City Week: Weekly Pick

Spring Ikebana Festival: 10th Anniversary Edition

Flower arrangements representing traditional and contemporary Ikebana also represent the five major schools of ikebana — Sogetsu, Ikenobo, Ohara, Sangestu and Shinsei. Known as “The Way of the Flowers,” Ikebana is meditative practice embodying ideals of taste, beauty and oneness with nature. The art gives equal weight to all parts of the plant rather than just its blooms. Strict discipline is used in harmonizing the elements. Classical ikebana dates to the 15th century; This festival celebrates Yume Gardens’ 10th decade.
9:30 a.m. to 4: 30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, Thursday, Feb. 24, to Sunday, March 6, Yume Japanese Gardens of Tucson, 2130 N. Alvernon Way, yumegardens.org, $17 general admission.

“Hate it or Love it” Rap Challenge Showcase

Fifteen rap artists compete for a $150 cash prize. The audience decides the winner. DJ Staxx provides the music and DJ Ahmar hosts as each artist performs two songs. Reach out to either of them to sign up to rap.
9 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24, D’Lux Lounge, 1901 S. Fourth Avenue, $10 at the door.

“Treasures and Trifles” Sale

The Fort Lowell Park Neighborhood Association fills a barn each year with unique, useful but above all special finds with an eye to selling them to discerning buyers out for a bargain — a stained-glass window, say, or an antique set of handmade dolls, or a 100-year-old blown-glass vase. Take advantage of the sale to explore the grounds and the storied and charming San Pedro Chapel. Organizers promise that the storage barn is full of waiting furniture, household items, art, décor and Southwest paraphernalia. Funds raised help the neighborhood support its historic sites.
9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24, and Saturday, Feb. 25; 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 26, San Pedro Chapel, 5230 E. Fort Lowell Road, free

Four Shillings Short: Celtic, Folk and World Music Concert

Imagine mandolins, Renaissance woodwinds, North Indian sitar, hammered and “mountain” dulcimers, a charango, Psaltery, recorders, tin whistles, banjo a Krummhorn, and, of course, guitar. Four Shillings Short introduces a menagerie of instruments in a concert and, the next day, a whimsically titled workshop: “Around the World in 30 Instruments.” We’ve never heard of half of those instruments, let alone heard them — at least not that we know of. But we don’t summer in Ireland like that duo does. Find out more about them at 4shillingsshort.com
7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24 show, 2 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, workshop, Tempo Music & Arts Academy, 8555 N. Silverbell Road, Suite 101, eventbrite.com, $15 show, $25 includes the workshop.

Celebrate 25 Years of Tucson’s “Ready, Set, Rec!” Buses!

The city of Tucson’s mobile recreation program, “Ready, Set, Rec!” circles the buses at Himmel Park to celebrate its quarter-century anniversary. There will be fun for all ages including cornhole, board games, hula hoops, giant chess, giant checkers, giant Connect 4, cards, music, Mexican train, dominoes, giant Jenga, giant ring toss and walking sticks. Visit the website to sign up for a schedule of the buses’ visits to city parks all over town.
10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, Himmel Park, 1000 N. Tucson Boulevard, tucsonaz.gov/parks/readysetrec, free

“Brontë”

Contemporary playwright Polly Teale imagines life in the Brontë family in 1845, when wayward brother Branwell returns, broken by addiction and sunk into scandal and disgrace. Teetering on the brink of insanity, he has thrown the family into chaos. Sisters and novelists Charlotte, Emily and Anne . . . write. Teale imagines the reality behind the renowned authors’ fiction in the context of the suffocatingly constrained society in which they lived. How did their writing make such a resounding impact as to continue to resonate with every generation since?
1:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 26, pre-show talk about the Brontë sisters’ legacies; shows are various dates and times through Saturday, March 11, The Scoundrel & Scamp Theatre at The Historic Y, 738 N. Fifth Avenue, Suite 131, scoundrelandscamp.org/bronte, tickets start at $30

“Soul’d Out Sundays”

Strictly Grown Folks AZ presents vocalist Nikky Douglas and The Band with No Name this Sunday at Chicago Bar. They promise an evening of R&B, jazz, neo-soul and old-school hip-hop. In between their sets, entertainment continues with DJ Tejano King and comedy or spoken word. The entertainment changes up but the party happens on the fourth Sunday of every month. Food trucks and vendors are always right outside.
6 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 26, Chicago Bar, 5954 E. Speedway Boulevard, $7 advance on Facebook, $10 at the door, for more details call or text 520-241-2328.

Etherton Gallery: “Again with the Real”

“Again with the Real” could be interpreted as an expansive exploration of that instinct we have to take home souvenirs. Recent paintings, drawings and mixed media works by Chris Rush and collages, paintings and mixed media by Ellen McMahon, seem curated to represent ways that material objects can symbolize genuine experiences, aspirations and even identity. Rush is an award-winning artist, designer and author. McMahon is associate dean of research at the University of Arizona School of Art. She is represented here by four recent series and one, “Lost Language,” from 2009.
11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, April 15, Etherton Gallery, 340 S. Convent Avenue, ethertongallery.com, free

“Dark Side of the Moon” 50th Anniversary

Flandrau’s exciting, immersive laser light shows kick out the jams (with apologies to MC5) to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Pink Floyd’s iconic album, “Dark Side of the Moon.” Listen to the music while exploring the literal dark side of the literal Moon in the planetarium theatre dome. As an early ’70s Brit might say “It’s a trip!”
6 to 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 1, Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium, 1601 E. University Boulevard, flandrau.org, $24

This article appears in Feb 23 – Mar 1, 2023.