Tucson Weekly: Cheap Thrills (October 2

Cheap Thrills CHOW-DOWN TOWN: The dedicated folks of the Cultural Exchange Council, devoted as they are to the international gathering of chow and performance formerly known as Tucson Meet Yourself, continue this fine local tradition under the renewed auspices of the Tucson Heritage Experience.
We've said it before, and we'll say it again--these are the kind of events that give our dusty old town plenty of flavor. In other words, they keep us from being Phoenix. Or Yuma or Eloy, for that matter.
Appropriately, the theme for this year's event is Communities Building Community. But what really earns this event a spot on your calendar are the endless food booths with exotic menus hailing from such far-off places as Ireland, Brazil, Russia, Lithuania, Greece and Ethiopia. Then there are the performances, running continuously and boasting an equally varied range of traditions, from country yodelers and Mexican mariachis to Chinese dancers.
Free festival runs Friday through Sunday, October 3 through 5, at downtown Presidio Park, located west of the Pima County Courthouse at Stone Avenue and Council Street. For details, call 795-0834.
PLANT PARADE: The enviable green thumbs of the Tucson Botanical Gardens always aim to make the Old Pueblo a lusher paradise. Now those efforts can begin right in your own backyard, when the Gardens' devotees host their annual fall plant sale.
The focus is on providing plants that'll help attract birds to your garden; but the assortment also includes xeriscape plants, cacti, herbs, succulents and wildflowers. Docents will be on hand to answer all your germinating questions.
Sale hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, October 4, and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, October 5, at the Tucson Botanical Gardens, 2150 N. Alvernon Way. Admission is free. For information, call 326-9686.
THE BIG PICTURE: Comedy, pantomime, love and farce all bring their forces to bear with Ballet Continental's production of La Fille Mal Gardee.
Set to music by Ferdinand Hérold, this is the torturous tale of Widow Simone and her daughter, Lise, who's in love with a young farmer. Lise's pedestrian suitor doesn't jibe well with ambitious Simone, however, who schemes to lasso an affluent alternative for her daughter.
La Fille Mal Garde opens the 12th season for Ballet Continental, a non-profit regional dance company under the direction of Lisa Baker. This performance features Christina Spivey as Widow Simone, Darby Wear and Susan Wicht as Lise, Aaron Ratto as the farmer, and Angelo Jacques as Simone's co-conspirator, Thomas.
Show times are 7 p.m. Saturday, October 4, and 2 p.m. Sunday, October 5, in the Sahuarita Auditorium, located at Helmet Peak Road and I-10 in Sahuarita. Tickets are $10, $8 for seniors and students, $5 for children under age 12. They're available at the door or by calling 326-7887.

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