Nine cool things to do in Tucson this weekend (March 3-5)
- Updated
Plenty of things to do this weekend
- Updated
Old Tucson becomes a Steampunk dream this weekend as Wild Wild West Con returns to the Old Pueblo.
The con begins with a Thursday night opening ceremony, with more than 60 vendors, contests and more than 80 panels on hand through the weekend.
There will be a steampunk fashion show, tea dueling, splendid teapot racing and an absinthe tasting.
Bands scheduled to perform include Frenchy and the Punk, The Cog is Dead and The Mission Creeps.
Any information you might need on the event can be found on the Wild Wild West Con website.
- Updated
If permanent body art is your thing, check out the Ninth annual Tucson Tattoo Expo at the Hotel Tucson City Center, 475 N. Granada Ave., Friday-Sunday.
Artists from all over Tucson will be on site. There will be contests, vendors and lots and lots of ink on skin.
For more information, visit the website.
- Updated
The University of Arizona Libraries system is doing a cool thing for Tucsonans.
Bring up to ten items of printed materials from your family history — photographs, letters, brochures, etc. — and they will digitize them for you to have on a USB flash drive.
The digitization party will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday at the Special Collections, University of Arizona Libraries, 1510 E. University Blvd.
Register in advance at 626-8332.
More information can be found on the Facebook event page.
- Updated
Kathy Griffin has plenty to say about pretty much everything.
Star reporter Cathy Burch found out how that will play when she visits the Desert Diamond Casino's Diamond Center this Saturday.
Tickets are $30-$65 through the website.
Here is what Burch found out:
Since the last time comedian Kathy Griffin played a show at Desert Diamond Casino — fall 2013 — she’s moved into a new house and new neighborhood in Los Angeles.
Her neighbors: Kim Kardashian and Kanye West.
Ah, the stories she could — and will — tell when she hits the Diamond Center stage Saturday, March 4.
“There’s always something going on and the funny thing is the proximity. I’m not even kidding, I could wave to them right now, that’s how close it is,” she said during a phone call Monday from home. “Kris Jenner came over one day, like on moving day, and I showed her: ‘Look how close we are. This is ridiculous.’ And then she started waving out the window.”
Griffin also met Donald Trump long before he had “president” before his name. She did a charity event for his “Apprentice” reality show with Liza Minnelli on one of Trump’s golf courses.
“So I spent the day on the golf course with Donald Trump and Liza Minnelli, and Donald Trump was driving the golf cart and Liza and I were in the back and Liza was getting the spins. And Trump wouldn’t slow down because he was showing us off to these big golfers there,” said the 56-year-old comedian/celebrity/author/actress. “And I was in heaven, not because of him but because of Liza. But I don’t think it’s appropriate, no matter your office, to ever give Liza Minnelli the spins.”
While some comedians tell jokes, Griffin tells secrets.
“If you come see me at Desert Diamond, you’re going to hear stories that honestly you can’t hear from anybody else on the planet because Liza doesn’t remember,” she quipped. “What I pride myself on doing is doing the entire show, stories that you can only hear from me on that stage on that night. It’s not going to be a Trump hair joke; it’s going to be me poking his hair the last time I saw him. It’s not going to be a joke about Kim and Kanye. It’s going to be ‘What is it like to live next door to them. What is it like when Kim Kardashian comes to your house?’”
You can also expect to hear her:
Dish on Trump: “This administration is made for standup comedy. ... You have to realize it’s a comic’s dream to think that the more we make fun of him, the more he is personally offended.”
Stand up for Mexicans: “I’m going to be standing on, not the wall, but any kind of a fence and I’m literally going to be throwing Mexicans into America. I don’t know if that’s considered a passive form of protest.”
Look back on Oscar’s epic embarrassment: “I love that (‘La La Land’ producer) Jordan Horowitz is trending because people were actually saying, ‘Why can’t the president be more like the guy from ‘La La Land’ who did the right thing?’ ... ‘Wait a minute. People can take a minute and do the right thing and everything is OK and people are better for it?’”
Cheer on Arizona Wildcats: “My boyfriend (Randy Bick) of 5½ years is a Wildcat and he is 18 years younger than I am so I now have to be a Wildcat. I don’t know anything about sports, but when he and I go hiking every day, he wears his Arizona cap and it’s always a little embarrassing for me when a grown man passes him and says, ‘Bear Down’. I don’t think women have those secret societies. If I see a female friend I don’t pass her and go, ‘There’s a sales at Saks.’”
