Thursday, September 21, 2017

The Weekly List: 21 Things To Do In Tucson In The Next 10 Days

Posted By on Thu, Sep 21, 2017 at 9:30 AM

Your Weekly guide to keeping busy in the Old Pueblo.

Art

Art Now! With Chuck Nanney. Artist Chuck Nanney’s sculptural works from the last three years, which are equal parts minimalist modern and whimsical chic, are showing at MOCA through Oct. 1. For this event, Nanney comes to the museum to talk about his work (which includes sound pieces) nal art lecture format by allowing audiences to engage in discussion about all of the forms that the art of today’s world takes. 6 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 26. MOCA Tucson, 265 S. Church Ave. $10, free for MOCA members.

Diana Madaras Signing Event. It’s hard to believe that calendars for 2018 are already out, but it makes sense, really. After all, 2017 is no spring chicken anymore. Diana Madaras’ 2018 Southwest Art Calendar is out, serving the tri-purpose of helping you keep track of the days, decorate your house and support local art. This week, she’ll even be signing them, so they serve the fourth purpose of showing off your impressive connections in the art world. Also, calendars make fantastic gifts for everyone from your mom to that one coworker you don’t know very well and gave gift cards and lotion to for the past three Christmases. 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 21. Madaras Gallery, 3035 N. Swan Road. Free.

Equinox Poetry Chalking. Chalk, meet poetry. You two should have a lot in common, because you’re both versatile, colorful and good at bringing people together. At this Sam Lena-South Tucson Library event, both will be provided for people of all ages to chalk poems in both English and Spanish celebrating the beginning of fall and the beauty of libraries. Feel free to bring a favorite—or original—poem of your own, and to try out some futuristic glitter chalk, and even spray chalk. 4 to 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 22. Sam Lena-South Tucson Library 1607 S. Sixth Ave. Free.

Music and Theater

The Astronaut Farmworker. Pima Community College’s run of José Cruz González's play inspired by the story of real-life astronaut José Hernández runs through Oct. 1. In the show, Pepito, the son of migrant farmworkers, is struggling to learn English and make friends in his new home. When he watches Apollo 11 land on the moon, he knew from that day forward that he wanted to be an astronaut. A feel-good story about following your dreams and the power of education, it’s a must-see for kids, parents, grandparents and everyone in between. Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m., Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. ASL interpreters Friday, Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. Scout Theatre Adventure (for girl and boy scouts and their leaders at a discounted price). Saturday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. Through Oct. 1. Proscenium Theatre, 2202 W. Anklam Road. $8 (or $6 for groups of 10 or more)


TSO Inaugural Season Opening: Titan. TSO’s new conductor, José Luis Gomez will conduct this trio of compositions: Carreño's Margariteña, Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, “Titan.” Award-winning young pianist Zhang Zuo will be the evening’s soloist. The evening is a testament to the power of dedication even from a young age: Beethoven composed his Piano Concerto No. 2 when he was in his 20s, and Zuo, also known as Zee Zee, is only 28. 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 22; 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 24. Tucson Music Hall, 260 S. Church Ave. $15-$86.

Healing Sounds from Around the World. Local musician Bob Effertz will be at the library to get us all into a Hakuna Matata mindset with the hammered dulcimer, a set of Tibetan singing bowls, Ting-Sha bells, and, of course, a Down Under didgeridoo. All of these instruments are traditionally meditative, and will mean no worries for the rest of your days (or at least, hopefully, no worries for the course of the hourlong program.) 2 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23. Himmel Park Library, 1000 N. Tucson Blvd. Free.

Jazz Legends Live. 1917 was a good year: It brought the world Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Buddy Rich and marshmallow fluff. A concert celebrating three of these four greats will feature some of today’s top jazz artists (John Faddis, Tom Kennedy, Niki Haris, Lewis Nash and Bobby Floyd) performing together in an ensemble. Hosts Paula and Don Redman along with Marilyn Cook will honor the life of the late Al Cook, who was one of the founders of the event a decade and half ago. Proceeds from the event will go toward art and music programs at local schools. Help out a local class while enjoying some good ol’ fashioned jazz. VIP Dinner at 5:30 p.m., concert at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23. The Lodge at Ventana Canyon, 6200 N. Club House Lane. $65 to $1,250.

All-Weekend Events

Second Annual Oracle Ford Peppersauce Roundup Adventure Festival. Adventure time! C’mon, grab your friends, and head to this festival, where adventure means gravel grinder bike races (50- and 60-mile courses), stampede trail runs (10-mile, 8-mile and 5K courses), zip-lining and camping. And then have some sensory adventures as you enjoy craft beer, live music, great food and a bike and gear outdoor expo. Kids are welcome, and are sure to enjoy performances by Mr. Nature as well. Celebrate how awesome it is to live in Arizona by going out and experiencing it in all of its bumpy, boozy beautiful glory. 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 22, to 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 24. Arizona Zipline Adventures, 35406 S. Mount Lemmon Highway, Oracle. $5 or 5 for $20.
Crown the Victor

Mr. and Miss Tucson Pride 2017. Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the proudest of them all and the winner of a $1,000 cash prize? Find out at this year’s Mr. and Miss Tucson Pride 2017, where Demi LaRaye (Miss Gay Tucson America 2016 runner up) and Romeo White (2017 Arizona Entertainer of the Year King) will be honored. Victor Stubbs and Tucson Pride present this event at the Maverick to crown this year’s winners. 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 24. The Maverick, 6622 E. Tanque Verde Road.

