Agriculture and Entertainment Collide in Arizona

Growing number of people, businesses and organizations turning PHX East Valley into the agriculture community for the 21st century.

The growing mix of agriculture and entertainment that is shaking up the tourism industry, quality of life considerations and the food and restaurant business is agritainment. This exploding trend is impacting where people chose to live, work, play and travel.

Nestled within Phoenix’s East Valley is a hub of agritainment endeavors, from 100-year old family farms to the first solar-powered mill in America to a city-wide, compost-to-farm-to-table program pioneering a new way of life in the desert.

“Citizens, business owners and visitors are all part of the movement here,” said Mike Hutchinson, interim president and CEO of East Valley Partnership. “These businesses support each other and inspire new ventures, like the previous Best Brewery in the World winner, AZ Wilderness Brewery, which sources ingredients from Agritopia of Gilbert, one of the first planned agriculture communities in the country.”

Agritopia, which dug into the new world of agricultural community planning more than 15 years ago, preserves agriculture within an urban setting on a farm that has been part of the Gilbert community since 1927. Agritopia has 450 residential lots along with commercial and agricultural projects.

Predating Arizona’s statehood in 1912, the Town of Queen Creek has been making the agricultural life entertaining for more than a century. A small sample of how seriously the town takes its agritourism can we shown with Schnepf Farms, one of the largest agritourist farms in the country, and the minimally processed ancient grains from Hayden Flour Mill, the first solar- powered mill in America. In late 2015, the Town of Queen Creek created an Agritainment District, lending itself to new economic growth opportunities while maintaining the town’s heritage.

Up the road from Queen Creek’s Agritainment District is Recycled City, a community program that sources compost from throughout the metro Phoenix region. Individuals and businesses use the compost bin pick-up and drop-off service to support their own chemical- and pesticide-free produce, or the compost is used at Recycled City’s Tempe garden that grows produce for people as Farm Boxes and is used by numerous local restaurants, cafes, breweries and food trucks.

This region of America’s Southwest is a hidden gem. People desire an adventurous lifestyle that brings together the best of what is local and homegrown.

To learn more about what’s growing in the PHX East Valley, visit www.phxeastvalley.org and download a free copy of our Agritainment Fact Sheet below.