Ten cool things to do in Tucson this weekend (September 21-September 24)
- Updated
Thursday, Sept. 21-Sunday, Sept. 24 — Go Greek at annual festival
UpdatedCelebrate Greek food (including flaming saganaki), drink, and music with dance lessons, children’s activities, church tours and vendor displays when the 41st annual Tucson Greek Festival gets underway Thursday, Sept. 21, at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church, 1145 E. Fort Lowell Road.
The festivities run 4-10 p.m. Thursday; 3-11 p.m. Friday; noon-11 p.m. Saturday; and noon-9 p.m. Sunday.
Admission is $3; free for children under 12, seniors age 65 and up, and active duty military, fire, police and first responders with an ID card.
Learn more at 888-0505, www.stdemetriostucson.org or www.tucsongreekfest.com
Thursday, September 21 — Bear Down back in time
UpdatedShow your Wildcat spirit at Bear Down Fridays’ Throwback Thursday Edition on Sept. 21 — the Cats face Utah on Friday, Sept. 22.
Wearing ’80s and ’90s outfits are encouraged, with prizes going to the best costumes.
DJ B London will spin ’80s and ’90s tunes starting at 4 p.m. on the main stage, where anyone can compete in dance battles hosted by Charlz Luna. Join 106.3 the Groove and DJ Chulo at Gentle Ben’s at 7:30 p.m. for an all-ages ’80s and ’90s dance party.
As always, the Pep Rally begins at 6 p.m. with the Pride of Arizona Marching Band, UA Poms, Twirlers and Guard, Wilbur and Wilma, and UA Cheer on Tyndall Avenue south of University Boulevard.
This week’s featured Pep Rally speaker is head women’s basketball coach Adia Barnes.
The Spirit Party kicks off at 3 p.m. at Main Gate Square with ESPN Tucson’s “Zach Clark Show” live at Gentle Ben’s.
Bear Down Fridays also features a Game Zone for all ages, including Jenga, table shuffleboard, a prize wheel, basketball hoops and a big head photo booth sponsored by the Zona Zoo.
Details:
• When: 4-7 p.m. festivities start.
• Where: Place Main Gate Square, on University Boulevard between Euclid and Park Avenues.
Price: Free and open to the public.
Parking: Free In the Tyndall Garage after 4 p.m. with a merchant validation.
Thursday, Sept. 21-Saturday, Sept. 23 — Storm the Sazerac at The Parish
UpdatedThe Parish, 6453 N. Oracle Road, has several days of activities in store (that started Wednesday) to mark the night that women in New Orleans demanded equal rights by storming the Sazerac Bar, a venue that served only men at the time.
In honor of that event, the restaurant will showcase all-female bands and DJs through Saturday, as well as $6 Sazerac cocktails.
Leila Lopez plays Thursday, Sundust Road Friday and DJ Becca Dillon on Saturday.
More information can be found here.
Thursday, September 21 — Request a song from Ben Folds
UpdatedBen Folds brings his “Paper Airplane Request Tour” to the Rialto Theatre on Thursday, Sept. 21.
Tall Heights opens the show at 8 p.m.
This will be Folds in his usually incredible form, singing all the songs you would expect to hear from the veteran singer-songwriter.
And then there’s the audience participation part, where fans can jot down their requests and Folds will try to get to many of them during the concert’s second half.
Tickets are $35 to $249 for VIP, which includes a chance to meet Folds in the Rialto’s famed green room out back. Get them at ticketfly.com.
Friday, Sept. 22-Sunday, Sept. 24 — Watch a talented touring artist play Beethoven
UpdatedThe critically acclaimed pianist Zhang Zuo has performed all of Beethoven’s concertos except one: His No. 2.
This weekend, she will check that box when she performs with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra as it welcomes José Luis Gomez to his inaugural season with the orchestra. Concerts are on Friday, Sept. 22, and Sunday, Sept. 24, at Tucson Music Hall.
Beethoven’s Second completes Zhang’s journey into the composer’s concerto repertoire. This weekend will be the first time she will perform the Second in concert.
“After this I will have all five concertos ready and I will know all five (Beethoven) concertos,” said Zhang, who goes by the nickname Zee Zee, given to her when the China native came to the United States in her late teens to study at Rochester’s Eastman School of Music. Her American classmates and teachers called her by her initials because they couldn’t pronounce her name, she said.
Zhang, who grew up mostly in Germany, has been working on the No. 2 for about eight months, practicing on the Steinway grand piano in the living room of her Berlin home in between touring mostly in Europe.
