Mural Painting and Buffelgrass Pull
FEB. 22
Celebrate Save Our Saguaros month by helping to rid our desert of invasive buffelgrass. Buffelgrass aggressively consumes space and water that our landmark saguaros need to survive. The only way to get rid of it is to pull it out by hand. The event winds down with a chance to make your mark in a community mural. Sign up on the website to learn how to prepare for the day.
Sentinel Peak (“A” Mountain), 1001 S. Sentinel Peak Road, free, 8 to 11 a.m.,
www.desertmuseum.org
Philabaum Gallery: “A Cut Above”
TO JUNE 1
Philabaum features glass created with three distinctive techniques, including hot sculpted and carved as well as the familiar blown method. Jason Marstall works in blown forms using classic Venetian techniques and lately has begun sculpting solid figurative works. Steve Hagan creates functional works and figurative forms that feature texture and gesture. Mark Leputa’s work is recognized and collected by afficionados around the world. He creates sculptures of blown and carved glass.
Philabaum Gallery, 711 S. Sixth Avenue, free, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, www.philabaumglass.com
Salvat Fidai’s Microsculptures
FEB. 15 TO May 15
In an exhibit titled, “The Pencil is Mightier,” The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures showcases more than 45 sculptures and assemblages, each barely larger than a pencil nib. Salavat Fidali created them with graphite rods from pencils, using a small craft knife and microscope. The sculptures’ intricate forms suggest larger-than-life fantasies. Ranging in size from a quarter inch to less than a 1/10th of an inch, they include representations from “Game of Thrones,” Marvel and “Star Wars.”
Mini-Time Museum of Miniatures, 4455 E. Camp Lowell Drive, $14, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays, www.theminitimemachine.org
Mural Painting and Buffelgrass Pull
FEB. 22
Celebrate Save Our Saguaros month by helping to rid our desert of invasive buffelgrass. Buffelgrass aggressively consumes space and water that our landmark saguaros need to survive. The only way to get rid of it is to pull it out by hand. The event winds down with a chance to make your mark in a community mural. Sign up on the website to learn how to prepare for the day.
Sentinel Peak (“A” Mountain), 1001 S. Sentinel Peak Road, free, 8 to 11 a.m.,
www.desertmuseum.org
Turquoise Trail and Tasting Tour
FEB. 18
Enjoy a leisurely 2-mile walk around Tucson history and be rewarded with a tasting of Sonoran wines at Maynards Market. The tour follows the Turquoise Trail, a loop that winds through historic Downtown sites with turquoise-painted lines between stops. To tour the trail yourself any time, pick up a printed guide at the Presidio Museum, where the tour begins. The complete walk is 2.5 miles, but can be done in segments, and it’s fully accessible.
Presidio San Agustin de Tucson, 196 N. Court Avenue, $60, 1 to 4 p.m.,
www.tucsonpresidio.com
Esteban de Dorantes:
The First Moroccan and African Explorer of the American Southwest
FEB. 15
Celebrate Black History Month by learning about the Black African explorer who, with Fray Marcos DeNiza, “discovered” Southern Arizona. Esteban de Dorantes was one of only four survivors of an expedition that sailed from Spain in 1527. They’d intended to conquer Florida but were captured by Native Americans. Then things got worse. The UA’s Dr. Hsain Ilahiane launches The Southwest Center’s Spring Lecture Series with this event, which will also feature Moroccan refreshments.
Kiva Room, Student Union Memorial Center, 1303 E. University Boulevard, free, 3:30 p.m.,
https://bit.ly/SWC_Estevanico
Tucson Roadrunners Hockey
FEB. 16 TO FEB. 17
The Ontario Reign visits the Tucson Arena for two games this week. The Reign are affiliated with the National Hockey League’s Los Angeles Kings. The Roadrunners lead the Pacific Division as the Reign holds down the middle at sixth, with 10 fewer goals and five more goals allowed. Roadrunners fans note: Wear the Kachina jerseys. Also, there will be a jersey giveaway for kids aged 12 and younger.
Tucson Arena, 260 S. Church Street, $17, 7 p.m., www.tucsonarena.com
“Dial M for Murder”
FEB. 17 TO FEB. 19
As “true crime” podcasts surge in popular culture, the timing is perfect to bring back this murder-mystery stage play that Alfred Hitchcock parlayed into a hit movie. To recap: A washed-up former tennis pro married his wife for her money and now plans to murder her for it. What luck, he’s in a position to blackmail a scoundrel to do the deed! But, plot twist, the killer dies and the wife survives. Now what?
Oro Valley Theatre Company, Gaslight Music Hall, 13005 N. Oracle Road, Tucson, tickets start at $34, 6 p.m. nightly and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday,
www.orovalleytheatrecompany.com
“Sonoran Dispatch:”
Wes Anderson Soundtrack Live
FEB. 18
Arizona composer and scholar Dr. Christopher Norby of the ASU School of Music conducts the 16-piece Kabaret Orchestra performing the soundtrack of director Wes Anderson’s feature film “Sonoran Dispatch.” The performance also features vocalists Mckaylee Todd and Mario Yniwuez. Norby and Kabaret are collaborating on a series of concerts based on the scores of Anderson films. Norby has scored a number of films, himself, as well as videogames and U.S television programs.
Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress Street, $25, 2 p.m., www.rialtotheatre.com
A Matter of Balance
FEB. 19 TO MARCH 13
Older adults who have fallen, have a risk of falling or may be cutting back on their activities due to a fear of falling can experience safety through this program of evidence-based training as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Participants learn to view falling and related fears as controllable, change their environment to reduce risk factors and set realistic goals to increase activity. The admission fee covers a book and supplies.
PCOA Katie Dusenberry Healthy Aging Center, 600 S. Country Club Road, 1 to 3 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays, $30, www.pcoa.org/calendar
Tucson Pride Rotary Club
FEB. 21
The first Rotary Club was founded in Chicago in 1905 to create a place where professionals with diverse backgrounds could exchange ideas and form lasting friendships. For years only men could enjoy its benefits, but that’s changed over recent decades. Now it’s for everyone. The new Rotary Club of Tucson Pride will be one of the first LGBTQ+ Rotary Clubs in the United States. It’s meeting for the first time next Thursday. Reservations are requested.
The Playground, 278 E. Congress Street, free, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.,
wkirkreed@gmail.com
This article appears in Feb 16-22, 2024.