Thursday 20
RADICAL REDUX. The Tucson Arts Brigade traces America's rabble-rousing past with its Radical History: Arts and Popular Education series.
The inter-generational, experiential arts program focuses on a tradition of change through collaborative learning and the creation of art works. And the Brigade reminds us that "you don't have to be an 'artist' to make art!" The program will examine specific moments and individuals in radical history, while engaging in critical dialogue and art-making activities that reflect collective learning. Tonight's program plumbs the phenomenon of political prisoners.
The series continues from 6 to 8 p.m. every Thursday in the Community Arts Lab, 901 N. 13th Ave. in the Splinter Brothers Warehouse. The cost is $2. For information, call 388-9553.
ALTERNATIVE ADVANCE. Wingspan examines domestic violence among same-sex couples with a far-reaching forum.
The session will be based on a new state law extending domestic violence protections to gay couples--protection formerly reserved only for heterosexual partners. For the first time, the law allows victims of same-sex abuse to get court-sanctioned restraining orders against their significant others, and grants police leeway to arrest a suspected batterer without a warrant if they have a reasonable belief that violence has occurred.
A panel discussion will include cops, prosecutors, advocates for victims of same-sex domestic abuse and people who have felt the debilitating violence firsthand.
The free forum is at 7 p.m. in Wingspan, 300 E. Sixth St. Call 624-1779 for details.
PICTORIAL PURPOSE. The venerable UA Center for Creative Photography details its stiff standards with Divergent Visions: Five Years of Collecting Photographic Archives.
Amy Rule, the center's archivist, will discuss archives currently highlighted in the 25th anniversary celebration exhibit, Into Our Prime. She'll focus her lens on photographic history, and how it embraces endless visions and ways of expressing artistic intent.
The free lecture is at 5:30 p.m. in the CCP, on the south end of the pedestrian underpass at Speedway Boulevard and Park Avenue. Call 621-7968 for details.
Friday 21
CUMULUS LUNACY. Celestial forces are celebrated with high-intensity music when the Fourth Avenue Merchants Association hosts its weekly Monsoon Madness party.
Long known for refreshingly eccentric retailing, the avenue remains Tucson's funkiest alternative to mind-numbing malls. These ongoing concerts further snub marketing tradition, with fresh, homegrown sounds that often challenge musical boundaries. Tonight's barrier-busting show features solo blues guitarist Steven Floyd, followed by rangy progressive folk with Fourkiller Flats, featuring Phil Stevens.
Monsoon Madness runs from 7 to 10 p.m. every Friday through August in the Winsett Performing Arts Center, 316 N. Fourth Ave. For information, call 624-5004.
HEAT STROKES. The New Dimensions Gallery pushes scorching insanity to new extremes with Summer Dementia.
This exhibit features an off-balance cadre of top talent, including copper art by Kathleen Matsinger; silks and acrylics by Judy Bateman; gourd masks by Noreen Dziat; retro cowboy woodcuts by Abby Levine; and spirit art by Royce Davenport. And that's just for starters, in a show that expertly explores Tucson's sublime season.
The exhibit runs through July 30 in the New Dimensions Gallery, 3067 N. Campbell Ave. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call 318-4082 for information.
Saturday 22
BREAKING GROUND. Bring the past alive with a dig hosted by the Old Pueblo Archaeology Center.
The center offers hands-on training in archaeological excavation at the Sabino Canyon Ruin. Between A.D. 1000 and 1350, the site was a vibrant village of Hohokam Indians, ancestors of the modern Pima and Tohono O'odham peoples. Excavations have recovered pottery, stone, bone and seashell artifacts. Researchers have also unearthed prehistoric pit houses--apartment-like compounds with adobe and rock walls, ancient canals and even a dog burial.
Besides offering a chance to get some dirt under your nails, the session will include a Q&A period.
The event runs from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on private property in northeastern Tucson, about a mile from the Sabino Canyon Visitor Center. The cost is $35, or $50 for a two-day program. Call 798-1201 for registration and other information.
SONORAN CHORDS. Homegrown favorites Arm & Hammer regale local crowds for free at Bookman's Used Books.
Featuring guitar wizard Stefan George and dulcimer ace Anna Duff, the duo will perform a soulful roster of folk, ethnic and blues music. Now in their 12th season, Arm & Hammer garnered a TAMMIES award a couple of years back for "Best Folk Ensemble."
Discover their talent firsthand from 3 to 5 p.m. at Bookman's, 1930 E. Grant Road. Call 325-5767 for details.
MYSTERY MOUNTAIN. Intrigue hails from the highlands when author Rebecca Cramer signs copies of A View from Frog Mountain in Clues Unlimited.
A veteran of the Sonoran Southwest, Cramer now divides her time between living in the desert and teaching cultural anthropology and American Indian Studies at Johnson County Community College in Kansas. Set in Tucson and on the Tohono O'odham Reservation, A View from Frog Mountain is the second in her Linda Bluenight mystery series.
She'll discuss and sign copies of her work from 5 to 7 p.m. at Clues Unlimited, 123 S. Eastbourne Ave. in Broadway Village, at the corner of Broadway Boulevard and Country Club Road. Call 326-8533 for information.
Sunday 23
HIDDEN VALLEY HOE-DOWN. Travel to the Old West--via the Big Apple--when the Hidden Valley Inn presents Buckaroos on Broadway.