WBO Boxing. Watch undefeated world champion, and two-time Mexican Olympian Oscar Valdez defend his WBO featherweight title against WBO’s number four world-rated Genesis Servania. SBO super middleweight champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez will take on mandatory challenger Jesse “Hard Work” Hart. These four have a perfect collective record of 108-0 (which will definitely change at this event) with almost 70 percent of their victories coming from KOs. No one’s going down without a fight, and the audience isn’t going home without watching some great ones. 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 22. Tucson Arena 260 South Church Ave. $27-$102.

Tucson Pride 2017. It’s the 40th year of Tucson’s pride festival, and the Tucson Pride Board is going all out to celebrate both the LGBT community and the festival’s anniversary. Pride on Parade on the 29th will be followed by an afterparty at Skybar, and festivities culminate at Pride in the Park on Sept. 30, where there will be live music by Daya, DJ Kash, David Hernandez, Velo and Fly By Midnight. A dance pavilion with tunes by DJ Shorty, a kid’s zone and an elevated VIP experience (which includes a meet and greet with the headliners) are all new this year. Pride on Parade is Sept. 29 on Fourth Avenue, beginning at 7 p.m. Pride in the Park is Sept. 30 from noon to 9 p.m. at Reid Park, 1100 S. Randolph Way. $15 GA, $12 students, seniors and military, $65 VIP, free for kids 12 and under.

For One Night Only

Autumnal Equinox Celebration: Fire and Music. Cirque Roots Fire Troupe, psychedelic jazz rock band The Benn and local painter Danny V. will come together at Sky Bar Tucson for this celebration of Night Meeting Day. Cirque Roots will perform a one-hour fire show beginning at 8:30 p.m., followed by two sets of live music from the Bennu and live painting by Danny V. Patrons are invited to enjoy the spectacle, drinks and dancing all night long. 8:30 p.m. to midnight. Friday, Sept. 22. Sky Bar, 536 N. Fourth Ave. Free admission.

National Day of Remembrance Candlelight Vigil. Homicide Survivors is hosting this event to remember and honor murder victims in a peaceful and healing ceremony. A candlelight vigil will be the center of the ceremony, and there will also be speakers, music and food. Bring your own chairs and/or blankets to the evening ceremony. 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 24. Gene C. Reid Park, E. 22nd St. Free.

LUMIES. Enjoy the kick-off to the fall arts season with this event sponsored by the Arts Foundation. Eight groups will perform, including the taiko ensemble Odaiko Sonora, martial arts group Axé Capoeira and circus and dance performance group Flam Chen, who will be unveiling their costumes for the 2017 All Souls Procession. Price of admission includes two free drinks, and patrons are welcome to bring their own food or to purchase food at the event. Celebrate community arts heroes with a fun-filled, art-filled, joy-filled night. General admission tickets do not include seats, so bring your own blankets or chairs. 5:30 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 28. Georges DeMeester Performance Center, 900 S. Randolph Way. GA Tickets start at $30.


Fun in General

Fall Pumpkin Celebration. All-you-can-eat pumpkin pancake breakfast, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread?! Be still, my Caucasian heart. It’s not quite October yet, but Apple Annie’s is making sure that pumpkin aficionados can get the most out of the season (short of a pumpkin spice latte IV) by starting their weekend pumpkin celebrations now, and not stopping until the end of October. Pick your own pumpkin, choose a pre-picked pumpkin from a pumpkin stand or produce barn, and don’t forget to peruse Arizona’s largest corn maze. And keep an eye out for the Great Pumpkin. If he’s going to be hunkered down anywhere while he waits for Halloween, it’s got to be at Apple Annie’s. Every weekend until Halloween, beginning at 8:30 a.m. Apple Annie's Produce Farm Location, 6405 W. Williams Road Willcox. Free entry.

Adulting 101. The Joel D. Valdez Main Library is here with all of the questions aspiring adults are too embarrassed to ask. How do you eat healthy and not go broke? What about fixing a flat tire? And what about training a pet? How does that work? How does any of it work? 101Space hosts this event to help people who are technically adults feel like they are actually adults. Practice shaking hands and being a grown up with other people who are just as confused as you are, and add some useful info to your brain to go alongside all of the dates you memorized in high school. 3 to 4:45 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 21. Joel D. Valdez Main Library, 101 N. Stone Ave. Free.

