Yavapai College’s ‘Big October’ Brings a Bumper Crop of Art

Prescott, Arizona (September 30, 2025) – Swing. Soul. Folklore – painted, sculpted and sung. Art that hails from ancient legends, and art that takes shape while you watch. From the fields of the Chino campus to the starry skies above the Verde Valley, Yavapai College offers an October brimming with music, films, literature, paintings, sculpture and wine.

Yavapai College’s Big October launches Wednesday, Oct. 1, when the Music Department premieres “From Screen to Swing.” Join Musical Director Dr. Chris Tenney as he leads the Clarinet Choir, Flute Choir and Jazz Combo through an engaging fusion of jazz and movie soundtrack classics.

Friday, Oct. 3 marks a double premiere. “Transforming Traditions,” opening at the Prescott Campus Gallery, brings thirty artists together from a broad variety of cultures to explore their mythologies in oils, watercolors, sculpture, print and multi-media.

Oct. 3 also opens the Prescott Studio Tour, where local artists open their galleries, workshops, and creations to the community. Yavapai College anchors the Eastern leg of the 54-gallery tour, hosting the aesthetically curious in their drawing, painting, sculpting and lapidary studios from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. throughout the weekend.

Pencil Saturday, Oct. 4, in for a colorful, high-energy serenade by LA’s Grammy-award-winning Mariachi Divas, who bring their bold and brilliant sound to the Jim & Linda Lee Performing Arts Center at 7 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 11 brings the party out to the fields of Chino Valley, where Yavapai College’s “Harvest Festival” celebrates autumn in corn mazes, hayrides, seasonal plants, delectable treats and every variety of outdoor family fun, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Co-hosted by the Chino Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Town of Chino Valley, The Harvest Festival is the area’s signature event, promising fun (and a pumpkin) for everyone.

Then spend Saturday evening with an icon of Soul, R&B and gospel music. On Oct. 11, the Jim & Linda Lee Performing Arts Center presents the unforgettable Mavis Staples, who brings her powerhouse voice and soaring spirit to her solo hits (“Respect Yourself,”) Staples Singers classics (“I’ll Take You There”) and much more, at 7 p.m.

Yavapai College’s Concert Band, Symphony Orchestra and Symphonic Band will cap a busy weekend Sunday, Oct. 12, with a 3 p.m. matinee of “Stories in Song.” Fill your Sunday afternoon with Tchaikovsky’s Romeo & Juliet; Johan de Meiji’s Lord of the Rings, and the most profound tales ever rendered in song.

Yavapai College’s Trailblazer and Roughrider Big Bands light up Oct. 15 with “All That Jazz” at 7 p.m., sharing American music from Cole Porter to contemporary funk, at the Performing Arts Center. On Friday, Oct. 17, the Gallery’s Transforming Traditions exhibit explores folklore’s influence on literature. Guest poets Brooke Sahni and Megan Merchant host “Myth in Motion: An Evening of Poetry & Discussion,” at 5 p.m., at the Prescott Campus Gallery.

The Gallery carries its folklore celebration into its 4th Friday festivities the following week. Critically acclaimed musician Mark Matos will play, sing and share music history in “The Sound of American Folk Art,” Friday, Oct. 24, from 5 to 7 p.m. The Gallery will offer a “Free Family Art Day,” the following afternoon, Saturday, Oct. 25 from 1 to 3 p.m.

That night, the Yavapai College Foundation fundraiser, “Wine & Dine Under the Stars” will share live music, gourmet food, and vintage wines in support of the College’s award-winning Southwest Wine Center. Festivities begin at 5 p.m., on the Mabery Pavilion at the heart of the College’s Verde Valley Campus.

Yavapai College sings and dances October out in a thrilling final week. “Musica Eclectica,” Sunday, Oct. 26 at 3 p.m., features the Yavapai College Choral Union, under new Director Michael Carter, voicing classic songs, from the Renaissance to the contemporary. Then, Halloween night, Ballet Victoria – the Canadian Dance Troupe that delighted local audiences with “The Nutcracker,” – blends myth, motion and haunting imagery in the Ballet version of “Dracula,” Friday, Oct. 31 at 7 p.m., and Saturday, Nov. 1, at 3 p.m., at the Jim & Linda Lee Performing Arts Center.

The Yavapai College Gallery and the Jim & Linda Lee Performing Arts Center are located on the Prescott Campus, 1100 E. Sheldon Street. Prescott Studio Tour and Art Gallery exhibits are free of charge; prices for concert and touring events can be found by calling (928) 776.2000 or visiting www.ycpac.com.

The Harvest Festival is located at Yavapai College’s Chino Valley Agribusiness Center, 2275 Old Home Manor Drive. Admission is free, but parking is $5. Wine & Dine Under the Stars will be held at the Verde Valley Campus, 601 W. Black Hills Road, in Clarkdale. For tickets, call (928) 776-2025. For more information on Yavapai College’s October events, please visit: www.ycpac.com.

Yavapai College operates seven campuses and centers throughout Yavapai County and offers over one hundred degrees and certificates, four baccalaureate degrees, student and community services, and cultural events and activities. To learn more about YC, visit www.yc.edu.

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