Thursday 9
Give it up. Students, neighbors and community members may want to get out and show their support for the American Red Cross.
Presidio High School is hosting a community blood drive from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. today.
Presidio High School is located at 1695 E. Fort Lowell Road, just west of Campbell Avenue. Donors should go directly to the main office, facing Fort Lowell Road, to sign in and be shown to the multipurpose room. For more information, call 881-5222.
Friday 10
YOU BE JAMMIN'. Waking the Writer Within! Searching for the Core of You! No Gimmicks, Just Art! Celebrate! and Honor your Wild Woman!
These are just a few of the workshops being offered at Arts Jam III: Freeing Imagination/Play in the Expressive Arts.
Arts Jam provides an opportunity for individuals to experience and express their creative selves in a community setting. Offering an exciting array of arts workshops facilitated by Expressive Arts Professionals, the event will provide a chance to explore, play, create and connect.
Arts Jam III is 6 to 9:30 p.m. today and 8:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. Saturday. Cost is $99. Register with a friend and it's $89 each. Lunch is included. Sandra Wortzel and Pam Gold, local registered expressive arts therapists, will facilitate a separate workshop from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. today. Cost for that is $65. To register, or for more information, call 325-7795.
Romance at the ranch. A group of singles mix it up as they sing and dance to Rodgers and Hammerstein's favorite hit songs, including "Some Enchanted Evening" and "Honey Bun."
Set in a local dude ranch, A Grand Night for Singing swings into the Little Theatre at Catalina Foothills High School tonight. The performance features great tunes and you'll probably find yourself humming along to "Hello Young Lovers," "It Might as Well be Spring" and "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning."
Performances start at 8 p.m. today and Saturday. Matinees begin at 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $8 to $15. For more information, call 275-8429 or 298-2755.
Saturday 11
HEY, DUDE. Get a look at the lifestyles of Arizona originals who are definitely a breed apart.
Ranching in Arizona, a new exhibit at Old Tucson Studios, chronicles the industry's history--from the introduction of Andalusian cattle to the "New World" by Spanish Conquistadors to the way cattle ranching is conducted in Arizona today.
The exhibit, curated by photographer Bob Sharp, covers the history of ranching in Arizona through pictures, narratives, interviews and artifacts. Other elements of this exhibit cover ranching traditions, the issues surrounding ranching and conservation. Actual cowboy artifacts including clothing and tools of the trade are on display.
Ranching in Arizona runs through Sept. 31 at the Town Hall Museum.
The Mesa Southwest Museum is circulating the "Ranching in Arizona" exhibit. This exhibit is the second of a series of proposed exhibits between Old Tucson Studios and the Mesa Southwest Museum. The museum can be reached at (480) 644-2230 for more information.
Old Tucson Studios is located at 201 South Kinney Road, in the Tucson Mountain Park. Take I-10 and exit Speedway Boulevard and head west, following the signs. Recreational vehicles should travel Ajo west to Kinney Road. Passenger cars may find this route more convenient when approaching Tucson from south of the city. For more information, call 883-0100 or visit www.oldtucson.com.
Artsy cartsy. An "art car" exhibit is just one of the draws at an arts fest in Bisbee this weekend.
Bisbee's sixth annual Spring Arts Festival also features a colorful showcase of working artists selling and demonstrating their work. More than 40 galleries, studios and specialty shops will feature exhibits and artist demonstrations.
A Plein Air event allows artists of all ages to participate in an outdoor painting competition for $5 entry fee. Cash prizes begin at $300.
Oh, and if you get stressed out from all the fun--mini-massages will be available throughout the event.
The festival is 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and Sunday in Grassy Park (in front of the historic Copper Queen Hotel and Mining Museum). The painting competition is 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. For more information, call the Bisbee Chamber of Commerce at 432-5421 or email bizzartofbisbee@hotmail.com.
Sunday 12
Blowing his own horn. Clarinetist Ken Peplowski of Cleveland began his professional career at age 9, making local TV and radio appearances.
He continued playing in the Cleveland area before leaving school in 1978 to join the Tommy Dorsey Band under the direction of Buddy Morrow. While on the road he met sax great Sonny Stitt and quickly became one of his prize pupils.
In 1980, Peplowski moved to New York and since has performed in a variety of groupings including Dixieland bands, avant-garde jazz ensembles and symphony orchestras. Peplowski's fluid melodic style has enlivened scores for movies and television.
The Boston Herald commended the "purity of Peplowski's silvery playing," describing him as "marvelously fresh and refreshing."
