Brian Box Brown, Rob Brezsny, Connor Dziawura, Eva Halvax, Laura Latzko, Andy Mosier, Linda Ray, Jordan Rogers, Will Shortz, Jen Sorensen, Tom Tomorrow
PRODUCTION
Courtney Oldham, Production/Design Supervisor, production@timeslocalmedia.com
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CURRENTS
PIMA COLLEGE’S SANDSCRIPT MAKES ITS DEBUT
By Laura Latzko Tucson Weekly Staff
Since it started 31 years ago, the Sandscript student-run literary magazine has highlighted the visual arts, prose and poetry of Pima Community College students.
The nationally recognized publication, which has won multiple awards from the Community College Humanities Association, has developed a reputation for showcasing high-quality work.
This year’s print and digital editions of Sandscript were launched during an unveiling event on May 15 at the Pima Community College West Campus’ Proscenium Theatre.
Sandscript faced tough times during
the height of COVID-19, with fewer submissions, but it is coming back strong this year.
Raiden Lopez has served as editor in chief for the last three editions. She has watched the magazine survive and take on different formats.
“The process alone has just been very different, going from completely digital, and then the next year, I was able to do print and digital. And then this year, again. The shift has been so significant from the pandemic to now,” Lopez said.
For the second year, a 360 virtual gallery will highlight the work of other artists as well as some additional pieces by those featured in this year’s publication.
The museum allows for the display of visual pieces that do not translate as well to a 2-dimensional photographic display.
The literary publication is produced during the spring WRT 162 Literary Magazine Workshop, which is part of the English and creative writing major.
During the class, students become part of the editorial team, in roles such as poetry or prose editors, art directors and social media managers.
The top three winners in the visual arts, poetry and prose categories are decided by judges, who work in corre-
sponding fields.
Submissions first go through the editorial staff, who decide who will be in the publication. They use a blind judging process.
Mariah Young, the faculty adviser for Sandscript, said that judging criteria is determined early, with the help of subject matter experts.
Young said the editorial staff is looking for written and visual arts pieces that stand out and have larger messages.
“A lot of that can be technical, but it
PBS TO AIR DOCUMENTARY OF TUCSON FILMMAKER
By Laura Latzko Tucson Weekly Staff Writer
With his film “Feelings are Facts: The Life of Yvonne Rainer,” Tucson’s Jack Walsh wanted viewers to learn about the postmodern choreographer who contributed to dance throughout her life.
His documentary will be broadcast on PBS 6 Plus at 8 p.m. Friday, June 9, and on PBS World at 7 p.m. Friday, June 30, as part of Pride Month.
The film was produced by Walsh and Christine Murray and directed by Walsh. Walsh has directed nine films in the experimental and documentary genres. Among the Emmy Award-winning producer’s work are, “And Then One Night: The Making of Dead Man Walking,” and “Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton’s Cafeteria.”
He has taken home three Golden Gate Awards from the San Francisco International Film Festival.
Within his work, he often explores
cultural icons and social justice and sexual identity topics.
He finished the Rainer documentary in 2015 and was shown at more than 60 film festivals worldwide. It was also distributed to over 125 colleges and universities, to be added to their collections.
Walsh knew Rainer. He ran a small cinema in Manhattan called the Collective for Living Cinema in the late 1980s, and Rainer was on the board.
“I knew her then, and we remained friendly over the years,” Walsh said.
“And then she wrote a memoir…The title of the film is also the title of her memoir. I read it and was really fascinated. I didn’t know about this whole dance background. I knew that she had returned to dance because Baryshnikov had brought that whole group of Judson artists back into dance,” Walsh said, referring to Judson Dance Theater.
“So, I approached her about it. She turned me down a few times, but I finally persuaded her. My desire in making the film, as well as my co-producer Christine Murray’s, was really just to bring her story to a larger audience. She was so important in the dance world, like with the dance, ‘Trio A.’ She was working in a very radical way, and it was overlooked for many decades.”
The film highlights key moments from throughout Rainer’s life and career. Rainer, who was a MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient and breast cancer survivor, was part of a collective of cutting-edge choreographers known as the Judson Dance Theater.
She emerged in the 1960s as a protégé of John Cage and Merce Cunningham.
Rainer and her contemporaries incorporated everyday movements such as running and walking into their performances. They also featured screaming and yelling and average clothing and sneakers in their pieces.
Rainer’s work, which is given labels
such as “feminist,” “conceptual,” “postmodern” and “political,” often crossed boundaries.
In the movie, she talks about how she didn’t have a conventional dancer body or movement style, so she had to carve her own path.
“I think that’s what many of those artists at Judson Dance did. They wanted to make something different. They had the advantage of being able to live on very little money back then and survive,” Walsh said.
The film delves into various eras of Rainer’s life, including how she came out at age 50. Viewers also get a glimpse into Rainer’s early family life.
The film has a wide appeal — for those within and outside of the dance world. He said her story resonates with people of all backgrounds.
“It’s a story of Yvonne’s life and what she went through, being put in foster care, and then she emerges as this dancer in her late 20s. She didn’t take a dance class until she was 25 and then had such an impact on contemporary dance. And then, it’s also the story of a woman driven by her creative passions, who lived her life that way,” Walsh said.
In the film, viewers get a chance to see some of Rainer’s iconic works, such as, “Trio A,” as well as two new dances she was creating over the course of the film.
“We were committed to showing longer segments of dance. A lot of times, you will have the talking heads and 15 seconds of dance. We were committed to showing when Yvonne is dancing ‘Trio A.’ We don’t show the whole thing, but we were committed to showing a minute of it… We were committed to giving some of that essence of the actual dance,” Walsh said.
The film was made in seven and a half years, while Rainer was living in San Francisco.
Finding funding for the film was a challenge. Walsh said his team had to find creative ways to raise money, such as a crowdfunding campaign.
“I think we are sadly at a time when finding resources to make art in general is difficult. To make films about artists is even more difficult… I came of age in the late ’60s and early ’70s when there were public television shows about art and artists because they were funding those. Those things have sadly disappeared. I think that it’s a disservice to younger people. For me, it was my exposure to art and a different world,” Walsh said.
The documentary uses archival and contemporary dance footage and clips from Rainer’s short and feature-length films to help tell her story.
also has to do with what we call ‘the lingering effect.’ What were the pieces that really made us linger and made us think? Also, what were the pieces that we had a lot of discussions about?” Young said. “A lot of how we are looking at these pieces are from that technical perspective but also from a sense of what does it say about our time and community as Pima students?”
Young said the students take on an active role in every step of the process.
“The magazine is really theirs. I just get to hang out with the cool kids while they are having these conversations. They set up the criteria. They vet, discuss and vote on all of the submissions, and they work in concert with the design editor to manifest the edition,” Young said.
The cover art chosen each year represents major themes within the publication.
In 2021, an image of a flower was chosen to represent the theme of hope. Young said this year, the image is a
disparate brush strokes, which represents the dichotomy of uniformity and chaos.
For the 2023 edition, there were over 400 submissions, of which 186 were chosen from 85 student contributors in the prose, poetry and visual arts categories.
The only requirement to submit is to be an enrolled student at Pima Community College.
Lopez said for many students, getting published is Sandscript is meaningful because it is the first time having their work in print.
“It’s a very big deal. The pride is real. The fact that they can see this as their first publication and grow from there is very amazing,” Lopez said.
Contributors range from experienced writers and artists to those working on their first pieces.
Some students have had their work in Sandscript multiple times throughout their academic careers.
Contributors come from a range of different backgrounds and experiences. This year, there were several bilingual
The visual arts category is open to different types of art. In the past, artists have submitted photographs of sculptures and woodwork pieces for consideration.
Major themes in each edition vary from year to year.
Recently, individuals have been looking inward and creating works about their own personal experiences and their families.
Lopez has noticed the difference in subject matter over the last three years.
“When I started with the 2021 edition, we saw a lot of the pandemic, the tragedies. We felt that in a lot of the stories… Jump forward to 2022, in that edition, we see more coming out, branching into what life can be, normalcy after the pandemic but still having to deal with masks and everything. Then jump again to 2023, where a lot of those mandates are now gone, but we still have that lingering effect of a lot of people lost a lot of things. A lot of people are now trying to figure out what they were versus who they are now. It’s so much of a difference from 2021 to 2023 in the hope, vi-
Often, work featured in Sandscript will have life afterward.
