Eight cool things you can still do in Tucson this weekend (Feb. 11-12)
Everything you need to know about the best events this weekend.
- Updated
The Tucson Gem, Mineral & Fossil showcase reaches its apex this weekend with the main event, The 2017 Tucson Gem & Mineral Show running Thursday, Feb. 9, through Sunday at the Tucson Convention Center, 260 S. Church Ave.
This year's theme is "Mineral Treasures of the Midwest" (exciting!) The show is now in its 63rd year, so they know exactly what they are doing and have vendors from all over the world in attendance.
More information can be found on the gem show website.
- Updated
Taps across the state will be working overtime over the next several days as Arizona Beer Week kicks into full swing.
Breweries, bottle shops, bars and restaurants from Tucson to Flagstaff will host around 200 craft-beer-themed events as the celebration of all things pale, amber, sour and stout gets underway.
Tucson is holding its own this year, with well over 70 separate activities planned, Thursday, Feb. 9, through Feb. 18.
“I don’t think Tucson has taken advantage of Arizona Beer Week as much as they have this year,” said Rob Fullmer, executive director of the Arizona Craft Brewers Guild, which coordinates Beer Week.
When the event first launched in 2011, only a handful of breweries existed in the Old Pueblo, Fullmer said.
That was part of the reason.
But now, “there are a lot of new breweries, new places trying a lot of new and creative things.”
“If someone is coming into the state who didn’t have a preference, I would send them to Tucson,” Fullmer said.
Get a full rundown of Beer Week activities on the event's page.
- Updated
Head south with your significant other to Bisbee for its monthly After 5 Art Walk.
The city is pitching the walk as a more romantic excursion this weekend with Valentine's Day right around the corner.
The crowning event will be the 26th annual Bisbee Chocolate Tasting, a fundraiser for the Friends of the Copper Queen Library, that will take place from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Central School Project, 43 Howell Ave. Admission to the tasting is $10.
- Updated
If you enjoy watching your partner ogle firefighters with no shirts on, on the most romantic weekend of the year, we highly encourage you to head to Hops & Vines in Sonoita this weekend for Chocolate Love 2017.
The vineyard will have plenty of wine ready to pour and chocolate, lots of chocolate.
Chocolate Love runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $20. More information is on the Facebook event page.
- Updated
Some of China's finest jugglers, cyclists, gymnasts and tumblers will be in Tucson this Sunday as The Peking Acrobats make their way back to Centennial Hall.
Ever see grown men and women spinning plates on long poles while balancing on giant medicine balls?
No?
Well, now is your chance!
The acrobats take the stage at 3 p.m. at the hall, 1020 E. University Blvd. More information on the UApresents website.
- Updated
Five prime examples of midcentury modern and Atomic Ranch-style architecture will be on display this Sunday as part of the Atomic Tucson Home Tour, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Step into the past with this self-guided adventure. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 the day of the tour. Pick up tickets the day of and maps at AZ Modern, 4469 E. Fifth St.
All proceeds go toward the Tucson Medical Center for Children.
More info on the event Facebook page.
- Updated
Take a trip west of the Tucson Mountains on Sunday for VintagePalooza at Cat Mountain Station, 2740 S. Kinney Road.
Multiple vendors carrying the finest in vintage items and antiques will be present (much like whomever provided this rocking horse for the Brandi Fenton antique fair in the photo).
Bring cash and a sense of nostalgia. More information can be found on the Facebook event page.
- Updated
A day full of music, vintage baseball — and the live amputation of a leg.
It can only be the 36th annual Fort Lowell Day on Saturday, Feb. 11, where participants are whisked to the 19th century with crafts, games and the surgical removal of a leg performed by contemporary doctors in period garb.
In an event appropriately called “Blood and Guts Medicine” at Fort Lowell Day, Dr. Bob Hunter will perform a mock surgery — but he doesn’t use a dummy.
“Most of the times I’ve done it, I’ve done it with a healthy, living person,” Hunter says. “I have a trick table. I cut off the fake leg and use fake blood. It looks pretty real.”
In one of his prior performances, Hunter, a retired physician who now works in clinical research, actually performed the procedure on a fellow historian who has a legitimate leg amputation. The man, already in the uniform of a cavalry trooper, graciously removed his prosthetic, changed into a pair of torn trousers, and was carried to Hunter’s table for the performance.
“It all looked fairly realistic,” Hunter says. “I heard that a few spectators almost fainted.” This time, one of Hunter’s friends is scheduled to be the guinea pig on the trick table.
To make the scene look authentic to the the 19th century, Hunter performs the procedure in costume and uses antique Civil War medical instruments, some of which are original.
“Military medicine is very important to the history of Tucson,” Hunter says. “It’s part of our history. It’s our heritage.”
At last year’s Fort Lowell Day, Byrd was scheduled to perform a 30-minute lecture, but the venue hit capacity before the slotted time.
“People were fighting for their lives at this time,” Byrd says about 19th-century Fort Lowell. “It gives us a greater sense of appreciation for what we do.”
With many family-friendly activities, the free Fort Lowell Day celebration honors the extensive history behind the Fort Lowell Neighborhood.
For over a thousand years, the historic district has been swarming with cultures. Originally, folks flocked to the area because of its high availability of water. A military fort was formed there in 1873; it was decommissioned in 1891.
Besides the lecture and mock surgery, Fort Lowell Day will feature music, vintage baseball games, exhibits at the Fort Lowell Museum, children’s crafts, cavalry drills and a meet-and-greet with soldiers.
“Fort Lowell is very important,” Byrd says. “It’s interesting for us to know why people came, what the circumstances were.”
