buffalo Park
2026-06-29 19:00 - 22:00 | Flagstaff
June 29, 2026
Seating: 7 pm | Performance: 7:45 pm
Buffalo Park | Free Event
Celebrate Flagstaff’s deep connection to the cosmos and experience the natural beauty of Buffalo Park in a whole new light. Join Dr. David Koerner for an evening of classical piano music, lunar meditations, and telescope viewing. This event is presented by Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition and supported by a City of Flagstaff Beautification in Action grant in celebration of Flagstaff’s 25th anniversary as the world’s first International Dark Sky City.

Center 2 Center: Community Bike Ride
2026-07-03 16:00 - 17:30 | Coconino Center for the Arts, 2300 North Fort Valley Road, Flagstaff, AZ, 86001, United States
On Friday, July 3, meet at Coconino Center for the Arts at 4 PM for free Timberline Ice Cream, then ride to Heritage Square at 5 PM for Car-Free First Friday ArtWalk! ⁠
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Be prepared with layers, lights, and helmets, and bring a friend for some two-wheeled fun! This is a party-pace, family-friendly, ride-at-your-own-risk community ride, and we hope you can attend. You can look forward to music, performances, interactive installations, youth activities, and many other creative displays. ⁠
The 2026 ArtWalk season is generously underwritten by Dapper Dre, supporting Car-Free First Fridays with traffic closures, allowing it to be a walkable way to connect with local culture and creativity.⁠

First Friday ArtWalk
2026-07-03 17:00 - 21:00 | Downtown Flagstaff, Flagstaff, AZ, 86001
Flagstaff’s First Friday ArtWalk is a monthly celebration of creativity that brings downtown to life on the first Friday of every month. Artist studios, galleries, shops, restaurants, and local venues open their doors in the evening, showcasing a diverse mix of art—from painting and photography to ceramics, jewelry, and live performance. Visitors can stroll between locations, meet artists, enjoy live music, and experience the vibrant energy of Flagstaff’s arts community. Whether you’re a dedicated collector or just looking for a lively night out, First Friday offers a welcoming, walkable way to connect with local culture and creativity
The 2026 ArtWalk season is generously underwritten by Dapper Dre, supporting Car-Free First Fridays with traffic closures on Aspen St. for art and performance activations.

Indigenous Ties to Dark Skies: Arabic Poetry in the High Country
2026-07-09 20:00 - 22:00 | Coconino Center for the Arts, 2300 North Fort Valley Road, Flagstaff, AZ, 86001, United States
Thursday, July 9, 2026, 8:00 – 10:00pm
Join cultural astronomer and Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition executive director Dr. Danielle Adams for an evening exploring the rich heritage of indigenous Arabian astronomy through poetry and storytelling. Presented during the exhibition NightVisions: AMBER, this special evening program invites audiences to experience the transition from twilight to darkness while reflecting on humanity’s enduring relationship with the night.
The evening begins indoors, where Danielle will set the scene by telling stories from Arabian skies that depended on seeing stars near the limits of naked-eye visibility. Then she will take the audience into the ocean of classical Arabic poetry to illuminate the breadth and depth of poetic inspiration that came from a single asterism: the famed Pleiades star cluster.
As twilight fades, the presentation will move outdoors under Flagstaff’s famous dark skies, where Danielle will reveal how generations of ancient stargazers found meaning, memory, and beauty in the stars above. Using an astronomical laser, she will help participants discover how stars became guides not only for navigation and seasonal forecasting, but also for imagination and cultural expression.

The Living Sky: Diné Constellations and Cultural Knowledge with Emerson John
2026-07-23 18:00 - 20:00 | Coconino Center for the Arts, 2300 North Fort Valley Road, Flagstaff, AZ, 86001, United States
Join Diné educator and cultural presenter Emerson John for an introduction to Diné understandings of the night sky. Through stories, teachings, and discussions of traditional constellations, John will explore how the stars serve as guides for knowledge, cultural identity, and relationships with the natural world.
This presentation offers an opportunity to learn about the enduring significance of celestial knowledge within Diné culture and to consider how different communities have developed distinct ways of understanding and interpreting the night sky. Presented in conjunction with NightVisions: AMBER, the program highlights Indigenous perspectives on the cosmos and the importance of preserving dark skies for future generations.
Image Credits: Ma’ii Bizò © Melvin Bainbridge

Full Moon Concert at Buffalo Park
2026-07-28 19:00 - 22:00 | AZ
Seating: 7 pm | Performance: 7:45 pm
Buffalo Park | Free Event
Celebrate Flagstaff’s deep connection to the cosmos and experience the natural beauty of Buffalo Park in a whole new light. Join Dr. David Koerner for an evening of classical piano music, lunar meditations, and telescope viewing. This event is presented by Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition and supported by a City of Flagstaff Beautification in Action grant in celebration of Flagstaff’s 25th anniversary as the world’s first International Dark Sky City.