Some prose writers have turned their short stories into novels, and visual arts pieces have later been featured in museums and galleries.
Lopez said students will give them updates on their successes.
“We get a lot of those where they are very proud and want to share that they have gone onto further things,” Lopez said.
The publication is read by Pima students and their family members and friends, but there is a wider reach in the community.
There are faculty members and staff at various Pima Community College campuses, as well as community members, who collect editions of the magazine.
“I have a colleague at my home campus of Desert Vista, she has a copy of every Sandscript for the past 15 or 16 editions…There are people in the community that have been published in it, and also their family members have been published in it, so it’s definitely got a reach that has surprised me,” Young
CURRENTS
NONPROFIT PLANS PALLET SHELTERS TO ADDRESS HOMELESS POPULATION
By Jacinda Palomo Cronkite News
For years, J. Kristin Olson-Garewal was getting increasingly concerned about the growing number of homeless people walking Tucson’s streets and sitting in its parks.
Her son, Raj Garewal, worked in a homeless service center in Los Angeles, dealing with an even more overwhelming homelessness problem. But where Tucson seemed to have no answers, Garewal showed his mom a video of tiny houses that could be set up in only 45 minutes and were starting to address homelessness in California cities.
After watching this video, Olson-Garewal, who is also a physician,
realized that this straightforward method of assembling houses — called Pallet shelters — could be a solution to a problem that she sees as inhumane and only getting worse.
“We talked to people who were working with homelessness and city officials. No one was doing anything, and nothing was being done on the scale needed to correct the enormous housing shortage, so we simply decided to do this,” Olson-Garewal said.
In August 2021, Olson-Garewal and her son started The Homing Project. The organization plans to construct a small village of 64- or 100-square-foot shelters that can be assembled in a mat-
DENTAL Insurance
ter of hours.
The Homing Project is one of two nonprofit organizations in Tucson trying to address a growing unhoused population that is affecting cities across the state. Arizona’s homeless population grew 23.4% between 2020 and 2022, according to a 2022 report by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Arizona’s homeless population in 2022 was estimated to be 13,553 — 59.2% of whom were unsheltered.
In Pima County, which includes Tucson, the overall number of people experiencing homelessness on a single given night rose by 21%, from 1,372 in 2019 to 1,660 in 2020, according to tucsonaz. gov.
Olson-Garewal said the project is being funded entirely through private donations and foundation grants.
“The land is a free-long term lease,” she explained. “Our projected budget is $1.4 million to start and run the trial village for a year. We rely on volunteers a lot; we currently have over 100, of which about 40 are very involved.”
Currently, the organization plans to focus solely on Tucson, but hopes to keep opening sites as resources allow, with the most being about 100 units. Not only do they plan on creating housing for the homeless, they plan on providing other services as well.
Olson-Garewal said The Homing Project plans to house 20 people at first, mostly individuals, as a trial to work out any bugs and get data about costs and any other problems, should they arise.
Each of the shelters will have heating, cooling, insulation, one or two beds in single units, windows, a self-contained solar energy system and a secure locking door. Shared facilities in the yet-tobe-constructed shelter village will include dining, laundry and bathrooms; and the community will be gated. If ever a house is not needed, it can be disassembled and flat-packed for storage.
“Our onsite partner, Catalytic Health Partners, will focus on treating any condition holding them (residents) back and will help people get job skills, which will equip them to earn a living wage so that they will not be living paycheck-to-paycheck, one emergency away from missing the rent payment,” Olson-Garewal said. “Eventually, we may start a second phase of truly tiny homes or apartments.”
The organization is aware of other cities and states utilizing this method of housing, and Olson-Garewal has even visited some of them. Pallet, based in Washington state, boasts it has de-
PALLET HAS CONSTRUCTED MORE THAN 100 SHELTER VILLAGES IN 21 STATES AND MORE THAN 85 CITIES, INCLUDING THESE IN VERMONT. (TODD BELTZ PHOTOGRAPHY LLC/CONTRIBUTOR)
SPORTS
VERDUGO MAKES RETURN TO ARIZONA IN SERIES AGAINST D-BACKS
By Jordan Rogers Tucson Weekly Staff Writer
Boston Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo grew up in Tucson watching Diamondbacks baseball.
The Sahuaro High School alumni said he would “come home from school or practice, sit on the couch, eat some food and watch baseball,” and with the D-backs being the local team, it would oftentimes be them on the TV.
“The Diamondbacks were always on in Tucson,” Verdugo said. “Like it was always playing — every one of their games. So, I was like, ‘Man, I get to watch it.’ And just ended up being a fan of the D-backs. Obviously, they
won (the World Series) in ’01, and I was relatively young at that time, but I still was watching. Just kind of growing up, that’s all I did.”
“It’s just fun; it really is. It just brings back childhood memories.”
The Diamondbacks weren’t the only team he found himself watching games of. From afar, he also rooted for the team that employs him.
“My theory is, is that when I was younger, I really, really liked the color red,” Verdugo said. “So, I kind of already gravitated toward the teams that were wearing red. … I think ESPN always played the Red Sox-Yankees games, and so I was kind of always already gravitating toward that.”
Verdugo will be back in Arizona as the Red Sox are set to play a threegame series against the Diamondbacks at Chase Field from Friday, May 26, through Sunday, May 28.
He said getting to play in Phoenix is always a little extra special for him because of its proximity to Tucson.
“It’s kind of like a second home to me and my family,” Verdugo said. “My mom, my dad and my brothers — everybody — we’re all so used to making that drive and that commute that it’s not far at all,” said Verdugo, who added he played a lot of travel baseball games in Phoenix as a kid.
He said he is looking forward to having his family come out to see him play.
“I’ll be able to have my parents come out there and watch me, and that’s just something that, being all the way over here in Boston, we don’t get to do too much anymore,” Verdugo said. “It’s going to just be nice. It’ll be really refreshing to see my family and have them go to the games.”
Verdugo became a first-time father in August 2021.
“Since we’ve been (in Boston), they
(his parents) haven’t really seen my son too much,” he said. “I’m just excited to see everybody and just show up and spend some good quality family time.”
Verdugo hasn’t played at Chase Field in a Major League Baseball game since June 26, 2019, but he got the chance to play there with Team Mexico in the World Baseball Classic in March. It was the second time he represented his country and said he really enjoyed the guys he got to play with.
“The teammates that I had for Team Mexico, they were awesome,” Verdugo said. “You would have thought we played for years together. We just had a good vibe, and everybody was just happy. The way we celebrated, the way we had fun and just went about it, and then, obviously, playing well. Winning is the ultimate thing. That’s the thing that brings you the most joy.”
Team Mexico ultimately fell short in the semifinal game against Team Japan, who won the championship game against Team USA, but Verdugo said it was some of the most fun he had ever had on a baseball field.
“The emotions that you have there, it’s hard to compare,” he said. “It’s like, every single play you see guys running out on the field yelling at a single or a base hit. It’s just like, you just lose it.”
Verdugo, who was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the second round of the 2014 MLB Draft, made his debut with the team in 2017. By 2019, he had worked his way into a starting role.
“I just felt like I really progressed,” said Verdugo, who added 2019 was his “breakout” season.
“It’s just one of those things when you have a really good team like that — a really good franchise — it’s hard to make it in the big leagues and stay there and be a starter every day. I remember we had a very stacked outfield, so once there was maybe an injury … it was like that’s my opportunity.”
In his first full season in “The Show,” Verdugo hit .294/.342/.475 in 106 games with 12 home runs and 44 RBI’s. After an oblique injury cut his season a bit short, Verdugo went into the offseason with a mindset that he was going to do some “cool things” with the Dodgers in his career, but he wound up being traded.
On Feb. 10, 2020, the Dodgers sent Verdugo, catcher Connor Wong and shortstop Jeter Downs to the Red Sox in exchange for superstar outfielder Mookie Betts, pitcher David Price and cash considerations.
“That whole trade was really weird
TUCSON NATIVE ALEX VERDUGO IS IN HIS FOURTH SEASON WITH THE BOSTON RED SOX.
(MADDIE MALHOTRA/BOSTON RED SOX)
THE SAGUARO HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI WILL RETURN TO ARIZONA FOR A THREE-GAME SERIES AGAINST THE ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS BEGINNING FRIDAY, MAY 26. (MADDIE MALHOTRA/BOSTON RED SOX)
Walsh’s team used footage of recreated dances filmed by the Dia Art Foundation.
