Ten cool things to do in Tucson this weekend (July 27-July 30)
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Flex your writing muscles at Shot in the Dark Cafe, 121 E. Broadway, during their poetry slam this Thursday from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sign-ups begin at 6.
The slam is open to anyone and everyone. Bring your best poems and compete for prizes (according to the Facebook event page).
After a good read, head next door to Pueblo Vida Brewing Company for a quick pint of their new Prickly Pear "Precipice" IPA.
- Updated
Bakersfield, California, country twanger Dwight Yoakam shares a bit of Hollywood with Feldman. Yoakam has credits in several movies, most notably 1996’s “Sling Blade,” playing opposite Billy Bob Thornton in the Thornton-penned and directed movie. Yoakam played the cruel boyfriend who finds out the hard way what Karl Childers (Thornton) could do with a sling blade when properly provoked.
But Hollywood will be worlds away when Yoakam, 60, takes the stage at the AVA at Casino del Sol Resort & Casino, 5655 W. Valencia Road, on Thursday, July 27. He’ll pull out his classic cowpunk hits — “Guitars, Cadillacs,” “A Thousand Miles From Nowhere,” “Ain’t That Lonely Yet” — as well as cuts off his new bluegrass album “Swimmin’ Pools, Movie Stars ...,” a collection of his hits stripped of electric guitars and amped up with fiddle and dobro. If we’re lucky, he will play his acoustic cover of Prince’s “Purple Rain.” (Check out the video at tucson.com)
Brandy Clark and King Leg are on the bill and the show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25-$75 through tickets.casinodelsol.com
- Cathalena E. Burch
- Updated
Need a place to celebrate Peruvian Independence Day this year?
Inca's Peruvian Cuisine, 6878 E. Sunrise Dr., has you covered.
The Foothills restaurant is offering food specials Friday-Saturday, with live music from Grupo Tradiciones.
The fun on both nights starts at 6 p.m. There is no cover. Call 299-1405 or visit the Facebook page for reservations and information.
- Updated
Back in the day, 'Dirty Dancing' was the kind of feature film you'd take your date to for a romantic evening at the cinema.
Patrick Swayze was a dreamboat. The music was fun. The plot was...tolerable. All elements that make it a nostalgic joy to revisit decades later.
Haven't see it in a while? Head to the Tucson Museum of Art, 140 N. Main Ave., this Thursday to watch it again on the big screen.
Cinema La Placita will screen the film at 7:30 p.m. More information can be found on the Facebook event page.
- Updated
If it’s been awhile since you’ve been to Main Gate Square, the Culinary Challenge taking place from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday, July 29 in Geronimo Plaza will give you a chance to sample fare from new restaurants while also enjoying longtime favorites.
The event will showcase 24 Main Gate Square restaurants and cafes, with chefs from The Dutch Eatery & Refuge, Fuku Sushi, Gentle Ben’s, Jimmy’s Pita & Poke, Mutts, Pasco Kitchen & Lounge, & Red’s Smokehouse & Tap Room.
A Blind Coffee Tasting will feature Caffe Luce, Espresso Art, Starbucks, and a Blind Tea Tasting will include Panera Bread, Espresso Art & Scented Leaf.
Sample food or drinks from Bear Track U, Caffe Luce, Campus Candy, Cup it Up, The Dutch Eatery, Espresso Art, Frog & Firkin, Fuku Sushi, Gentle Ben’s, Illegal Pete’s, Jimmy’s Pita & Poke (newly branded Eat-a-Pita), Kababeque, Mutts, No Anchovies, Panera, Pasco Kitchen & Lounge, Pei Wei, Red’s Smokehouse, Sinbad’s Restaurant, Starbucks, The Fix, The Scented Leaf, Tucson University Park Hotel and Woops!Bakeshop. All samples are free.
For patrons age 21 and above (you will be carded at the entrances) there will be a No Host Bar with local craft beers and a variety of wines. Proceeds from the bar will benefit the Community Food Bank’s Caridad Kitchen that offers a culinary and job skills training program for low income or unemployed individuals.
Parking is free in the Tyndall Garage. If the weather’s bad, the event will be moved to the Tucson University Park Hotel.
Main Gate Square is located on University Boulevard between Euclid and Park avenues north to Second Street. Learn more at maingatesquare.com.
- Updated
Tucson's Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) is holding a big bash for its 20th birthday party.
Its theme: The 1990s.
