Thursday 20
BATTER UP. The Tucson Sidewinders, our Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks, wrap up the first homestand of the year with games against the New Orleans Zephyrs tonight and tomorrow. Plus, it's the first buck-beverage night of the season, with all domestic beers and soft drinks for only $1. First pitch tonight is 7 p.m. at Tucson Electric Park, 2500 E. Ajo Way. Admission ranges from $3 to $8. For more information, call 434-1021.LISBON EPILOGUE. Love and labor come to a head in Lisbon Story.
Presented by the UA German Studies Department, this 1994 Wim Wenders work focuses on Friedrich Monroe, a director who's having trouble wrapping up his silent black-and-white movie about Lisbon. That's when he calls on a friend for help. Heeding the request, sound engineer Phillip Winter arrives in the city several weeks later, only to find that Monroe has disappeared and left the film behind.
Winter decides to stay -- due in no small part to his newfound fascination with a Portuguese singer -- and starts recording the sound for Monroe's film.
Lisbon Story screens at 7:30 p.m. in the UA Modern Languages Auditorium, east of the Administration Building and north of the main Mall. Admission is free. Call 621-7385 for information.
ANCIENT FOOTSTEPS. Only three months after Neil Goodwin was born, his father died. From that tragedy grew an anthropological legacy that continues with a discussion titled The Apache Diaries.
Grenville Goodwin was a famed anthropologist who spent years among this region's Native Americans, writing extensively about Apaches in particular. As an adult, Neil Goodwin "retraced" his father's notebooks, adding his own insights to the poignant diaries. Accomplished in his own right, Neil is a noted documentary film maker whose work has appeared on Nova, Smithsonian World and the American Experience.
Free discussion begins at 7 p.m. in the UA Center for English as a Second Language, on North Campus Drive east of Park Avenue. Call 626-8381 for information.
Friday 21
SCATTERED GLANCES. The HazMat Gallery gets into a modern frenzy with the eighth annual Short Attention Span Film and Video Festival, billed as the "only festival shorter than its own name."
This soiree of snippets features 70 films, all under two-minutes long. Highlights include "Bueno Vista Fight Club," "My Penis and My Social Security Number" and "Back That Ass Up." The celebration of shorties also includes lots of cold beer.
Show time is 8:30 tonight at HazMat Gallery, 197 E. Toole Ave., and 8:30 tomorrow night at The Screening Room, 127 E. Congress St. Admission is $3. Call 624-5019 for details.
FAMILY AFFAIR. Put out the dog, load up yer young, and catch a rib-stickin' helping of Americana at the Pima County Fair.
Now in its 90th year, the fair is a throwback to simpler times, with 4-H exhibits, carnival rides, home arts displays, clowns, tigers, and Terry Stokes the Hypnotist. There's plenty of modernity as well, with children's interactive exhibits and concerts galore.
Fair opens at 8 a.m. daily through April 30 on the Pima County Fairgrounds, 11300 S. Houghton Road. Admission is $6, free for children ages 10 and under. Call 762-3247 for details.
Saturday 22
UNIVERSAL TUNES. Acoustic artists Eric Tingstad and Nancy Rumbel take music to its roots in a concert hosted by KXCI.
In the din of modern culture, serene reflection often gets brushed aside. But this duo hits a peaceful note with an exquisite blend of guitar and woodwind music. Their original songs display a smorgasbord of influences, from homegrown American to the British Isles and Spain. Tingstad's finger-style guitar technique comes from Segovian tradition; and Rumble is an acclaimed master of the double ocarina, oboe and English horn.
Show time is 8 p.m. in the Temple of Music and Art Cabaret Theater, 330 S. Scott Ave. Advance tickets are $12, with a $2 discount for KXCI, TKMA and TFTM members, available at KXCI, 220 S. Fourth Ave., and by calling 623-1000. Tickets cost $3 more at the door.
PUPPET PAGEANT. New Kiva Motions Puppet Theatre revists Eastern European folk tales in Such a Day.
A small house is filled to overflowing with chickens, sheep and cows, all to the consternation of the gal trying to spiff up for company. Fortunately, Gypsy wise-woman Yenta Babushka arrives to save the day with timelessly sound advice in this enchanting show, geared to kids ages 5 and up.
Performance begins at 3 p.m. in the Red Barn Theatre, 948 N. Main Ave. Admission is $3 per person, or $5 for two children. Call 887-5144 for details.
ARTISTIC LEAP. Dive into NEW ARTiculations' modern dance extravaganza, plunge!
This all-new collection of works includes the premier of "Fragile Knot," a bitter athletic piece by Tommy Parlon of Kent State; "The Courtyard," an excerpt from Guido Tuveri's The Fourth Wall, featuring six brides and three grooms enduring wedding-day chaos; and a solo performance of "Not Ophelia," portraying a woman's exploration of life amidst our society's female archetypes, choreographed by Alexandra Beller of the Bill T. Jones Company.
Local choreographers Nathan Dryden, Leigh Ann Rangel and Tammy Rosen join many up-and-coming dancers for this powerful artistic leap.
Show time is 8 tonight in the PCC Proscenium Theatre, 2202 W. Anklam Road. Tickets are $10 and $12, available at the PCC Center for Fine Arts, and by calling 206-6988.
Sunday 23
STEAMY SOUNDS. Sizzling improv takes center stage with an open jam series hosted by the Tucson Jazz Society and El Parador Restaurant.
