June 1 - June 7, 1995
Thursday 1
KEEPING TRACK. It's not every day you get to chase lions
for a good cause. Susan Morse, director of Keeping Track, a non-profit
organization dedicated to the study and preservation of carnivores
and their habitats, presents Faces of Our Neighbors: Community
Involvement in Carnivore Habitat Protection. Her presentation
will lead off an annual survey of bear and mountain lion in the
Huachuca mountains, focusing on how ordinary citizens can learn
about, protect and share space with large animals. "With
the spread of urbanization, there's always going to be conflict,"
says Sky Island Alliance spokesperson Susan Brandes. "We
need to learn where these animals are, where they're most likely
to survive and how to stay out of their way."
The self-trained Morse started studying carnivores over 20 years
ago, when she felt state and federal institutions weren't filling
important gaps in field research. This week-long study will provide
baseline data, with a new emphasis on the migratory corridors
between "sky islands" (the name for mountain ranges
like the Huachucas that rise out of the dry oceans of the desert
floor). Given the growing threat of anti-environmental legislation
aimed at Arizona's 3.5 million acres of federally protected wilderness,
this is an excellent opportunity to view our state's unique natural
resources with a fresh eye. Volunteers are encouraged to participate
in the survey, scheduled for June 2 through 12.
For starters, find your way to the Unitarian Universalist Church,
4831 E. 22nd St., by 7:30 tonight. Call 323-0547 for information
or to volunteer.
GRAPHIC DETAIL. Maud Lavin is a culture, art and design
critic and historian who has twisted convention into a socio-political
art form. She speaks tonight on Design in the Service of Commerce,
a misleadingly soft title for a radical approach to graphic design.
She addresses the possibilities of using graphic design not for
selling products, but for selling social and political commentary,
mainly for under represented groups like the homeless. Event coordinator
Ellen McMahon, assistant professor of graphic design theory and
criticism at the University of Arizona, explains the importance
of design in our lives, saying, "Everything that's not nature
or accident is designed by someone. We encounter thousands of
examples daily, and we need to be aware of how graphic design
functions in our daily lives--that those decisions are purposeful.
Lavin's topics have spanned a broad range, including photomontage
and activism; graphic design and politics; media coverage of women
and poverty; and the uses of images in the abortion debates. Her
free lecture begins at 7 p.m. in room 103 of the UA College of
Architecture, south end of the Olive Street underpass on Speedway
east of Park Avenue. Call 621-7570 for information.
Friday 2
BÉLA FLECK. It's a Two Grass Revival, of sorts,
though promoter Don Gest discourages the comparison to the defunct
Nashville sensation, New Grass Revival. Call it what you will,
Béla Fleck and Sam Bush share the Temple stage tonight
for an experiment in instrumentation that defies concise description.
"Jazz should be the first word," says Gest, "in
an innovative fusion of every style you can name--including world
beat, folk, bluegrass, funk, Irish..." Béla's incredible
acoustic and electric banjos will be joined by the drumitar, the
specially-designed percussive marvel Roy Wooten (alias Future
Man) plays standing up. And versatile Victor Wooten boldly goes
where no bass has gone before (we hope we never meet the heavyweight
insect conjured by his "Flight of the Bumblebee.") Expect
some choice cuts from Béla's recently released Tales
from the Acoustic Planet and probably some old Flecktones
favorites, but the rest is anybody's guess. This is sure to be
a sold-out performance, so get your tickets in advance.
The fun begins at 8 p.m. at the Temple of Music and Art, 330
S. Scott Ave. Tickets range from $16 to $20, with discounts for
TJS, KXCI and TFTM members. Outlets include Hear's Music, Loco
Records and all Zia locations. Tickets will be an additional $3
at the door.
NEW VOICE. A new group of dedicated musicians will give
their debut concert at 8 p.m. at the Southwest Center for Music,
2175 N. Sixth Ave. The Reveille Gay Men's Chorus will perform
a wide range of musical styles, with classical and contemporary
selections. See Collage in the "Review" section for
a detailed preview. Performance will be ASL interpreted. Advance
tickets are $8, available at Antigone Books, Tucson Trunk and
Hydra Leather. Tickets at the door are $10. Call 292-9295 for
reservations.
Saturday 3
NATIONAL TRAILS DAY. If those early morning bike rides
sound better in theory than they do at 6 a.m., today's your lucky
day. Cyclists of all skill levels are invited to participate in
this free sunset ride on the Cactus Forest Trail of Saguaro National
Park. National Trails Day was founded in 1992 to raise awareness
of uses and benefits of recreational trails.
The single track, multi-use shared trail is mostly flat with
a couple of hills and wash crossings to get your heart pumping.
Arrive early for a free raffle of bike-related prizes, T-shirts
and those great Tucson Basin posters you've seen around town.
Ride begins at 7 p.m. in the Saguaro East Visitor Center parking
lot, through the main gate on Old Spanish Trail, three miles east
of Houghton Road. Ample parking is available. Call 733-5153 for
information. Bike lights are recommended for all riders.