MOCA is covering all of its bases with screenings of "Reality Bites" and "Singles," and a dance party with DanH and The Lollapaloozers, a '90s cover band, cake, screenprinting, slap bracelet classes, collages and an interactive rave room.
Admission is $10.
More information on the Facebook event page.
- Updated
Exo Roast Co., 403 N. Sixth Ave., turns 5 years old this Saturday and will mark the milestone with a huge party, featuring coffee cocktails, twilight movies in the courtyard and something called The Old Pueblo Opry, honoring Linda Ronstadt.
Proceeds will, in part, go to the Living Streets Alliance.
The fun runs from 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. More information can be found here.
- Updated
Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress St., is doing Christmas in July up right with a day of events separated into two parts:
From 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. the venue will have a dunk tank, a water slide, sno cones and a snow machine, all family friendly.
The adult-themed entertainment begins at 8 p.m. and runs till 2 a.m. There will be a snowball fight, more sno cones (this time with alcohol), DJs, live music and what's being billed as "the most interesting Santa in the world and his sexy summertime elves."
A full list of offerings can be found on the Facebook event page.
- Updated
There is perhaps no greater advocate for mariachi music in Tucson (or the state of Arizona for that matter) than local journalist Daniel Buckley.
Buckley was a staunch supporter of the form during his decades at the Tucson Citizen. He has continued his love for the music as a documentary filmmaker, with his big project, "The Mariachi Miracle," in the works for years now.
The film looks at the effects youth mariachi and folklorico troupes have had on Tucson and its community.
He is hoping a fundraiser this Sunday at El Casino Ballroom, 437 E. 26th St., will provide him the financial backing to finish his vision.
The event will feature performances from Los Changuitos Feos, Ballet Folklorico Xochitl, Mariachi Estrella de Tucson, Mariachi Aztlan de Pueblo High School, Mariachi Sonio de Mexico, Velvis and others.
The concert runs from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. El Casino Ballroom is at 437 E. 26th St. Tickets are $10 at the door.
- Updated
Rincon Market, at 2513 E. Sixth St., continues its summer food throwdown series with a sandwich competition this Sunday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
For $15 you get to sample sandwiches entered in the competition from the likes of Rocco's Little Chicago, the Sausage Shop, Frankie's South Philly Cheesesteaks, Saguaro Corners and the market's own team.
You also get a craft beer and a vote for who made the best sandwich of the day. Need more information? Click here.
Flex your writing muscles at Shot in the Dark Cafe, 121 E. Broadway, during their poetry slam this Thursday from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sign-ups begin at 6.
The slam is open to anyone and everyone. Bring your best poems and compete for prizes (according to the Facebook event page).
After a good read, head next door to Pueblo Vida Brewing Company for a quick pint of their new Prickly Pear "Precipice" IPA.
Bakersfield, California, country twanger Dwight Yoakam shares a bit of Hollywood with Feldman. Yoakam has credits in several movies, most notably 1996’s “Sling Blade,” playing opposite Billy Bob Thornton in the Thornton-penned and directed movie. Yoakam played the cruel boyfriend who finds out the hard way what Karl Childers (Thornton) could do with a sling blade when properly provoked.
But Hollywood will be worlds away when Yoakam, 60, takes the stage at the AVA at Casino del Sol Resort & Casino, 5655 W. Valencia Road, on Thursday, July 27. He’ll pull out his classic cowpunk hits — “Guitars, Cadillacs,” “A Thousand Miles From Nowhere,” “Ain’t That Lonely Yet” — as well as cuts off his new bluegrass album “Swimmin’ Pools, Movie Stars ...,” a collection of his hits stripped of electric guitars and amped up with fiddle and dobro. If we’re lucky, he will play his acoustic cover of Prince’s “Purple Rain.” (Check out the video at tucson.com)
Brandy Clark and King Leg are on the bill and the show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25-$75 through tickets.casinodelsol.com
- Cathalena E. Burch
Need a place to celebrate Peruvian Independence Day this year?
Inca's Peruvian Cuisine, 6878 E. Sunrise Dr., has you covered.
The Foothills restaurant is offering food specials Friday-Saturday, with live music from Grupo Tradiciones.
The fun on both nights starts at 6 p.m. There is no cover. Call 299-1405 or visit the Facebook page for reservations and information.
Back in the day, 'Dirty Dancing' was the kind of feature film you'd take your date to for a romantic evening at the cinema.
Patrick Swayze was a dreamboat. The music was fun. The plot was...tolerable. All elements that make it a nostalgic joy to revisit decades later.