Billed as "a musical round-up of the Best of the West from the Great White Way," this raucous frontier-fest invites you to "Hoot, holler and stomp your feet" as the Crystal Palace Players salute Broadway's bronco-bustin' show-stoppers. This whirlwind western gala is guaranteed to send you home a-hummin'.
Highlights include Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Oklahoma"; the Gershwins' "Girl Crazy"; Irving Berlin's "Annie Get Your Gun"; Lerner and Loewe's "Paint Your Wagon"; Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones' "110 in the Shade" and many more timeless faves.
The show stars Glenda Young as Miss Crystal and Jack Neubeck as Sam the bartender. Rounding out the cast are Erin Booth, Drew Humphrey, Monte Ralstin, Cassie Smith and Tommy Stefanek, all accompanied by a dirt-busting cowboy band.
Showtime is 7 p.m. in the Hidden Valley Inn, 4825 Sabino Canyon Road. Admission is $13.95, and $8.95 for children ages 12 and under. For reservations and other information, call 299-4941.
FARM FRESH. Sink your teeth into the real McCoy--as in spankin' fresh produce and authentic regional delights--at the Tucson Farmers' Market.
This time of year, the market features the three most popular growers in these parts. To wit: Jesse and Danielle Barnes of Casa Grande will arrive toting a passel of melons, tomatoes, squash and other veggies. Marana's Shirley Johnson and her daughter, Sharon Fogg, will dish up delectable zucchini, paty-pan squash, tomatoes and basil. Dwight and Karla English of Willcox will offer tree-ripened White Lady peaches, and an early selection of their 19 different apple varieties.
And how long has it been since you actually knew the names of folks bringing grub to your table?
The Tucson Farmers' Market runs from 7 a.m. to noon every Sunday through the summer in St. Phillip's Plaza, on the southeast corner of Campbell Avenue and River Road. Call 743-8063 for information.
LYRIC JAM. Run smack into edgy verse when the Missing Fez sponsors a no-holds-barred fiction/poetry jam.
This band of lyric aficionados will offer a slew of prizes for top readers, and noisemakers will be provided.
The jam is at 6:30 p.m. in The Velvet Tea Garden, 450 N. Sixth Ave. For information, call 388-9922.
Monday 24
GLOBAL TREK. Budding biologists and other curious kids can sink their teeth into flora and fauna with the Tucson Botanical Garden's Zoobot Adventures.
As the name implies, these species-rich safaris will happen both in the TBG's lush midtown gardens, and at the ever-abundant Reid Park Zoo. Along with an encyclopedia's worth of sightseeing that explores "the exotic plant life of the tropics, mountains and deserts," the noggin'-prodding, four-day tour also includes picnics and plenty of fun indoor crafts to keep youngsters cooled down. The event is geared to fourth and fifth graders.
Zoobot Adventures runs from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. today through Thursday. The cost is $140, and $130 for Tucson Botanical Garden members. Call 326-9686 for information.
Tuesday 25
CHAINS A CHILLIN'. Refresh your over-heated soul in chain-store paradise when the Tucson Mall hosts Hot Nights-Cool Jazz.
Now in its fifth season, the music series rolls on tonight with the steamy Latin jazz of Descarga. This sizzling, south-of-the-border scene will feature everything from cumbias and rumbas to scorching salsa, all in the refrigerated climes of our northwest shoppers' mecca.
The free concert runs from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Tucson Mall Center Court. Call 293-7330 for information.
HAMMERING HOMES. Put the hammer down in gender-specific fashion at the third annual Women's Build.
Sponsored by Women Build Houses, the project helps Habitat for Humanity put a roof over lucky human beings. In turn, female volunteers receive priceless training in framing, plumbing, electrical and drywall work, roofing, painting and more.
The construction continues at 6 a.m. Tuesday and Saturday through September at 1111 E. 36th St. For details, call 566-1217.
STUNNING STEEDS. Those beautiful, world-famous performing horses known as the Lipizzaner Stallions gallop into Tucson for a night of high-spirited entertainment.
Now in their 30th year of touring, the "dancing white stallions" have entertained more than 23 million people throughout North and South America, Europe, Australia and Hawaii. In fact, the fine steeds boast more than 425 years of history, and are now preserved as a living "equestrian work of art, an equine ballet not to be rivaled."
The Lipizzaner Stallions will perform at 7:30 p.m. in the Tucson Convention Center, 260 S. Church Ave. Tickets are $16.50 and $18.50, with $2 discounts for seniors and children ages 12 and under, and are available at the TCC box office or by calling 791-4836.
Wednesday 26
TURF TALES. Summertime and the living is breezy--especially when kids visit Storytimes with the Sidewinders, a reading series hosted by the Tucson-Pima Library.
Yep, the loquacious boys of summer are cracking books for tikes in libraries throughout town. In fact, the Winders (and their predecessors, the Toros) have sponsored the TPL's Summer Reading Program since way back in 1992, all to prove that good reading skills are a homer every time. The theme of this year's program is "Read 2000." That means kids who read for 2,000 minutes earn tickets for four to the July 30 game, when the team goes up against Salt Lake.
The reading series continues from 11 to 11:45 today at the Kirk-Bear Canyon Branch Library, 8959 E. Tanque Verde Road, and from 10 to 10:45 a.m. Saturday at the Wilmot Branch Library, 530 N. Wilmot Road. Admission is free. For details, call 791-4391.
