Tucson Weekly: City Week (July 2

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Thursday 2

VIDEO SUBCULTURE. The UA VideoTENSIONS summer series continues tonight with "VideoQUEER."
City Week This free event begins at 7:30 p.m. in the UA Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Building auditorium, Room 202. Call 621-7352 for information.
SUMMER LOVIN'. The Invisible Theater cranks up interpersonal temperatures with Seasons of Love, part of the Sizzling Summer Sounds series. This amorous-minded musical cabaret features Tony Award-winning Broadway tunes by an ensemble that includes Jeff Haskell on keyboards with "Mr. Broadway" Jack Neubeck, and Tucson vocal veterans Betty Craig and Liz McMahon. That's in addition to IT regular Stuart Moulton, who makes an appearance as the indomitable Carol Channing.
Tonight's performance is at 8 p.m. in the Doubletree Hotel, 445 S. Alvernon Way. Performances continue at 8 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Sunday, and 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, July 8 through 11. Tickets are $16 and $17.50. For reservations and other information, call 882-9721.

Friday 3

POP FLY FIREWORKS. The Tucson Sidewinders plow through the seventh and warm up for the Fourth, with their Star-Spangled Fireworks Show.
Business first: The boys of summer go up against Iowa for some top-flight Pacific Coast League play. The Independence Day action follows, with a grand slam billed as the "hottest" fireworks show in Tucson.
First pitch is 7:30 p.m. at Tucson Electric Park, 2500 E. Ajo Way. Tickets range from $3 to $8. For details, call 434-1000.
CHILLIN'. Cool your jets and get a little family-type exercise when the Iceoplex Family Center and Desert Diamond Casino offer their free Desert Diamond Community Skates. On the first Friday of each month, you can enjoy the Tucson novelty of gliding around in chilled circles while the music plays. As the rinkmeisters are fond of saying, "When it's 110 degrees outside, it's always 50 degrees on the ice."
Free sessions run from 10:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. at the Iceoplex, 7333 E. Rosewood St., in the Gateway Shopping Center. For information, call 290-8800.
THE WILD LIFE. If you think you must cruise the Miracle Mile to find wildlife, think again. The folks of the Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory in Bisbee can show you how to plant the seeds of primal action in your own backyard with their Landscaping for Wildlife Mini-Workshop.
This two-day gathering covers the fundamentals of creating a wildlife-friendly backyard scene. SABO's experts will also introduce you to local birds, butterflies and other flighty neighbors, and teach you how native plants can help draw such creatures to your patch of Sonoran paradise. Bird feeders, nesting boxes, bat houses and water features will also be discussed. On the second day, participants will tour the Casa de San Pedro landscaping operation, as well as an area nursery.
Workshop runs from 7 to 9 tonight, and 8 to 10 a.m. Saturday, in Bisbee. Cost is $15, $10 for SABO members. Reservations are requested. For reservations, directions and other information, call (520) 432-1388.

Saturday 4

INDEPENDENT WOMEN. The artisans of WomanKraft ring in Independence Day with their Millennium Melting Pot and July Fourth Party. This multi-media benefit opens with a fire-cracker bang, and features the work of painter Perry McCauley.
Other works in the exhibit include Our Big Flat Selves, a collaborative affair featuring life-sized paper dolls expressing the perspectives of the women who made them in one of the gallery's workshop programs. Music will be provided by Sara Curtiss, and there will be plenty of food and drink. And the gathering will be held at one of the best viewing spots in town for the "A" Mountain fireworks.
Event begins at 7 p.m. at WomanKraft, 388 S. Stone Ave. Admission for tonight's event is $4; regular gallery admission is free. Exhibit continues through August. Gallery hours are 1 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday, and during Downtown Saturday Nights. For information, call 629-9976.
FIT FOR FIREWORKS. The Tucson Racquet and Fitness Club gets into patriotic shape with another legendary Fourth of July Fireworks and Barbecue Party.
This year's independence fest includes music by Leanne Savage, fireworks and lots of great all-American chow like jumbo hotdogs, burgers and ranch beans. The pyrotechnic display explodes at dusk. Parking is always tight for these big parties, so revelers are advised to use the shuttle service leaving from the Campbell Plaza parking lot (Campbell Avenue and Glenn Street) between 7 and 11 p.m.
Event is 4 p.m. at the Tucson Racquet Club, 4001 N. Country Club Road. Admission is $8, $3 for children under age 12. For details, call 795-6960.
"A" CONTROLLED BURN. Tucson's traditional Fourth of July fireworks display takes off from "A" Mountain at approximately 8 p.m. This event demands that you and yours find great viewing spots as close as necessary, but not too close: This annual extravaganza usually manages to torch half the mountain's flora--and scorch a few Fire Department egos--before fizzling out. And reports are that odds-makers are busily taking bets on just how long this year's blaze will burn.
Call 791-4860 for information.

