City Week: Weekly Picks

By Emily Dieckman

[
      
        {
          "name": "Air - MedRect Combo - Inline Content 1",
          "component": "29441156",
          "insertPoint": "1/3",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "9",
          "parentWrapperClass": "fdn-ads-inline-content-block"
        },{
          "name": "Top Stories Video Pair",
          "component": "27651162",
          "insertPoint": "10",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1",
          "parentWrapperClass": "fdn-ads-inline-content-block"
        },{
          "name": "Air - MedRect Combo - Inline Content 2",
          "component": "29441158",
          "insertPoint": "2/3",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "10",
          "parentWrapperClass": "fdn-ads-inline-content-block"
        },{
          "name": "Air - MedRect Combo - Inline Content 3",
          "component": "29441159",
          "insertPoint": "1000",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "15",
          "parentWrapperClass": "fdn-ads-inline-content-block"
        }
      
      ]

click to enlarge

Pima County Fair. This is the final weekend for the Pima County Fair, but there’s plenty of fun still to be had, from carnival rides to face painting, from fried foods to art displays, from champion livestock to model trains and planes. You can even come home with a free birdhouse from the friendly folks at the Audubon Society. Concerts include T.I. on Thursday night, Mammoth WVH and Ayron Jones on Friday night, Easton Corbin on Saturday night and Los Tucanes de Tijuana on Sunday night. Gates open at 3 p.m. Thursday and Friday and at 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. Through May 1. Pima County Fairgrounds, 11300 S. Houghton Road. GA $10, $5 for kids 6 to 10, free for kids 5 and under. $5 parking.

click to enlarge

Environmental Transcendentalism. This art exhibit at Pidgin Palace Arts is a conversation between two artists. Nika Kaiser’s The Passage portrays an imagined future in which humans, animals and plants from Glen Canyon’s past reemerge through slots in the drowned canyon walls. Celia Reed, who has lived off the grid in the San Simon valley for the past 30 years, portrays what she sees and feels, often mountains with solitary figures in the foreground and lots of exploration of light. The show is on display through May 14 at Pidgin Palace Arts, 1110 S. Sixth Ave. Hours are listed as “11 a.m. to 2 p.m. (aspirational).”

Reclaimed: A Pop Cycle Art Show. We all know and love Pop Cycle for their eclectic mix of handmade and repurposed items. They’re big fans of bringing new life to old stuff! They’ve put out a call to local artists who use sustainable practices in their work, and are featuring them in this one-night-only art show. Come see local pieces made of at least 75% reclaimed materials and get some inspiration for how you can repurpose objects (or even ideas and other more ethereal projects!) in your own life. 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, April 28. Pop Cycle, 422 N. Fourth Ave.

Troubadour Thursdays: Olivia Reardon. This is the final event in this fantastic series, in which artists play short sets at a series of downtown patios. And the Fox Tucson Theatre and the Downtown Tucson Partnership are closing things out with a bang with performances by the lead singer of Miss Olivia and the Interlopers. Her soulful original tunes are tinged with everything from gospel music to jazz to pop-queen belting. She got her start in L.A. sitting in with Guns N’ Roses, but decided she wanted to build her band here in the Old Pueblo. Thursday, April 28, with the following approximate schedule: 5 to 5:25 p.m. at the Monica, 5:30 to 5:55 p.m. at Batch/1055 Brewing, 6:05 to 6:30 at The Delta, 6:40 to 7:25 at Charro Steak and Del Rey, and 7:35 to 8 p.m. at Perche’ No.

Arizona Tiki Oasis. Okay, this event isn’t in Tucson, but it’s the least traveling you can do to end up at an island paradise. Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale presents a weekend full of tropical cocktails, a pop-up art show, and relaxing in cabanas while wearing leis. If you’ve been needing to take some time off for R&R, this is it. Watch a seminar on mocktails, on ukuleles or on taking a minimalist approach to stocking your home Tiki bar. Shop from more than 60 Tiki vendors and take in art from dozens of top international Tiki artists. Thursday, April 28 to Sunday, May 1. Hotel Valley Ho, 6850 E. Main St., Scottsdale, AZ. The art show is free to the public, the evening resort pass (21+) is $99 and the deluxe evening resort pass (21+) is $200. Seminars range in price.

Inhabitants: Indigenous Perspectives on Restoring Our World. This indie film follows five Native American communities working to restore traditional land management practices in the face of changing climate. This work includes Hopi dryland farming in Arizona, restoring buffalo to the Blackfeet reservation in Montana, maintaining sustainable forestry on the Menominee reservation in Wisconsin, reviving native food forests in Hawaii, and returning prescribed fire to the landscape by the Karuk Tribe of California. Recommended for ages 17 and up. 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 29. Sea of Glass Center for the Arts, 330 E. Seventh St. $10 suggested donation.

New Directions Festival. Join the School of Theatre, Film & Television at Arizona Arts for the inauguration of this new annual festival, featuring pieces directed, designed and performed entirely by students. Think how cool it will be when these students are famous in 10 years and you can say you got to seem them back in aught 22. 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 29 and Saturday, April 30; and 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 30 and Sunday, May 1. The Saturday evening show is followed by a discussion. Harold Dixon Studio Theatre, 1025 N. Olive Road

Teddy Bear Picnic. This is the first time Trail Dust Town is hosting a teddy bear picnic, and it’s about dang time! We’ve all been waiting. Just kidding, but this event does sound adorable and I hope it becomes a regular thing. It features teddy bear-themed snacks and drinks, story time with Mildred and Dildred, live music, a teddy bear clinic with Tucson Medical Center, and arts and crafts. There are also local vendors and plenty of other activities. 9 a.m. to noon. Saturday, April 30. Trail Dust Town, 6541 E. Tanque Verde Road. $8 wristbands for adults and kids include unlimited rides. Free entry for teddy bears.

Sons of Orpheus 30th Annual Gala Spring Concert. Tucson’s longest established men’s concert is holding no bars for this milestone anniversary. The night features a mix of choral favorites, including works by Ketèlbey, Rimsky-Korsakov and Beethoven, plus a medley from Fiddler on the Roof. Guest soloists are Ivan Duran on clarinet, tenor Topher Esguerra, soprano Lindsey McHugh and Andrew Nix on violin. 3 p.m. Sunday, May 1. St. Cyril of Alexandria Roman Catholic Parish, Nicholson Hall, 4725 E. Pima St. $15, or $10 for groups of five or more from retirement or care facilities. Free for students.

Tucson Celtic Festival Association Tartan Day Backyard Highland Games. Do you ever just want to watch a bunch of people in kilts throw hammers, rocks, giant logs and sacks of hay? I hadn’t really thought about it either, but now I feel like this is a must-see. There’s one event where they have to try to toss a weight over a very high bar using just one hand. In comparison, I usually use two hands to pick up a bowl of cereal. So come on down for the sporting events, and stick around for more fun, food and entertainment by the Desert Rovers. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, May 1. Forty Niner Country Club, 12000 E. Tanque Verde Road. Free for spectators.