Comments (0) Best Fight for the Right to Paaaaarty - 2009
Carrie Schnepf
We're not sure why anyone in their right mind would try to go up against Queen Creek's most glamorous farmer's wife, Carrie Schnepf, but some politicians and neighbors did just that earlier this year. Schnepf and her husband, Mark, said they needed to host more concerts in their old cotton fields to keep their family-owned plot, Schnepf Farms, afloat in tough times for agri-tourism. The farm, which is also a peach orchard and pumpkin patch, has been hosting such events since 1994: first, Country Thunder; then, Edgefest. Neighbors — claiming to be upset about the traffic, the noise, and the profane lyrics of rock 'n' roll — decided to oppose the plan, setting up a showdown with Carrie and Mark (who, ironically, is a former mayor of Queen Creek). Attempting to keep the peace, the Schnepfs offered a compromise of only 12 days of concerts a year, earlier end times, and more fencing to keep concertgoers from trespassing, which some of their neighbors still refused. Nevertheless, in a victory we'd like to think Kevin Bacon would approve of, Queen Creek's Town Council unanimously approved the plan.