“Every time I come back to it, it’s almost like it has settled in me a little better,” she said during a phone interview from home last week. “And it brings me some perspective of the piece.”
One thing she has learned: The Beethoven 2 is complex in its simplicity. It has fewer notes and it’s written with such economy of scale that it’s a beast. The hardest part about it is bringing out its purity, she said.
“It’s really difficult to make its design and phrasing and nuances melt into one piece” Zhang, 28, explained. “The piece itself is really simple. It has fewer notes, but it is so refined. For me, I think musically this is way more difficult than Rachmaninoff No. 2 because it’s so refined. It has such fewer notes.”
So is the award-winning pianist, whose honors include taking home first place in the first International Piano Competition in China, ready for the challenge of her Beethoven 2 debut?
Are you ever really ready? she asks back.
“We have a saying that an artist never learns a piece until they perform it,” she said. “Now it doesn’t matter how much I practice it, how much I memorize it, how much I listen to it, you never know until you hear it with your audience.”
What: Tucson Symphony Orchestra opening concert "Titan."
Featuring: Guest pianist Zhang Zuo.
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 22, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 24.
Where: Tucson Music Hall, 260 S. Church Ave.
Tickets: $30-$86 through ticketmaster.com
Program:
Smith/Damrosch's "Star Spangled Banner."
Innocente Carreño's "Margariteña" (TSO premiere).
Beethoven's Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major.
Mahler's Symphony No.1 in D major "Titan."
Friday, September 21 — Learn more about a favorite Flagstaff brewery
UpdatedTucson Hop Shop, 3230 N. Dodge Boulevard, will get a visit this Friday from Dark Sky Brewing Company, a popular Flagstaff brewery that we don't see down in these parts too often.
Dark Sky will be bringing a collection of its own creations for Tucsonans to try from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
There will also be food trucks, live music and an art auction at the surrounding Metal Arts Village. Plenty of fun to be had.
More information can be found on the Facebook event page.
Saturday, September 23 — Witness an all-out local beer battle
UpdatedIt’s a true-blue local beer throwdown this Saturday as most, if not all, of Tucson’s brewing community prepares to compete in the Sixth annual Born & Brewed Beer Battle this Saturday.
A full roster will compete for Tucson’s most-coveted Beer Cup. Brewers will be in the running for Best Flagship Beer, Best Specialty Beer, and a People’s Choice award
The evening starts at 6 p.m. at Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress St., with tickets running from $30 to $50.
The current lineup of breweries is as follows:
- 1912 Brewing Company
- Barrio Brewing Company
- Black Rock Brewers
- Borderlands Brewing
- Catalina Brewing Company
- Copper Mine Brewing Co.
- Crooked Tooth Brewing
- Dillinger Brewing Company
- Green Feet Brewing
- Iron John’s Brewing Company
- Nimbus Brewing Company
- Public Brewhouse
- Sentinel Peak Brewing Company
- Thunder Canyon Brewery
Saturday, September 23 — Try traditional Korean food from a food truck
UpdatedTucson has had immense luck on the food truck front, with an army of mobile eateries offering cuisine that would be hard to find otherwise.
Korean food doesn't exactly fall into that category (Tucson has several Korean restaurants), but it is nice to see a traditional Korean BBQ food truck added to the fleet.
Choy Boy Korean BBQ will be at Crooked Tooth Brewing Company from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. More information here.
According to its Facebook page:
Choy Boy Korean Barbeque features our 100 year old family recipe for marinated Beef and Chicken on a stick grilled over an open flame. Our family treasure is prepared using the perfect blend of fresh ingredients and spices creating a timeless taste sensation that will keep you coming back for more.
Sunday, September 24 — See Harry Dean Stanton in his final film
UpdatedBefore Harry Dean Stanton died last week at the age of 91, he had the chance to take on one more role in the independent film "Lucky," which follows a 90-year-old atheist as he moves through life, questioning his own existence and interacting with the quirky characters that inhabit his hometown.
The film will screen at The Loft, 3233 E. Speedway, this Sunday as part of Arthouse Theatre Day, 2017.
The screening starts at noon. More information here.
Sunday, September 24 — Celebrate ten years of the Tucson Musicians Museum
UpdatedThe Tucson Musicians Museum continues to go strong after its first ten years with another round of inductions this year.
Among the honored guests at the Tucson Convention Center North Exhibit Hall this Sunday will be Hotel Congress booker and Tucson musician David Slutes, Ed Reid, the director of the Fred Fox School of Music at the University of Arizona and John Contreras, mariachi musician and director of Pueblo High School's Mariachi Aztlan.
The evening begins at 6 p.m. Tickets are $10. More information can be found here.
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