Tucson Weekly: Cheap Thrills (January 7

BIG RED: For a limited time only, take a figurative trek across the Red Planet by visiting Hands-on-Mars, at the UA Center for Creative Photography. Held in conjunction with the Center's Imag(in)ing Mars, an exhibit featuring photographs from the Imager for Mars Pathfinder, this interactive outing is meant for the whole family.
It includes experiments and exhibits furnished by the UA's Flandrau Science Center, such as viewing Mars in the night sky from the Astronomy STARLAB. The event also features explorations of Martian gravity and polar ice caps, the comparison of Mars to Earth with a model solar system, and hints on the art of constructing a robot. A lecture by comet hunter David Levy will follow.
Cheap Thrills Hands-on-Mars runs from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, January 9, in the UA Center for Creative Photography, at the south end of the pedestrian underpass at Speedway and Park Avenue. Admission is free. For details, call 621-7968.
FOLK AT ZENITH: Get a taste of overseas style when Zenith Studio hosts international folk dancing. Global high-steppers will be on hand to show you the moves, along with plenty of other friendly, dancing folks who promise not to chuckle at your provincial fumbles.
The weekly dances are 8 p.m. Wednesdays in the Zenith Studio, 330 E. Seventh St. For details, call 325-0073.
LAWN LUNCH: In these fast-paced days, the long, leisurely picnic is becoming a rare commodity. But when you get an undeniable urge to ditch the boss and haul your significant other out to the sticks, several outdoor spots in and around Tucson provide the perfect setting for basking in winter smugness.
From the grassy slopes of Himmel Park, 1000 N. Tucson Blvd., to the shaded recesses of Sabino Canyon in the Santa Catalinas, packing up a picnic and heading for these open-air sanctuaries can provide the perfect afternoon reprieve--especially on days when the thermometer cruises into the gentle 70s.
And obviously, the perfect picnic chow is required. You can go upscale. But in a town overpopulated with poverty-level convenience store workers and yellow journalists, something of simpler means is in order. Something like the Sausage Deli, 2334 N. First Ave.
This long-time local haunt is a high-spirited college joint with a touch of gray. Owner Steve Kleinsmith and his staff have been pumping out great grinders and specialty sandwiches here since 1978. During that time, Kleinsmith, a big, amiable guy with a quick grin, says his overstuffed sandwiches have also helped further the leisurely lunch.
"We call it sandwich therapy," he says. "Couples come in with plans to sneak off to some spot and talk about their relationships. One pair came in recently. He ordered a Italian grinder, and she ordered a Suzie Sorority."
The grinder and the Suzie (turkey and havarti) apparently fit the interpersonal bill. "I heard they took their sandwiches up to Seven Falls and everything went smooth as silk after that," he says.
Being the full-service restaurateur, Kleinsmith also tosses in a few prime picnic destinations. "I particularly like the lower dam at Sabino Canyon," he says. "It's really pretty up there, with a trail that wanders along the creek, and nice, shady little lunch spots."

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