Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday Thursday 8 GEM & MINERAL SHOW. In case you hadn't noticed all the welcome signs and white tents, we thought we'd mention that the world's largest mobile rock formation, the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show, has landed at the Tucson Convention Center, 260 S. Church Ave. The main public show opens today, with dealers and exhibitors from around the globe offering special exhibits from some of the world's best-known mineral museums, quality specimens for sale, and lectures and programs throughout the week by leading experts in mineralogy. Highlights include an anniversary exhibit of fluorescent minerals (including this year's featured mineral, calcite) by the Fluorescent Mineral Society, and a hands-on educational exhibit for pint-sized spelunkers, sponsored by the UA Society of Earth Science Students. The Gem & Mineral Show is open from 10 a.m. to 7 tonight and Friday, 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, February 11. Admission is $5, children 14 and under free with paying adult. For show information call 322-5773. For information on convenient shuttle service, call SunTran at 792-9222. SKY ISLAND SPEAKS. Frogs are arguably the world's most universal living creature. They live, in one form or another, in every climate and in every geographic region of the planet, with an estimated 4,000 species worldwide. All the more disturbing, then, that these ubiquitous amphibians are vanishing. For example, take the Tarahumara frog indigenous to Sonora and Southern Arizona. Two decades ago the Tarahumara was thriving in a number of locations and now the species is extinct in the U.S. and known only in a few places in Southern Sonora. Take heed, desert dwellers: Some scientists predict frogs, with their permeable skin, are a harbinger of what's in store for humans, when global warming and acid rain catch up with us. Join Dr. Cecil Schwalbe, research ecologist for the National Biological Survey, for a free slide lecture entitled Declining and Disappearing Frogs--What's Hoppening? at 7 p.m. at the Water Resources Research Center, 350 N. Campbell Ave. Call 323-0547 for information. Friday 9 DAY OF THE DEAD HEADS. Independent filmmaker and HyperActive Media producer Andrew Behar is well-known on festival circuits for his original short films, like Painting the Town, an hilarious portrait of an eccentric downtown artist leading a double life as an uptown New York socialite (working as a cabbie and coat checker to pay for his painting supplies, food and tuxedo dry-cleaning bills); and TV Dad, a multi-award winning short film. His latest documentary, Tie-Died: Rock 'n' Roll's Most Dedicated Fans, which first screened to sold-out crowds at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival, makes its Tucson premiere at 7:15 p.m. at The Loft cinema, 3233 E. Speedway. Behar, who directed the filmic road trip following Dead Heads from coast to coast on the 1994 Summer Tour, will give a free lecture from 5 to 7 p.m. at the UA Kiva Room, Second Street and Vine Avenue, as well as a post-screening Q&A session at The Loft cinema. Following the 9:15 p.m. screening, Behar moves across the street for "coffee and conversation" at The Pink Motel. Call 795-7777 for ticket and screening information. CHILDSPLAY. Arizona's award-winning professional theatre company for families and young audiences crosses the Caucuses in its latest production. The Falcon, an adaptation of a Russian folk tale, opens in a humble peasant home in 1850s Georgia, where a family is setting down to a celebratory dinner for one daughter's engagement when a mysterious traveler arrives and offers to tell them the story of Fenist, the handsome prince disguised as a falcon. With stagework rich in Eastern European culture and a universal story of love, adventure and courage, Childsplay delivers an hour of magic for children of all ages. Chris Wilken, associate artistic director of Borderlands Theatre, directs in his first assignment for Childsplay. The Falcon lands at 7:30 tonight, with 2 o'clock matinees on Saturday and Sunday, at the Tucson Performing Arts Center, 408 S. Sixth Ave. Sunday performance is ASL interpreted. Tickets are $8 and $11, available at Dillard's and the ATC box office. Call 622-2823 for reservations and information. Saturday 10 LA REUNION DE EL FUERTE. Take yourself on a self-guided historic site tour of the Old Fort Lowell neighborhood between 1 and 4 p.m. and "follow the footsteps of Hohokam Indians, Mormon farmers, Fort Lowell soldiers and Mexican settlers, whose descendants still live in the neighborhood." Special events in Fort Lowell Park include Fort Huachuca cavalry drills at 2:30 p.m. on the parade grounds, and live music by Mariachi San Christo de Rey and the Southern Arizona Old Time Fiddlers starting at 1 p.m. Alternate starting points include the park's east parking lot on Glenn Street east of Craycroft Road, Cottonwood Lane (main park entrance off Craycroft Road), and San Pedro Chapel, 5230 E. Fort Lowell Road. Admission and tours are free. SUGAR-HIGH CITY. Not anticipating any chocolate deliveries for Valentine's Day? Not to worry. The whole town of Old Bisbee invites you to be your own valentine with the annual chocolate tasting and Hearts for the Arts auction. The former is an evening of chocolate confection sampling, with a "menu of favorites prepared by local celebrities." Once you've eaten your way into sweet stupor, stick around for the parade of St. Valentine's-inspired object d'art creations, donated by more than 30 artists, to