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 Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday Thursday 29
TOUGH TALKERS. Today is your last chance to catch Navajo Code Talkers, a stunning exhibit about Native American soldiers who temporarily left their culture behind to help win World War II, all revealed in the poignant, stark and often deeply moving photography of Kenji Kawano. Part of a traveling exhibit from the Arizona Commission on the Arts, it's currently on display at Tohono Chul Park, 7366 N. Paseo del Norte. Many of the young Navajos had never ventured beyond the reservation when they were recruited from their remote villages by the U.S. military. They went on to use their language, encrypted into key words, to thoroughly befuddle Japanese intelligence forces and play a decisive role in the Pacific Theater.
Kawano, the son of a Japanese soldier, lets these men tell their own stories alongside their portraits. The result is a gripping glimpse into a past that's nearly forgotten, and a culture that's resolutely retained its sense of self to this day. Tohono Chul's Exhibit Hall is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, with a $2 requested donation. Call 742-6455 for information. STAMPEDE. Bring your philatelic self down to the Sabbar Shrine Temple's coin and stamp show, where collective enthusiasts can mingle with experts from around the state at this quaint men's mecca. Paul Jackson, himself a fezzed one, says the outing should be a kick. "There will be ancient coins, modern coins, coins from the Civil War. Then you've got the stamps, and that's a whole new world." And the exhibitors "are very happy to talk to young people, old people, and everybody in between," he says. The show runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the temple, 450 S. Tucson Blvd., two blocks south of Broadway. Call 296-9726 for information.
Friday 30
CONTRA-VERSIAL. Remember that ugly death-knell of the Cold War down in Nicaragua, where brigands of campesinos cocked by the CIA and fired by drug money fought--and ultimately brought down--the Sandinista government? Ugh. But while that debacle was an ill-conceived dirty dance by right-wing paranoids like the Gipper and Ollie North, the Contra War thankfully has diddly to do with contra dancing. Instead, the latter is a joyous, traditional American social step hailing from New England, where happy, peaceful folk trot around in what amounts to an exotically named cousin of the better-known square dance. Now the Tucson Friends of Traditional Music are offering a chance to replace the Domino Theory with a formula for fun at their Fifth Weekend Contra Dance, from 8 to 11 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church, 915 E. Fourth St. at Tyndall Avenue. Experience isn't necessary; callers will walk dancers through the steps, starting the evening with the easiest and working towards more tricky maneuvers, including waltzes. A brief introductory session will be offered at 7:45 p.m. Contra wear is casual--no fatigues--with low-heeled shoes recommended, and you can come by your lonesome, or bring a friend along to this gathering, where donations serve as an admission fee. For information, call TFTM at 327-1779. VALLEY GRINS. The Valley of the Moon, the legacy of the late George Phar Legler--Tucson's version of Dr. Seuss--is again opening it's ephemeral gates to visitors of all ages for free fantasy tours. Built by Legler in the 1920s, this dazzling little outpost, listed as historic by the State of Arizona, is a concrete testament to an off-kilter subconscious, a somewhat twisted Disneyland with cliffs, caves, pools and mazes, all located at 2544 E. Allen Road, just north of Prince Road and east of Tucson Boulevard. Tours begin every half-hour from 7:30 to 9:30 tonight and tomorrow night. Call 323-1331 for details.
Saturday 31
Your buds will likewise be inflamed by salsa tasting, with the cook-off coming in two flavors: commercial and individual. Presidio Grill, Ovens Restaurant and Trio Bistro are among the past commercial winners. Entry fees for individual salsa concoctions are $5, $20 for commercial entrants. Salsa makers must bring two quarts of sauce and register by 7:30 p.m., Tasting is open to all palates. See related article in the Chow section for details. Tickets are $9 for the public, $5 for society members, and are available at the doors, which open at 7 p.m. For details, call the Jazz Society Hotline at 743-3399. BISBEE BIG-TIME. It's a blatantly hot night in the surreal old town, as the Queen of the Copper Camps fires up a celebration of arts, crafts, and a gulch full o' brew. The Galleria on Bisbee's main drag hosts its premier "All Gallery Show and Artists Reception" with a herd of creative types, ranging from California photographer Janet Taylor, known for shooting an Arizona ghost town and its last resident, Jed the Cat, to Tucson painter Robert Goldman, who commits the Queen to canvas. In all, 15 artists are slated to appear, along with a passle of refreshments. The Galleria is nestled behind the Bank of America downtown. You can call toll-free at (888) 432-8027. And the Higher Choir will stretch their chords at the 55 Main Gallery, with singer/songwriters Craig Whitman, Holly Whitman and Rick Rogers engaging in three-part harmonies, original tributes to the Beatles, Moody Blues and the Mamas and the Papas, for free from 8 to 10 p.m. The gallery also unveils the latest mixed-media work of Bisbee mainstay Carolyn Eastman, with Blood Red and Other Colors, at an opening reception from 2 to 5 p.m. The 55 Main is appropriately located at 55 Main St. For more information, call (520) 432-4694.