Sunday 5

FLORAL MORN'. The folks at the Tucson Botanical Gardens are nobody's fools. They know that part of surviving the Sonoran summer involves rising early before the temperature does the same. In that spirit, they're once again offering "Mornings in the Garden."
All those perennials and succulents await your arrival, along with the TBG's charming gift shop and ever-helpful volunteers.
Admission is only $1 from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. daily through August. The botanical gardens are located at 2150 N. Alvernon Way. For details, call 326-9686.
PICK-A-PET. Just coming down from your Fourth of July antics? Here are a few numbers sure to sober you up: During this month last year, The Humane Society of Tucson received 727 kittens. That breaks down to 23 a day. Of those, only six a day were adopted.
During the same month, 337 puppies were dumped at the Society. That's 11 a day. Each day, only six of those pups found homes. We all know what happened to the rest. This year promises to be no better.
Unwanted cats and dogs are everybody's problem. And not a single one of them deserves a trip to the Great Yonder before its time. But everyone in the market for a healthy, happy pet can ease the problem by tooling on over to the shelter to rescue a creature from a sad fate.
Adoption hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The Humane Society of Tucson is at 3450 N. Kelvin Blvd., north of Fort Lowell Road and west of Dodge Boulevard. Call 327-6088 for information.

Monday 6

TUCSON FATS. It's a timeless, noble sport, considered low-brow by some and snooty by others--we're talking about shootin' pool, and you can take part at various billiards outposts scattered around Tucson, all of which offer that blessed necessity called air-conditioning.
The cue balls constantly sally forth from bars like the Shanty, O'Malley's, Mutts and The Blue Room on Fourth Avenue; the Golden Nugget, Home Den and Boondocks Lounge on First Avenue; the Bay Horse Tavern on Grant Road; downtown's Club Congress and Double Zero Pub and Eatery; or the Rhino Pub on Sixth Street.
And that's just the beginning. Next come the true heavy-hitters like Click's Billiards on First Avenue. It's the kinda place where a country boy can earn a hisself a name with a bit of practice and lots of pluck. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Sundays, Click's racks up for tournaments with names like the Texas Express Nine-Ball, or the Late Night 3-ball tournament. And of course there's apt to be plenty of cold beer involved.
So rack 'em tight--or get outta town.

Tuesday 7

SHIFTING GEARS. Many of the world's cultures remain chained to ox carts of the past, even as the powerful sedans of progress roar all around them. In this country, by contrast--and for better or worse--we typically find ourselves roaring down the blacktop towards Future Shock with our seatbelts only partly fastened. That fact alone can make it a bit tough to understand the backroads inhabited by so many others.
But Sue Ward is one who sees the off-ramp more clearly than most, at least when it comes to China's Yunnan Province. In May, she and fellow members of the United Nations Association traveled to the vast region. While there, she visited plenty of UNICEF and International Red Cross staffers, and learned first-hand about problems without borders, such as Yunnan's AIDS crisis and ethnic tensions.
She brings her perspective home with Grounded in the Past, Facing an Uncertain Future: China's Yunnan Province, a slide presentation hosted by the United Nations Association of Southern Arizona.
Her free lecture begins at 11:15 a.m. in the Wilmot Library, 530 N. Wilmot Road. For information, call 881-7060.
BIG TALKERS. Tucson's best lip-flappers spin their favorite yarns at another Storytelling Gathering tonight. Held the first and third Tuesday of each month, these informal gab-fests offer a chance for tall-talkers to swap tales and learn this endangered oral tradition. Upstarts and veterans alike are invited to come out and share an ancient craft that defies the onslaught of television and cyberspace.
Free event runs from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the St. Philip's in the Hills Episcopal Church Meditation Room, 4440 N. Campbell Ave. For details, call 326-8966.

Wednesday 8

CAST ADRIFT. Picture this: You're single in a place married to the old ways. In this case, that means the Old World of Armenia, circa 1921. Such is the unfortunate predicament facing the bachelor Aram in Richard Kalinoski's play, Beast on the Moon, presented by Borderlands Theater.
Still, our unhappy camper comes up with one rather clever path out of disgrace: order a picture bride. When the dearly beloved arrives, however, reality quickly clashes with expectations. But as the two struggle to emerge from the shadows of the Armenian Holocaust, Aram and his new bride finally manage to discover a love deeper than they'd ever imagined, in a drama The New York Times calls "a triumph."
Performances are at 8 tonight and tomorrow in the PCC Black Box Theatre, 2202 W. Anklam Road. Production continues with evening performances Wednesday through Saturday, and 2 o'clock Sunday matinees, through July 26. Tickets range from $7 to $18, available by calling 882-7406.

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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