benefit the Bisbee Arts Coalition. Doors open at 7 p.m. at the Central School, located in the heart of the Bisbee Historic District, 1-10 East to Highway 80 (which passes through Tombstone and right into Bisbee). The $5 donation benefits the Friends of the Copper Queen Library. For information call (520) 432-5421. ROMANTIC INTERLUDE. Never has the question "What is the meaning of love?" been answered with more wit and charm than in George Bernard Shaw's Candida, a provocative look at the timeless predicament of how women and men relate to one another. Candida opens with the respected Reverend Morell and his wife Candida inviting a young, rambunctious poet, Eugene Marchbanks, into their home. The Morell's placid marriage is soon shaken, and the rectory turned inside-out, by Marchbanks' bold declaration of love for the parson's wife. Amidst the chaos of this irresistible romantic comedy, Candida emerges as one of Shaw's strongest and wisest female characters. Tickets for tonight's 8 o'clock preview are $19 and $21. Previews continue Sunday through Thursday for $17 and $19. Regular performance tickets range from $17 to $26, with show times at 2 and 8 p.m. on select dates through March 2, at The Temple Of Music And Art Holsclaw Theatre, 330 S. Scott Ave. Call 622-2823 for reservations and information. Sunday 11 SONGTOWER CELEBRATION. It's been five years since Stefan George, Jan Daley and Lavinia White returned from their South by Southwest debut in Austin, Texas, to find a message from an L.A. lawyer informing them their recently released Whitebread double-cassette was a trademark name already claimed by, well, someone with a lawyer. With a propitious sense of new beginnings, they dropped the moniker and picked up ace percussionist Will Clipman, with bass player Jay Trapp not far behind--and Songtower was born. Success seems to have come in pairs for the band: two new players, two successful CD releases (Songtower, Cactus and Concrete), and two TAMMIE Awards for Best Acoustic Ensemble. Fortunately, the call from the L.A. lawyer remains a solo act. Join the band for an action-packed anniversary celebration of old, new and never-heard-before songs at 8 p.m. at the Southwest Center for Music, 2175 N. Sixth Ave. Stefan George opens the show with a solo set of slide-guitar blues. Admission is $5 at the door, with a $1 discount for KXCI, TBS and TKMA members. Call 884-1220 for information. Monday 12 TICKLED IVORY. We're sure it hasn't been 20 years since the UA Athletic Department bought new equipment. And we doubt it's been 20 years since the Atmospheric Sciences folks purchased some state-of-the-art implement for observing the heavens. But it has been more than 20 years since the UA School of Music has purchased a piano, and they've set their eye on a Steinway grand. And much to their credit, they're not waiting for a purchase order number to get the rubber stamp. Piano faculty members Paula Fan, Nohema Fernandez, Rex Woods and Nicholas Zumbro, along with a number of outstanding international students, are giving a gala performance to raise funds for a second high-quality performance instrument. Program includes music by Chopin, Granados, Debussy, Mendelssohn, Liszt, Faure and others. An evening of good music and stellar pianism begins at 8 p.m. in UA Crowder Hall, south end of the pedestrian underpass on Speedway east of Park Avenue. Admission is by donation. Call 621-2998 for information. Tuesday 13 AFRICAN STORYTELLING. If you missed her performance last weekend at Downtown Saturday Night, treat yourself to a different lunch time outing and head over to the PCC Downtown Campus Center, 1255 N. Stone Ave., where Djenaba Kouyate will teach you a thing or two about African storytelling. Kouyate, co-founder of the Academy for Traditional and Contemporary African Arts and History and a drama, dance, English and special education teacher besides, brings this timeless art form to life at high noon. Bring a lunch, a friend and a willing suspension of disbelief. Call 748-4528 for information. Wednesday 14 HEART STRINGS. If you're relying on The Weekly's editors to give you insight into creating the perfect romantic evening, you may be in trouble. We're about as warm and cuddly as a teddy bear cholla. Nonetheless, music seems to be a classically good move in the romance department; and tonight critically acclaimed classical guitarist James Russell Hunley performs "Guitar d'amore" at 8 p.m. in the cozy PCC Center for the Arts Proscenium Theatre, 2202 W. Anklam Road. If you're one of those who likes the idea of classical music better than the reality, Hunley's informal approach and anecdotal presentation of each piece and its history may be just the ticket. "Classical music shouldn't be stuffy or boring," he says. "I want my audiences to have a great time and hear great music." Tickets are $12 and $14, $5 for students, available at Dillard's, the West Campus Student Center and at the door. Call 884-6456 for reservations and information. Also tonight, the New York Chamber Soloists, an 11-member ensemble of strings, winds and keyboard, performs at 8 p.m. at the TCC Leo Rich Theatre, 260 S. Church Ave. Tickets are $12 general admission, $2 students, available at the TCC box office and at the door. Call 791-4266 for reservations and information. City Week includes events selected by Calendar Editor Mari Wadsworth. Event information is accurate as of press time. The Weekly recommends calling event organizers to check for last-minute changes in location, time, price, etc.

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