Crafts and ... Yoga?
Unleash Your Creativity Arts and Crafts Show
9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 7;
10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 8
Oracle Crossings Shopping Center
7745 N. Oracle Road
400-3858;
About 20 different vendors will sell unique art at affordable prices at this weekend's Unleash Your Creativity Arts and Crafts Show.
Works being sold will include metal sculptures, watercolors, handmade jewelry and a variety of glass work.
Sabrina de Ceault, founder of the Arizona Arts and Crafts Society, said she designed these events so that local artists could sell their work—and entertain individuals who attend the event.
In an effort to make the events enjoyable for everyone, she decided: Why not include yoga lessons?
"This is the fourth show that we have put together, starting back in April, and we have had a good turnout with each of them," de Ceault explained. "We wanted to do something a little different, so we decided to have yoga lessons instructed by Erin Nelson. The yoga class is meant to draw in different crowds to the event and to promote health."
Children were not forgotten: There will be a treasure hunt at the show just for the young ones.
"We wanted to have an activity for the kids who attend so they are not bored while their parents are shopping, so we decided to have a treasure hunt," de Ceault said. "The kids can go to each of the booths and collect different stickers. When they are finished collecting as many stickers as they can, they can turn them in for a prize."
Admission is free, and the prices of the art will generally run from $3 to $100. —D.O.
Big Steps
Dancing in the Streets Is Good for the Hood
2 to 4 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 8
Vail Theatre of the Arts
10701 E. Mary Ann Cleveland Way
879-3925;
It's a fulfilling experience to do what you love every day—and share your passion with your community.
That is exactly what Joseph Rodgers and Soleste Lupu have been doing since they opened Dancing in the Streets. The organization takes underprivileged kids from Tucson and teaches them the art of dancing.
They then showcase the hard work and dedication that the students have put into their dancing. For example, Dancing in the Streets students have performed The Nutcracker in front of a sold-out crowd of 500 people.
On Aug. 8, Dancing in the Streets will be presenting another dance event to show off the young dancers' work: Dancing in the Streets Is Good for the Hood.
Bonnie Vining, who works at the Vail Theatre of the Arts, spoke highly about the work that Rodgers and Lupu are doing for Tucson's children.
"Dancing in the Streets is a nonprofit organization that gives children who grew up in poor neighborhoods the chance to learn how to dance while having fun. They are making a big difference helping these kids, because most of them can't afford dance classes, and Rodgers and Lupu designed this organization so the dancers do not have to worry about the cost," Vining said.
Vining said that attendees of Dancing in the Streets Is Good for the Hood can expect to see kids having a lot of fun dancing and developing a love for the craft. "About 60 students will be performing at this dance event, and we are very excited to see how it comes out," Vining said.
Admission is $8 in advance, or $10 (cash or check) at the door. Seating is reserved, and tickets can be purchased at www.vtota.org/publicevents. —D.O.
A Hilarious Divorce
Screenings of The Awful Truth
7:30 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 7;
2 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 8
Fox Tucson Theatre
17 W. Congress St.
547-3040;
This summer, the Fox Tucson Theatre and the UA Hanson Film Institute have been taking Tucson on a trip down memory lane by showing classic movies from archival prints with the help of the UCLA Film and Television Archive.
In July, the Fox focused more on the mystery/murder genre; this month, the theme is "classic comedy couples," with The Awful Truth playing this weekend.
The Awful Truth, from 1937, stars Cary Grant and Irene Dunne as a husband and wife who decide to file for divorce—and then attempt to sabotage each other's new efforts to find love. It's a screwball comedy with snappy and entertaining dialogue.
Vicky Westover, director of the UA Hanson Film Institute, is pleased to be able to show the film in its original 35-millimeter-print format.
"I am extremely happy that we are able to show the film in the way it was meant to be seen," she said. "The quality of the film means the most to me, and to be able to show audiences it in 35-millimeter is the most important. I am grateful that the UCLA Film Archive is loaning the prints, because they look gorgeous."
Westover said she's excited to be showing The Awful Truth, because she considers the movie a true classic.
"The Awful Truth is a movie that we thought would be fun to screen because of how the two characters react toward one another," Westover said. "The past screenings have been very successful, with 300 people showing up. It gives me hope that the next screenings will bring in a larger crowd."
Admission for the screenings is $8 general admission, and $6 for students, seniors and active military personnel. Visit the website or call for tickets and a complete schedule of films. —D.O.
Vending Bender
Tucson's First and Only Art-o-mat
Opening: 6 to 9 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 7
My Addiction Gallery
439 N. Sixth Ave., No. 159
Self-proclaimed conceptual artist Clark Whittington has an interesting story about how he came up with the idea for his Art-o-mat artwork vending machines. He was living in Winston-Salem, N.C., at the time and working on various art projects.
"I was watching my friend's reaction to another friend opening a cellophane-wrapped snack," said Whittington. "When he heard the snack being opened, he had to have one, too."
Whittington thought: What if he applied this concept of individually wrapped snacks—and the corresponding domino effect of people wanting those snacks—to individually wrapped items of art?
Hence, the idea of the Art-o-mat.
Art-o-mat machines are actually retired cigarette vending machines that Whittington has converted into art vending machines.
"Basically, we fill the machine up with individual pieces of art and charge $5 a piece," he said. "We really rely on local artists to fill the machines wherever we put them, so I'm really looking forward to what we get out of the Tucson art scene."
My Addiction Gallery will be the home of one of 82 machines now spread around the country. Other Art-o-mat locations include the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Lollapalooza music festival.
Whittington will be in town on Saturday, Aug. 7, to discuss the history behind the Art-o-mat and to kick off its Tucson existence.
"It'll be a pretty big event, and I'll be doing a lecture," he said. "A lot of artists find it difficult to consider what I'm doing with these machines to be art—but it's what they put into the machines that make it art, and I really hope some of the locals will step up." —A.L.