“When she returned to dance in 2000, a lot of people were eager to see those earlier pieces, so there was a whole interest with her teaching new dancers those pieces,” Walsh said.
One of the challenges in making the film was editing dance footage from the 1960s containing nudity. In the original version, the nudity was left in the film, but it had to be blurred for PBS.
In many of these sequences, the dancers are performing regular dance movements while nude.
“At that point, she was very interested in how the body moves and how movement works. It just followed completely with her line of thinking at the time,” Walsh said.
For the project, Walsh researched postmodern dance and the art movement of the ’60s.
“I had to come into interviewing these dancers like I knew something. To me, that was the most exciting thing
YVONNE RAINER IS A POSTMODERN CHOREOGRAPHER WHO WORKED WITH A COLLECTIVE OF CHOREOGRAPHERS KNOWN AS JUDSON DANCE THEATER. (PHOTO COPYRIGHTED BY JACK WALSH)
because I got to learn so much. That’s often the thing that excites me most about a project is what I have to learn to begin to start engaging with these people as subjects,” Walsh said.
Along with Rainer, Walsh interviewed her niece and friends, choreographers she worked with, dancers, writers and
filmmakers.
The film includes Lucinda Childs, another notable postmodern choreographer, as well as Carolee Schneemann, who died in 2019.
“We have some important footage of a certain generation of artists,” Walsh said.
In the film, Walsh explores how dancers like Walsh survived in the 1960s. He includes details such as how one dancer worked as an extra in porn films and taught Sunday school.
For interviews, Walsh and his team traveled to Los Angeles, New York, Boston and rural Vermont. They also filmed in San Francisco, where Rainer was born and raised.
The documentary delves into different aspects of Rainer’s career, including her time as a filmmaker.
From the early 1970s to about 2000,
Rainer’s focus shifted to avant-garde films, which often combined humor, storytelling and theory. She made seven independent features exploring topics such as politics, lesbian sexuality and breast cancer.
She returned to choreographing when commissioned to do a work for Mikhail Baryshnikov’s White Oak Dance Project. She created her own works.
The film highlights how, in her 80s, Rainer has continued to create work that challenges assumptions about the constructs of art and performance.
“The one other thing that I think the film is trying to bring to light is that people remain very active throughout their lives. We live in a culture where older people’s worth is often thrown aside or not respected… That was another motivator for us in making the film was to show people who are active and very engaged creatively,” Walsh said.
“Feelings
and the Maya
Popol Vuh is an important Maya story that narrates events that happened before the first sunrise. Today, communities recognize that it has much to teach us about creation, resilience, and relationships. Opening on May 4th, this exhibition brings together works of art and stories connected to the Popol Vuh, including a newly commissioned work by artist Justin Favela and a portfolio by Guatemalan Modern artist Carlos Mérida.
(Clockwise from top left): Justin Favela, Estampas del Popol Vuh after Carlos Mérida photo by Michael Palma Mir, Museo del Barrio; Maya, Vessel with Supernatural
ployed its team to construct 3,800 cabins — comprising more than 100 shelter villages in 21 states and more than 85 cities. Many of the villages are in California, but the company lists Pallet villages in states as wide ranging as Wisconsin, South Carolina and Vermont. Pallet does not yet have any shelters in Arizona.
“We visited a few of them in California, and there found that the biggest problems are not addiction and/or mental illness but simply lack of housing. When they set up their programs in California, they planned a three- to six-months stay to treat any condition, help each resident get a job and then permanent housing,” Olson-Garewal said. “But then they found there was no housing to transfer them to. So we are starting this project anticipating that people may be in this housing for two to four years.”
Another organization in Tucson that is focusing on helping the homeless community is the Casa Maria Soup Kitchen, which is part of the Catholic Worker Community founded in the city in 1983. Brian Flagg, community worker for Casa Maria, has been a part of the soup kitchen since its founding.
“We think the key to doing social justice is community organizing — getting to know the people that are affected in your part of the world and talking to them,” Flagg said. “So our thing is to
PALLET, BASED IN WASHINGTON STATE, BOASTS IT HAS DEPLOYED ITS TEAM TO CONSTRUCT 3,800 CABINS. (MORGAN LIEBERMAN/CONTRIBUTOR)
organize among the people we serve and in the neighborhood we live in, and right now it’s to deal with the housing crisis and the gentrification of downtown neighborhoods in Tucson.”
Flagg said the organization relies entirely on private donations. It has started a campaign to raise $7 million to buy half a dozen Tucson motels that it plans on turning into 350 units for people in need.
So far, Casa Maria has purchased one 20-unit hotel known as the El Camino.
“It’s at the absolute low end of the rental market in South Tucson, and Tucson too, so really the whole metropolitan area,” Flagg said. “It’s like the
lowest rung of affordable housing, and it’s going to remain, those 20 units, and we’d really like to add to it.”
The immediate plan is to make improvements to the hotel, which includes adding kitchenettes into the units. Flagg said the main focus is to lower the rate of homelessness in Tucson.
The Arizona Department of Economic Security said that of the 13,553 homeless persons counted in the state in January 2022, there were 2,227 in Pima County, or 16.4% of the state total.
Flagg sees the problem of homelessness only getting worse, especially in Tucson.
“It can be traced to rents; rents have gone up,” Flagg said. “What’s really needed in Tucson — and I assume the whole state of Arizona — is rent control.”
In the community where the soup kitchen is located, there’s a medical clinic that also operates from within the kitchen as well as a county center located across the street that aims to provide aid for those in the homeless community.
For more stories from Cronkite News, visit cronkitenews.azpbs.org.
for me,” Verdugo said. “I didn’t think I was going to get traded from the Dodgers.”
Verdugo said he was mad about the situation, but being dealt, he added, was a “blessing in disguise.”
“I was just in a bad spot from when I got injured in ’19,” Verdugo said. “I just wasn’t really feeling good at all, and the training staff with the Red Sox, they were great. They had me feeling really, really good... Once I saw that, my eyes opened up and I was like, ‘Man, this is this is a great organization.’”
On top of that, getting to play for the team he grew up watching on TV wasn’t such a bad thing either.
“I was already kind of happy with
that,” Verdugo added. “And I knew at some point, I’m going to run into David Ortiz, and I was like, ‘That’s freaking awesome.’”
Fenway Park, the home of the Red Sox, opened in 1912. The oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball, the field is arguably the most storied in the league.
Now in his fourth season in Boston, Verdugo said he has felt lucky since his first season there to call that park home.
“When you go out there and you see Fenway; it’s a special place,” he said.
“Historic feeling, special feeling, and it’s just one of the coolest ballparks that you’ll ever step foot in. For me, I don’t take it lightly. I’m very blessed and honored to play there.”
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SUMMER SURVIVAL GUIDE
get their fill of popcorn, games, prizes, raffles and, oh yeah, movies. During
just really good, sometimes kitschy, movies from times past.
Tucson Local Media Staff
There’s no reason to be blue this summer. Tucson has plenty of activities to keep everyone occupied — and cool. Here are our top picks for things to do this summer.
“You’ve
1. SEE A MOVIE AT THE LOFT CINEMA
3233 E. SPEEDWAY BOULEVARD
LOFTCINEMA.ORG
If you can’t find anything to do this summer, you clearly have not looked at the Loft Cinema, where even kids can
Loft Kids Fest they will be screening “Toy Story,” “Sing 2,” “The Sandlot” and “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” among others. The best part of this nine-day fest? It’s all free.
Things kick off with a Looney Tunes
Outdoor Movie Party on Friday, June 23, at Himmel Park. After that, Loft doors open at 9:15 a.m. and the movie starts at 10 a.m.
Adults are not without their entertainment at the Loft. No, not that kind,
Every Thursday until Aug. 31 check out the likes of Doris and Rock in “Pillow Talk,” or the amazing Marlon Brando at possibly his very best in, “A Streetcar Named Desire.” Find out what we were really afraid of in 1956 with, “The Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” or watch Jimmy Stewart become a peeping Tom in “Rear Window.” It’s all part of the Loft’s Hollywood Classics Series.
SEE CURE PAGE 14
Don’t
Think that’s all? This is the Loft; there’s way more.
Of course, the Loft will still be showing its usual selection of interesting, bizarre and contemporary films.
Find all the featured titles, times and tickets on the website.
2.STAY IN YOUR COOL HOUSE AND BINGE
kanopy.com
Because we don’t have enough streaming services, here’s one that’s free.
