Although it is called a "hayride", we want you to be aware that there is NO HAY on the wagons. Each bale of hay can weigh up to 120 pounds, and we do not want our animals pulling any additional weight. Therefore, the hay is restricted to around the fire pit in the waiting area! You will be sitting on bench seating. Some of the wagons have back support so ask when you schedule if you would like to request back support.
The winterhavenride wagons go out at 6pm, 7pm, 8pm and 9pm for a 40 to 45 minute ride through the Festival of Lights. We ask you to arrive between 20 to 30 minutes early to allow for check in and boarding. Reservations are suggested to ensure a winterhaven hayride, but walk ups are accepted. Same day reservations are usually available so call for details! Remember, first come first serve after reservations! We are located at Country Club and Ft. Lowell, immediately north of the Circle K on the northwest corner of the intersection. The address is 3235 North Country Club, Tucson, AZ 85716 in Murphy's Gun Shop parking lot. Remember, we are also members of the BBB and can be reviewed as RJW Enterprises Inc. DBA Arizona Stagecoach Adventures
Winterhaven has been around since 1949. The developer of Winterhaven, C.B. Richards, started the Festival of Lights to emulate a Festival of lights in Beverly Hills, California. It has been in the hearts of Tucsonans for the next 61 years, running continuously, with the exception of 1978... it was cancelled due to the energy shortage. In 1986, the Festival of Lights joined up with the Tucson Food Bank! Since then, the Festival has now become the Tucson Food Bank's second most productive food drive! The Winterhaven residents maintain a certain character they want to continue and that is... "a festival presented to the people of Southern Arizona and operated by the volunteer efforts of Winterhaven's residents".
You can rent either a few seats, or an entire wagon for your winterhavenride. Our wagons can hold 20, 30, 34 and 40 people. This means that our wagons can comfortably hold that many normal sized adults. If you have really large or really small people, your numbers may be adjusted accordingly. We ask that all small children, 3 and under, are held on a parents lap for safety.
Remember, our wagons all have bench seating as hay bales are too heavy to ask our animals to pull, therefore, it's winterhaven hayrides without the hay! We do what we can to have our animals enjoy their work. We have two trolleys that provide back support and park bench style seating with small roofs over them. These have forward facing seating allowing four to six people across each row, holding 20 and 30 people. Our other wagons are open topped (unless it is raining. In the event of rain, we do cover them). These are arranged in theater style seating facing the side. We also have a small 20 person wagon that is inward facing and is a favorite for families. All our wagons can be covered in case of rain, so no rain checks! You may select a specific wagon for either individual seating or rent a full wagon.
Winterhaven is funded privately now. The wagon vendors (Winterhaven Rides) provide a large percentage of the funding for the event. Also, Jim Click Ford and the Pasqua Yaqui Indian Tribe are very generous contributors to this special event. Sturgeon Electric Co, Cox Cable and many others contribute both financially and personally with their time to this event! Winterhaven, as a community, maintains that they do not and will not profit from the Festival. It is operated by Winterhaven Public Events, Inc. an Arizona non-profit corporation that has been certified as a tax exempt 501(c)(3) entity by the IRS.
Well, enough statistics and background information. We would like to hear YOUR opinions about the Festival and any suggestions YOU may have. As of now, the 2011 Winterhaven Festival of Lights is scheduled for December 10th through December 25th!
So... Visit our BLOG at the link below and LET US HEAR YOU!
http://winterhavenrides.blogspot.com/
Thank You From all of us at Winterhaven Rides!