Capturing the Night: Astrophotography Basics and Insights with John Gartin
2026-08-06 18:00 - 21:45 | Coconino Center for the Arts, 2300 North Fort Valley Road, Flagstaff, AZ, 86001, United States
Learn approaches to Astrophotography in a combined classroom and field-based workshop.

This hands-on course will teach the basics of astrophotography in a two-part, one-evening session. Participants will learn how to use their own camera settings, the impact of different camera settings, foreground composition, site scouting, apps & online resources, different astrophotography approaches, and how to post-process photographs. Then participants will visit a local Flagstaff dark sky location to apply their learning, including photographing the core of the Milky Way Galaxy.
The class will be held from 6–7:30pm at CCA, followed by a break, then resume from 8:45–9:45pm at a dark-sky location.
Cost: $40 for non-members, $30 for members

Max Gomez & Howe Gelb with Slant Can
2026-08-19 19:00 - 23:00 | Coconino Center for the Arts, 2300 North Fort Valley Road, Flagstaff, AZ, 86001, United States
Wednesday, August 19, 7:30pm
Max Gomez was born and raised in Taos, New Mexico, where he fell under the influence of country and blues singer-songwriters at an early age. After becoming a fixture in the New Mexico music scene, Gomez left home to pursue a broader horizon. His debut album, Rule the World (New West Records), earned critical acclaim and launched a touring career that has taken him coast to coast across the U.S., into Canada, and throughout Western Europe.
Howe Gelb long has been saddled with such ticklish titles such as ‘godfather of alt-country’ ( only in the UK) and ‘elder ambassador of desert rock’ ( at 3:00 AM during a desperate writer’s deadline ) but please never utilize the moniker Americana ( which originally was a descriptive instigated by Sylvie Simmons of MoJo aeons ago ) and just call it American music; the result of a melting pot of the poor and tired and the huddled masses yearning to be free.
In three decades plus, he’s managed to mash elements of erosion rock, de-composition, crunchy & western, something close to blues, punk snark, lo-fi hi-fi, pseudo jazz, gospel a-choir-ing, semi-standard piano standards and a side swipe of Andalusian gypsy flamenco.
SLANT CAN
when straight can’t
A week’s worth of rehearsing for a Giant Sand European tour with Thøger Lund for the upcoming Danish line up, for Autumn 2025 led to this spontaneous creation instead that included newly Tuxoned Bethy Goodfellow. Like a child meant to stay on course and finish his homework, instead would sneak out between songs needing to be gone over and instantly make up something new without losing the groove masters

Nathan McEuen
2026-08-28 19:30 - 21:30 | Coconino Center for the Arts, 2300 North Fort Valley Road, Flagstaff, AZ, 86001, United States
New album “Time To Go Home” to be released, July 17th 2026

Nathan McEuen grew up surrounded by incredible music and talented musicians. By age five he started performing with his father, John McEuen (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band), Nathan soon became a natural showman.
With over 40 years of touring, more than 3,000 shows, and appearances on American Idol, The Stagecoach Festival, the Grand Ole Opry, The Tonight Show, Music City Roots, and XM/Sirius Radio, his music has reached audiences around the world.
Held in the highest esteem by his musical colleagues, Nathan has shared the stage with an impressive lineup of artists, including Bon Jovi, Steve Martin, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Kenny Loggins, Leon Russell, Mason Williams, Vassar Clements, Jay Leno, Billy Bob Thornton, John Carter Cash, Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, Albert Lee, David Grisman, The Dillards, Dwight Yoakam, Carlos Santana, Kiss, Dave Mason, Jim Messina, Gabriel Iglesias, John Denver, John Jorgenson, Michael Martin Murphey, Trisha Yearwood, David Crosby, Shawn Colvin, Colin Hay, Chris Stills, Richard Paige, Chris Issak, Jason Mraz, Steve Postell, Chris Hillman, Herb Peterson, John Oates, Kevin Nealon, John Hartford, Brett Dennen, Garfunkel & Oates, Jennifer Warnes, Blind Boys of Alabama, John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, Malcolm McDowell, Paul Williams, Abe Laboriel, Ann-Margret, Ronny Cox, Chris Thile, Van Dyke Parks, Laurie Lewis, Gary Morris, Gonzo the Muppet, Russi Taylor (Voice of Minnie Mouse) and Hanna-McEuen (w/ his brother Jonathan, and cousin Jaime Hanna).
Most recently, Nathan has collaborated on writing and composing music with legends like Mason Williams (Classical Gas, Smothers Brothers, SNL) and Chris Caswell (Daft Punk, Tron, The Muppets). Alongside his EP “My One and Only” for Mesa/Bluemoon Recordings, Nathan co-produced The McEuen Sessions – For All the Good for the label in 2011. He has also released several acclaimed albums through his independent label, Lint Records, including Grand Design, Festival, Scrapbook, McEuen Sessions, and Side by Side.
With a rich musical heritage, a lifelong passion for songwriting (200+ songs to date), and a love for storytelling, Nathan’s engaging performances showcase his artistry and dedication to his craft. Whether on stage or in the studio, his music continues to resonate with fans worldwide.