With Kanopy, all you need is a library card or to be a university student or professor. After that it’s classic and notso-classic movies galore.
Didn’t see “Chinatown” the first time around? It’s here. Watch, with regret, Amy Winehouse come apart in the documentary, “Amy.” Get some good advice from Mo Willlems when you “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus.” There’s something for everyone.
LAST YEAR AT THE LOFT IT WAS INDIANA JONES. THIS YEAR, THE MINIONS AND TOY STORY. (SUBMITTED)
3. THOUSANDS OF YEARS IN THE MAKING
Arizona State Museum
1013 E. University Boulevard statemuseum.arizona.edu
Across the street from Centennial Hall on the UA campus is the oldest and largest anthropological research facility in the Southwestern United States,
the Arizona State Museum. Want to do some archeological digging? This is where you go to get permitted, though that happens upstairs in the offices.
In the first-floor public spaces find a bit of the more than 3 million archaeological, ethnographic and modern objects that belong to the region’s Indigenous people.
There’s also the world’s largest and most comprehensive collection of Native North American basketry with objects from more than 7,000 years ago, along with southwest Indigenous pottery that goes back roughly 2,000 years.
Right now, the museum is showing off some of its ancient and modern Southwestern native jewelry.
It’s worth your time, won’t take all day, and the gift shop is pretty good, too.
Open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday. Tickets start at $8, $6 for seniors ages 65 and older and free for children younger than 17.
4. BE ON A MISSION
San Xavier del Bac Mission 1950 W. San Xavier Road 520-294-2624 sanxaviermission.org
Drive nine miles from Downtown on I-19 and you will see a sight that has welcomed visitors to Tucson since 1797, our own San Xavier del Bac Mission. One look, even from the freeway and you will immediately see why it got the nickname, The White Dove of the Desert.
The mission is Arizona’s oldest intact
European structure. It is a National Historic Landmark founded as a Catholic Mission by Father Eusebio Kino in 1692, though the actual structure wasn’t completed until the late 18th century. Inside the church’s walls are original statuary and mural paintings that remember Spanish Colonial times. Here’s something to keep in mind when visiting. This is a working Roman Catholic Church, a house of worship. Mass is offered here, and people still come to pray. Be respectful of the space and the worshipers.
The church houses a small museum, which has been closed for a bit, but staff is hopeful it will be opening again by the beginning of June. Call ahead to be sure.
Still open, however, is the gift shop, where they have any number of Roman Catholic items, T-shirts and other souvenirs.
After seeing all there is to see, get native frybread hot out of the boiling oil and covered in powdered sugar. If that doesn’t do it, get it with meat. Both yummy. Fry bread vendors are in the parking lot.
5. PICTURE THIS
Etherton Gallery 340 S. Convent Avenue ethertongallery.com
Hankering to collect art but don’t know where to start? Etherton Gallery has an idea. Here you will find works created by the masters of the art of photography, both past and present. Pieces are available to see but they can also be available to buy. As they say on their website, “...We remain dedicated to making great works of photography accessible to novices and experienced collectors alike.”
You don’t have to buy to visit the gallery. These days see works by Wendy Schnieder and Laurie Lambrecht until Saturday, June 10.
6. YEAH, BUT IS IT ART?
Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson 265 S. Church Avenue moca-tucson.org
It couldn’t be the summer of art without expanding your vision a little with a visit to the Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson, which lets you in for free
AR TE MIZ IA FOUNDATION
Experience works by over 100 artists from 40 countries including PichiAvo, Swoon, Banksy, Kara Walker, Warhol, Yayoi Kusama, Cey Adams, Lady Pink, Willem de Kooning, Barbara Kruger, WRDSMTH, Wangechi Mutu, Vhils, Kerry James Marshall, Tracey Emin, Keith Haring, Saber, MuckRock, Judy Chicago, CES, D*Face, Ai Weiwei, MissMe, The Connor Brothers, Li Hongbo, Martin Schoeller, LeDania, Corie Mattie, Shepard Fairey, Sofia Cianciulli, Rayvenn
D’Clark, Mando Marie, Saype, Jenny Saville…
818 Tombstone Canyon, Bisbee AZ North American Reciprocal Museum Association @artemiziafoundation
PichiAvo 2018 Orphical Hymn to the Graces Spray, Acrylic and Oil on Canvas 67” x 165” (170cm x 420cm)
every first Thursday of the month. Currently showing is “While Hissing,” by Raven Chacon, from Fort Defiance, the Navajo Nation. He wants to celebrate sound as a medium for resistance and connection. “Through video installation, graphic scores, and performance, Chacon amplifies Indigenous women’s voices, centering their leadership and vision both as carriers of memory and authors of culture,” according to the museum’s website. Was he successful? Visit the exhibit and find out.
Touch the edge of your memory with, “Subrosa,” by Na Mira. The exhibit showcases nonlinear film that uses radio transmissions and the color red all bleeding together. This installation uses 16 mm film and infrared video. Yes, it is different but make of it what you will.
MOCA’s artists are often a part of the BIPOC community and are women-identifying, giving a broader perspective to the current exhibits.
Keep your kids busy at the weeklong
kids’ art camps in June, which you will find listed on their website.
7. TAKE A TRIP TO THE STARS
Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium 1601 E. University Boulevard flandrau.org
Even if you can’t get away this summer, take a trip that’s out of this world at Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium.
In the domed planetarium you may tour our very own solar system or visit a black hole with a film produced in collaboration with NOVA and NASA. Stay after the film for a star talk. You don’t have to be a genius or even a science geek to enjoy these programs.
There are also La-
ser Light Music Nights, where colorful lights dance to themed music, but you have to be quick about getting tickets. They sell out fast.
Check the website for times and ticket info.
In the science center, look for these
four exhibits: “Undersea Discover,” “Wild World of Bugs,” “Sharks: Magnificent and Misunderstood” and “HiRISE: Eye in the Martian Sky.” Plus, there’s a little gift shop, where they have every kid’s favorite, astronaut ice cream.
8. FIND SOMBRA FRIA IN AGUA CALIENTE
Roy P. Drachman Agua Caliente Regional Park 12325 E. Roger Road friendsofaguacaliente.org
Don’t let the name Agua Caliente, or “hot water,” sway you from this summer gem. The vast 101-acre spread of land includes a perennial warm spring and an artificial stream linking its three ponds. The park supports diverse wildlife from fish to animal populations and allows for birdwatching, bat sightings and idle ramblings among the acres of cool shade. Restored buildings that dot the landscape recall the property’s long history as a ranch and thousands of years beyond that. Admission is free,
CATCH A GLIMPSE OF SOME YOUNGSTERS AT THE REID PARK ZOO. (SUBMITTED)
parking is ample, and hours are 7 a.m. to sunset.
We suggest you visit the website of the Friends of Agua Caliente Park before you go. You’ll find a video tour, information about the bats and birds and a top-line history of the property.
The site also relates a cautionary tale of the human interventions that, in just the last two centuries, all but destroyed the flowing springs that first attracted our ancestors.
9. FEEL THE BREEZE THROUGH A DOZEN SPECIES
Madera Canyon
South Madera Canyon Road, Green Valley fs.usda.gov
Throughout the summer, the canyon’s average temperature sits in the low 90s with a typical light breeze through the opening. A few dozen species of oak trees shade the land and provide a cool, low-key adventure along the Madera Canyon Nature Trail. At 5.8 miles out and back with a 921-foot elevation gain, it’s an easy path for those interested in hiking. If you’re not the type for a hike, there are plenty of spots to bust out the cooler and camp chairs and enjoy the nice weather.
Native plant species are labeled along the trail, so it’s fun to count the kinds of oaks. Take your binoculars, too, because Madera Canyon is rated the third-best birding destination in the United States.
10. SEE PHOTOS
Center for Creative Photography
1030 N. Olive Road
https://ccp.arizona.edu/
The UA Center for Creative Photography is home to a collection of stunning photography and is known as one of the finest academic art museums in the world. The center holds more than 100,000 works from 2,200 photographers, along with archives of major artists like Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer David Hume Kennedy, who has created images of every president since Gerald Ford.
Check out their recent exhibit, “The Linda McCartney Retrospective,” dis-
playing her whole photographic career from 1965 to 1997. Her work features striking Tucson landscapes and portraits of famous celebrities throughout the generations, including those of her husband, Sir Paul McCartney. The CCP galleries are open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. from Tuesday to Saturday with free admission. The McCartney exhibit will close Aug. 5.
