Biggest Party of the Year!

The Viola Awards are Flagstaff's Oscars for the arts and sciences community. Celebrating excellence in the arts and sciences, the Viola Awards recognize artists, educators, organizations and leaders who make positive contributions to the arts and sciences in Flagstaff. Over 500 people attend the gala event to celebrate and support these amazing folks. 

Nominations were sent to Flagstaff Cultural Partners by the community at large; anyone could nominate an artist, leader, organization, business or event for an award in one of eleven categories. From this pool of nominees, a Panel of 25 past Viola Award winners selected six nominees in each category to be the Official Viola Award Nominees. The Panel then met to determine the winner in each category.

The Viola Award winners are announced each year at the Viola Awards Gala Event. This year's event is this Saturday, March 2, 2013, at the High Country Conference Center in Flagstaff. Circus Bacchus will emcee the event with flare like no other. Guests will enjoy delicious dinner from High Country, performances by 2013 nominees, silent auction, two raffles (for iPad minis!), and of course, the announcement of the 2013 winners.

The Viola Awards are named after Viola Babbitt, a long time advocate of the arts and painter. Viola was born in the Arizona territory in 1894. She taught music and reading before settling into a big house on Leroux Street in Flagstaff. She raised six children with her husband, Joseph. In the 1950's, she started painting and later, established the Art Barn as Flagstaff's first community arts center. She lobbied Coconino County to build a better facility for a community arts center: the Coconino Center for the Arts. Viola died in 1994, just shortly after her 100th birthday.

This Saturday, we celebrate the best in Flagstaff with the best in Flagstaff! It's going to be a party!