Rotarians hold Novemberfest on Saturday

The Maricopa Rotary Club, in partnership with the Maricopa Beautification Program and the The Duke, will host the city’s first Novemberfest 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday.

Why not a traditional Octoberfest?

Rotarian Mary Richardson said club members were aware October is a busy time for the city, given Stagecoach Days, Halloween and other fall events and didn’t want to detract from those events.

Why a gathering that centers on beer and brats?

“We’re looking to find a fundraiser that really resonates with the community,” Richardson said.

Eric Brown, also a Rotary member, added, “Maricopa doesn’t really have a lot of opportunities to just gather together in a social environment.”

Brown said Novemberfest provided that chance.

The fundraiser – which is like Octoberfest, only in November – will benefit the Rotary Club scholarship funds and help give the Maricopa Beautification Program some seed money to get started with planting trees in the city.

There will be brats and beer samples from two distributers, Crescent Crown Distributers, Inc. and Golden Eagle Distributers, Inc. and music provided by local band Positive Attitude.

The event will be at The Duke in Rancho El Dorado.

The Maricopa Beautification Program is grateful for the Rotary Club’s generosity.

“It’s very expensive to start a nonprofit,” Therese Starkey, who along with Peg Chapados, is starting the group. “We need a jump start.”

The new group is hoping to start out with a “living tree” program, in which anyone can select a tree from a list of more than 20 and have it planted on any city property.

“You’re donating it to the city,” Starkey said.

In addition to the tree, the buyer will get a brick to lay at the tree’s base.