City Week: Weekly Picks

Trail Dust Town “Ghost Bar”

It’s an old joke that Tucson turns into a ghost town when winter visitors leave and our own neighbors head for beaches and mountains. Trail Dust spoofs it up with a haunted party in its ghost-town-like environs. Guests are promised “spirit-ed” libations and snacks, and country tunes by Mamma Coal, on Friday and Saturday. Sunday a cello quartet plays classical music, presumably by composers no longer among the living. Tickets include two cocktails and a charcuterie snack in the haunt-ified Savoy Opera House.

8 to 11 p.m. Friday, July 21, and Saturday, July 22, Savoy Opera House, Trail Dust Town, 6541 E. Tanque Verde Road, $45, traildusttown.com

“Summer Pooloza” pool parties

Tucson Parks & Rec has been hosting free pool parties around town this summer. The last two are this Thursday and next Tuesday. Kids are loving sharing the giant inflatable pool toys (including a unicorn!) with new friends. Adding to the fun are party music, party food and all the entertainment packed in a “Ready, Set, Rec” van. There’s cornhole, board games, hula hoops, giant chess, giant checkers, cards, Mexican train, dominoes, giant Jenga and giant ring toss.

5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Thursday, July 20, at Freedom Pool, 5000 E. 29th Street, and Tuesday, July 25, Oury Pool, 665 N. Hughes Street, free, tucsonaz.gov

National Moth Week

Happy 12th annual Moth Week! If you would like to celebrate with friends, you can include your event on the calendar at nationalmothweek.org. You can also find tips for attracting some of the 250,000 or so moth species just by turning on your porch light at night. Most moths are nocturnal, and moths are ten times more diverse than their butterfly cousins. Learn more at this workshop by naturalist Jeff Babson, an expert on everything with wings.

10 a.m. to noon Thursday, July 27, Tucson Botanical Gardens, 2150 N. Alvernon Way, or via Zoom, $30, registration required, tucsonbotanical.org

“Mini MOCA”

Our Museum of Contemporary Art is on summer break through Wednesday, Aug. 30, but “Mini MOCA” is keeping alive its spirit of accessible artistic expression. Like the mini neighborhood book-exchange boxes, “Mini MOCAs” may be coming to a corner near you. Or you can make one. MOCA offers a prompt every Tuesday via its Instagram and Facebook accounts. Let the prompt inspire a creation to put in your box or drop it off at MOCA’s box. Swap your work for another of your choosing. The idea is a citywide “make one-take one” experience.

Anytime, anywhere in Tucson there’s a box or Museum of Contemporary Art, 265 S. Church Avenue, Tucson, free, moca-tucson.org

The Hot Club of Tucson celebrates Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli

Gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt and French fiddler Stephane Grappelli were a duo made in hot jazz heaven. Also known as “jazz manouche,” their music was so fast and fearless as to render any mere mortal accompanist breathless. In their hands a small combo was a circus of aural delights, enough to keep listeners on the edge of their seats. Django expert Howard Alden and The Hot Club of Tucson will raise the roof in this tribute to that legendary duo.

7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Friday, July 21, The Century Room, Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress Street, tickets start at $15, hotelcongress.com

“Fantastic Mr. Fox”

In the 1950s, the Fox Tucson Theatre was among hundreds of movie theaters across the country that hosted The Mickey Mouse Club on Saturday mornings. The idea was such a hit, Disney made it into a TV series. The Mickey Mouse Club returns this summer with fun-filled afternoons for kids. Crafts, singalongs, birthday celebrations and music from the theater’s historic organ set the stage for memorable family films. This Saturday’s feature is “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” based on the book by Roald Dahl and directed by Wes Anderson.

2 p.m. Saturday, July 23, Fox Tucson Theatre, 17 W. Congress Street, $7.50,

foxtucson.com

National Day of the Cowboy

Celebrate cowboy traditions with a host of activities at Empire Ranch. Cowboy poet Gary Kirman will read cowboy poetry, musicians will play cowboy music and experts will demonstrate ranching tools, saddle-making and horse training. There will be goats, too, along with vendors, nonprofits and representatives of a horse rescue ranch. For $10 to $15 you can enjoy a chuckwagon breakfast or pulled pork sliders with sides. Docent tours of the historic ranch are offered throughout the morning, free, for $45 you can take a guided trail ride.

8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, July 22, Empire Ranch, East Empire Ranch Road, off Highway 83, Sonoita, free admission, empireranchfoundation.org

“Fiesta Bloom”

Ponderosa Cactus hosts a day for plant lovers, gardening enthusiasts and plant-care newbies to celebrate succulents, cacti and other greenery that thrives in our region. There will also be a selection of pottery and planters to enjoy in your home or give as gifts. Local artisans and makers will offer candles, jewelry and other creations. Food trucks will also be on hand and there will be live music and other activities throughout the day.

7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 22, Ponderosa Cactus, 3751 E. Fort Lowell Road, free, ponderosacactusaz.com

Kidz Expo Back to School

The Arizona Bilingual Newspaper hosts a free event featuring family activities, raffles, entertainment, learning activities, information and resources for families and more. Sponsors will give away 2,000 backpacks, school supplies and other freebies. The Mexican Consulate will provide up to 3,000 free textbooks in Spanish. More than 40 sponsors and nonprofits will offer information about a range of products and services available to families in the community.

4 to 8 p.m. Thursday, July 27, Tucson Convention Center, Exhibition Halls A and B, 260 S. Church Avenue,

tucsonconventioncenter.com, free

Cowboy Junkies

The Cowboy Junkies are among those, like Gram Parsons and Jason and the Scorchers, who were alternative country before the term was coined. Also, they’re from Canada which is about as alternative as you can get from the “alt.country“ triad of Raleigh-Austin-Chicago. The “alt.” was originally a prefix in the Usenet newsgroup system that predated social media. Isn’t history fun? Honor our ancestors and enjoy watching and hearing how all those years of experience make the music tighter and the show even more memorable.

7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 27, Fox Tucson Theatre, 17 W. Congress Street, tickets start at $30, foxtucson.com

This article appears in Jul 20-26, 2023.