- Updated
Hot on the heels of celebrating its own birthday, Catalina Brewing will celebrate the birthday of Dr. Seuss, who would have been a spry 113 this year.
The event (meant for families) begins at 2 p.m on Saturday and will feature: "Stories, Songs, Activities and YOU! Happy Birthday! Tasty treats from Chuy's Mobile Food and Catering!! Yum!" according to the Facebook page.
Valley of the Moon also has Dr. Seuss festivities in store on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
- Updated
ChamberLab, an experimental classical ensemble that is constantly trying new things, is incorporating mariachi and even puppets into its latest project, to debut this Saturday.
The event starts at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Scottish Rite Temple downtown.
Here is the rundown from reporter Cathy Burch:
Rockers writing classical music was a bit of a stretch.
But now that group of Tucson musicians has gone even further: Rockers writing classical music for mariachi.
“Not a single person in this show is in their comfort zone, I can tell you,” said Chris Black, the head of that crazy experiment called ChamberLab.
Seven years into the boundary-breaking composing experiment, the group is setting its sights southward. A trio of composers — ChamberLab regular Marco Rosano of Y la Orkesta, newcomer John Contreras of Mariachi Luz de Luna and director at Pueblo High School’s Mariachi Aztlán, and Mariachi Luz de Luna director Ruben Moreno — have turned to traditional Mexican folk tales for inspiration.
And they are teaming up with a puppet master to bring those tales to life in the latest ChamberLab installment “Leyendas y Sombras” (Legends and Shadows) featuring Mariachi Luz de Luna and Puppets Amongus on Saturday, March 4, at downtown’s Scottish Rite Temple.
The Latin theme was something Black, a longtime musician who launched ChamberLab three years after moving to Tucson from Austin, Texas, in 2007, had been thinking about for a year. He and the composers started working on it in earnest last November, using Mexican folk tales as inspiration.
Matt Cotten of Puppets Amongus sketched the storyboards outlining the tales and characters. He also built the puppets.
The composers then wrote the music to match Cotten’s story. Moreno’s mariachi band will perform the new works at Saturday’s concert.
“These are folk tales being told from the Mexican origin that can be told pretty much from pictures; you don’t need narration,” Moreno said. “It’s a really cool way to tell a story because music says what words can not. That’s how powerful music can be.”
Past ChamberLab concerts have included original works inspired by the University of Arizona’s NASA-funded OSIRIS-REx research; penning the soundtrack and playing along to the screening of the Buster Keaton silent film “The General”; and the intriguing 2013 concert “Pictures About Music About Pictures,” whose works were inspired by the art of Tucsonan Joe Pagac.
“This is craziness. I’ve always said we’re this boundary-breaking thing, and we are because we are composers from the rock world sneaking into the classical world and bringing their music into the clubs,” Black said. “Now we’re just going nuts. We’re going into the mariachi world and writing for a mariachi band. And then there’s the puppets.”
“It’s kind of an experiment and an exploration for us,” added Moreno. “We’re out of our element playing classical music.”
So how will the classical-inspired works on “Leyendas y Sombras” sound? Like mariachi.
“The notes structure is classical, but when it’s played with mariachi it will sound more mariachi,” said Moreno.
Saturday’s concert is supported by Arizona Friends of Chamber Music, Buffalo Exchange and Wesley Green.
- Updated
Head to the Steinfeld Warehouse, 101 W. Sixth St., this Saturday for its First Saturday Art Walk.
More than 30 artists will be present, showcasing their work. There will also be wine!
The event runs from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and is free. More information on the Facebook event page.
- Updated
Can't make Kathy Griffin? Head to the Tucson Music Hall this Sunday for an evening with comedian Bill Maher.
Maher has been uber-vocal about the recent Trump presidency, Breitbart and all-things right, so fans of the Donald might want to sit this one out.
The show gets rolling at 7:30 p.m.
Info can be found on the Tucson Convention Center website.
- Updated
If you want to see some really neat toys, head to the Tucson Expo this Sunday for the 29th annual Tucson Collectible Toy Show & Sale.