Sunday 1
Walker Thomas, another Tucson poet on the move, will also read, followed by an open mike session for lesser-known but no less profound sun-baked bards. For details, call 908-9027. QUINN PRO QUO. Okay, we'll concede it may mean missing the latest heart-prodding installment of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, as the well-adjusted Jane Seymour frees a frontier orphan from the ravages of ringworm, or rescues her town from a fistful of baddies consumed by their angry inner outlaws. Then again, we wouldn't weep a bit if you plugged the tube with birdshot and headed out to Reid Park's DeMeester Outdoor Performance Center for another rousing concert by the Tucson Pops Orchestra. At 5:30 p.m. a free shuttle will even haul you, your lawn chairs and rugrats from the west entrance of Foley's in El Con Mall to the performance, where refreshments will be sold at only slightly inflated prices, and glass containers are prohibited. So come join this Tucson tradition, and hear the Pops blow their musical hearts out under the stars and the direction of Charles "Bucky" Steele. The free show starts at 7:30 p.m. Call 791-4079 for information.
Monday 2
The predators take charge at 7:30 a.m., followed by a myriad of wildlife strutting their stuff throughout the grounds at 8:30. At 9 a.m., Tucson cuisine doyenne Sandal English will race through a smorgasbord of prickly pear delights, and at 10 a.m. the museum will roll out the celebratory cake. A 1968 film of the museum will screen at 11 a.m., kids can pan for gold at 2 p.m., and Tsonakwa spins his tales at 3 p.m. All these happenings are included in the price of admission, $8.95 for adults, $1.75 for kids ages six through l2, and free for those under age six. The museum is located 14 miles west of downtown, in Tucson Mountain Park. Take Speedway west over Gates Pass to Kinney Road and follow the signs. For information, call 883-2702. JUST DON'T DO IT. In their ninth-annual non-event, the Community Food Bank's Tucson Table program dishes up another Full Sun Non-Run Marathon. Non-competitors must promise to: Lounge around like sodden slugs throughout Labor Day, fill out the entry forms with a lazy scrawl, mail said form and a beefy check to the food bank in an extremely slovenly fashion, regress to couch and watch big guys in funny tights break sweats on TV. A $100 donation wins you a "Wasn't There! Didn't Do It," sweatshirt, while $25 gets you a T-shirt with the same inspirational epitaph, and any cash at all garners a non-sporty blue ribbon. All proceeds help Tucson Table gather chow from generous local restaurants and deliver their goods to the hungry. For details, slowly dial 622-0525.
Tuesday 3
SYCAMORE OR LESS. Unlike the rest of us, Grandpa Vanderhof doesn't believe in income taxes. Meanwhile, his grandson, perhaps a budding Viper, builds fireworks in the basement, and daughter Penny taps out plays on a typewriter mistakenly delivered to the house. It's just another day with the Sycamore family, in Arizona Repertory Theatre's production of You Can't Take It With You, a 1937 Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy by Moss Hart and George F. Kaufman. The theatre is a professional training company of the UA Theatre Arts Department, and the Sycamores just another bunch of nuts headed for hijinx when granddaughter Alice invites her boyfriend's upper-crust parents over for dinner, and they show up on the wrong night. Curtain time for tonight's preview is 7:30 p.m., with tickets for this show priced at only $7, available from the UA Fine Arts box office. Performances continue through mid-September. Call 621-1162 for performance and ticket information.
Wednesday 4
Today's opening reception is from 6:30 to 8 p.m., with refreshments provided. The show continues through October 1. Regular hours for the gallery, located in Pima's Center for the Arts, are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The gallery is open until 8 p.m. on Tuesdays. Call 884-6942 for information. SPIRITUAL TURF. Flandrau Science Center on the UA campus hosts the final U.S. stop for Shamanism, Magic and the Busy Spider, an exhibition of 70 artworks based on written tales of the Abenaki Indians of Canada and New England. The title comes from the story of a legendary rivalry between shamans, representing spirituality, and magicians promoting science, with the spider playing mediator. Gerard Rancourt Tsonakwa, a local Abenaki carver, will contribute the exhibit's signature piece, along with the works of 16 other Indian artists. All the works are contemporary interpretations of traditional stories reflecting nature's leading role in the lives of the Abenaki, whose name means "people from the land of the dawn." Shamanism continues through January, and tickets are $2 for adults, $1 for kids ages four to 13, free for those under age three and for anyone purchasing a ticket to a planetarium or laser-light show. Call 626-6267 for Flandrau hours and other information. City Week includes events selected by Calendar Editor Mari Wadsworth. Event information is accurate as of press time. The Weekly recommends calling event organizers to check for last-minute changes in location, time, price, etc.
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Ironically, it was also the first time the Navajos had been appreciated,
however briefly, by an Anglo culture that formerly considered
them to be either exotic oddities, or simply thorns in the national
side. And while many of the returning vets discovered a new level
of respect, others found readjustment to reservation life a daunting
task.
CAN YOU SAY MERENGUE? The 
BY THE LIGHT OF THE LAMP. Local wordsmith Will Inman will
pull out his widely acclaimed poetry at another installment of
the Lamplight Reading Series, beginning at 5 p.m. at the Blue
Willow restaurant, 2616 N. Campbell Ave.
RAPTORS IN RHAPSODY. The 
HOMEGROWN. The art of Tucson talents Susan Beck Conaway,
Barbara Jo McLaughlin and Kevin McLaughlin will open the 1996-97
season at