Home"The AZ Insider" with Kathy Shayna Shocket › AZ Insider: EXCLUSIVE: Behind the Scenes with Robert Redford in Phoenix
 
 
 

Kathy Shayna Shocket has the inside scoop on the stories that make headlines.

stanton red

 Kathy's exclusive photos of the Mayor and Phoenix VIPs mingling with Robert Redford!

Robert Redford made a very rare visit to Phoenix.  It was exciting to be behind the scenes of it all and capture the rare moments, such as when the star was first introduced to Mayor Greg Stanton. During this private meeting Robert Redford, flanked by his wife, Sibylle, chatted about his only prior visit to Phoenix as a child. 

In fact, he’d only been to Phoenix once when he was child on a Route 66 road trip with his mother. Oh, how Phoenix has changed. But, this one day visit was not for sightseeing. Nor was it to film, produce or direct a movie. The leading man of numerous classic films and Founder of Sundance Film Festival was here to put the spotlight on the crisis of the once ecologically- rich Colorado river

 About 100 people turned out for the $500 per person dinner at the Arizona Science Center, located in the heart of downtown Phoenix. The Redford Center was among the conservation organizations helping to raise money to revive the river and reconnect it to its Delta in Mexico.  

The guest list of the "Raise the River Celebration" boasted international and Phoenix conservation supports and philantrhopic dignitaries including Anne Castle, U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Interior, Water and Science, Maria Baier, CEO of the Sonoran Institute, Tony Banegas, Consul of Honduras, philanthropists Bennett Dorrance (DMB Associates ) and Jacquie Dorrance and John Graham (Sunbelt Holdings.) 

Jamie Redford, one of Robert Redford’s sons, mingled with guests for the cocktail hour, talking about his passion to revive the river. Just prior to dinner, the Redford men each made speeches at the podium.  Raise the River is a collaborative effort among nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and community groups trying to raise $10 million by 2017 to restore the Delta.

john bennet 10

 (Supporters of the Nature Conservancy of Arizona; philanthropists Jacquie Dorrance, John Graham and Bennett Dorrance.)

 When you hear Robert Reford talk about how shocked he was when he floated down the Colorado River and learned that the lifeblood of the Grand Canyon and the entire Southwest doesn’t reach the Delta, you understand why he is so passionate about this water crisis. 

kathy-shayna-shocket

 Kathy Shayna Shocket is a freelance Writer, Photographer and TV- Field Producer based in Phoenix, AZ. She's a former TV Reporter who's written for publications such as TIME MagazineMoney Magazine, PEOPLE Magazine,The Hollywood Reporter and The NEW YORK TIMES. You can reach her at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it