Swap meet allows guests to explore movie set

Popular movies like “Tombstone” and “The Quick and the Dead” as well as over 100 other westerns were filmed in Benson at the Mescal Movie Set.

During the upcoming Cowboy Western Tack and Swap Meet on Friday, April 21, and Saturday, April 22, visitors can walk around the movie set while shopping from local vendors.

During the market, vendors will sell items such as tack, antiques, period clothing, cowboy hats, leather crafts, rocks and minerals, jewelry, pottery, Native American artwork and western décor.

Rick Harker from Harker’s Museum will have movie props.

Mescal Movie Set Program Director Paul Retzlaff said around 50 vendors will be out at the swap meet.

Most of the vendors are from Tucson and nearby cities, such as Willcox, Benson, Sonoita and Sierra Vista, as well as New Mexico and Wisconsin.

Authors who have written about movies made at Mescal and the area will appear. Food vendors will sell barbecue, hot dogs, baked goods, freeze-dried or old-time candy, flavored soda, ice cream or gourmet sandwiches.

A local Buffalo Soldiers group will have a display dedicated to the Buffalo Soldiers who served at Fort Huachuca. The Buffalo Soldiers were a group of African American soldiers who served in the West in the period following the Civil War. The 1997 film “Buffalo Soldiers,” which starred Danny Glover, was filmed at Mescal and nearby locations.

During the event, a donkey rescue will visit with their animals. A dealer will teach guests how to play the old-time card game Faro.

Movie legends who have filmed at Mescal such as Emily Blanton, Ed Adams, Lynn Steele, Glen Gould and Frank Noel will be out at the set, meeting with guests and handing out cards with their likenesses and signatures.

Mescal had a similar of vendor fair last November. The upcoming event is more cowboy and western themed, while last year’s vendor fair had a holiday flair.

There will be a mixture of returning and new vendors at the swap meet.

The movie set has also hosted a Civil War canon demonstration, car shows and meet and greets with movie legends who have filmed at Mescal.

Retzlaff said he hopes to bring more events to the studio.

“We are an active movie set. We still are pursuing and doing productions,” he said.

“In between, we want to make sure we share the set with people, both for the movie history and just the general feel of what it’s like to be at a movie set. Something like this fits in very well. People get to come, walk around, shop, see some of the local merchandise and still get to look at our wonderful little movie town.”

Proceeds from the swap meet go toward restoring the movie set and bringing western films back to Arizona.

Efforts to rebuild the town started during COVID-19 with new owners, the local Kartchner family of Kartchner Caverns. Much of the renovation work has been done by volunteers such as Retzlaff.

“We definitely did a lot of pre-construction, salvaging and trying to save the movie set before it was ever open for people to come in,” Retzlaff said.

“We all feel that we should be preserving the western history and the movie history in general and making sure that we stay on the map, that people know we are here and what we do.”

Hailing from Wisconsin, Retzlaff moved to Arizona during the pandemic. He previously appeared in Buffalo Bill Wild West re-enactment shows in Wisconsin.

He and his wife decided to move to the area after seeing Mescal.

“We fell in love with it. We knew that we needed to fully retire and move down here and be part of it,” Retzlaff said.

Many volunteers, including Retzlaff, dress up in period costume when they are out at Mescal.

The swap meet will take place throughout the movie set. The only two buildings that will be open are the Redemption Saloon from the movie “The Quick and the Dead” and the Tonsorial building, which houses the gift shop.

“The buildings aren’t open, but they are free to walk up and down the main street, look at the exterior of the buildings. We also have historians on site to explain to people what movies and what buildings were used and who was there,” Retzlaff said.

“You get to have the experience of walking up and down the same street as Clint Eastwood, Glenn Ford, Steve McQueen and some big stars have walked.”

Inside the gift shop and saloon, guests can purchase cream sodas and sarsaparilla. It also offers laser-engraved, salvaged wood from the movie set for sale.

Guests may be greeted by Sammy, the mascot cat who has lived on the set for 11 years.

Many of the buildings inside Mescal were constructed specifically for productions. The mercantile store, for example, was built for “The Outlaw Josey Wales.”

There are also cottages and the O.K. Corral from “Tombstone,” a livery from “Tom Horn” and a brothel from “Dirty Dingus MaGee.”

Buildings are also added to the set with new productions.

Mescal has recently been the site for a feature western film, a rap video, western and non-western short films and commercials.

Retzlaff said although Arizona has a rich history of filmmaking, for a time, it wasn’t a popular destination for film. He said recently places like Mescal have become attractive to filmmakers.

“We are an interesting set because we are surrounded by empty land and mountains. A lot of the filmmakers love that. They don’t have to worry about having to block out houses and traffic,” Retzlaff said.

After experiencing the town during the swap meet, visitors can return for tours. They are offered 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays when filming isn’t in progress.

Tours are $15 for adults, and free for children 10 and under.

Reservations are encouraged.

During the warmer summer months, the movie set offers tours every other Saturday in the evenings.

The tours are led by a group of historians.

Cowboy Western Tack and Swap Meet

WHEN: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, April 21, and Saturday, April 22

WHERE: Mescal Movie Set, 1538 N. Mescal Road, Benson

cost: $10 per vehicle

INFO: 520-255-6662, mescalmovieset.com.

This article appears in Apr 20-26, 2023.