City Week

Art at the Airport!

Two new art exhibits are on display at the Tucson International Airport as part of the airport's Arts and Culture Program.

David Brown's Climb Climb is located in the Upper Link Gallery through Thursday, Jan. 31. Brown received a bachelor's degree from Arizona State University and a master's from the UA. His large-scale oil paintings depict journeys of climbing, both literally and figuratively.

In the Lower Links Gallery, pieces from multiple artists in the Southern Arizona Arts Guild (SAAG) are on display through Friday, Feb. 29.

SAAG was founded in March 2002 as a way for local artists to share ideas, support one another and advance the arts in Tucson.

SAAG member Deanna Thibault has a piece of work, a large collage and watercolor still-life, named "Tickle Me Pink" displayed at TIA.

"SAAG is basically all different kinds of artists who work in all different kinds of media," Thibault said. "We get together to understand what other crafters and artists do. We have meetings and discussions, and we talk about how we can make our paintings or whatever (media) better."

Thibault said SAAG is fun because the group is made up of both professionals and hobbyists in Tucson. The exhibition at TIA is representative of the wide variety of media used by SAAG members.

Nazanin Ghotbi is another artist and member whose work is displayed at TIA. Born in Iran to artistic parents, she enjoys incorporating her roots into her work, depicting her homeland's rich culture and history in her acrylic paintings.

For more information on the guild, visit the SAAG Web site. --D.P.

America's Original Music

Last year, the Tucson Jazz Society's New Year's Eve Gala was so successful that this year, they've made an entire weekend of it. One of the new additions is a brunch at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 30, at the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort and Spa.

The event will showcase a variety of musicians, sure to be favorites of any true lover of jazz music.

Grammy-winning artists such as saxophonist Ernie Watts, trumpeter Randy Brecker, pianist Patrice Rushen and bassist Brian Bromberg will perform. Also, the 2007 Tucson Jazz Society Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to famed flutist Paul Horn.

The renowned musician has enjoyed an amazing career spanning more than four decades. He and his flute have traveled around the world many times, recording dozens of records in the process.

There will also be guest appearances by saxophonist Brice Winston, trumpeter Maurice Brown and the JazzWerx Youth Combo.

JazzWerx is a program within the TJS, designed to provide young musicians with a musical education with world-class musicians as teachers, as well as performance opportunities, in order to carry out the goal of the society: to preserve America's original music.

Tickets for the brunch are $75, available at the Jazz Society Web site. Packages for the entire weekend are also available. --D.P.

A Fresh Start for the Family

Ring in the New Year with your kids, Japanese-style! The Tucson Children's Museum is hosting a festival full of family fun, beginning at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 1.

In Japan, the New Year is the most celebrated holiday, a chance to start fresh and forget the past year's problems. Tuesday's event will feature music, dancing, arts and crafts for everyone to enjoy, in true Japanese style.

The museum didn't offer the event last year like it had in years previous, so Peggy Solís, the museum's director of community relations and visitor services, is excited to have it back.

"It's one of our more popular events," Solís said. "People really enjoy it, and it's a lot of fun."

There will plenty of hands-on activities, as well as two performances, to keep your kids entertained all afternoon. There will be craft tables for origami, Japanese lanterns and good-luck puppets. There will also be a calligraphy demonstration, which Solís said is always popular.

Dancer Suzuyuki-Kai will perform a classic Japanese dance with a group of dancers, including lots of children, Solís said, who strive to preserve Japanese culture in Tucson. Tucson Taiko Kyokai will also play at the festival.

"They'll perform twice throughout the event with their drums," Solís said. "It's definitely been a favorite. It's really cool to hear."

Admission is $5 for children ages 2 to 18 and for seniors, and $7 for adults. --D.P.

Keeping the Memory Alive

Philosopher and poet George Santayana said: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

If that's true, Letters to Sala: A Young Woman's Life in Nazi Labor Camps is the perfect thing to experience in order to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive.

The collection of letters and photos, which belongs to the New York Public Library's Dorot Jewish Division, is touring the nation. It will be at the Jewish Heritage Center, displayed from 10 to 4 p.m., daily, beginning Tuesday, Jan. 1, and continuing through Friday, Jan. 25.

"We are thrilled that it is now touring throughout the county," said Rachel Tarlow Gul, the event's publicist. "This gives it more visibility. It's important and inspiring and moving."

Sala Garncarz was 16 years old when she entered a Nazi labor camp in 1940. During her five-year internment, she was transferred to seven different camps, all the while risking her life to hold on to approximately 300 letters, either smuggled or mailed to her from friends and family.

When Garncarz finally left the camp, she was reunited with two of her sisters, the only surviving members of her family. After hiding the collection for five decades, Garncarz and her family donated the letters to the New York Public Library to provide a story of survival, and a learning tool for historians and civilians alike. (The letters were also adapted into a play that was staged by Invisible Theatre in March and April 2007.)

About 100 artifacts from the collection of letters, postcards, photographs and official documents will be displayed, along with excerpts from her diary. --D.P.