BEERS AND WATERS OF THE WORLD. This annual event to raise
funds for Sun Sounds, the non-profit radio reading service helping
over 24,000 print disabled Arizonans gain access to information,
will feature a wide variety of local, national and international
brewers and bottlers. Despite the crowds (2,000 annual attendees),
the event is so well-organized you won't have to wait long to
sample your libations of choice. This is the ultimate party in
someone else's back yard, with an endless flow of cold beer, friendly
people and live music under a starry summer sky. Day events include
a golf tournament and BBQ in addition to the regular evening tasting.
Sampling for the general public begins at 6 p.m., with last pour
at 9 p.m., at Starr Pass Golf Club, 3645 W. Starr Pass Blvd. Tickets
range from $20 to $40 (for early tasting at 5 p.m.), available
at the following locations: both Charlie's Drive-in Liquors, Magee
Road Liquors, Orange Grove Liquors, Rum Runner Wine & Cheese,
Starr Pass Golf Club, Sun Sounds and Trader Joe's. Call 296-2400
for information. No one under 21 will be admitted.
CASINO NIGHT. This is one gamble you can't lose. The Savoy
Opera House sings a different tune tonight, with dancing, dining,
casino-style gambling, silent auctions and raffles, all to raise
money for local children's charities. The annual event raises
close to $55,000, with proceeds benefiting Project Yes, Steele
Memorial Research Center and Children to Children, among others.
Roll the dice from 8 p.m. to midnight at the Savoy Opera House,
6541 E. Tanque Verde Road. Single tickets are $25, or two for
$40. Call 882-1996 for reservations and information.
Sunday 4
COMMUNITY THEATRE. These folks may not have given up their
day jobs to pursue their craft, but they've been hard at work--after
work--on Desert Players' latest production, Here Lies Jeremy
Troy. Troy is a happily married young lawyer about to accept
a partnership in the firm, when a deadbeat college-acquaintance-turned-starving-artist
shows up with a secret that creates a chaotic new scene in Troy's
picture-perfect life.
Today's single matinee performance is at 3 p.m., with evening
performances at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, June 2, 3, 9 and 10,
at Green Fields Country Day School, 6000 Camino de la Tierra.
Tickets are $6 for adults, $5 for students and seniors. Call 298-2687
for reservations and information.
Monday 5
GEEZ, LOUISIANA! Marcia Ball is no stranger to Tucson
R&B fans. Her unique piano and vocal styles are said to mark
where "Austin meets New Orleans (like a cross between Jerry
Lee Lewis and Professor Longhair)." She will be joined by
first-time performers to Tucson, Steve Riley and Beau Jocque.
Beau delivers rollicking can't-stand-still zydeco, with hard-driving
funk, reggae and hip-hop influences, while Riley's devotion to
spicy Cajun fiddle inspired by the legendary Dewey Balfa has earned
his quintet praise as "the most gifted and versatile traditional
Cajun band in the world."
Louisiana swamps the Southwest Center for Music, 2175 N. Sixth
Ave., at 6:30 p.m., with an affordable Cajun cook-out of red beans,
rice and sausage and chicken and shrimp gumbo. Showtime is 8
p.m. Tickets to the show are $10, $8 for KXCI members, available
at Hear's Music, Piney Hollow, Loco Records and KXCI. Call 623-1000
for tickets and information.
Tuesday 6
BLESSING COUNTED. Allow yourself to be drawn into
a tense, emotional journey across the landscape of a killer's
psyche in tonight's free preview of Down the Road, by Pulitzer
Prize-winning playwright Lee Blessing. A.k.a. Theatre's latest
production is a vivid, chilling portrayal of a husband and wife
journalist team assigned to write the biography of a serial killer.
Blessing's streamlined focus (the action alternates between the
couple's motel room and the interview room of the maximum security
prison) and realistic dialogue will keep you on the edge of your
seat.
Production continues through July 9 at a.k.a. Theatre, 125 E.
Congress St., with 8 p.m. performances Wednesday through Saturday
and 3 o'clock Sunday matinees. Tickets are $9, $7 for seniors
and students. Tonight's 8 p.m. opening performance is free. Call
623-7852 for reservations and information.
Wednesday 7
TASTE OF SUMMER. Join Hubert Trimbach, proprietor and director
of exports for F.E. Trimbach Winery, for an evening of the tasting
and history of Alsatian French wines. His carefully chosen selection
of white wines will be complimented by savory hors d'oeuvres from
the kitchen at Presidio Grill. Pay your personal tribute to Bacchus
at 6:30 p.m. in The Metro Room at Presidio Grill, 3352 E. Speedway.
Reservations are $20 in advance, by calling The Rum Runner, 326-0121.
Cutlines:
Photo 1: "Holy Molie," woodcut by Doug Weber, is
part of the featured artist's show continuing through June 30
at Raw Gallery, 43 S. Sixth Ave.
Photo 2: Strike it rich: Arizona Historical Society's Heritage
Day Camp is a golden opportunity to learn what life was like in
days of yore.
Photo 3: Fine tuning: The Reveille Gay Men's Chorus debuts
Friday, June 2, at the Southwest Center for Music.
Photo 4: "Twist," by Vytas Sakalas, turns hallucination
into abstract art in Tranceformations, continuing through
July 12 at the UA Museum of Art.
Photo 5: Wise Men Subjected, from "Fish Tank Sonata,"
by Arthur Tress, is one element of his photographic exhibit The
Wurlitzer Trilogy, opening June 4 at the Center for Creative
Photography on the UA campus.
June 1 - June 7, 1995