Split End Race. Everyone Runs, Everyone Walks is hosting this event, and they’re a group that prides themselves on having races that work for everyone. Runners, walkers and somersaulters are all welcome (though somersaulting down either a dirt or asphalt trail for several miles is not recommended). A 5K road run, as well as 5.2-mile and 10.3-mile trail runs will be available, and so will awards, free photos, finisher shirts and a FREE Mexican breakfast. Eyes on the prize, Tucson, eyes on the prize. When getting to the race, a reminder that carpools are car-cool. (Parking is tight.) Packet pickup on race day from 5 to 6:20 a.m., or at Fleet Feet locations at select times on the two days preceding the race. Races begin at 9 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 24 Catalina State Park, 11570 N. Oracle Road.

Bookman’s Local Comic Artist Extravaganza! Evil Robo Productions, a local comic and graphic design company, and Sillie Monkey Comics, a comic book creation and skill development group, will be at this fair, along with several other vendors selling posters, prints, comics, buttons, stickers and comic character commissions. The event is hosted by horror artist Natalia Lopez and Constant Con and the Comic Bookmobile. A prize wheel will be there to raise money for the bookmobile, which travels around Tucson and works to educate kids through comics. noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30. Bookmans Entertainment Exchange, 6230 E. Speedway Blvd. Free entry.


Nightcrawler

King Chiefs. What began as the dynamic interplay between buzzy mid-range guitar and shimmery, cymbal-driven “desert” rock has grown to include a Flying V and electric bass. Still, there’s no soaring release, so the rhythmic low-end pins you down—Soundgarden without Cornell’s operatics, a more working-class Helmut, only good. Yet while treading the easily hackneyed, post-grunge line, King Chiefs never lapse into derivative drivel or parody. In fact, they keep getting better. Inspired by both the Sonoran Desert and the San Diego hardcore scene, the Chiefs keep the sweet riffs coming, in staccato waves, in ’verb-drenched hooks, in fist-jacking call and response. There’s intuitive intelligence to these tunes too, and an unpretentious exploration and repartee more commonly found in good jazz. This is hum-alongable and understated, yet head-bang worthy. Go figure that out. With Musk Hog on Wednesday, Sept. 27. The Flycatcher. Doors: 7 p.m. Free. 21+.

Dizzy Wright. Able to rapid-fire flow or pull back for classic singsong hookla, Dizzy Wright could be a radio-friendly rapper (hell, his “Killem With Kindness” already has 10 million Spotify spins). But he’s intentionally trying to stay off the major labels. See it’s not just Dizzy’s capable delivery that distinguishes this Vegas-born rapper from the rest of the Hennessey-swigging goons—it’s his lyrical content and perspective on life. Dizzy spent part of his childhood in a Sin City homeless shelter, so he’s not just streetwise, he’s culture-wise too. He has seen firsthand the temptations of materialism and the limitations of wealth, “Money got less value than my fuckin’ shadow/You n++gers better free your mind.” His candor and lack of persona make him approachable, original. You want to spark a blunt and bike down to the east side east side east side just to learn more about this smart, vulnerable human. Tuesday, Sept. 26 at The Rock, 136 N. Park. Doors: 7 p.m. $20-$50. All ages.

Natalia LaFourcade is the Nora Jones of Mexico. Her mother, father and uncle are professional musicians and as a child, Natalia studied mariachi before striking out on solo on the back of pop rock. Her music is a blood-red rose, flowering from deeply rooted musical raíces. No Spanish required to understand where she’s coming from—just shut your eyes and let the music work, cornball as that sounds. Talented enough as a pianist, flautist and guitarist to have released her own instrumental album, it is her soprano voice, textured with the countryside of her native Veracruz, cut through with the pleasure, pain and pride of being a Mexican woman, that won her a 2015 Latin Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album. Even on record, Natalia’s voice is so lovely it’s hard not to well up with tears. Sunday, Sept. 24, at Rilato Theatre, 318 E. Congress. Doors: 7 p.m. $41-$61. All ages.

TOKiMONSTA. L.A.-based DJ and superstar producer TOKiMONSTA was a concert pianist long before she was hanging out in Leimert Park, getting schooled in Low End Theory. Maybe that’s why her songs have such mathematical precision and divine musicality. On tracks like “Don’t Call Me” she subtly outshines Kanye at his own game; beyond one hooky falsetto line there’s also a beautiful alto pop track, voiced by Yuna, in perfect syncopation. Her signature melodic drumlines blend organic and programmed sounds; she uses drum machines like timpani. This DJ is special, yo. The first female to be signed to her label, there’s a delicate intricacy to her tracks. She moves your root and your third eye at once, no drugs required (!?). And her remixes—from Jodeci to Lupe Fiasco to Timba himself— have been bettered by her shine. Sexy, spiritually charged EDM (yes, we mean that.) With TOMI on Tuesday, Sept. 26. 191 Toole. Doors at 7 p.m. $20-$22, 16+.

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