Your Weekly guide to keeping busy in the Old Pueblo.

Theater and Shows

Oro Valley Music Festival. Ring in October with this two-day festival full of music, food, drinks and vendors. Of course, the music is the main event, and Oro Valley is really delivering, with performances by big names like Train, LeAnn Rimes, Lee Brice and Gavin DeGraw. There will be vendors, a “selfie spot,” exclusive VIP areas, and even OVMF swag, like socks and T-shirts. Gates open at 12:30 p.m., opening act starts at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30 and Sunday, Oct. 1. The Golf Club at Vistoso, 955 W. Vistoso Highlands Drive. GA: $59.50 for one night or $89.50 for both nights. VIP $129.50 for one night (sold out for Sunday, so Saturday only. Travis Mathew “Awesome VIP” Experience $199.50 for one night or $329.50 for both nights.

Martial Artists & Acrobats of Tianjin. Martial arts, circus acts, illusions and more! More than 100 performers take the stage in martial arts, balancing acts, acrobatic stunts, contortion and juggling, all accompanied by traditional Chinese music. The award-winning act has traveled throughout the world, and is an audience favorite! 6:30 p.m. Oct. 3, Fox Theater, 17 W. Congress St. $24-$48 (depending on seating, $2 increase for tickets purchased at the door).

Día de los Muertos: The Musical. This new musical hits the stage with Día de los Muertos just around the corner. The original story and music from Michael Martinez tells the story of a young woman who travels to the the world of the dead after losing her beloved pet. While in the world of the dead, she befriends a monster who teaches her how to celebrate life, and helps her return home from the world of the dead before she is trapped forever. Sunday afternoons at 12:30 p.m. Oct. 1-Nov. 5. Live Theater Workshop, 5317 E. Speedway Blvd. $10 for adults, $7 for children.

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. Feel the earth move under your feet at "Beautiful," which tells the true story of Carole King's rise to fame. From being part of a songwriting team with her husband, Gerry Goffin, to becoming one of the most successful solo acts in popular music, King wrote songs considered to be the soundtrack to a generation. Times vary based on date. Oct. 4 through Oct. 8. Centennial Hall, 1020 E. University Blvd. Price varies by seating: $29-$80.

Organic, Origami and Open Studios

Between Folds: Classical Origami. There’s something really magical about origami: creating these little sculptures by hand, without using any scissors, glue or tape. And if you’ve ever made a cootie catcher, you know that that origami has the power to unlock worlds of unparalleled fun. Seasoned origami vets can create everything from insects to shores to samurai to cranes with movable wings. See all of these things (except the cootie catcher, probably) and more at this Japanese Yume Gardens exhibit, which runs from their reopening on Oct. 1 through Dec. 31. 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. Yume Japanese Gardens of Tucson, 2130 N. Alvernon Way. Free with museum admission: $9 adults, $8 seniors, $7 students and military ID, $5 children 3 to 15, free for children two and under.


Tucson Organic Gardeners Fall Fair. Native vegetables and herbs? Oh yeah. Organic compost and fertilizers? You got it. Fall plant starts from local growers? Of course. Throw in a raffle, games and some music, and how could you even consider missing this event to welcome fall and all of the gardening opportunities it brings with it? Geronimo’s Revenge food truck will be there to feed hungry gardeners, and Beryl Baker’s sheep manure and several other manure vendors will be there to feed hungry gardens. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30. St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church 2809 E. Third St. Free entry.

Southern Arizona Open Studio Tours. One of Southern Arizona's largest open studio and creative workspace tours, this showing helps support the work of local artists, musicians and creative businesses. The event works in partnership with The Arts Foundation for Tucson and SAACA to build build the community’s cultural presence. Sculpture, ceramics, metalwork, jewelry, watercolor, photography and textiles will all be on display during the two weekend run. The first weekend features artists that work and exhibits north of River Road, and the second weekend features galleries south of River Road. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 30 and Oct. 1; Oct. 7 and Oct. 8. Locations vary. Free.

October!

