Not many cities can say they have a storybook land.
Even fewer can say they have one that is an official historic landmark.
Tucson can.
That place is Valley of the Moon.
It is known for its enchanting storytelling events, handmade caves, quirky cement sculptures and the characters that inhabit it โ fairies, gnomes and wizards, to name a few.
More than that, itโs a place with a mission to spread kindness, happiness and a little magic to the families of Tucson.
โWe want to increase happiness,โ said Zack Jarrett, president of Valley of the Moon. โWe want people to leave here with more kindness in their hearts than they came in with, more tolerance in their hearts than they came in with. We want people to have a magical experience with their friends and families thatโs outdoors and unplugged and analog in nature.โ
THE BEGINNING
To George Phar Legler, fairies were real.
Legler was a spiritualist with an undying desire to teach kindness and spread happiness to children.
As the city became more developed, he built a place for the fairies and all of the magical creatures of the Sonoran Desert to live. A place where children and their families could go to escape the city, hear enchanting stories โ which always included a lesson of kindness โ and connect with others.
That place included a fairy house, gnome gardens, an amphitheater, and caves in which Legler lived until a broken hip forced him to move into a nursing home in 1980.
โThere was never anybody like him,โ said Linda Legler Voorhies, Georgeโs granddaughter. โHe really, really believed in fairies. It was real to him. He took it seriously.โ
Legler died in 1982 at 97, but through Valley of the Moon, his legacy will live on for generations to come.
MAGICAL ADVENTURES AND THE FIRST FAIRY QUEEN
Before there was electricity at Valley of the Moon, Legler and his friend, Frank Thibault, would light 200 candles and lanterns to prepare to take kids on fantasy tours. When the children arrived, theyโd sign their names in the guest book and wait for Legler to show up, Jarrett said.
When he arrived, he always wore black and never showed his face.
โHe would warn them that this place attracted magical creatures of all sorts. Good magical creatures as well as wicked ones,โ Jarrett said.
In order to be safe, the kids were given โmagic stones,โ which are still given out today, a sprig of rosemary or scented oil theyโd put on the back of their hands.
โAdventures would wind through the paths. He would stop and tell stories,โ Jarrett said. โThe blue fairy at the bottom of the well โ nobody saw her, but we knew she was there because the water was so blue and clear and perfect.โ
As stories became more elaborate and he needed more characters, Legler enlisted the help of his grandchildren who lived across the street and other neighborhood children to participate. The only stipulation was they could never tell their friends about the role they played.
When Voorhies was 6 years old, she was the first to play the fairy queen, a coveted role among little girls.
โHe was a natural showman,โ Voorhies recalled. โHe knew how to create a dramatic scene.โ
Voorhies remembers her grandfather telling the audience it had to get permission from the fairy queen to continue its journey. Then with a poof of gun powder, the lights would come on and the fairy queen would be there.
โI have a lot of memories of that,โ Voorhies said. โAfter I got a little older and a little tired of it, other moms would say โCan my little girl be the fairy queen?โ A lot of little girls here were fairies, but I was the first one.โ
THE ADVENTURES CONTINUE
Today, families still embark on fantasy journeys through the winding paths of the 2.3-acre property, stopping at different spots along the way, to see scenes portrayed by actors or hear storytellersโ tales.
Two major theatrical performances are held each year โ โHaunted Ruinsโ in fall and a spring show, which will be โRumpelstiltskinโ this year. Both shows are admission-based fundraisers. Admission is $10 for anybody over the age of 15.
A couple years ago, โHarry Potterโ was the subject of the fall show.
โIt was a nice play they put on,โ said Zach Boyan, 10, Leglerโs great-great grandson. โโHarry Potterโ was really cool.โ
Boyan said he thinks itโs also pretty โcoolโ that his family legacy is Valley of the Moon.
Noah Samson, 8, played โHarry Potterโ in the Haunted Ruins production that year. And, he hopes to be cast in future performances.
โItโs really fun acting and seeing all of our friends,โ Samson said. โMy favorite part was when I accidentally fell asleep on Harry Potterโs bed and an actor had to wake me up and was all โHarry Potter! Are you going to fight me?โโ
Other events include Free First Saturdays. Half of those are fairly mellow, where families can go and wander the paths and bring a picnic. The other half have an organized event, such as the Campfire Singalong on Feb. 6.
Depending on cast interest and volunteer capacity, a free show, usually a comedy, is often held during summer.
Like in the days of George Legler, most stories told at Valley of the Moon teach lessons in kindness, Jarrett said.
