Cynthia Meier
Cynthia Meier, is co-founder of Bloodhut Productions, a collaborative theatre troupe focused on telling the stories of women's lives. She's also a project coordinator for Pima County Adult Education.
BEST MUSIC AND PLACE TO MEET A MATE
The Tucson Friends of Traditional Music has contra dances every other Saturday. It may seem a little corny at first, but it's great clean fun. And the live band is wonderful. I've gone to dances in other states and they never have live bands. We are fortunate here in Tucson. Even my teenage nieces from New York got a blast out of it. I met my husband at a contra dance in 1985. We're still dancing.
BEST BOOKSTORE
I love all kinds of books and booksellers, but Antigone Books (which is now at 411 N. Fourth Ave.) is the best. It's also a great network of women and women-admirers. I can go into Antigone's exhausted and lonely and come out rejuvenated.
BEST DAY JOB
Lots of artists need a place to work to pay the bills. I've always wanted to do meaningful work--whether it was in theatre or not. I've had that opportunity working with Pima County Adult Education, which is a nationally recognized program serving 10,000 residents every year. (I don't get a raise for saying this.) The students are high school dropouts going back for their G.E.D.s (General Education Development diploma), refugees and people from all over the world learning English, displaced homemakers learning office skills, adults with developmental disabilities learning to read--the list goes on. The classes are free, and the staff are a wonderful bunch of people. If you have to work, this is the place to do it.
BEST HIKE
The best place to walk on a winter morning is the Old Stone House on the Yetman Trail, near West Speedway and North Camino de Oeste. It's only about a mile down a wash, but it's one of the quickest ways to get out of town. It's beautiful.
BEST PLACE TO SHOP IF YOU'RE A LARGE WOMAN
Fit To Be Tried, on the southeast corner of Grant and Swan roads, has a great selection of casual wear as well as first-rate second-hand clothes that are clearly arranged--all above a size 16. A sign on the dressing room mirror says, "Negative Comments About Your Body are Strictly Prohibited." Finding clothes in larges sizes isn't easy, and Fit To Be Tried makes it a little easier.
BEST SMELL
Creosote during the summer rains makes living here worthwhile.
BEST ARTS COMMUNITY
Maybe there's more art happening somewhere else, maybe there are people making better livings at their art, but I adore Tucson's art community. I love the opportunities for original expression, the chance to have them viewed seriously by critics. You don't have to fit into certain molds to be cast into productions. But mostly I love the artists who create the community. They are mavericks who have chosen life here, and I am grateful for their work and inspiration.
BEST FABRIC STORE
When I go into a fabric store, I have to touch every bolt of cloth. I like the Quilt Basket (6538 E. Tanque Verde Road) a lot, and for a good deal, there's nothing like Hancock's on First Avenue. But the best fabric in Tucson is Buttons 'n' Bolts Fabric Shop on Campbell Avenue and Fort Lowell Road. Silks, rayons, Guatemalan weaves--they have gorgeous, gorgeous fabric.
