Tucson Weekly: City Week (December 11

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Thursday 11

TRAILER BASH. The high-brow folks of the monthly Doublewide Showroom series invite you to abandon those Baywatch reruns in favor of social cleavage of a different sort with this showcase of "flesh-and-blood poets, filmmakers and musicians."
City Week "New Vaudeville" is how poetry talent scout Mark Colby describes the series: "These are flesh-and-blood performers shaking it up for a little audience appreciation. This ain't TV. It's cheaper. It's funner. It's hipper. It doesn't give you red-eye, and there's no cable bill to pay at the end of the month."
Doublewide Showroom begins at 7:30 p.m. at The Screening Room, 127 E. Congress St. Admission is $2. For information, call 206-9244.
PRETTY PICTURES. You still have time to catch the eye-soothing moments distilled by photographer Cindi Glassman in Ubiquitous Beauty, now on display at The DeGrazia gallery.
"In all of my photography, I concentrate on finding beauty," Glassman says. "I capture images I feel are aesthetically delightful. My images range from desert landscapes to portraits to almost complete abstractions."
Ubiquitous Beauty continues through Friday, December 12, at The DeGrazia Gallery, 6300 N. Swan Road. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. For details, call 299-9191.

Friday 12

SOUTHWEST SUITE. Tucson Regional Ballet translates a seasonal classic into a desert tour-de-force with A Southwest Nutcracker, featuring former San Francisco and Joffrey Ballet dancer Pascal Benichou, and American Ballet Theatre's Erica Fischbach.
This original, full-length work is set in 1880s Tucson, complete with Coyote Banditos and the Fort Lowell Cavalry. Lush costumes and professionally designed sets round out the fine production.
Performance is 7 tonight, with performances at 2 and 7 p.m. tomorrow and 2 p.m. Sunday in TCC Leo Rich Theatre, 260 S. Church Ave. Tickets are $11, $9 for students, seniors and children, and are available at the TCC and Dillard's box offices, or by calling 791-4266.
LIQUORTAXED. A brand-new experimental modern dance company has bravely decided to stage its first performance in the midst of all the seasonal hoopla. NEW ARTiculations, a troupe dedicated to showcasing the edgy works of young choreographers, puts on Liquortaxed, which member Tammy Rosen describes as "an evening of improvisational dance and dramatic monologue structured around a bar theme." The multi-genre show includes dance, poetry and acting; Tucson poet Becky Byrkit will perform her poem "Solar System for Criminals." The show begins at 8 p.m. in the company's rehearsal space, 424 N. Fourth Ave. Suggested donation is $2 at the door. For more information, call 622-5018.
SEASONAL ECHOES. A small army belt their melodic hearts out at the Friends of Sabino Canyon's annual "Music in the Canyon" festival.
Choral and instrumental groups will perform at the historic Lowell House near the canyon entrance; and at dusk, more than 600 luminarias and strolling members of the Tucson Kitchen Musicians Association will guide guests along the quarter-mile path to the performance area.
Groups include the Utterback Alumni Jazz Band, The Ronstadt Cousins, Tucson Boys' Chorus, The Old Pueblo Madrigal Singers and the Blues Kats. Free refreshments will be provided, and Smokey the Bear and Santa will be on hand to entertain the wee ones.
Event runs from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Lowell House in the Sabino Canyon Recreation Area, 5700 N. Sabino Canyon Road. Admission is one can of food for the Tucson Community Food Bank. Call 749-8700 for information.

Saturday 13

REMEMBERING POST. He was a remarkable philosopher, adventurer, Jung's biographer and author of The Lost World of the Kalahari and Venture to the Interior. Through it all, Sir Laurens van der Post, a native of South Africa, spent his life in the tireless pursuit of meaning, which he said "transfigures all...And once what you are living and what you are doing has for you meaning, it is irrelevant whether you are happy or unhappy. You are content. You are not alone in your spirit. You belong."
A content van der Post died a few days after his 90th birthday in London.
Today, fans mark the first anniversary of his death with a commemoration at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. The memorial will include a moonrise ceremony, screening of the highly acclaimed documentary Hasten Slowly, and the film Region of Shadow, along with readings from Rock Rabbit and His Friends, A Tribute to Laurens van der Post, and other selections from his work. Refreshments will be provided.
Event is 4 p.m. in the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, 2021 N. Kinney Road. Admission is free, but donations to the museum are requested. For information, call 791-2816.
TREMBLING TREK. For years, Native American activist Russell Means has relentlessly railed against the Anglo travesties directed at his people. Now, he continues that angry drum beat with his latest book, Where White Men Fear to Tread. (See related article in the Books section for details.) Means will lecture and sign copies from 1 to 3 p.m. at The Book Mark, 5001 E. Speedway. For details, call 881-6350.
ARID WARBLERS. Desert Voices, Tucson's top-notch gay and lesbian chorus, sings in the holiday season with One December Night, their annual holiday concert.
The chorus will be joined by Orts Theater of Dance and an ensemble including handbells, marimba and strings, as they belt out tunes that stray delightfully from traditional Yuletide fare.
"My two favorite musical eras are the Renaissance and 20th century," says artistic director Keith A. Koster. "I like the idea of taking music from bygone eras and updating it with 20th-century harmonies."
Included will be Snow, a suite by Tom Fettke that includes trapeze work by Orts; and Songs of Light, a choral work by Canadian composer Imant Raminsh.
Performances are 8 tonight and 3 p.m. Sunday, December 14, in the PCC Proscenium Theatre, 2202 W. Anklam Road. Tickets are $12, $10 for seniors, students and children, and available at Antigone Books, Tucson Trunk, The Allergy and Vacuum Store, or by calling 791-9662.

