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City/Town Snapshot: Town of Carefree, AZ
Carefree is a scenic community of over 3,700 residents nestled in the Sonoran Desert Foothills. Incorporated in 1984, Carefree is regarded as one of
the most inspiring and livable places in Arizona and centers its culture on desert lifestyle, architecture, culinary arts, health, wellness
and community involvement.
In its tradition of showcasing local culture and desert lifestyle, the Town of Carefree is once again welcoming world-renowned artist and sculptor
Ray Villafane back to create sand art like no other. Starting March 4, sand art will be showcased in the Sanderson Lincoln pavilion, Carefree Desert
Gardens. Admission is free and open to the public every day of the week. The exhibit will be on display through August.
The first life-size signature sculptor created by Ray Villafane and Sue Beatrice in the Carefree Desert Gardens was completed in May of 2016 titled,
"Elephant playing chess with a field mouse," consisting of 24 tons of sand sourced from the Salt River in Arizona. The exhibit garnered world
attention by the media who had never seen sand sculpting taken to that level. This year Nikolay Torkhov from Moscow, Russia will join Villafane in
creating 24 tons of grandeur over the 2-week period. Nikolay and Ray met a few years ago in Italy at a sand event and Ray was impressed with his
abilities and decided he could represent Villafane Studios.
Villafane has also invited professional stone balancer, Tim Anderson, a Pennsylvania native, to join him in Carefree the weekend of March 17-19 to
transform the Gardens into an artistic stone stacking playground. Visitors can watch demonstrations, participate and ask questions as Ray and Tim
defy the laws of physics without the use of any adhesives other than gravity and stones provided by Mother Nature to create unusual artistic
formations in the Desert Gardens pools and around the scenic landscape.
Villfane's been on the global scene for 10 years carving sand and says, "I love Carefree and glad to be back again for a second year within the
beautiful Desert Gardens, it's a playground and inspiration and appreciate the Town allowing me to be a part of it."
Mr. Villafane first intrigued audiences in Carefree with his unique pumpkin sculpting. October 2017 will mark the third year of
the Carefree Enchanted Pumpkin Garden, a showcase of
Villafane's talents.
For more information visit Carefree.org or call 480-488-3686.
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League of Arizona Cities and Towns
1820 W. Washington St.
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Phone: 602-258-5786
Fax: 602-253-3874
http://www.azleague.org
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