White Rose Luncheon
The 2021 White Rose Luncheon will be a day trip to beautiful Sedona.
We will whisk you away in chartered buses that follow COVID-19 sanitation and social distancing protocol. You will be treated to an amazing Southwest-inspired lunch blending modern American cuisine with Native American influences at the world-renown Enchantment Resort located in Boynton Canyon, which is considered by the Yavapai Apache to be their birthplace. Next, we will hop on buses to Tlaquepaque, an award-winning arts-and-crafts village with numerous shops and galleries. We will divide into groups; some will step on the Sedona tour bus while the others shop. An hour later we will switch places. The Sedona bus tour, an on-pavement guided trip appropriate for all ages and physical abilities, will make a quick visit to Chapel of the Holy Cross, which has won architectural awards for its ability to blend with Sedona’s natural surroundings. Afterward, you will be transported back to the hotel.
Bus Trip to Sedona (1.5 to 2 hours depending on traffic)
Commercially charted buses following COVID-19 sanitation and social distancing protocol will whisk you away to Sedona. Grab a cup of coffee in the hospitality room and bring it with you as you receive a snack bag; get a prelude to Sedona, its history and its legends; and partake in a trivia contest.
Enchantment Resort and Boynton Canyon
As we turn off the interstate toward the Enchantment Resort in Boynton Canyon, look to the east and you will see the legendary rock formation known as Kachina Woman, considered by Native Americans to be the guardian of all humanity. It is said that if she crumbles, mankind will perish. The Kachina Woman has withstood numerous earthquakes and floods.
Lunch will be served at the Enchantment Resort among towering red rocks. There will be photo opportunities and a White Rose background to commemorate the day. The Southwest-inspired food will be sourced from local farms and ranches. There will be a no-host bar with beer, wine, margaritas and limited cocktails. Non-alcoholic beverages are complementary.
Arizona-related trivia prizes will be given in numerous categories. They will be drawn from the least number correct to the most correct, so be sure to enter your answers by dropping them in the trivia fishbowls.
TLAQUEPAQUE
Modeled after a traditional Mexican village, Tlaquepaque (pronounced t-la-keh-pah-keh) means “the best of everything.” This internationally acclaimed arts-and-crafts venue is known as much for its unique shops and galleries as for the village itself.
Located on the banks of lush Oak Creek, Tlaquepaque was designed to keep the beloved Harry Girard sycamore grove undisturbed. The buildings accommodate the trees, so as you stroll about, look up to see notches in the walls and roofs that make way for huge sycamore limbs. Visit the Rowe Fine Art Gallery and you can see a sycamore actually growing inside the gallery and through its roof.
Chapel of the Holy Cross
On the way to the chapel, you will see many iconic rock formations, such as Bell Rock, Cathedral Rock, Two Sisters, Snoopy and more.
The Chapel of the Holy Cross was originally conceived by Sedona rancher and sculptor Marguerite Brunswig Staude. She, with help from Lloyd Wright, son of architect Frank Lloyd Wright, tried to have it built in Budapest, Hungary. Sadly, World War II broke out, so Staude scrapped the idea and decided to build the chapel at home in Sedona. It is perched high among red rocks just inside the Coconino National Forest. Thanks to Arizona’s beloved Senator and Significant Sig Barry Goldwater, ARIZONA 1932, a special-use permit was issued, and the building was completed in 1956.
Staude wanted the chapel to pay homage to art, God, architecture and the earth. The chapel’s interior features many important artworks. Views from the chapel’s lofty locale are breathtaking. The Chapel of the Holy Cross remains under the domain of the Catholic Diocese.
The bus will unload at the top of the hill. However, there is a steep ramped walkway to the chapel, and once inside you must descend a flight of stairs to enter the gift shop. Often a volunteer with a golfcart ferries those with disabilities to the church’s entrance. Unfortunately, the volunteer chooses his own hours and days. As you walk up the ramp, the red rocks are so close you can touch them, but please do not. There is a small semi-hidden grotto and fountain to the left of the ramp by the entrance.
After a visit to the chapel and noteworthy scenic sights, we will board the tour trolley for the trip to Tlaquepaque.
We will depart Sedona from the Tlaquepaque parking lot at approximately 3:30 p.m. for the return trip to Phoenix and our hotel.
Want to learn more and connect with others who plan on attending? Join our Facebook group for the White Rose Sedona Tour.
Dress code for the event is resort casual.
