Tucson Weekly: City Week (February 25

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Thursday 25

BIG HATS AND HORSEFLESH. Pop on your Stetson, pull on your best duds, and head downtown for the 74th annual Tucson Rodeo Parade.
City Week This celebration is billed as the "largest non-mechanized parade in the United States." No doubt it's the longest display of big hats and horseflesh you're likely to glimpse in these parts or any other. The parade kicks off Tucson's week-long rodeo blitz, with more roping, riding and wrasslin' than you can shake a cowpie at.
The parade starts at 9 a.m. at South Sixth Avenue and Irvington Road, traveling north on Sixth Avenue. For information, call 741-2233.
WACKY. "Its fascination," Raymond Chandler once said, "is its extreme gruesomeness against a background of extreme respectability."
And no, it doesn't involve a bimbo intern or cigar. Instead, we're talking about one of the most notorious double homicides in American history, when upper crust Lizzie Borden reportedly grabbed an axe and took her parents to the woodpile.
Or did she?
That's what folks plan to ponder tonight, when the Clues Unlimited bookstore sponsors Lizzie Borden: The Woman, The Axe, The Mystery, another in its Mysteries in History series benefiting undergraduate UA history students. Professor Roger Nichols leads this murky discussion that begins with wine and cheese, and continues with dinner at the Plaza Hotel.
The mystery unfolds at 6 p.m. in Clues Unlimited, 16 Broadway Village, at Broadway and Country Club Road. Tickets are $40, and are available by calling 621-3793.
MELODIC HOWL. They made their world premiere at the UA only last year. But Coyote Consort is already ranked among the most powerful contemporary forces in chamber music.
Founded in 1997 by violinist Mark Rush and pianist Tannis Gibson, the group fuses world-class musicianship with dramatic presentations, replete with renowned guest artists.
Tonight, the Consort plans a program of modern and classical music including John Adams' Shaker Loops, Nicholas Maw's Ghost Dances, and Vivaldi's Concerto No. 5.
The concert is 7:30 p.m. in the UA Crowder Hall, on the south end of the pedestrian underpass at Speedway and Park Avenue. Tickets are $20, half price for students and children ages 18 and under. Discounts are available for UA faculty and UA Presents subscribers. Tickets are available at the Centennial Hall box office, or by calling 621-3341.

Friday 26

SWEET FEAT. Dance and dessert collide when the Ballet Arts Ensemble celebrates its new residency at the PCC Center for the Arts.
Led by artistic director Mary Beth Cabana, the ensemble is comprised of 20 dancers ranging in age from 17 to 40. Tonight's outing will showcase a smorgasbord of styles, and a cornucopia of confections.
The celebrations are 7 p.m. today and tomorrow in the PCC Proscenium Theatre, 2202 W. Anklam Road. Tickets are $10, $8 for PCC faculty, staff and students, and are available at the Ballet Arts Studio and the PCC Center for the Arts box office. Call 623-3373 for details.
UNION BLUES. They're considered among L.A.'s most unique R&B bands, and their performances have elicited colorful adjectives like "charismatic," "sparkling," and extraordinarily original."
Now the husband/wife team of Janiva Magness and Jeff Turmes arrives with their band for a powerhouse show.
Buzz magazine describes Magness' voice as "growling, cooing, and earnest...a throwback to throaty, seductive stylists like Stax's Mabel John." Turmes is a veteran of sessions with legends like Junior Watson, Kid Ramos, and the Big Rhythm Combo. The couple arrives in town hot on the heels of their latest release, Takes One to Know One.
Dinner shows are 8 p.m. today and tomorrow in the Cottonwood Club, 60 N. Alvernon Way. Tickets are $24.95. Dance shows are 10:30 p.m. today and tomorrow. Tickets are $10. Call 326-6000 for reservations and information.

Saturday 27

PEACE REPAST. It's almost quaint to think of peace in these rancorous times. But that's exactly what a bevy of easy-going folks have in mind for today's 17th annual Tucson Peace Fair.
This gentle festival provides a family-oriented day of music, food, and plenty of oration on the notion of simply getting along. That's in addition to lots of great chow, and plenty of good music.
The fair runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Reid Park DeMeester Outdoor Performance Center, east of Country Club Road and north of 22nd Street. Call 792-4328 for details.
NATIVE VISIONS. More than 100 of the region's best Native American artists unveil their crafts at the Arizona State Museum's Southwest Indian Art Fair.
The work comes from several states and northern Mexico. It will be showcased on the front lawn, and in the museum's lovely, historic old headquarters. All this talent emerges against a backdrop of performances by R. Carlos Nakai, and Joseph Martin and the Redtail Singers. Legendary Hopi potters from the Nampeyo family will also be on hand.
The fair runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today, noon to 4 p.m. tomorrow, at the Arizona State Museum, on the UA campus inside the main gate east of Park Avenue. Admission is $2, free for children under age 18.
ALTERNATIVE PEEK. Discover a different perspective at the Lesbian Looks film and video series, sponsored by the UA Committee on Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Studies.
This eclectic series includes short films, documentaries, diaries and narratives ranging from the experimental and poetic to the downright comic. Tonight's screening will feature five short films about romantic relationships in the United States, Canada and Germany.
The films will show at 7:30 p.m. in the UA Modern Languages Auditorium, north of the main mall. Admission is free. For information, call 621-1239.

