Quiz It: Arizona - How much do you know about Waiting to Exhale

Question: Waiting to Exhale, which starred Whitney Houston, Angela Bassett, Gregory Hines, Loretta Devine, and Lela Rochon, was filmed in Paradise Valley, Chandler, Fountain Hills, Monument Valley, and Phoenix, Arizona. What event in Chandler, Arizona served as a unique backdrop in the film?

Your choices are:

1. The Running of the Bulls
2. The Annual Ostrich Festival
3. The Great Javelina Cook-off
4. The Southwestern Rattlesnake Hunt
5. The Toyota Sell-a-thon

The Answer Is:

The Annual Ostrich Festival in Chandler, Arizona, served as a backdrop in the film, Waiting to Exhale. One of the main events at this nationally famous festival is the ostrich race.

The Annual Ostrich Festival in Chandler, Arizona takes place at Tumbleweed Park every March. The event started in 1989 to commemorate the prominence of ostrich ranches in the early days of Chandler. This first class community event includes a large petting zoo, live music, local delicacies, rides, and an old-fashioned parade featuring high school marching bands, clowns, floats, and local celebrities. Ostrich races are run several times throughout the three-day event. Ostriches are ridden bareback. There are also emu races and pig races.

Head of the Flock

At one time Chandler and Maricopa County led the nation in raising ostriches for their expensive and stylish feathers and plumes.

An ostrich is a large, flightless bird native to Africa. Its appearance is quite distinctive because of its long neck and legs. It can run at speeds of 40 miles per hour. The Ostrich is the largest living bird species and lays the largest egg of any bird species.

Plucking for Dollars

The farming of ostriches for their feathers does not harm the bird. During molding season, ostriches are gathered in a pen where burlap sacks are placed over the birds’ heads so the ostrich will remain calm as trained people pluck the already loose molting feathers. The birds are then released, unharmed.