8 cool things to do in Tucson this weekend (February 1-February 4)

Thursday, February 1-February 28 — See Tucson's little green army

Local artist Rudy Flores' Army Man Project is back on display, this time at the Joel D. Valdez main library, 101 N. Stone Ave., downtown. 

Flores spent months turning nearly 300 local Tucson movers and shakers, including the likes of  restaurant owner Lindy Reilly and artist Danny Martin, into miniature army men. 

The characters will be on display at the library through February 28. 

Friday, February 2-Saturday, February 3 — Feel the rhythm at 'Stomp!'

From its humble, yet raucous beginnings at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1991, "Stomp" has become a global phenomenon with performance troupes putting on mesmerizing dance programs all over the world. 

The show comes back to Centennial Hall, 1020 E. University Blvd on the University of Arizona campus, this Friday and Saturday. 

Expect talented performers using every day objects, from brooms to cigar boxes, to create an energetic stage show that will have you tapping your feet long after it's over. 

Shows are at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. on Saturday. 

More information here. 

Friday, February 2 — Celebrate 2 years of Casa Film Bar, Groundhog's Day

Casa Film Bar, 2905 E. Speedway, will be celebrating two years in business with the release of "some very limited, aged bottle beers," according to the Facebook event page. 

The list includes: 

2016 O'Dell Barrel Aged Hibernation Ale (dry-hopped Old Ale)

2015 Big Sky Ivan The Terrible Imperial Stout

2015 Deschutes Brewing The Abyss Imp Stout

2015 Barrel Aged Yeti Imperial Stout

2015 Barrel Aged Old Rasputin Imperial Stout

2013 Goose Island Lolita Sour/Wild Ale

2016 Hangar 24 Pugachev's Cobra Russian Imperial Stout

2016 Oskar Blues Barrel Aged Ten Fidy Imperial Stout

2015+2016 Deschutes the Abyss Imperial Stout

2016 the Abyss Imperial Stout Brandy OR Scotch Barrel Aged

2016 Founder's Lizard of Koz Barrel Aged Blueberry Imp. Stout

2016 Dogfish Head 120 Minute Imperial IPA

2016 & 2017 Founder's Kentucky Breakfast Stout

2016 Founder's Canadian Breakfast Stout

2017 Prairie Pirate BOMB! Rum Barrel Aged Imperial Stout

2016 Avery Uncle Jacob's Barrel Aged Stout

Added bonus: The bar will be screening "Groundhog Day" in celebration of Groundhog's Day (Also "Back to the Future" and "Oblivion" with Tom Cruise). 

Nation Creations will be providing the eats. The fun runs from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. 

Friday, February 2 — Attend the CD release party of a local favorite

Katie Haverly’s new album “Pluto” has been a series of firsts for the Tucson singer-songwriter.

• It was the first time she worked with session musicians. (“It was amazing. I felt like I could let go. … It was wildly different than anything I’ve experienced before.”)
• It was the first time she’s worked with Tucson’s über producer/musician Gabriel Sullivan. ( “He’s incredible. He can play every instrument. He gets an idea and he can lay it down. It was so fun.”)
• And it was the first time she put everything on the line in the studio, allowing herself to be alternately in control and vulnerable.

“For the first time I didn’t hide anything,” Haverly said last week as she put the finishing touches on a pair of record release gigs beginning with a full-band concert at Club Congress on Friday, Feb. 2; she’s doing a stripped down listening party Feb. 24 at downtown’s Exo Roast Co.

“I put everything on the table. For the first time I didn’t feel like I had to dim myself,” she explained. “That’s a weird thing to say, but I just felt free.”

- Cathalena E. Burch

Catch her at Club Congress, 311 E. Congress St., at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The show is free. 

Saturday, February 3 — Wish 1055 Brewing a happy five years

Ten Fifty-Five Brewing will celebrate five years on Saturday, in what might be the last big party at their current location, 3810 E. 44th St. 

The brewery is expanding its operation and moving downtown, so feel free to wish them a happy transition after giving them high-fives for the fact that they've reached the five-year mark. 

Owners Chris Squires and JP Vyborny have several featured beers up their sleeves for this weekend, including their Evergreen Holiday Ale infused with  Koko Samoa Polynesian chocolate and the return of their Sugar Skull Sweet Stout, a favorite with the regulars. 

The party runs from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. More information here. 

Saturday, February 3 — See comedian Jo Koy live, then on Netflix

The folks at Netflix warned comedian Jo Koy: Once his “Live From Seattle” comedy special aired last spring, his career would take a dramatic turn.

But the Los Angeles-based comic had no idea the turn would come so fast and furious.

A month into 2018, he is seeing his shows sell out in record time — sometimes a matter of minutes. In most cities — including Tucson on Saturday, Feb. 3 — he’s adding shows; in Hawaii last October, he sold out 11 shows at the Blaisdell Concert Hall.

“It was crazy,” Koy, 46, said during a phone call from home in Los Angeles last week. “We beat Mariah Carey. She had 22,000 tickets sold, we had 23,500.“

“Ever since the Netflix special, this tour has been on steroids. We’re sold out until May,” he added, sounding like he still couldn’t believe what was happening to him as he marks 28 years in standup. “We’re doing multiple shows in most cities. It’s just nuts what’s going on.”

- Cathalena E. Burch

Want to see him in person? Here are the details:

What: Jo Koy in concert.

When: 7 and 10 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3.

Where: Fox Tucson Theatre, 17 W. Congress St.

Tickets: $37 to $112 through foxtucsontheatre.ticketforce.com

Saturday, February 3 — Catch a Tucson legend's art exhibit

Tom Philabaum is about to do something he has rarely done in 50 years: turn off his blazing furnaces.

They are essential to making the glass art Philabaum has spent five decades creating. But come the end of April, visitors to the downtown gallery will no longer be able to peer through the window into his studio and find him shaping glass as he pulls it from the flames. He finishes up in the hot shop this month, preparing for an exhibit of his art that opens at the gallery Feb. 3.

The internationally known Philabaum, 70, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease last year. The illness thrives on stress, and Philabaum can’t escape it at work.

“The life cycle of a glass blower involves not just the working of the glass, but the maintaining of the furnace seven days a week,” he says while sitting in an office above the gallery and hot shop. 

“Twenty-four hours a day I’m aware that that thing is running and I’m in charge and it’s always there. So I need to change that aspect of my life. I need to work less on stuff and work more on keeping my body together. This is a degenerative disease. I’m holding it at bay because I’m really good at working out. I do two to three hours a day. Running this business, there’s no time for anything else.” 

- Kathleen Allen

You can see a retrospective of Philabaum's work in a show called "The Flame" at Philabaum Glass Gallery & Studio, 711 S. Sixth Ave., through February. An opening reception is this Saturday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. 

More information here. 

Sunday, February 4 — Hunt for rusty gold at an east-side antique fair

Antique seekers will be out in force this Sunday as the Antique/Vintage Fair at Medella Vina Ranch gets underway.

The monthly event at 4450 S. Houghton Road is easily the biggest antique fair in town, with rows of vendors selling everything from milk bottles to Murano glass. 

Official hours are from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., but dealers tend to get there early for the good deals. 

Get more information here.