โWe keep bringing people together and building community through storytelling, dramatic arts and song,โ Jarrett said. โAnd I think all the while weโre doing what George Legler wanted Valley of the Moon to be doing, which is bringing people together and teaching kindness.โ
CELEBRATING MEMORIES
โI brought my children here when they were little,โ said Sue Deamond, a volunteer and neighbor. โThey loved it. I still have my magic stone. In the evening when itโs dark, itโs very mysterious. This is a place that collects a lot of different kinds of people. Itโs a Tucson tradition, really.โ
State Sen. Steve Farley was one of a handful of dignitaries at a recent celebration of the propertyโs historic landmark designation. He, along with artist Charles Spillar were instrumental in preserving and transporting the castle, Old Stump, Spider Tree and Pygmy Hut sculptures from Magic Carpet Golf to Valley of the Moon.
โIโve been coming to this place since 1995,โ Farley said. โMy daughter asked to have her fifth birthday here. Sheโs 21 now. This is one of those places that makes Tucson Tucson.โ
โAll you gotta do is see some of the kids and the magic in their eyes,โ Spillar added.
On stage that evening, Vice Mayor Karin Uhlich, Mayor Jonathan Rothschild and Demion Clinco from the Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation addressed an audience of about 200 on their memories and the importance of the recent landmark designation of Valley of the Moon.
โSeeing my now 4 and 7 year old at โAlice in Wonderlandโ just wide-eyed. Like seriously they knew they entered the fantasy land of their dreams,โ recalled Vice Mayor Karin Uhlich. โThey clasped each otherโs hands and walked down the path looking for Alice โฆ Thatโs my favorite memory here.โ
LANDMARK PROTECTION
The road to receiving its historic landmark designation was a long one, which started with being listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011, Jarrett said.
While that was a โgreat honorโ for Valley of the Moon, it didnโt protect the structures on the property.
A team spearheaded by Clinco worked with the city to see it listed as a Tucson Historic Landmark, which would make sure that no matter who owns the property, the historical structures and landscapes are protected from development that would harm them.
โSo we canโt build an apartment complex here and neither can anybody else,โ Jarrett said. โMore importantly, it protects from development from within. We have in the past done repairs that have harmed the historic structures.โ
When Clinco addressed the audience at the celebration, he talked about how historic preservation is important to the life of a city.
โHistoric places are part of the economic engines,โ Clinco said. โPlaces like Valley of the Moon are singularly unique for charm and sense of place.โ
Being listed as a landmark is a rarity, said Mayor Rothschild.
โThere are only six properties in Tucson that are designated as city historic landmarks,โ Rothschild said. โThe last one designated was the El Tiradito Wishing Shrine in 1995, 20 years ago. So, Valley of the Moon has joined a very selective list.โ
VOLUNTEERS MAKE THE MAGIC HAPPEN
The most important magic at Valley of the Moon is the magic the volunteers bring in their hearts, Jarrett said.
โWithout them, Valley of the Moon would have disappeared long ago,โ Jarrett said.
During its two big annual shows, volunteers consist of 40 to 50 actors and there are about 30 people who are called upon regularly to help out, Jarrett said.
Some stay for decades.
Shari Murphy has been a volunteer since 1982.
โItโs a magical, wonderful place,โ Murphy said. โItโs a place of kindness. People just love to be here. And itโs not just for kids. I canโt really explain it. Itโs Valley of the Moon.โ
Jarrett started volunteering a few years ago when his daughter became a cast member. He was โmoonstruck.โ
He recalls playing music on his guitar for guests as they waited for the show to start.
Now heโs president of the board, with a deep passion for storytelling.
โWhat I love doing here is telling people stories, particularly kids,โ Jarrett said. โThese kids and their parents come and they live in a world where theyโre on their electronics โฆ and they come to Valley of the Moon and all of that is turned off. All of that high-tech connection to the outside world is broken and people reconnect with a natural earthy magic right here and thatโs what I love about my volunteerism. Being part of that natural magic of community.โ
Felicia Chew began volunteering when her son joined the cast in 2012.
โPart of the fun is volunteering as a family,โ Chew said. โI work in the Carnival, Tour Follow and sometimes share some music as a guitar wielding, wandering minstrel/fairy, singing songs and sharing stories about the Moon. And of course the fun part is the clean-up, cast parties and work days at the Moon โฆ and so many other events and people to meet.โ
A new volunteer group โ Friends of the Valley of the Moon โ that will help manage the volunteer pool was announced at the landmark celebration. The groupโs mission is to provide operational support, fund development and advocacy.
โI hope our volunteers find a second home here, one thatโs safe for them to be themselves without fear of judgment and are encouraged to have fun while doing something great for their community,โ said Leora Renteria, a volunteer since 2011. โI hope our audiences are immersed in the stories long enough for Valley of the Moon to work itโs special magic so that they can be young once more. I hope it sparks their imagination and reminds them how much potential each of them has, how powerful kindness can be in dark times and places.โ