Gloria Knott, a University of Arizona journalism student apprenticing at the Star, wrote this story.
The Tucson Gem, Mineral & Fossil showcase reaches its apex this weekend with the main event, The 2017 Tucson Gem & Mineral Show running Thursday, Feb. 9, through Sunday at the Tucson Convention Center, 260 S. Church Ave.
This year's theme is "Mineral Treasures of the Midwest" (exciting!) The show is now in its 63rd year, so they know exactly what they are doing and have vendors from all over the world in attendance.
More information can be found on the gem show website.
Taps across the state will be working overtime over the next several days as Arizona Beer Week kicks into full swing.
Breweries, bottle shops, bars and restaurants from Tucson to Flagstaff will host around 200 craft-beer-themed events as the celebration of all things pale, amber, sour and stout gets underway.
Tucson is holding its own this year, with well over 70 separate activities planned, Thursday, Feb. 9, through Feb. 18.
“I don’t think Tucson has taken advantage of Arizona Beer Week as much as they have this year,” said Rob Fullmer, executive director of the Arizona Craft Brewers Guild, which coordinates Beer Week.
When the event first launched in 2011, only a handful of breweries existed in the Old Pueblo, Fullmer said.
That was part of the reason.
But now, “there are a lot of new breweries, new places trying a lot of new and creative things.”
“If someone is coming into the state who didn’t have a preference, I would send them to Tucson,” Fullmer said.
Get a full rundown of Beer Week activities on the event's page.
Head south with your significant other to Bisbee for its monthly After 5 Art Walk.
The city is pitching the walk as a more romantic excursion this weekend with Valentine's Day right around the corner.
The crowning event will be the 26th annual Bisbee Chocolate Tasting, a fundraiser for the Friends of the Copper Queen Library, that will take place from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Central School Project, 43 Howell Ave. Admission to the tasting is $10.
If you enjoy watching your partner ogle firefighters with no shirts on, on the most romantic weekend of the year, we highly encourage you to head to Hops & Vines in Sonoita this weekend for Chocolate Love 2017.
The vineyard will have plenty of wine ready to pour and chocolate, lots of chocolate.
Chocolate Love runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $20. More information is on the Facebook event page.
Some of China's finest jugglers, cyclists, gymnasts and tumblers will be in Tucson this Sunday as The Peking Acrobats make their way back to Centennial Hall.
Ever see grown men and women spinning plates on long poles while balancing on giant medicine balls?
No?
Well, now is your chance!
The acrobats take the stage at 3 p.m. at the hall, 1020 E. University Blvd. More information on the UApresents website.
Five prime examples of midcentury modern and Atomic Ranch-style architecture will be on display this Sunday as part of the Atomic Tucson Home Tour, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Step into the past with this self-guided adventure. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 the day of the tour. Pick up tickets the day of and maps at AZ Modern, 4469 E. Fifth St.
All proceeds go toward the Tucson Medical Center for Children.
More info on the event Facebook page.
Take a trip west of the Tucson Mountains on Sunday for VintagePalooza at Cat Mountain Station, 2740 S. Kinney Road.
Multiple vendors carrying the finest in vintage items and antiques will be present (much like whomever provided this rocking horse for the Brandi Fenton antique fair in the photo).
Bring cash and a sense of nostalgia. More information can be found on the Facebook event page.
A day full of music, vintage baseball — and the live amputation of a leg.
It can only be the 36th annual Fort Lowell Day on Saturday, Feb. 11, where participants are whisked to the 19th century with crafts, games and the surgical removal of a leg performed by contemporary doctors in period garb.
In an event appropriately called “Blood and Guts Medicine” at Fort Lowell Day, Dr. Bob Hunter will perform a mock surgery — but he doesn’t use a dummy.
“Most of the times I’ve done it, I’ve done it with a healthy, living person,” Hunter says. “I have a trick table. I cut off the fake leg and use fake blood. It looks pretty real.”
In one of his prior performances, Hunter, a retired physician who now works in clinical research, actually performed the procedure on a fellow historian who has a legitimate leg amputation. The man, already in the uniform of a cavalry trooper, graciously removed his prosthetic, changed into a pair of torn trousers, and was carried to Hunter’s table for the performance.
“It all looked fairly realistic,” Hunter says. “I heard that a few spectators almost fainted.” This time, one of Hunter’s friends is scheduled to be the guinea pig on the trick table.
To make the scene look authentic to the the 19th century, Hunter performs the procedure in costume and uses antique Civil War medical instruments, some of which are original.
“Military medicine is very important to the history of Tucson,” Hunter says. “It’s part of our history. It’s our heritage.”
At last year’s Fort Lowell Day, Byrd was scheduled to perform a 30-minute lecture, but the venue hit capacity before the slotted time.
“People were fighting for their lives at this time,” Byrd says about 19th-century Fort Lowell. “It gives us a greater sense of appreciation for what we do.”
With many family-friendly activities, the free Fort Lowell Day celebration honors the extensive history behind the Fort Lowell Neighborhood.
For over a thousand years, the historic district has been swarming with cultures. Originally, folks flocked to the area because of its high availability of water. A military fort was formed there in 1873; it was decommissioned in 1891.
Besides the lecture and mock surgery, Fort Lowell Day will feature music, vintage baseball games, exhibits at the Fort Lowell Museum, children’s crafts, cavalry drills and a meet-and-greet with soldiers.
“Fort Lowell is very important,” Byrd says. “It’s interesting for us to know why people came, what the circumstances were.”
Gloria Knott, a University of Arizona journalism student apprenticing at the Star, wrote this story.
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