11. GOTTA HAVE ART
Tucson Museum of Art
140 N. Main Avenue
tucsonmuseumofart.org
The Tucson Museum of Art, fresh from a number of recent expansions, is bigger and better than ever. The gallery specializes in curating art from Latin America, the American West, and Modern and Contemporary themes. Moreover, their mission is to celebrate the diverse culture of Arizona and the Southwest Corridor. Enjoy the renowned Arizona Biennial Exhibition, presenting the work of professional Arizonan artists chosen through a juried competition.
The museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday to Sunday with $7 to $12 admission and free for members and
SEE THE PHOTOGRAPHIC WORKS OF LINDA MCCARTNEY, AN ARTIST IN HER OWN RIGHT. (SUBMITTED)
specified populations. While you’re there, grab a bite at Cafe a la C’arte, which serves delicious omelets, sandwiches and salads. Or at least get something sumptuous from their dessert case.
12. SEE MORE ART
DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun 6300 N. Swan Road degrazia.org
Starting in the 1950s, the DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun was built and curated by the late artist Ted DeGrazia. What started as a small museum in the middle of nowhere has transformed into an adobe fortress through seven decades of creative ingenuity. You can tour the wonderful gallery filled with his works and then wander the grounds to see DeGrazia’s original house, his “Little Gallery,” where he first showed his work. The galleries were designed by the artist and include the lovely chapel he built in honor of the Virgin de Guadalupe.
13. STOP AND SMELL THE LAVENDER
Life Under the Oaks Lavender Farm 1221 N. Rancho Robles Road, Oracle lifeundertheoakslavenderfarm.com
In the northern foothills town of Oracle lies a flower oasis among 100-yearold oak trees. The elevation and vast fields of lavender encourage cooler weather on the grounds of Life Under the Oaks Farm. Enjoy a tour of the farm and take your pick of lavender-induced and -themed products. Life Under the Oaks also hosts tea parties, wreath and art workshops and farm-to-table meals. Plus, the aroma of lavender, we’re pretty sure, has a cool, calming effect on our fried brains.
14. CLIMB A MOUNTAIN, EAT A COOKIE
Mount Lemmon/Rose Canyon Lake
Catalina Highway/Sky Island Scenic Byway recreation.gov, skycenter.arizona.edu
Spend a day, a weekend or the entire summer on Tucson’s most popular mountain range. Mount Lemmon is an oasis in the middle of the desert. Driving up the mountain, the plants slowly change from cacti and shrubs to oak
and ponderosa pines. Its biodiverse environment also offers hiking, camping and fishing. While swimming is not allowed, the altitude and shade leave the area 20 degrees cooler than Tucson. Campgrounds are available for rent on recreation.gov. Consider stopping in one of the few mountain towns and visiting the Mount Lemmon Cookie Cabin for cookies, pizza, chili and sandwiches. Sawmill Run and Irondoor restaurants are also open for business. While you’re at 9,000 feet, check out the Arizona stars at the Mount Lemmon Skycenter by making a reservation.
15. WHAT’S ZOO WITH YOU?
Reid Park Zoo
3400 E. Zoo Court
reidparkzoo.org
Summer Safari Nights are back at the Reid Park Zoo. From 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Saturdays through Aug. 12, families and friends can explore the zoo in the cooler evenings. Every night will focus on a “Rock Star Animal,” including events themed after the chosen species from the zoo, along with the usual fun with giraffe feedings, live music from local
bands and, of course, carousel rides. Tucson Parks and Rec will partner with the zoo for “Ready, Set, Rec!” games and activities.
While Reid Park Zoo undergoes expansions of its parking lot and exhibits, Summer Safari Nights will continue with little interruption. Admission ranges from $6.50 to $10.50 and is free for members and children under 2.
16. HEAR THE MUSIC
Fox Tucson Theatre
17 W. Congress Street foxtucson.com
There’s something magical about summer concerts, and there’s something magical about Downtown’s gorgeous Fox Tucson Theatre. Put them together and you have memories that will last a lifetime. This summer, you’ve got the likes of Mary Chapin Carpenter (June 10); Junior Brown w/Mark Insley and the Broken Angels (June 14); Al Jardine w/Yahtzee Brown (June 17); Graham Nash (June 20); One of These Nights (June 23); Old Crow Medicine
CHUL CHILLIN
SAGUARO NATIONAL PARK THRIVES IN THE SUMMER
By Veronica Kuffel Tucson Local Media Sta
The Saguaro National Park is a popular go-to destination in the spring and winter. District ranger Perri Spreiser reminds residents that park is still open in the summer.
“There’s a saying in the parks service, that, ‘This is our off-season. This is our quiet season,’” Spreiser said. “That doesn’t really happen in national parks anymore. It is busy year-round. It’s just less busy than it is in the spring. We still have thousands of people coming from all over the world, all over the country to learn about this place.”
The park’s east and west districts will complete their spring programming June 3, when the summer events are unveiled. As the season closes, the rangers will organize a list of summer programs that will prioritize safety in the desert heat. Most will be hosted toward the beginning and end of days. They also need to be wary of the animal and plant populations that are active during mornings and evenings.
“The thing we have to tweak is how to provide programming safely,” Spreiser noted. “We don’t want people out in the middle of the day, so we need to reflect that in our actions as well, which is
why we shift to earlier in the morning or when the sun goes down.”
Most events, like “Secrets of the Saguaro” in the east and “Living with Giants” in the west, will continue this summer. Rangers may initiate new programs.
“They’re going to be different because of ranger preferences,” Spreiser said.
“We try to keep everything very fresh and engaging, and we focus on things that are interpretively themed to the park. We allow our rangers a little bit of freedom to take their passions and, if you will, geek out on those with visitors.”
As the park transitions to summer, night programming will continue sporadically, as most of the seasonal employees and volunteers leave Tucson for the season.
Parks staff initiated their night programming in April during International Dark Sky Week, leading full moon hikes, nocturnal lectures and stargazing.
Their recent Dark Skies Over Saguaro Party included activities organized by the Tucson Amateur Astronomer Association and International Dark-Sky Association. Saguaro rangers directed programs on Tohono O’odham sky knowledge and sound identification
when visibility is low in the desert.
“We have reduced staffing even with our volunteers, a lot of them are winter residents,” Spreiser said. “As they leave, we have to alter our programming to reflect a well-balanced, manageable workload for everyone.
“We feel it’s our job, it is our duty to still provide excellent education and interactive experiences for those individuals. I encourage people who have been here for five minutes or 500 years to come out and explore their national park.”
In related news, the staff is hoping
the venue will become an International Dark Sky Park, a facility that implements “good outdoor lighting and provides dark sky programs for visitors.”
To achieve this, Spreiser said the park needs to decrease light pollution.
“The park is working on changing the exterior lighting on buildings to make sure the tops of lights are protected,” Spreiser noted. “We’re going out with things like black lights and thermal imaging and night-vision goggles, tools and toys that allow people to experience the Sonoran Desert in literally a different light.”
PARK STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS LEAD A CACTUS PROGRAM AT SAGUARO NATIONAL PARK. (PERRI SPREISER/SUBMITTED)
SUMMER SAFARI NIGHTS START AMID ZOO CONSTRUCTION
By Veronica Kuffel Tucson Local Media Sta
Summer Safari Nights are back at the Reid Park Zoo to help beat the heat.
“During the summer, it’s so hard to spend time outside when it’s 110 degrees,” said Chelo Grubb, the zoo’s marketing and communications supervisor.
“We want to give that opportunity for people to come enjoy the zoo during the cooler evening hours and get some time outside without risking sunburns and whatnot.”
Every Saturday from 6 to 8 p.m. through Aug. 12 has a theme based on a “Rock Star Animal,” a species that staff incorporate into their programming.
“We’ll do keeper chats about the specific animals we’re featuring each week,” Grubb said. “Depending on the animal, we’ll have docents out with some really cool artifacts. People will get to know the animals a little more intimately.”
Presented by TMC Healthcare, Summer Safari Nights include animal encounters, artifact stations, giraffe feedings, carousel rides and crafts.
The Reid Park Zoo also scheduled live
music each night, featuring local artists and acts that range from The Circus Academy and Mr. Nature’s Music Garden to Mamma Coal and Dry Wash Anglers.