The event bills itself as the largest toy show in the Southwest. While that may or may not be true, it does offer an impressive haul of fun things to look at and even buy, if the mood strikes.
The fun runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Info can be found here.
Old Tucson becomes a Steampunk dream this weekend as Wild Wild West Con returns to the Old Pueblo.
The con begins with a Thursday night opening ceremony, with more than 60 vendors, contests and more than 80 panels on hand through the weekend.
There will be a steampunk fashion show, tea dueling, splendid teapot racing and an absinthe tasting.
Bands scheduled to perform include Frenchy and the Punk, The Cog is Dead and The Mission Creeps.
Any information you might need on the event can be found on the Wild Wild West Con website.
If permanent body art is your thing, check out the Ninth annual Tucson Tattoo Expo at the Hotel Tucson City Center, 475 N. Granada Ave., Friday-Sunday.
Artists from all over Tucson will be on site. There will be contests, vendors and lots and lots of ink on skin.
For more information, visit the website.
The University of Arizona Libraries system is doing a cool thing for Tucsonans.
Bring up to ten items of printed materials from your family history — photographs, letters, brochures, etc. — and they will digitize them for you to have on a USB flash drive.
The digitization party will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday at the Special Collections, University of Arizona Libraries, 1510 E. University Blvd.
Register in advance at 626-8332.
More information can be found on the Facebook event page.
Kathy Griffin has plenty to say about pretty much everything.
Star reporter Cathy Burch found out how that will play when she visits the Desert Diamond Casino's Diamond Center this Saturday.
Tickets are $30-$65 through the website.
Here is what Burch found out:
Since the last time comedian Kathy Griffin played a show at Desert Diamond Casino — fall 2013 — she’s moved into a new house and new neighborhood in Los Angeles.
Her neighbors: Kim Kardashian and Kanye West.
Ah, the stories she could — and will — tell when she hits the Diamond Center stage Saturday, March 4.
“There’s always something going on and the funny thing is the proximity. I’m not even kidding, I could wave to them right now, that’s how close it is,” she said during a phone call Monday from home. “Kris Jenner came over one day, like on moving day, and I showed her: ‘Look how close we are. This is ridiculous.’ And then she started waving out the window.”
Griffin also met Donald Trump long before he had “president” before his name. She did a charity event for his “Apprentice” reality show with Liza Minnelli on one of Trump’s golf courses.
“So I spent the day on the golf course with Donald Trump and Liza Minnelli, and Donald Trump was driving the golf cart and Liza and I were in the back and Liza was getting the spins. And Trump wouldn’t slow down because he was showing us off to these big golfers there,” said the 56-year-old comedian/celebrity/author/actress. “And I was in heaven, not because of him but because of Liza. But I don’t think it’s appropriate, no matter your office, to ever give Liza Minnelli the spins.”
While some comedians tell jokes, Griffin tells secrets.
“If you come see me at Desert Diamond, you’re going to hear stories that honestly you can’t hear from anybody else on the planet because Liza doesn’t remember,” she quipped. “What I pride myself on doing is doing the entire show, stories that you can only hear from me on that stage on that night. It’s not going to be a Trump hair joke; it’s going to be me poking his hair the last time I saw him. It’s not going to be a joke about Kim and Kanye. It’s going to be ‘What is it like to live next door to them. What is it like when Kim Kardashian comes to your house?’”
You can also expect to hear her:
Dish on Trump: “This administration is made for standup comedy. ... You have to realize it’s a comic’s dream to think that the more we make fun of him, the more he is personally offended.”
Stand up for Mexicans: “I’m going to be standing on, not the wall, but any kind of a fence and I’m literally going to be throwing Mexicans into America. I don’t know if that’s considered a passive form of protest.”
Look back on Oscar’s epic embarrassment: “I love that (‘La La Land’ producer) Jordan Horowitz is trending because people were actually saying, ‘Why can’t the president be more like the guy from ‘La La Land’ who did the right thing?’ ... ‘Wait a minute. People can take a minute and do the right thing and everything is OK and people are better for it?’”
Cheer on Arizona Wildcats: “My boyfriend (Randy Bick) of 5½ years is a Wildcat and he is 18 years younger than I am so I now have to be a Wildcat. I don’t know anything about sports, but when he and I go hiking every day, he wears his Arizona cap and it’s always a little embarrassing for me when a grown man passes him and says, ‘Bear Down’. I don’t think women have those secret societies. If I see a female friend I don’t pass her and go, ‘There’s a sales at Saks.’”
