Tucson Weekly: City Week (May 20

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Thursday 20

HIGHLAND REVERIE. Tucson's Seven Pipers Scottish Society pushes the traditional envelope tonight in Pipe Dreams.
City Week Centered around electronically enhanced bagpipe music, the special performance will include the contemporary sounds of Blakenerich; a new duo featuring Seven Pipers members Blake Pullen and Eric Wilson; the Celtic rock sounds of Clan Adach; an updated ceildh band using fiddle, keyboard, guitar, Irish flute, bodhran and bagpipes; and the booming, 25-member full sound of the Pipes and Drums of the Seven Pipers.
Carole Skinner will also lead a troupe of Highland dancers through traditional Scottish dances, and there will be plenty of poetry and storytelling.
The extravaganza begins at 7:30 p.m. in UA Crowder Hall, on the south end of the pedestrian underpass at Speedway and Park Avenue. Advance tickets are $8, $5 for seniors and students, available at Hear's Music. Tickets are $8 and $10 at the door. For details, call 798-6980.

DESERT SPEAKS. Urban sprawl relentlessly marches on, and in these parts the Sonoran Desert is becoming its prime victim. But early in 1998, a coalition now including some 38 neighborhood and environmental groups banded together to fight back. The result is the Sonoran Desert Protection Plan, an ambitious scheme that eventually won the support of county officials.
What is the plan, and does it have a chance of saving our endangered desert? Find out tonight when Carolyn Campbell, director of the coalition, presents a slide show detailing strategies behind the effort.
The free slide show is at 7:30 p.m. in the UA Water Resources Research Center, 350 N. Campbell Ave. Call 323-0547 for information.

Friday 21

FASHION WAGS. Meet a fleet of stylish canines when the Humane Society of Southern Arizona hosts Puttin' On the Dog, billed as a unique fashion show for a more-than-fashionable cause.
A bevy of local celebs and their pooches will be on hand for this benefit soirée, which also highlights the latest fashions provided by Rochelle K and Franklin's Men's Store, wine by McMahon's Steakhouse, hors d'oeuvres by The Tack Room, and a vintage wine and fine cigar auction. Emcees are local radio personalities Alan Michaels and Joan Lee, with fashion narration by Rochelle K owner Rochelle Kazeff, and Carol Channing (a.k.a. Stuart Moulton of the Invisible Theatre).
The party runs from 5:30 to 8 p.m. in La Placita Village, downtown on the southwest corner of Church Avenue and Broadway. Tickets are $50. For reservations and information, call 321-3704, ext. 177.
CONGRESSIONAL CAUCUS. Downtown's venerable Club Congress is an alternative hangout of the highest order. Tonight, it's also home to a bit of tradition with the San Jacinto Records Party, featuring longtime local rockhounds The Sand Rubies. They'll be joined by the Black Sun Ensemble, the always effervescent Fish Karma, and The Denizens.
Doors open at 9 p.m. at Club Congress, 311 E. Congress St. Admission is $5. For information, call 622-8848.

Saturday 22

MOTOR MADNESS. Downtown roars into high gear with Hot-Rod-O-Rama. This powerhouse showcase includes plenty of musical muscle: (former Stray Cat) Lee Rocker, Steve Lucky and the Rhumba Bums, Hi-Fi and The Roadburners, Al Foul and the Shakes, and James Dead. And no chrome-fest would be complete without the lovely presence of "Miss Hot-Rod-O-Rama 1999." Event includes tattoo and pin-up contests, and a custom rod and bike show. (See this week's Music section for details.)
Doors open at 7 p.m. in the Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St. Advance tickets are $5, available at Hear's Music, Zip's University, Congress Street Store and Guitars, Etc. Tickets are $7 at the door. For details, call 740-0126.
TURF WAR. The Tucson Amigos soccer club kicks out the jams today when it goes up against the Chico Rooks.
Now in second place for the U.S. Open Cup, the Amigos are burnin' turf like nobody's business, and they plan to keep on taking the United Soccer League by storm.
Catch the action at 7:30 p.m. on Murphey Field, at Tucson Boulevard and 15th Street. Tickets are $4, $3 for students and military, $2 for children ages 8 and above, free for children under age 8. For details, call 795-2223.
SONORAN SONG. You may not know him from Adam, but Dolan Ellis is Arizona's Official Balladeer. It's a well-earned title, for a fellow who helps preserve the always endangered heritage of the Copper State.
Ellis and his wife now operate the charming Arizona Folklore Preserve, in the mountains east of Sierra Vista. And this weekend they're inviting folks down for Tales, Lost Trails and Heroes, a special program of original and traditional ballads and large screen photography.
The event is 2 p.m. today and tomorrow at the Arizona Folklore Preserve, in Ramsey Canyon, six miles south of Sierra Vista off Highway 92. Donations are requested, and reservations are required. For reservations and directions, call (520) 378-6165.