Haven't see it in a while? Head to the Tucson Museum of Art, 140 N. Main Ave., this Thursday to watch it again on the big screen.
Cinema La Placita will screen the film at 7:30 p.m. More information can be found on the Facebook event page.
If it’s been awhile since you’ve been to Main Gate Square, the Culinary Challenge taking place from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday, July 29 in Geronimo Plaza will give you a chance to sample fare from new restaurants while also enjoying longtime favorites.
The event will showcase 24 Main Gate Square restaurants and cafes, with chefs from The Dutch Eatery & Refuge, Fuku Sushi, Gentle Ben’s, Jimmy’s Pita & Poke, Mutts, Pasco Kitchen & Lounge, & Red’s Smokehouse & Tap Room.
A Blind Coffee Tasting will feature Caffe Luce, Espresso Art, Starbucks, and a Blind Tea Tasting will include Panera Bread, Espresso Art & Scented Leaf.
Sample food or drinks from Bear Track U, Caffe Luce, Campus Candy, Cup it Up, The Dutch Eatery, Espresso Art, Frog & Firkin, Fuku Sushi, Gentle Ben’s, Illegal Pete’s, Jimmy’s Pita & Poke (newly branded Eat-a-Pita), Kababeque, Mutts, No Anchovies, Panera, Pasco Kitchen & Lounge, Pei Wei, Red’s Smokehouse, Sinbad’s Restaurant, Starbucks, The Fix, The Scented Leaf, Tucson University Park Hotel and Woops!Bakeshop. All samples are free.
For patrons age 21 and above (you will be carded at the entrances) there will be a No Host Bar with local craft beers and a variety of wines. Proceeds from the bar will benefit the Community Food Bank’s Caridad Kitchen that offers a culinary and job skills training program for low income or unemployed individuals.
Parking is free in the Tyndall Garage. If the weather’s bad, the event will be moved to the Tucson University Park Hotel.
Main Gate Square is located on University Boulevard between Euclid and Park avenues north to Second Street. Learn more at maingatesquare.com.
Tucson's Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) is holding a big bash for its 20th birthday party.
Its theme: The 1990s.
MOCA is covering all of its bases with screenings of "Reality Bites" and "Singles," and a dance party with DanH and The Lollapaloozers, a '90s cover band, cake, screenprinting, slap bracelet classes, collages and an interactive rave room.
Admission is $10.
More information on the Facebook event page.
Exo Roast Co., 403 N. Sixth Ave., turns 5 years old this Saturday and will mark the milestone with a huge party, featuring coffee cocktails, twilight movies in the courtyard and something called The Old Pueblo Opry, honoring Linda Ronstadt.
Proceeds will, in part, go to the Living Streets Alliance.
The fun runs from 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. More information can be found here.
Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress St., is doing Christmas in July up right with a day of events separated into two parts:
From 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. the venue will have a dunk tank, a water slide, sno cones and a snow machine, all family friendly.
The adult-themed entertainment begins at 8 p.m. and runs till 2 a.m. There will be a snowball fight, more sno cones (this time with alcohol), DJs, live music and what's being billed as "the most interesting Santa in the world and his sexy summertime elves."
A full list of offerings can be found on the Facebook event page.
There is perhaps no greater advocate for mariachi music in Tucson (or the state of Arizona for that matter) than local journalist Daniel Buckley.
Buckley was a staunch supporter of the form during his decades at the Tucson Citizen. He has continued his love for the music as a documentary filmmaker, with his big project, "The Mariachi Miracle," in the works for years now.
The film looks at the effects youth mariachi and folklorico troupes have had on Tucson and its community.
He is hoping a fundraiser this Sunday at El Casino Ballroom, 437 E. 26th St., will provide him the financial backing to finish his vision.
The event will feature performances from Los Changuitos Feos, Ballet Folklorico Xochitl, Mariachi Estrella de Tucson, Mariachi Aztlan de Pueblo High School, Mariachi Sonio de Mexico, Velvis and others.
The concert runs from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. El Casino Ballroom is at 437 E. 26th St. Tickets are $10 at the door.
Rincon Market, at 2513 E. Sixth St., continues its summer food throwdown series with a sandwich competition this Sunday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
For $15 you get to sample sandwiches entered in the competition from the likes of Rocco's Little Chicago, the Sausage Shop, Frankie's South Philly Cheesesteaks, Saguaro Corners and the market's own team.
You also get a craft beer and a vote for who made the best sandwich of the day. Need more information? Click here.
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