If that's not endorsement enough, here's what Mel Torme had to say: "There have been too few clarinetists to fill the void that Benny Goodman left. Ken Peplowski is most certainly one of those few. The man is magic."
Check out Peplowski, who is in town thanks to Tucson Jazz Society's Spring Series Music Under the Stars. He'll perform with the Jeff Haskell Trio in a concert that starts at 6 tonight at St. Philip's Plaza, River and Campbell. Tickets are $10 for TJS members and $15 general admission. For more information, call 903-1265.
Catch a matinee. Time's running out to see Ballad of Silver Creek in Bisbee.
It's an original Western musical by Green Valley's Barbara Mauseth you can catch in a matinee today.
Bisbee Repertory Theatre's production of the play, set in a fictitious mountain mining town in Arizona Territory in the 1883, has the flavor of many of the great American musicals--Music Man, Oklahoma, and Destry Rides Again.
It also reaches back to BRT's opening offering, The Saga of Roaring Gulch; several cast members from Saga are appearing in Ballad, including Beverly Quick-Sage, C. Gilles-Brown, Jacqueline Clark. And the set was painted by Saga's designer, Marian Weaver.
Today's performance starts at 3 p.m. at Bisbee Repertory Theatre in its historical building at 94 Main Street in Old Bisbee. Performances also are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. May 17 and 18. A final matinee begins at 3 p.m. May 19. Tickets are $10 advance, $12 at the door. Students pay $5. Tucson visitors on their way to Bisbee should plan to get tickets at Tombstone Pharmacy, an easy stop on the way to the show. For more information, call 432-3786.
Golden oldies. Put a spring in your step with an invigorating dose of real oldies.
Cantique, Tucson's premiere vocal ensemble specializing in early music, is presenting a concert of Northern Italian Madrigals. The theme is spring.
The free concert starts at 3 p.m. today at Oro Valley United Church, 1401 E. El Conquistador Way. For more information, call 293-3659.
Monday 13
An informative evening. Ecotourism as a means to preserve Maya culture?
That's just one of the topics tonight in a lecture sponsored by the Tucson Audubon Society.
Sonja Macys, the society's executive director, will give a presentation on avian diversity and conservation in Southeastern Mexico. This includes a look at the work of Pronatura to protect the American flamingo, ecotourism as a means to preserve Maya culture and collaborative efforts among Maya in Chiapas to co-manage a forest reserve.
The free talk begins at 7 p.m. today at DuVal Auditorium, University Medical Center, 1501 N. Campbell Ave. For information, call 622-5622.
Tuesday 14
Top-notch art. A national juried art exhibition promises a look at some of the finest works around.
Dinnerware Contemporary Art Gallery presents the Tucson National Juried Exhibition, which features 38 artworks in all media by 22 artists from across the country.
The Richard Grand Foundation Awards will be announced at the opening reception on May 18.
The exhibit opens today and runs through June 15 at Dinnerware, 135 E. Congress St. The reception is 7 to 9 p.m. May 18. Regular gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Admission to the gallery is free, but donations are appreciated. For more information, call 792-4503 or visit www.dinnerwarearts.com.
Wednesday 15
Throwing a natural fit. Danielle Howle and The Tantrums play their eclectic music as naturally as the wind plays the leaves on a tree.
Skorborealis is the band's third and forthcoming album. Danielle Howle and The Tantrums play Club Congress, 311 E. Congress, tonight. For tickets and more information, call 869-3977. More information on Danielle Howle and The Tantrums can be found at www.daniellehowle.com.
Park it. A Tucson artist has created some mesmerizing black-and-white photographs documenting circle and spiral forms in Sonoran Desert locations, including Catalina State Park, Oracle, the Tortolita Mountains and Madera Canyon.
An exhibition of Stu Jenks' work opens today at Tohono Chul Park.
Several of Jenks' nighttime images were made by manipulating movement and artificial light to create luminous, ephemeral forms in the darkness. Two of the intriguing photographs were in the park's Saguaro exhibit last summer.
The photography ties in nicely with the theme of the Desert After Dark exhibit, which opens May 31. After Dark celebrates nighttime wonders with a visual feast of art that includes quilts, sculptures in bronze and clay, intricate beaded pieces and brightly-glazed clay mosaics. In addition, there will be stunning paintings, drawings, photography and mixed-media pieces that explore the nocturnal theme in an amusing and artful way.
The show runs through June 24 at Tohono Chul, 7366 N. Paseo del Norte, one stoplight west of the intersection of Ina and Oracle. For more information, call 742-6455 or visit www.tohonochulpark.org.
