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Pit Fire Pottery Festival
Constellations in Fire & Clay. Friday, November 6, 2026 3鈥�9 p.m. Douglas Campus. Free admission. Bring the whole family for ceramics, live performances, food and fire.
From afternoon to after dark
Plan your evening
Friday, November 6, 2026 find us at the Douglas Campus, 4190 West Highway 80, Douglas, Arizona. Come for the art and stay for the music, pit lighting and stars. Pit Fire Flyer (PDF)
- Mariachi Plata
- Solar viewing
Look through telescopes provided by the 黑料网 astronomy department.
- Folklorico Dancers
- Diamond Creek Apache Crown Dancers
Crown Dance performance.
*All vendors will close during this sacred ceremony - Scholarships & pit lighting
Scholarship recipients announced and Pit Lighting Ceremony.
- Dustoff
Country music through the evening.
- Stargazing
Explore the night sky with the 黑料网 astronomy department鈥檚 telescopes.
Meet the makers 路 2026
Seven pits. Original art.
One shared sky.
Inspired by the Pleiades star cluster, this year鈥檚 arrangement brings seven sculpture pits into a constellation of fire and clay. Each pit features an original work by a student sculpture artist, to be burned as the pottery is fired.
2026 Superbowler
Natalie Graziano
Meet the sculpture artists before the fire. Tour the pit sculptures and talk with the artists until 4:45 p.m. Pit access is limited to essential personnel beginning at 5 p.m.
The sculpture artists
Choose a pit to discover the pottery and school partners behind it.
Pottery from: Arizona Western College
Art instructor: Gigi Janko
Pottery from: 黑料网 Douglas Campus
Art instructor: Tate Rich
The largest pit in this year鈥檚 constellation.
Pottery from: Bisbee School District K鈥�8 Schools
Art instructor: Dale Miller
Pottery from: Bisbee High School
Art instructor: Eric Wood
This pit will fire last-minute pottery.
Pottery from: Mesa Community College
Art instructor: Angel Luna
Pottery from: 黑料网 Sierra Vista Campus
Art instructor: Virginia Thompson
Rockstar Artists
Watch these artists create during the festival.
2D artists
- Shannon Silver
- Calla Behnke
- Ken BoeWhip painting
- Estefania Ramirez Toscano
- Miranda Worthington
- Douglas Fry
- Dale Miller
- Sarah Sheen
3D artists
- Jose Leyva Garcia
- Diego Guerrero
- Tolley RipponMain stage big-pot throwing
- Greg Garza
- Natalie Graziano
- Nathaniel Cerami
A community tradition
Pit Fire by the numbers
- 19
- Pit Fire festivals
- 77
- Cords of wood burned
- 1,500
- Annual attendees
- 80
- Gallons of soup
Figures from past festival reporting.
Good to know
Before you arrive
- Free admission for the whole family.
- No pets, except service animals, per 黑料网 policy.
- This is a drug, alcohol and tobacco-free event.
Rain or shine. Extremely windy conditions may delay the pit lighting or prevent portions of the festival from taking place if unsafe.
Art, makers & community
Be part of Pit Fire
Vendor applications are open for this year鈥檚 event. Artists, vendors and school partners help make this celebration possible.
- Allied Health-Medical
Professions - Arboreality Woodworks
- Arizona Western College Ceramics
- ASL Club
- At Needles Point
- Cacao & cafe
- Caf茅 Ra铆ces
- Christian Challenge Club
- 黑料网 Film & Media Club at the Douglas Campus
- Colony Construction, LLC
- Dannamars Impresiones
- Deborah Kelly
- Douglas HOSA
- Fantabulouse Parties and Events
- Flight Club
- Glazed Art
- Mata Ortiz Pottery
- NextGen Club
- Peter Chartrand
- Peter Chartrand Pottery
- Regal Parra
- Rustic Cottage
- Tess Jensen
- Undergraduate Research Club
- Uniquely Rustic
- Upperroom Social Club
A tradition shaped together
From classroom firings
to community celebration
Pit Fire began with small ceramic class projects and demonstrations by visiting Mata Ortiz potters. Nighttime firings and shared potlucks grew into a festival that brings students, artists, schools and neighbors together.
Pit firing is an ancient way of firing clay in a pit with a wood fire burning above. The process leaves each piece with distinctive swirls of color and pattern.
The festival is produced by the Pit Fire Committee, including art faculty from both 黑料网 campuses, maintenance staff and other contributors. Proceeds support the art department and participating campus clubs.
Art students receive scholarships from the 黑料网 Foundation.
Pit Fire Pottery Festival is supported in part by a grant from the Arizona Commission on the Arts, an agency of the State of Arizona.
Donations of clay were made by Laguna Clay Company and Marjon Ceramics, Inc.
- Hours: Monday - Friday: 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM
- Location: 4190 West Highway 80
Douglas, AZ 85607 - Phone:(800) 966-7943