Sunday 14

LATIN SERENADE. The world's best mariachi groups passionately celebrate the season with Serenata Navideña 1997. Slated to become an annual tradition, the gathering will include Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán, Sol de Mexico de José Hernandez, Las Adelitas and Mariachi Guadalupano. That's in addition to Tucson's own Ballet Folkórico San Juan, and international singing stars Pedro Fernandez and Graciela Beltran.
Performance begins at 5 p.m. in the TCC Arena, 260 S. Church Ave. Tickets range from $21 to $51, and are available at the TCC box office, Dillard's, or by calling 791-4266.
CHRISTMAS PILGRIMAGE. The St. Elizabeth of Hungary Clinic offers private peeks into Christmas with its ninth-annual Naciemento Tour. The self-guided trek, described as "an inexpensive family outing, focusing on the peaceful aspects of the holiday," will explore elaborate nativity scenes in homes throughout Tucson, along with a gift boutique in downtown's Fremont House. Proceeds will benefit the clinic and its ongoing assistance to the working poor.
Event runs from noon to 6 p.m. Tickets and maps are $6, free for children ages 12 and under, and are available at the St. Elizabeth of Hungary Clinic, El Charro Restaurants, Leilani's Shear Creations Beauty Shop, Our Mother of Sorrows Parish, St. Ambrose Church, and at homes on the tour. For more information, call 628-7861.
HEARTFELT THREADS. The legendary Hubbell Trading Post brings its lush inventory of Navajo crafts to the Arizona State Museum in Weaving: The Soul of Fiber. Exhibit features hundreds of fine pieces, and weaver Brenda Spencer will demonstrate her rug-weaving style. Members of the Tohono O'odham Basket Weavers Association will also be on hand to discuss and sell their work during today's opening celebration.
This free event runs from noon to 4 p.m. in the Arizona State Museum, located inside the campus' main gate on University Boulevard, east of Park Avenue.

Monday 15

PIG PARTY. Okay, maybe javelina aren't pigs at all. But they are a spirited, rather rambunctious bunch, and now they've taken over an expanded patch of habitat in the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum's new Arizona Upland exhibit.
Actually, this barely qualifies as an exhibit per se. Instead, the sheerest of wire mesh stretches between javelina and visitors, allowing the animals to roam seemingly unfettered among the museum's rugged slopes and tree-lined washes.
To celebrate this great addition, the museum is hosting a "Javelina Jubilee," with docent-guided tours through the Uplands, and discussions led by staffers directly involved in its creation.
Join the festivities at these new stomping grounds Monday through Sunday, December 15 through 21, at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, 2021 N. Kinney Road. Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Admission is $8.95, $1.75 for kids ages 6 to 12, free for children under age 6. For event schedule and other information, call 883-2702.

Tuesday 16

PULSE OF VAN HULSE. Most latter-day Tucsonans may never have heard of Camil Van Hulse. But as founder of the Tucson Symphony in 1928, he helped put the Old Pueblo on the musical map. Today, the Catalina Chamber Orchestra rekindles his spirit, both from their new headquarters located in his former home, and by their Messiah Concert featuring three of Van Hulse's works. The concert also draws on the talents of the UA Community Chorus, under the direction of Steve Zielke.
Show time is 7:30 tonight in the TCC Music Hall, 260 S. Church Ave. Tickets are $12 and $14, $5 for students, available at The Book Mark, Borders Books and Music, Hear's Music, Dillard's, the TCC box office, or by calling 624-0170.
ORNERY SHORTS. The works of four Tucson filmmakers get the spotlight in Upstairs Film's Flash-Frame! series. Rob Sabal's "Molt" details a journey of transformation as Emily travels from her small-town home to big romance, while the experimental "Number 13," directed by Michael Toubassi, depicts the life of an Hispanic street vendor. "In Between Friends" is Reginald Spangler's quirky, twisted tale of triangular love. The series concludes with "Open 'til 3," written and directed by Ari Lieberman.
Show times are 7 and 9 p.m. in The Screening Room, 127 E. Congress St. Tickets are $3. For information, call 791-2263.

Wednesday 17

BORDERLAND NOIRE. Vincent Calhoun's turf is the seething underworld of Tijuana. But the corrupt DEA agent's seamy scene--and that of his partner, the equally unscrupled judicale known as Castro--is rocked when together they prey on the weak, and their prosperous schemes begin unraveling on the Day of the Dead in Kent Harrington's new mystery, Día de los Muertos.
Calhoun will sign copies of his latest novel from 5 to 7 p.m. at Clues Unlimited, 16 E. Broadway Village, at the southwest corner of Broadway and Country Club Road. Call 326-8533 for details.
TINY TIM AGAIN. Those darn Cratchits and, of course, cranky old Scrooge, seem omnipresent this time of year. But if you rank among the legion of traditionalists who eschew sugarplum fantasies in favor of the "gruel school" of theatre, don't miss Tucson Parks and Recreation's fine production of A Christmas Carol, written and directed by Betsy Beard.
The spectral spectacle begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Randolph Recreation Center Auditorium, 200 S. Alvernon Way. Production continues through December 21, with evening performances and a Sunday matinee. Admission is free. For information, call 791-4663.

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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