“As opposed to later hours at the zoo, it’s a little bit more of a celebration, more of a summer festivity,” Grubb said. “We work with a number of great bands throughout the year at different events. There’s nothing more fun than taking a break from walking through the zoo.”
For a few nights, the zoo will also host a Shopping Night with Desert Peach Management. Local artisans will provide their artwork and products of varied media types for the public. Reid Park Zoo has partnered with Tucson Parks and Recreation to put on their “Ready, Set, Rec!” games and activities throughout the night as well.
Summer Safari Nights will run alongside the zoo’s current construction projects, supervised by Lloyd Construction. CEO Nancy Kluge confirmed the Reid Park Zoo will continue to be open to the public and will not affect summer programming.
“There won’t be any effect on Summer Safari Nights, so that’s the good news,” Kluge said. “We’re constructing a sloth exhibit… so there is a small portion of South America closed off, but all of the animals in that area are still visible.”
The zoo is renovating a portion of its South America loop to welcome a new habitat for a Linne’s two-toed sloth. Kluge projected it will be completed by the end of the summer.
With development so close to existing animal enclosures, the CEO also noted the zoo puts animal well-being at the forefront.
“We monitor how our animals are doing during construction very closely,” Kluge said. “Our contractors know the animals come first here, so even if an animal looks like it’s having a difficult time with noise or vibrations, then they know they pull off that day.”
Along with habitats, a new nature playground will be constructed outside the Conservation Learning Center and will also be finished in late summer. The Angel Charity for Children World of Play Area will feature an Antarctic Ice Cave and a 30-foot manmade Sequoia tree.
Reid Park Zoo will expand its parking, allowing more visitors to the area and shade pathways with an additional 100 planted trees. After completion, developers will work on a new Pathway to Asia.
“Pathway to Asia will be a big addition, and that will open in 2025,” Kluge noted. “That’s the one that will have red pandas, small-clawed otters, tigers and reptiles like Komodo dragons.”
Kluge said she’s proud that the building plan uses no existing green space in the zoo or park. It will add 300 trees, converting 45% of the area to green space.
Kluge, Grubb and other zoo staff hope families not only have fun but leave with a new respect for nature and all of its wildlife.
“Our mission is to connect people with wildlife to inspire them to protect wild animals and wild places,” Grubb said. “We’re excited about any opportunity we have to get people to come to the zoo, to learn more about the animals in our care, to learn what they can to do make conservation a part of their life.”
Summer Safari Nights at Reid Park Zoo
WHEN: 6 to 8 p.m. Saturdays through Aug. 12
WHERE: Reid Park Zoo, 3400 Zoo Court, Tucson
COST: $6.50 to $10.50 (free for members and children under 2) INFO: reidparkzoo.org
GUESTS OBSERVE THE RESIDENT FLAMINGOS AS THE SUN SETS OVER REID PARK ZOO. (CHELO GRUBB/SUBMITTED)
AN OWL NIMBUS EDUCATOR INTRODUCES A ZOO ANIMAL TO THE PUBLIC.
Show (July 19); The Robert Cray Band (July 25); John Lodge (July 26); Cowboy Junkies (July 27); and The Australian Pink Floyd Show (Aug. 23).
Besides the concerts, the Fox will be doing movies, including singalongs with “West Side Story,” “Annie” and “Greatest Showman.”
17. TUCSON BOTANICAL GARDENS
2150 N. Alvernon Way tucsonbotanical.org
Tucson Botanical Gardens mission is to connect people with plants and nature through art, science, history, and culture. Originally founded in 1964 by horticulturist and collector Harrison G. Yocum, the gardens are now a lovely spread of pathways through gardens on the historic Porter Family property. This nonprofit organization hosts events, classes and programs, including a seasonal butterfly exhibit.
This year, it’s once again hosting Dog Days of Summer, by welcoming leashed dogs from June 1 to Sept. 30. They can accompany their parents on their strolls through the gardens. Take in the free smells, summer plants and grab a pup-a-licious snack from Edna’s Eatery.
Every Sunday June to August, from 6 to 8 p.m., guests can picnic, hang with friends or take in the garden sights as the sun goes down. Regular admission prices apply.
This community favorite is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily, except for Sunday evenings. Ticket prices range from $8 to $15 and are available online. Butterfly Magic hours are 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
18. A WHOLE NEW WORLD
The Dive Shop
1702 E. Prince Road, Suite 150 azdiveshop.com
72 Aquatics
3110 E. Fort Lowell Road 72aquatics.com
Paragon Dive Shop 2951 N. Swan Road, Suite 175 paragondivestore.com
It turns out it is possible to breathe underwater. You need an apparatus, of course, but where do you get that?
At any one of the three scuba shops in town.
If you’re just curious about what’s under the sea try an introductory snorkel class for about $50. For those who want to have more than just passing acquaintances with what’s under the
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borderlandia.org
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sea, there are classes to be certified to scuba dive. Finally, for the really enthusiastic, look for classes to become PADI certified to teach scuba diving. You don’t even have to go far. At least one of the shops has an on-site pool to learn in.
Once you’ve mastered a snorkel and tank, take an organized tour to one of the many international and exotic locales that all the shops offer. Or maybe just go on a drive and dive weekend to San Carlos. There’s plenty there to see, including a newly sunk decommissioned ship.
19. INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO YOUR TOWN
Trejo Walking Tours, the real history of Tucson trejostucson.com 520-329-2639
Even if it is hot, take a tour that will introduce you to your very own UNESCO City of Gastronomy. Hear a different take on the history of a few of Tucson’s neighborhoods, sample the wonderful food produced here in local restaurants, learn about the Turquoise Trail or spread out and tour Tubac, Tumacacori or our side of Nogales. You might even venture out for an overnight trip to learn about, and more importantly sample, bacanora. There is still plenty to see when the town slows down. Some of the tour operators prefer to lead their tours in the early morning or evening, and some of them will give you a private tour if you prefer. Check their websites for details.
Find more here: rb.gy/qpn08
20. BE A HERO
Santa Rita Park
401 E. 22nd Street
Next time you visit your favorite discount warehouse, consider picking up a couple of cases of water and a bulk package of flavored electrolyte powder packets.
Then round up some friends to help take it all to Santa Rita Park. You don’t have to talk to anyone you see hanging out there. If you don’t want the company, just leave your gifts on a picnic table. Folks will find and share them among your house-less fellow Tucsonans. You’ll never feel more grateful for your air-conditioned ride home.
By Linda Ray Tucson Weekly Columnist
W IS FOR WORMS!
Nan, “Always something to do.” Nanini library will host an event for kids ages 3 to 18 to learn about and play with worms. Ew! Led by Anna Van Devender, garden coordinator at Miles Exploratory Learning Center, kids read worm stories and invent funny, wormy words. They’ll also create worm bins out of repurposed materials, and take worms home to keep as pets or to put to work in the family garden. Dress for a mess and arrive early to be one of the maximum 15 participants.
1 to 3 p.m. Friday, May 26, Nanini Library, 7300 N. Shannon Road, pima.bibliocommons.com, free
SUMMER NIGHT MARKET AT MSA ANNEX
In Tucson, locally handmade gifts are the best, whether for yourself or others. We keep a box of good presents on hand in case we need one. Gifts from the Summer Night Market and MSA Annex shops are artsy, quirky, tasty and always fun. The shops stay open late, and shoppers can enjoy libations from Westbound and MiniBar all with the peerless beats of DJ Herm in the background. This year, for the first time, the market also features rotating art installations
6 to 10 p.m. Friday, May 26, and the last Friday of every month through September, MSA Annex, 267 S. Avenida del Convento, mercadodistrict.com/events, free
HOTEL MCCOY: “SWIMNEMA FRIDAYS”
Tucson’s mid-mod lodging gem lives its motto, “Always something to do.” They’ve just added a treat for cinephiles to their summer doings: We can watch a movie every Friday from the comfort of the cool, salt-water pool. This Friday, it’s “Grease.” Food is available from a truck in the parking lot and the hotel lobby features a full bar and popcorn. Indulge the temptation to sleep over on a Green Tea memory foam mattress, and wake up to the world’s longest oatmeal bar.
TOMBSTONE WYATT EARP DAYS
Take advantage of this long weekend to visit the old west. It lives on in Tombstone, “The town too tough to die.” The legendary lawman Wyatt Earp walks Tombstone’s streets to this day, and everyone in town dons their 1880s finest this weekend in his honor. Check out the O.K. Corral and the Bird Cage Theatre, and ride a real stagecoach through the town’s history.