Sunday 28

FULL CHAMBER. Arizona Friends of Chamber Music celebrate the season with their 1999 Winter Chamber Music Festival. Running from today through March 7, the event will spotlight a bevy of top classical artists, including pianist Anne-Marie McDermott, violinist Benny Kim and violist Nicole Divall.
Today they'll perform Brahms' Trio for Clarinet, Piano and Cello, Dvorak's Viola Quintet in E flat Op. 97, and At the Octoroon Balls' by Wynton Marsalis.
The concert is 3 p.m. in the TCC Leo Rich Theatre, 260 S. Church Ave. Tickets are $15, $5 for students. For tickets and a schedule of upcoming performances, call 577-3769.
PRIMAL TREK. Take a gander at beautiful Cienega Creek, and learn why such riparian habitats are downright crucial to hordes of wild creatures, in addition to the drinking water they provide to our parched desert region.
Folks from the Southwest Center for Biological Diversity explain all that and more when they host a gentle, two-mile Biodiversity Walk along the creek. Be sure to bring a hat and water.
The walk is 9 a.m. Call 623-5252 for directions and other information.

Monday 1

CREATIVE WEAVE. Three of New Mexico's best tapestry weavers are showcased in the PCC Art Gallery.
Rachel Brown, author of The Weaving, Spinning and Dyeing Book, has practiced her craft in countless variations, revealing strong influences from the Hispanic and Navajo weavers of the 18th and 19th centuries.
Donna Loraine Contractor blends regional influences with a touch of fantasy, creating provocative, dimensional works that provide a view into other worlds.
Natural chaos lies at the heart of Donna Martin's weaving. Shuttle magazine has called her work a "dizzying collection of lines running in all directions, which she weaves pick-by-pick, spontaneously."
Work by the three artists will be displayed through April 2 in the PCC Art Gallery, 2202 W. Anklam Road. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday. Call 206-6942 for details.
FEATHERED FORAY. Did you know that Tohono Chul Park is a veritable aviary-without-walls, and home to feathered friends ranging from the pyrrhuloxia, curve-billed thrasher and cactus wren to Gambel's quail and endless hummingbirds?
It's a fact, and one that docents in the serene northwest Tucson sanctuary hanker to share with you. They'll provide guided tours along park trails through some of the best remaining desert in town.
The tours are 8 a.m. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday in Tohono Chul Park, 7366 N. Paseo del Norte. Admission is $2. For details, call 742-6455.

Tuesday 2

DARK SHADOWS. It's a very recent addition to downtown's club scene, but already 7 Black Cats has become a resolutely hot little joint. The music roster is top-shelf, the beer is cheap, and the ambiance is downright ornery.
Soak up a bit of that perfect fine-tuned eclecticism tonight at Pete's Open Mic, wherein musical types from across the Baked Apple descend to strut their stuff and strum a few chords.
7 Black Cats is located at 260 E. Congress St. For details, call 670-9202.
WALLED WORLD. Learn about the rugged history of this old cowtown, which once involved a walled fortress providing the only protection in these parts. Those tough times are discussed today when the Tucson/Pima Library presents In Search of Tucson's Spanish Presido, part of a lecture series celebrating Archaeology Month.
The free lecture is at noon in the Main Library, 101 N. Stone. Call 326-6709.

Wednesday 3

BARGAIN BINDINGS. It's party time: After 35 long years of holding book sales in garages, stores and malls, the Friends of the Tucson/Pima Library have landed themselves permanent digs in the old (and sorely missed) Bob's Bargain Barn on Country Club Road.
How to celebrate such a novel victory? Why not....a book sale! That's just what the Friends are up to, as this year's well-bound extravaganza gets underway. More than 110,000 books will be up for grabs at rock-bottom prices, from $1 to $5. Proceeds benefit the Tucson/Pima Public Library.
The book sale runs from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. today through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Admission requires a $10 FTPL membership, with discount memberships available for seniors and families. Call 798-8887 for information.
TITAN MISSILES. The Club Congress launches its heavy artillery tonight, when the smokey environs of Tucson's habitually eccentric outpost host a high-caliber performance by King Missile III. The King's court will include Bradford Reed, playing his own slender creation called the pencilina. There will also be a performance by Shoebomb, as they whet their rockin' whistles for the upcoming South-by-Southwest Festival in Austin.
Doors open at 9 p.m. in the Club Congress, 311 E. Congress St. Admission is $5. Call 622-8848 for details.

City Week includes events selected by Calendar Editor Tim Vanderpool. 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. To have material considered, please send complete information at least 11 days prior to the Thursday issue date to: Tucson Weekly, P.O. Box 2429, Tucson, Arizona 85702, or fax information to 792-2096, or email us at listings@tucsonweekly.com.

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