Each show opens with The Pete Swan Trio, featuring longtime drum-smith Swan, Rob Boone on trombone and piano, and Craig Faltin on bass. Open jams follow, drawing a bevy of local luminaries from Lisa Otey and Susan Artemis to Ed Ulman, Matt Mitchell and Jeff Haskell. All this heat arises in the lush, rain-forest ambiance of El Parador.
Show time is 7:30 to 11 p.m. in El Parador Restaurant and Cantina, 2744 E. Broadway Blvd. Admission is $3, free for musicians joining the jam. Call 903-1265 for details.
BREAKING CONVENTION. Take a glimpse inside cloistered worlds with Clara Gutsche: The Convent Series, on display in the UA Center for Creative Photography.
Working inside convents scattered throughout Canada's province of Quebec, Gutsche offers viewers rare and sensitive images of these guarded religious communities. Approximately 25 of them, most cloistered, have opened their doors to her lens during the last decade, and she captures a structured, female world devoted to prayer and contemplation. Examinations of her subjects are simultaneously distant and insightful.
Appearing in only two American cities, Tucson and New York, the show was curated by France Gascon, director of the Musée d'art de Joliette in Quebec. "Rarely have we seen a camera approach a world so silent, and render images so evocative and full of meaning," Gascon says. "The instrument that crosses the threshold of these convents is just a camera. The vision behind it, however, is that of an artist motivated by a keen sense of history and the social relationships that fuel it."
Clara Gutche: The Convent Series continues through June 11 in the UA Center for Creative Photography, on the southeast end of the pedestrian underpass at Speedway Boulevard and Park Avenue. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Admission is free. For information on the show and accompanying lectures, call 621-7968.
Monday 24
WESTERN ROOTS. Kick up a little trail dust with the Bill Ganz Western Band.
These boys have been entertaining locals for eight years running, expertly covering songs from the Western movie heyday to Bob Wills' immortal Texas swing. Regulars on the resort and guest ranch circuit, they just released their latest CD, The Smoke of a Thousand Campfires. The band includes Gerry PTA on bass; Ralph Gilmore on drums and vocals; Rich Brennion on pedal steel and electric guitar; and vocalist Mindy Ronstadt.
Show time is 7 p.m. in The Gaslight Theatre, 7010 E. Broadway Blvd. Tickets are $8, $6 for seniors, students and military. For reservations, call 886-9428.
LOBO LOTTO. Ever hanker to leave your mark on nature -- without so much as bending a blade of grass? Now's your chance when the Center for Biodiversity celebrates new additions to the lobo family with its Name a Wolf Pup contest for kids.
A healthy herd of cubs were born recently, and pregnant females of the Mule and Pipestem packs should deliver even more of the little critters sometime this month. To get a chance at naming them, kids must draw a Mexican Gray Wolf in its forest habitat. Competition is open to youngsters from kindergarten through eighth grade. Deadline for entries is May 1.
For contest rules and other information, see Kids in this week's Listings, or call 623-5252.
Tuesday 25
WILD AT HEART. Plumb the primitive soul with Where the Wild Things Are, now on display in Raw Gallery.
This display of "nightmarish and monster-laden art" features work by more than 20 artists, ranging from sculpture and photographs to mixed media, all inspired by haunting memories and images. Contributors include Pasqualina Azzarello, Ron Carlsten, Matt Cotten, Daryl Childs, Gerald Dawavendewa, Joe Forkan, George Huffman and Gwyneth Scally, among others.
Where the Wild Things Are continues through May 27 in Raw Gallery, 43 S. Sixth Ave. Gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 1 to 7 p.m. Thursday, and during Downtown Saturday Night. For information, call 882-6927.
Wednesday 26
MOUNTY MASTERPIECE. Northern vanguards reign triumphant when The Gaslight Theatre presents Sgt. Preston of the Mounties, or Yukon Count on Me.
As the melodrama unfolds, gold has been discovered in the Yukon. Frenzied miners are cascading into the region to seek their fortunes in the Klondike's nugget-laden stream beds. But the promise of riches has also attracted plenty of scoundrels just as eager to cheat naive "sourdoughs" out of their newfound riches. Enter the North West Mounted Police. Watch as they fight for justice, trusting that Sgt. Preston and his trusty dog Yukon King will "always get their man!"
Written and directed by Peter Van Slyke, with music by Lisa Otey, the cast includes Joe Cooper, Tim Gilbert, Beth Little and Cassie Smith.
Curtain is 7 p.m. in The Gaslight Theatre, 7010 E. Broadway Blvd. Performances continue at 7 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 7 and 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 3 and 7 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $13.95, $11.95 for seniors, students and military, and $6 for children ages 6 and under. For tickets and information, call 886-9428.
SITAR ALL-STARS. Darshi Jayawardena brings her sitar mastery to Tucson for a performance of classical Indian ragas.
During the '80s, Jayawardena performed regularly with the local group Sruti. But for the past 10 years, she and her husband have studied with Ustad Shafaatullah Khan, the acclaimed son of Ustad Imrat Khan. Now she returns with heightened expertise on the lute. She'll be accompanied by Thusita Jayawardena on the Indian double drum or tabla, and Holly Finstrom on a stringed instrument called the tamboura. Tucson sitar player Matt Finstrom also makes a special guest appearance.
Performance is from 7 to 9 p.m. in the UA Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Auditorium, on the northeast corner of Speedway Boulevard and Mountain Avenue. Admission is free, but donations are suggested. For details, call 299-4338.