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 27, and Sunday, May 28, Tombstone Visitor Center, 395 E. Allen Street, Tombstone, tombstoneweb.com, free
MEMBERS COMPETE FOR TOP PIZZA HONORS. (TUCSON ORIGINALS/SUBMITTED)
TUCSON ORIGINALS 2023 PIZZA THROWDOWN AND DESSERT DUEL
Savor original Tucson takes on the three major food groups — pizza, desserts and brews — at this friendly smackdown. We, the eaters, pick the winners. Hosting the event is Tucson Originals, an alliance among locally owned restaurants that are dialed in to Tucson’s unique culinary traditions. Pizza contenders include Rocco’s Little Chicago, Vero Amore, Firetruck Pizza company, Dante’s fire, The Dutch and more. 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, May 27, Fresco Pizzeria & Pastaria, 3011 E. Speedway Boulevard, $50 includes three drink tickets and unlimited pizza and desserts, eventbrite.com
TUCSON CHILDREN’S MUSEUM AT TOHONO CHUL
In partnership with the Children’s Museum Oro Valley, Tohono Chul now offers special activities and outdoor play spaces for kids. Indoor hands-on exhibits focus on the environment, including the culture, animals and plants native to the Sonoran Desert. Outdoor fun includes fanciful play structures, a performance space, a real tractor and a water-harvesting tank with a water pump. All features are fully accessible. Children must be accompanied by an adult and vice versa. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Tuesdays to Sundays indoors; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily outdoors. Tohono Chul Park, 7366 Paseo del Norte, $15, $6 ages 5 to 12, free younger than age 5, tohonochul.org,
8 p.m. Friday, May 26, and every Friday through October, Hotel McCoy, 720 W. Silverlake Road, $20 pool pass, free to guests, hotelmccoy.com
CIRQUE ROOTS: “FIRE AND FLOW”
Sky Bar made its name as an “astronomy bar” with special programs attracting faculty and students from the UA’s astronomy program, and astronomy fans from all over. Videos of the extended universe play on a continuous loop on the big screen, and every night the bar breaks out telescopes for stargazing
forties -- the music of Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Jelly Roll Morton and other nightclub and dance bands out of Chicago and New Orleans. It could be your jam, literally, if you bring your instrument and play along with traditional numbers like “Once in A While,” “New Orleans Bump,” “Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho,” “Beale Street Blues” — you get the idea. A jam follows the show. 7 to 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 31, and every Wednesday, The Century Room, Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress Street, free or $10 reserved, hotelcongress.com
UAMA: “THE VAULT SHOW”
The University of Arizona Art Museum’s collection comprises more than 7,000 works of art spanning the globe over centuries and cultures. It’s all stashed away, unseen, sometimes for decades. Each year UAMA staff lifts new favorites out of that obscurity and offers us a fresh perspective. The result is thematic only in the novelty of its diversity and the insights that only the works’ keepers can provide us.
ON THE ENVIRONMENT. (TOHONO CHUL/SUBMITTED)
11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday to Friday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, from Saturday, May 27, to Saturday, Sept. 30, University of Arizona Museum of Art and Archive of Visual Arts, 1031 N. Olive Road, artmuseum.arizona.edu, $8
ODYSSEY STORYTELLING: “DNA”
on the patio. Now Cirque Roots brings the fire down to earth every fourth Friday. Company members put on a 20-minute show with acrobats twirling and tossing flames into the night sky. 8:15 p.m. Friday, May 26, and the fourth Friday of every month, Sky Bar, 536 N. Fourth Avenue, cirqueroots.com, free
MYSTERIOUS BABIES JAZZ BAND
Led by soprano saxophone and cornet player Guy Senese, Mysterious Babies plays the jazz folks jammed to in the
What does “DNA” mean to you? That’s the question Odyssey Storytelling posed with June’s story prompt. Each month’s submissions are curated to determine who will present their stories live on the first Thursday of the month. July, though, is a Spontaneous Story Jam. We learn the topic when we get there, then let fly whatever story the topic inspires from our own experiences. Meanwhile, let’s hear what’s in the June storytellers’ “DNA.”
7 p.m. Thursday, June 1, The Screening Room, 127 E. Congress Street, $15, odysseystorytelling.com
THE CHILDREN’S MUSEUM AT TOHONO CHUL FOCUSES
WYATT EARP LIVES ON IN “THE TOWN TOO TOUGH TO DIE.” (VISIT TUCSON/SUBMITTED)
TUCSON ORIGINALS
LAUGHING STOCK
GIGGLE THROUGH THE NIGHT WITH TUCSON IMPROV MOVEMENT
By Linda Ray Tucson Weekly Columnist
Remember that one night at sleepover camp? Or that boon docker when nobody went home until the sun came up? Or any other occasion when you and your friends were hanging out, riffing with each other until the sun came up?
That euphoria, that jazz you feel, messing around in the middle of the night, laughing, that’s what improv is. You can take classes, you can learn improv games, but at its best, improv is people who like and trust each other a lot, relaxed, hanging out, maybe sharing snacks.
Tucson Improv Movement will be hosting 28 hours of that kind of fun starting at 6:30 p.m. Friday, June 2. Perhaps the best, and surely the silliest and weirdest hours will be from 2 to 7 a.m. Saturday morning. Nine of TIM company’s top improvisers will be playing scenes to giggle by.
To be sure, the TIM Improvathon will
offer lots of other laughs throughout. The Soapbox show, TIM’s longest running weekly team, celebrates its 400th show at 7:30 p.m. Friday night with special guests from the LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce. The company’s kids’ show, “Pretendy Time,” opens a five-hour run of family-friendly improv at 10 a.m. Saturday, then five of Tucson’s best comics will feature in a Saturday afternoon standup showcase.
All of TIM’s house teams perform a show from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday and the event wraps up from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. with a “24-Hour Comedy Party” followed by TIM’s runaway hit show, “A Big Wet Throbbing Queer Comedy Show,” a tribute to the kickoff of Pride Month. Find the complete schedule of shows at tucsonimprov.com.
TIM executive producer Justin Lukasewicz said that the 24-hour Improvathon sprang from the experience of an early TIM team, Party Barf, in the Del Close Improvathon. The massive event was hosted annually by The Upright Citizens Brigade across several venues in New York City. Party Barf participated for four years before the event shut down.
Paradoxically, a lot of the new excitement around this year’s event is a byproduct of COVID-19 lockdown. “The first year was like, ‘Just get through it and get back. And then year two and a half was ‘How do we build in support and empower people to kind of take ownership over the place?’
“I think this happened everywhere during COVID. The people who stuck with improv were the people who were like, ‘Wow! If improv’s not in my life, I’m missing something.’”
Guests share anecdotes about memorable events in their lives, and the Soapbox team spins them into comedy gold.
Having seen what fun an Improvathon could be, creating its own happy world for a day, Lukasewicz tried out the idea in 2017. He’s brought it back this year because he’s confident that the company is in better shape to sustain quality across a range of formats. And how better to earn money to pay down the company’s COVID-19 loan?
“I’m just really excited,” he said. “I feel like we’ve created an event where lots of different people in Tucson could come out for different portions. It’s like, ‘Whatever you’re into, we’ve got it.’”
Lukasewicz found that the people who stuck with it were motivated to be engaged, to level up their commitment to the company and to the game. New teams formed around new ideas. Lukasewicz and other experienced players encouraged new ideas and helped shape new show concepts for the stage. Lukasewicz was also able to cultivate more depth in the volunteer technical crew, the coaching staff and volunteer show hosts.
“I do think we’ve created a pipeline of community development that maybe we didn’t have before,” Lukasewicz said.
One constant in the theater’s history has been the success of the TIM’s weekly flagship show, “The Soapbox,” which will perform its 400th show during the Improvathon. Each week’s show features a different guest from business, government, the nonprofit sector or the arts.
The Soapbox cast is a model of the kinds of relationships and interactions that make for the best, and funniest, improv performances. Long-time cast member and current Improv 101 teacher, Clare Shelley, reflected on the ensemble’s success. “I remember our first show back in the theater when it re-opened (after the pandemic). It was unbelievable. The excitement and the interaction, the stimulation after being isolated for so long.
“One of my students was there, and afterward he said, ‘It was just crazy watching you. You trust each other so much. I just imagined that every week you’re doing trust falls and catching each other.’