Hot on the heels of celebrating its own birthday, Catalina Brewing will celebrate the birthday of Dr. Seuss, who would have been a spry 113 this year.
The event (meant for families) begins at 2 p.m on Saturday and will feature: "Stories, Songs, Activities and YOU! Happy Birthday! Tasty treats from Chuy's Mobile Food and Catering!! Yum!" according to the Facebook page.
Valley of the Moon also has Dr. Seuss festivities in store on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
ChamberLab, an experimental classical ensemble that is constantly trying new things, is incorporating mariachi and even puppets into its latest project, to debut this Saturday.
The event starts at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Scottish Rite Temple downtown.
Here is the rundown from reporter Cathy Burch:
Rockers writing classical music was a bit of a stretch.
But now that group of Tucson musicians has gone even further: Rockers writing classical music for mariachi.
“Not a single person in this show is in their comfort zone, I can tell you,” said Chris Black, the head of that crazy experiment called ChamberLab.
Seven years into the boundary-breaking composing experiment, the group is setting its sights southward. A trio of composers — ChamberLab regular Marco Rosano of Y la Orkesta, newcomer John Contreras of Mariachi Luz de Luna and director at Pueblo High School’s Mariachi Aztlán, and Mariachi Luz de Luna director Ruben Moreno — have turned to traditional Mexican folk tales for inspiration.
And they are teaming up with a puppet master to bring those tales to life in the latest ChamberLab installment “Leyendas y Sombras” (Legends and Shadows) featuring Mariachi Luz de Luna and Puppets Amongus on Saturday, March 4, at downtown’s Scottish Rite Temple.
The Latin theme was something Black, a longtime musician who launched ChamberLab three years after moving to Tucson from Austin, Texas, in 2007, had been thinking about for a year. He and the composers started working on it in earnest last November, using Mexican folk tales as inspiration.
Matt Cotten of Puppets Amongus sketched the storyboards outlining the tales and characters. He also built the puppets.
The composers then wrote the music to match Cotten’s story. Moreno’s mariachi band will perform the new works at Saturday’s concert.
“These are folk tales being told from the Mexican origin that can be told pretty much from pictures; you don’t need narration,” Moreno said. “It’s a really cool way to tell a story because music says what words can not. That’s how powerful music can be.”
Past ChamberLab concerts have included original works inspired by the University of Arizona’s NASA-funded OSIRIS-REx research; penning the soundtrack and playing along to the screening of the Buster Keaton silent film “The General”; and the intriguing 2013 concert “Pictures About Music About Pictures,” whose works were inspired by the art of Tucsonan Joe Pagac.
“This is craziness. I’ve always said we’re this boundary-breaking thing, and we are because we are composers from the rock world sneaking into the classical world and bringing their music into the clubs,” Black said. “Now we’re just going nuts. We’re going into the mariachi world and writing for a mariachi band. And then there’s the puppets.”
“It’s kind of an experiment and an exploration for us,” added Moreno. “We’re out of our element playing classical music.”
So how will the classical-inspired works on “Leyendas y Sombras” sound? Like mariachi.
“The notes structure is classical, but when it’s played with mariachi it will sound more mariachi,” said Moreno.
Saturday’s concert is supported by Arizona Friends of Chamber Music, Buffalo Exchange and Wesley Green.
Head to the Steinfeld Warehouse, 101 W. Sixth St., this Saturday for its First Saturday Art Walk.
More than 30 artists will be present, showcasing their work. There will also be wine!
The event runs from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and is free. More information on the Facebook event page.
Can't make Kathy Griffin? Head to the Tucson Music Hall this Sunday for an evening with comedian Bill Maher.
Maher has been uber-vocal about the recent Trump presidency, Breitbart and all-things right, so fans of the Donald might want to sit this one out.
The show gets rolling at 7:30 p.m.
Info can be found on the Tucson Convention Center website.
If you want to see some really neat toys, head to the Tucson Expo this Sunday for the 29th annual Tucson Collectible Toy Show & Sale.
The event bills itself as the largest toy show in the Southwest. While that may or may not be true, it does offer an impressive haul of fun things to look at and even buy, if the mood strikes.
The fun runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Info can be found here.
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