Sunday 23

MULTI-GENERATIONAL MOVES. Students of all ages take to the floor in the ZUZI! Move It Dance Lab's spring showcase.
Joining the fine-tuned fray are guest artists from New ARTiculations Dance Company, Tucson High Dancers, Dance Matrix Dance Company and Tucson-based Independent Choreographers.
Performance is at 2 p.m. in the Zenith Center, 330 E. Seventh St. Admission is $5, free for children under age 12. Call 887-1603 for details.
IT TAKES A VILLAGE. Gaviotas is the name of an indigenous river tern. It's also the name of a Colombian village surrounded by an endless sea of grass, and formerly beset by foul drinking water, malarial mosquitoes, piranha-laden rivers, torrential downpours, guerrillas and coca plantations.
In other words, Gaviotas is a highly unlikely spot for a remarkably successful experiment in sustainable living. But it was there that founder Paolo Lugari assembled a team of engineers, scientists, educators and musicians to create an ecological masterpiece that sets a new world standard.
In his new book, Gaviotas: A Village to Reinvent the World, southern Arizona author Alan Weisman details the technological medley of water pumps and purifiers, windmills and advanced solar technologies that have made the settlement almost completely self-sufficient.
Weisman will discuss and sign copies of his book from 2 to 4 p.m. in the TCC Leo Rich Theater, 260 S. Church Ave. A $5 donation is requested, with proceeds benefiting The Amazon Women's Fund. Call 628-0200 for details.

Monday 24

DYING HOPE. It's an age-old premise that often slides through the social cracks: our choices have moral consequences.
That notion lies at the heart of Rescue the Perishing, a thoughtful examination of marriage through the lens of Tucson playwright Judy Pringle, presented as part of Damesrocket Theater Company's new play reading series.
The author's finely tuned language, grasp of the human condition, and her comedic instincts make Rescue the Perishing a "contemporary morality play with a sense of humor."
Join them for a reading at 7:30 p.m. in Damesrocket Theater, 125 E. Congress St. Admission is $3, and includes an informal reception. For details, call 623-7852.
BORN TO BE WILD. He's Italian and gay. She's straight and Jewish. Together, they endure the fundamental rite of passage in Lisa Diana Shapiro's Labor Pains, presented by The Invisible Theatre.
A smash hit in L.A., this comedy chronicles the long relationship of two very dissimilar friends. Jake is a West Hollywood illustrator, and Gino is her gay roommate. Suddenly they discover that their ongoing collaboration to bear a child will bear fruit. But the plot grows murky when Gino's new lover enters the scene, and quickly grows confused about why his amour is bouncing off the walls.
Labor Pains stars Amy Lehmann-Almquist, Brendan G. Murphy, Elizabeth Hunt-Lucarini, Matthew Edison, Kathryn Kellner and Brian R. Jenson.
Preview performances run tonight and tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. in The Invisible Theatre, 1400 N. First Ave. Performances continue at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, through June 13. Preview tickets are $11. Tickets range from $14 to $17.50, available at The Invisible Theater box office, or by calling 882-9721.

Tuesday 25

SURF'S UP. Ever feel like you're being tossed about on the turbulent waves of personal relationships? Join fellow surfers in the studio audience of It's About You. This Access Tucson television show is hosted by counselor Barbara Van Diest. She invites you to attend the tapings, and to go on the air with questions about interpersonal quandaries. To receive free tickets and other information, call 299-2708.
BIG DEEP. For centuries, Colossal Cave has been a refuge for everyone from pre-historic people and explorers to train robbers, outlaws and brigands. By 1923 it had also become a local attraction, with hand-set flagstone walkways installed by the Civilian Conservation Corps back in the '30s. That alone makes it a vintage slice of Americana.
But as the thermometer starts to rise, the big cave also provides a cool respite from the burning sun, with a steady temperature of 70 degrees. Visitors can traipse through the cave along a half-mile route that takes you up and down approximately six stories of stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone, boxwork and helicites.
To reach Colossal Cave, take I-10 east to Exit 279, and drive north for approximately six miles. Hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $7.50, $4 for children ages 6 through 12, and free for children ages 5 and under. For information, call 647-7275.

Wednesday 26

ALL-STAR REVIEW. All new for 1999, the Flandrau Science Center's Under Arizona Skies takes a fresh look at research being conducted by astronomers, plus a full range of constellations, planets, telescopes and a galaxy of stargazing. The planetarium event is a real intergalactic kick, and reminds us that we dwell in the astronomy capitol of the world.
Under Arizona Skies shows at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, 3:30 and 8:30 p.m. Saturday, and 3:30 p.m. Sunday in the UA Flandrau Science Center, on the northeast corner of Cherry Street and University Boulevard. Admission is $5, $4.50 for seniors, students and military personnel, and $4 for children ages 13 and under. Call 621-7827 for information.

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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