GRIC Members Enjoy the District 4 Community Day
January 30, 2026
Jeston Morris
Community Newsperson
SANTAN, Ariz. — District 4 Recreation Department hosted a Community Day at the park on Jan. 24. Several hundred GRIC members attended the event that included horseshoe tournament, car show, Waila entertainment and so much more.
Community Day event began at 1 p.m. at service center park. Arts and crafts vendors and exhibits were in the basketball court area. There were several food vendors located in various locations. Party Professionals setup inflatable structures for the youth on the park lawn. Tribal Image Car Club facilitated the car show on the south end of the park.
Danny who is a staff with Party Professional said, “Today we set up a couple of sport inflatable, incline challenge, and bounce houses. Slam Dunk is the most popular inflatable for the youth.”
The music entertainment stage and dance floor was under the large park ramada. Gertie and the T.O. Boyz draw a significant crowd of all ages. Community members love dancing to Waila. Some attendees simply enjoyed the live entertainment. They sat at tables, bleachers and on portable chairs to enjoy themselves.
Gertie Lopez and her band specialize in Waila. She has half dozen band members that plays bass, drums, guitar, saxophone and violin. Lopez plays the accordion. The crowd loves Waila and dancing to it. They are an award-winning band that plays throughout Arizona, New Mexico, Minnesota, including boat cruise on the St. Croix River.
“Around 2000, we started playing Waila. We start getting a lot of music gig. Marlon ‘Hotch’ Felix, lead guitarist, suggest naming our band—Gertie and the T.O. Boyz, sadly, Felix passed away before our first album came out. I hold our band name deeply to my heart,” said Lopez.
“I love Gila River. I have a lot of friends and fans in this community,” she added.
Horseshoe tournament was facilitated by Mark J. Miguel who is the owner of Miguel Ranch in District 4. The tournament was held on the baseball field. Several teams played simultaneously. First, second and third place trophies were awarded to the winners. Miguel explained the scoring system, which is 3,2, 1. A ringer is 3 points, a leaner is 2 points, and a closes shoe is 1 point.
Miguel discussed the horseshoe tournament. “We used to be part of “Mul-Chu-Tha” fair. Currently, we hold our tournament at Miguel Ranch. There is a lot of interest in Horseshoe. Players come from Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, California, Nevada, Utah, and Colorado. Several players called from New York about our tournament,” he said.
“We are not a sanction horseshoe tournament, but professional players come out. We are a horseshoe family,” he added.
The car show was exotic rare cars. Brandon Jackson, District 5 member, entered his 1988 black Chevy pickup truck into the car show. “Before my current show truck, I own a 1997 Chevy for six years. I pick up my Chevy truck nine months ago. It has a 5.7 V8 engine which is the original motor. I don’t drive my show truck that much. I mainly bring out to car show,” he said.
“I have always been a Chevy guy. My grandpas love Chevy. My mother and father own Chevy as well. I love Chevy,” he added.
The food vendors were setup throughout the event venue. One of the vendors was Gila River Frybread Popover. Brian Cooper, District 2 member, discussed the food menu. “The menu includes red chili beef with beans, red chili beef, beans, Indian tacos, and frybread,” said Cooper. “Our customers love the golden crispy frybread,” he added.
District 4 Recreation Department hosted an excellent community day event. The weather was nice. There was something for everyone. Some of the vendors had native design graphic t-shirts, crafts, and jewelry. Everyone had an exciting and fun day.