City Week

Come One, Come All ... Dogs!

Possible field-trip destinations for dogs include the dog park (fun), the veterinary office (not fun) and the general neighborhood, for a simple walk around the block.

This weekend, Tucson Lifestyle and the Humane Society of Southern Arizona are offering another possible destination: Brandi Fenton Memorial Park and the Tucson Lifestyle Cover-Dog Contest!

Who doesn't want his or her precious pooch to grace the cover of a widely distributed magazine? Here's how to make that happen: First, take your precious pup to the groomers. Then, head to the park on Feb. 7, and register your dog (after handing over a minimum $10 donation to the Humane Society). While you wait for your dog's name to be called, check out the numerous vendors, demonstrations and more.

Why did this contest get created? As event coordinator Meredith Moore, of the Humane Society, puts it, "It is important to raise awareness of peoples' love for their pets. ... It is a great way to get recognition for the Humane Society as well as a great way for the community to get involved."

The panel of celebrity judges includes KOLD Channel 13's Heather Rowe, Tucson Lifestyle's Scott Barker and Amy Eades, the Humane Society of Southern Arizona's president. Who knows? They just may pick your dog for 15 minutes (or, rather, a month, while the Tucson Lifestyle issue is on the stands) in the spotlight. --L.L.

Girls in Short Skirts Knocking the Hell Out of Each Other

Girls on roller skates, wearing not much more than helmets and kneepads, beating each other up.

I could probably just list the time, date and location, and be done with it. But, really, I'd be doing an injustice to the sport and the athletes to suggest that roller derby is just chicks on skates knocking each other down.

"As for the girls in short skirts knocking the hell out of each other," says Whiskey Mick, the captain of the Tucson Roller Derby team Vice Squad, "we realize that's how a lot of people see it, and if it gets them through the door, we're fine with that. But by the end of the game, they understand there's so much more to it than that, and they (become) a fan of the game itself."

The women on the four teams that make up the Tucson Roller Derby league train in two-hour sessions, three days a week. Even for strong skaters, it takes months of training to make a team, if they can pass the test.

"We're not just playing around," she says. "We're there to play competitively, and everyone always wants to win."

The sixth-season opening event will feature the four Tucson teams in a round-robin series of 15-minute matches, during which all of the teams will play each other once.

The Derby Brats, Tucson's junior-league team, will start the party at 4:30 p.m. with a full 60-minute bout against a junior-league team from Los Angeles.

Tickets are $8 in advance at tucsonrollerderby.com, or $10 at the door. The after-party will be held at the District Tavern at 260 E. Congress St. --H.S.

Take a Second Look

The Gallery at 6th and 6th doesn't just house colorful art; it's a home to personalities--and on Saturday, Feb. 7, the addition of another personality will take place.

As part of the Central Tucson Gallery Association's Art Safari (for more on that, see Page 32), the Gallery at 6th and 6th will hold the opening reception for Peter Arakawa's new exhibition of artwork. The exhibit will introduce Arakawa's contemporary view on classic modernism through oil paintings and other works of art, says gallery owner Lauren Rabb.

"Peter Arakawa is known for creating symbols and metaphors for life with a distinct New Mexico midcentury modernism approach," Rabb explains. "Arakawa is able to capture the untapped intersection of landscape and feeling, which ultimately produces a jazz-like piece of art."

In addition to Peter Arakawa's exhibition, the gallery will also offer up other paintings and artistic items for viewing. If you can't make it to the opening reception, worry not, since the exhibit will run through Saturday, March 28.

Did I mention that like the rest of Saturday night's Art Safari happenings, admission to the Gallery on 6th and 6th is free? Go ahead and let the artsy part of your personality explore this contemporary-art presentation. --L.L.

Sex and Art at Main Gate Square

In the business, a semi-temporary gallery or a gallery in a donated space is called a "ghost gallery," according to Michael Pickrell, a resident artist at one of the ghost galleries in Main Gate Square.

These galleries are located within vacant stores or restaurants that have been donated by the Marshall Foundation (which owns Main Gate) for artistic use while the foundation looks for a new tenant.

There are currently two ghost galleries in Main Gate Square, one upstairs above American Apparel, known as The People's Gallery, and another just east of Euclid Avenue, called Cuadro Arte Latino Internacional.

This month, as part of the ongoing First Thursdays Art Walk, the galleries will be hosting an Erotica Art Show, featuring artists from Tucson in The People's Gallery, and artists from the Tucson community and from Mexico--as part of an exchange with artists from Sonora--in Cuadro Arte Latino Internacional.

Arturo Valenzuela, a fashion designer and ambassador for the arts with the Mexican Consulate who has been running Cuadro Arte Latino Internacional as a gallery and art-exchange program since 2000, says he hopes to use the gallery to bring arts from all over the world to Tucson, and, likewise, to send art from Tucson around the globe.

Vila Jarrell has been hosting the First Thursday Art Walk at her restaurant, Vila Thai Cuisine, and promoting it in Main Gate Square for more than a year. She says that with the backing of the Marshall Foundation, the art walk is about to take a big step.

"We're hoping to create a community-event venue so that local Tucsonans who live and breathe here will support local artists," she says.

The free event will run from 6 to 8 p.m. --H.S.