The word “mining” has a pretty straightforward connotation: teams of underground workers locating and extracting valuable minerals.

But Sue Anderson, event coordinator for the 28th annual Apache Leap Mining Festival in Superior, said there's a lot more to mining than most people realize.

“It’s much more than pulling ore out of the ground,” she said.

Superior is hosting the festival March 11-13 to teach people about mining and its importance to the region.

After kicking off at 5 p.m. Friday with a carnival, vendors and live music, Anderson said the event will go into high gear over the weekend, starting with a parade at 10 a.m. Saturday.

The festival will offer plenty of hands-on activities, including panning for “copper” for adults and pennies for kids, a cupcake-decorating contest, an amateur roping contest and a mining scavenger hunt for kids.

Other popular attractions, Anderson said, include Chihuahua races, a crafts market, beer garden, food and retail vendors and a Saturday night street dance with Bobby Cook and his band.

But the popular mining competition really helps visitors understand what mining is all about, Anderson said.

The grueling above-ground contest, which features a $2,000 purse split among the winners, includes four events that relate to underground mining.

Contestants compete in spiking, which involves driving a spike either up or down into a large board.

“The event is timed and whoever has the lowest time wins,” Anderson said.

The second part of the competition involves mucking, which is shoveling ore into a mine cart. Contestants also must saw into a large board and compete in jackleg drilling, which Anderson said features using a heavy drill to bore into rock.

“There is red tape around the long steel part, and they have to drill up to the red mark,” she said, adding that while the contest typically attracts local miners, anyone is welcome to enter.

Attendees also can watch a mine rescue demonstration, walk the mine history trail and see an abandoned-mine safety exhibit.

“Mining and mine-related companies will also be here to talk to people and explain what they do,” Anderson said. “There is such a wide range of activities, and the event is very family-oriented.”

Apache Leap Mining Festival

When: March 11-13. 5-10 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday; 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday.

Where: Along Main Street in Superior, about 58 miles east of central Phoenix on U.S. 60.

Admission: Free; charges for carnival rides and vendor booths.

Details: 520-689-0200, www.superiorazchamber.net. 

This article originally appeared in The Arizona Republic.