Nightfall at Old Tucson. If you don’t have your Halloween decorations up, we suggest you get your act together and get into the spirit by getting out to this monthlong event ASAP. If you’re not in the spooky spirit yet, a haunted house might not be enough to get you there. You need a haunted town, and a real one! Live shows, terrifying live characters and attractions like the Monster Safari Train and the Strange Family Circus. Prepare to be scared, but don’t be scared to be prepared by not bringing pets, and by realizing that some parts of this mostly family-friendly event are not for the faint of heart (literally and figuratively). 6 p.m. to midnight on Fridays and Saturday, 6 to 10 p.m. all other days. Friday, Sept. 29 to Tuesday, Oct. 31 on most Thursdays through Sundays except Oct. 1 and 5. Additional event on Halloween night. Old Tucson, 201 S. Kinney Road. $28 adults, $21 kids ages 9 to 11, free for kids 8 and under. Discounts available on website.

Pussy Power: Planned Parenthood Art Show. Bentley’s House of Coffee & Tea and Tucson’s Nasty Women Exhibit host this opportunity to see some local art and help raise money for Planned Parenthood Arizona. April’s event at Borderlands Brewery saw 2,000 patrons raise $15,000 for Planned Parenthood and featured a variety of art forms from an array of artists. 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Oct 1. to Oct. 31. Bentley’s House of Coffee & Tea 1730 E. Speedway Blvd. Free entry.

Fourth Annual Breast Cancer Awareness Event. Pin Me Up Chicana Style hosts this event to kick off Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Enjoy a pink pumpkin raffle, a pink bake sale, free massages and music. About one in eight U.S. women develops invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime, so bring awareness for your mothers, for your sister, for your aunts, daughters, nieces, cousins, friends and self. Bring awareness for the hundreds of thousands of women who face the diagnosis each year. 11 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 1. Rodeo Park 5001 S. Nogales Highway. Free entry.

Oktoberfest 2017 at Trail Dust Town! Pints from local breweries, pumpernickel-y cuisine from Germany and polka from the Bouncing Czechs! What more could an Oktoberfest enthusiast ask for? The ferris wheel, train and carousel will all be up and running, and Iron John’s Brewing Company, Thunder Canyon Brewstillery, Sentinel Peak Brewing Company and Uncle Bear’s Brewery will all be on site for one of Trail Dust Town’s biggest events of the year. 3 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7. Trail Dust Town 6541 E. Tanque Verde Road. Free admission.

Fun in General

Mexican Baseball Fiesta. If you like the thrill and electric atmosphere of major league baseball, but would prefer tacos be served in the stand over hot dogs, then you can’t miss this tournament, featuring the Naranjeros de Hermosillo, Yaquis de Obregon, Aguilas de Mexicali, Tomato de Culican and the Cañeros de Los Mochis. The Naranjeros and the Yaquis, some of the fiercest rivals in the league, will face off twice. Your first beer is only $1 on Thirsty Thursday, eegees is handing out free kids’ tickets on Friday, and Vantage West will have $10 family vouchers on Sunday. 5:30 p.m. start Thursday, Oct. 5, through Saturday, Oct. 7. 3 p.m. start on Sunday, Oct. 8 Kino Stadium 2500 E. Ajo Way. $15 box seats, $10 GA, children, senior, military and students $6.

Jim Click’s Run ’n’ Roll. Hit the course with some of the fastest runners and chair athletes in the country at this triple F course (fast, fun and flat) developed by former UA track coach Dave Murray. The time management team of the Southern Arizona Roadrunners will be tracking times to ensure the utmost accuracy for both the 8K and 3K events. If you’ve never done a race before, a 3K, or about 1.86 miles, is a perfect place to start! Registration is open all the way up until 6:45 on the morning of the race. Afterwards, enjoy free food, entertainment, health checks, live music and an awards ceremony. Race day registration begins at 6 a.m., wheelchair start at 6:30 a.m., 8K open run/walk begins at 7 a.m. and 3K run/walk/kid’s race begins at 7:10 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 1. University of Arizona Mall (University and Campbell Avenue). $25 general, $23 for SAR members, $18 for teams of eight or more.

Meg Kearney Dusenberry-River Library Reading. Author Meg Kearney shares her young adult verse novels and how they relate to her personal journey as a writer, and as a person. Adopted as a foundling and never having met her birth mother, Kearney went looking for her as an adult. Meanwhile, her mother spent time in a convent and later became an ex-nun living in Tucson. 6 to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 5. Dusenberry-River Library, 5605 E River Road. Free.

Jewish History Museum Annual Block Party. Celebrate Sukkot, the feast of tabernacles, by heading over to this food truck-packed party, featuring Los Tacos Locos, Don Pedro’s Peruvian Bistro, The Hungry Kepuha Foof from Guam, Sonoran Snoballs, Nhu Lan Vietnamese Food and several other offerings. 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7. Jewish History Museum, 564 S. Stone Ave. Free entry.

