We deeply regret to inform all of the registrants for our summer picnic that due to Covid-19 we will have to cancel this event. Not only was the location shut down but we have received a record breaking 100+ RSVP's which the club can not in good conscience host at a pot luck during the Covid-19 pandemic.
We recognize that a "Virtual Picnic" is not an ideal replacement but will be doing our best to have it cover the important aspects that the physical picnic was designed to do.
1. Introduce future falconers to the sport
2. Help new apprentices find sponsors
3. Provide a forum to ask questions and have them answered
4. Put people in touch with falconers in their area to join on hunts
5. Announce and explain news in regards to regulation changes this year
Matt Hankins (AFA Apprentice Coordinator) and Harold Smith (AFA Vice President) will be streaming a live broadcast on the home page of www.ArizonaFalconers.com at the same time the picnic was previously scheduled (August 22nd 11am-3pm) through facebook and or youtube live links. We are working out the details right now but wanted to give as much warning as possible.
This has been a tough year on all of us and we realize that our record RSVP's were probably due to the fact that you all were excited to finally get out, get social and breath some fresh air. We feel the same way and can only extend a future invite to come out and join us on hunts this fall as the season begins. We will also be sending out a list of contacts broken down geographically of Arizona falconers who are volunteering to bring you all along on hunts. As cool as the picnic is, that is what the sport is really about. Joining a falconer on a hunt is absolutely the best way to get a first hand feel for the sport we are so passionate about and we hope that you will come beat some brush with us very soon! So, come August 22nd we highly encourage you to fire up your own grill, crack open a cold beverage on log on to our website to join us in some heavily embellished hunting stories. We will do our best to make sure all of your questions are addressed and answered.
-Harold Smith