Free Science Day. Roses are red, violets are blue, thanks to anthocyanin pigments, and that’s true. How cool is science? S.Y.STEM Coalition is bringing local STEM professional to the Pima County Public Library to teach K-12 students about career opportunities in STEM through experiments, games and other exciting, hands-on activities. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7. Pima County Public Library 101 N. Stone Ave. Free.

Nightcrawler

Hail the Sun pen mini rock operas, replete with soaring movements, huge key changes and stylistically varied instrumentation, but they avoid silly Rick Wakeman-bred pomp and self-aggrandizing. Each four- to seven-minute song evolves (fluidly!) from hurt to regret to anger to longing, with minor descending wails and plaintive lamentations. Somewhere between The Long Winters and Evanescence, their sonic complexity is likely the one thing keeping them from playing the sheds. Think of them as the emo plateau found beyond the scream-o mountain. Occasional scary howls still make it in, as well as the skull-shattering machine-gun drumming, but they’re utterly sincere. Sure, time-honored angst-y lyrics prevail—even if the “self-inflicting, isolating, capsules will hide it”—and the singsong delivery haunts. And there's always a breakout headbanger movement just beyond the admission of remorse and self-hatred. Dude, this is sweet coming-of-age tunage—the nuanced sound of modern growing pains and life out past the giant electric towers in suburbia. Friday, Sept. 29 at The Rock. Doors at 7 p.m. $13-$15. All ages.

Nas. You’re totally alone and it feels like nobody understands you, or worse. So you pull up an old fave, some say the greatest hip-hop record of all time, and there’s Nas, “Life’s a bitch and then you die, that’s why we get high, cuz you never know when you’re gonna go.” Echoes of the late great Biggie Smalls resound. You gain the strength to leave your house. Then, Nas arms you with a sweet pep talk: “Whose world is this? It’s mine, it’s mine, it’s mine.” You feel better. “I’m out for Presidents to represent me.” Hopeful even. And that’s just the first 16 minutes of the dude’s debut record. Reality headlines be damned; Nas is storytelling godhead, deceptively plainspoken flow, lyrics deep and insightful. And his production never sounds dated. How is that even possible? There are 23 intervening years full of reasons to hit this show, but that first 16 minutes should be enough to get you there. With Wale, Nick Grant and SwizZy B. Monday, Oct. 2, at Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress. Doors at 7 p.m. $49.50-$65. All ages.

Y La Bamba. “No hay nadie como tú.” Luz Elena Mendoza sings with bell-like clarity, as we might respond back, "There is no one like you." On their latest release, Ojos del Sol, Y La Bamba delves deeper into soul-searching reflection and mindfulness. The Portland-based indie folk band explores what having eyes (made) from the sun, or in Spanglish homonym, from the soul, might sound like. The lavender head on the cover is a hint—this is crown chakra music, only achievable once the other six are unblocked. The ethereal orchestration recall early Sigur Ros, while lyrics enjoy a rich duality of meaning: “I don't mind waiting in this world of emptiness,” Luz sings, with hints of Lila Downs creeping in. This nirvana of nothingness, this material place of suffering. The drums and strings flush out the lyrics like lovers reading one another's thoughts. Ay que bonita. Monday, Oct. 2 at 191 Toole. Doors at 7 p.m. $10. 21+.

Pinegrove. It's autumn out on the open road, and the window’s down and the car and music kicks and everything’s changing. With vocals and melodies akin to Built to Spill, backed by the understated but dynamic instrumentation of A.M.-era Wilco, Pinegrove is a sweet match for open-road metaphors. “I resolve to make new friends … I like all/But I fucked up so I'll start again ... What's the worst that could happen?” This feels like what Stephen Malkmus and Isaac Brock would write if they let themselves be sincere. The y'alternative banjo and slide guitar forge a gentle backdrop, "When I sing, I sing for me." Compared to jaded, early-aught anthems like Spoon's "That's the Way We Get By," Pinegrove comes off all sweet-toothed and open-hearted. They offer today's indie kids a chance at real catharsis without the pain of ingesting 1,000 chemicals to get there. With Florist and Lomelda on Tuesday, Oct. 3. Club Congress, 311 E. Congress. Doors at 7 p.m. $14-$17. All ages.