“I can’t say that I know everybody’s personal lives but our improv we know very intimately. On that stage I trust them to just step into the unknown and just catch whatever it is that was thrown out.”
Ultimately, it seems, in an improv show, that what matters most is trust. But what about the snacks? Lukasewicz is on that, too.
“We’re going to have things we don’t normally have,” he said, rattling off Red
TIM’S IMPROVATHON JUNE 2 AND JUNE 3 SHOWS OFF THE ORIGINALITY AND DEPTH OF ITS FUN WITH FORMATS. (TUCSON IMPROV MOVEMENT/SUBMITTED)
HOLLY HILTON
MUSIC
ALL TIME LOW GRATEFUL FOR FAN SUPPORT
By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski Tucson Weekly Executive Editor
All Time Low frontman Alex Gaskarth wants to comfort his fans with music.
That’s the inspiration behind the band’s latest album “Tell Me I’m Alive,” which explores loneliness, isolation and coping with the pitfalls of the pandemic.
“It is not a ‘pandemic record,’ per se, but written on the heels of such a life-changing event. Its themes are certainly focused through and informed by that lens,” Gaskarth said.
“Some songs echo defiance and a desire to escape, others are reflective and remorseful over lost time and longing for deeper connections and deeper meaning. We wanted to instill a hopeful tone, but ultimately this album is about dealing with hopelessness and surviving. We hope our fans find comfort in the understanding that even at our lowest points, there can be forward motion, growth, the strength to let go of what no longer serves us, and ultimately a message of resilience.”
Machine Gun Kelly, Halsey) and Andrew Goldstein (Maroon 5, Katy Perry, Jxdn).
The album spawned the No. 1 alt-rock hit “Sleepwalking,” the emotional title track, and the anti-dating anthem “Modern Love.”
All Time Low will perform some of the tracks and its hits when it visits the Rialto on May 27.
“You can expect a lot of smiles, laughs and high fives,” he said. “I’m looking forward to it. It’s an energetic stage show. It’s different than anything we’ve ever done. I’ve started playing more piano on stage, which is fun and new for me. People equate that to meaning I’m up there doing ballads and stuff. It just fits nicely in the show.”
That stemmed from the injection of piano into “Tell Me I’m Alive.”
“The piano is a bit of a backbone to a lot of the songs on the record,” Gaskarth said.
“There’s so much piano on it that I wanted to get involved and start playing. I’m not really a piano player. It’s a fun exercise. You always have to keep pushing. I’ve been making music for 20 years. I need to keep it fresh.”
“Tell Me I’m Alive” is a progression from 2020’s “Wake Up, Sunshine,” according to Gaskarth. He said the changes came about naturally and “Tell Me I’m Alive” picks up where “Wake Up, Sunshine” left off.
The 13-track collection was recorded in Los Angeles and Aspen, Colorado, with longtime collaborators Zakk Cervini (Blink-182,
“We went to some new places, in terms of theatricality and the piano elements,” he said. “We just kind of also developed the sound that we had on the last record. The song ‘Sleepwalking’ lent itself nicely to the new vibes of the band. At this point, we always think about how it’s going to go over live.
“We put a lot of thought into how the songs are going to translate live. We wouldn’t want to put a song on the record, at this point, that we wouldn’t want to play live. That’s a big point of emphasis.”
Gaskarth said touring and performing for fans are vital to All Time Low.
“We really put our live show first,” he said. “It’s always been about getting on tour and getting on stage. Some people make records to make records. We make records so we can go out and play those songs live.”
Apparently, it’s affected listeners, too. Gaskarth explained that fans share “lovely things” about how their songs inspire or lift them.
Time Low w/Mayday Parade and Games We Play
“I hear how music helped them through a tough time,” he said. “I hear inspiring stories, or how a song or a mutual appreciation for songs have brought people closer together — like a mom who brought her kids to the show. It’s really satisfying.
WHEN: 7 p.m. Saturday, May 27
WHERE: Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress Street, Tucson
COST: Tickets start at $45; all ages INFO: 740-1000, rialtotheatre.com
“People spend their time, energy and their hard-earned money on wanting to share a moment like that with us. It’s really inspiring, and I’m incredibly grateful that people are coming.”
MUSIC
ZEBRA CELEBRATING 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF DEBUT ALBUM
By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski Tucson Weekly Staff
Zebra singer Randy Jackson has creepy memories of playing Tucson. This time around, when the hard rock band performs at the Rialto Theatre on Wednesday, May 31, it should be a little calmer.
“We’ve played out there a few years ago for a guy from New Orleans who had a haunted house with laser guns and stuff like that,” Jackson said about The Slaughterhouse. “He had bands outside.”
When the New Orleans-born act hits the Rialto, it will celebrate the 40th anniversary of its 1983 debut self-titled album by playing it in its entirety, front to back.
“We’re doing that everywhere we go,” he said. “It’s going to be great.
“It’s so weird that it’s been 40 years. That number and my age seem foreign to me. My grandkids ask me, ‘What’s your number?’ That’s how they ask how old you are.”
Produced by Jack Douglas, “Zebra” went gold and was the fastest-selling debut album in Atlantic Records’ history. “Zebra” sold over 75,000 copies in its first week and spent eight months on the Billboard charts, peaking at No. 29. During the next couple years, Zebra opened for Aerosmith,
The group has produced five albums and five videos with combined sales of over 2 million copies.
Jackson said he hasn’t had to rehearse the first album much, as the band hadn’t stopped playing songs from it.
“Songs have been part of our sets for some time,” he said. “We’ve played all the songs at one point or another. They’re not foreign to us.”
Zebra and Jackson have stayed passionate about music for very practical reasons — namely, “we’re still alive,” he said with a laugh.
“The music that we wrote reflects the songs that we listened to when we were younger,” he said.
“We used to do covers when we started. We played songs by over 50 different bands. The songs we would choose would be songs that we felt would last a long time. We very rarely played the hit of the week or learned a song that was here today, gone tomorrow.”
They played The Knack’s “My Sharo-
na,” songs by David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, Bad Company and Aerosmith.
“All of that stuff is just as strong today as it was for the fans of it back then,” said Jackson, who has been writing a new album for 20 years. “It’s possible that that influence flowed into the writing process for us and people still like the music. It has a little longevity and timelessness to it.”
Lyrics bolster that belief that the songs are timeless, as Jackson, of Long Island, said, they’re simply spiritual or break-up tracks.
“People can relate to them at any age,” he said.
Zebra w/Donnie Vie: The Original Voice of Enu Z’Nu
WHEN: 8 p.m. Wednesday, May 31 WHERE: Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress Street, Tucson
COST: Tickets start at $39; all ages INFO: 740-1000, rialtotheatre.com
ZEBRA HITS THE RIALTO THEATRE ON WEDNESDAY, MAY 31. (RICH BALTER/CONTRIBUTOR)
LAUGHING STOCK FROM PAGE 26
Bulls, late-night pizza, breakfast treats, etc., alongside the usual selection of beer, wine, White Claw, soft drinks and tasty flavors of local popcorn.
A $20 pass will cover admission to all the shows. That’s a bargain if you want to see even five of them. Regular prices are $7.50 per show or two for $10. However many shows you see you can think of it as a donation. According to Lukasewicz, all proceeds from the weekend will help pay down the COVID-19 loan.
OTHER SHOWS THIS WEEK
Corbett Brewery, 309 E. Seventh Street,
7 p.m. Friday, May 26, free, “Off the Deep End Comedy,” Rob Maebe headlines, Roxy Merari features, Adam Bauer and Yovan open, Cory Lytle hosts. Hotel Congress, 311 E Congress Street, 7 p.m. Saturday, May 27, hotelcongress. com, $15. The more-fabulous-than-life “Retro Game Show Night,” now in its 12th year, presents “The Mismatch Game” Hotel McCoy, 720 W. Silverlake Road, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 27, hotelmccoy. com, free “Chris Haughton and Friends,” Monte Benjamin headlines, Rich Gary features and Allana Erickson-Lopez opens.
Laff’s Comedy Caffe, 2900 E. Broadway Boulevard, 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Friday, May 26, and 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Saturday, May 27, laffstucson.com, $15, $20 preferred seating. Don Barnhart, winner of a “Bob Hope” award for 20 years’ entertaining troops around the world Tucson Improv Movement/TIM Comedy Theatre, 414 E. Ninth Street. tucsonimprov.com, $7 each show, $10 for both shows, same night, free jam and open mic. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 25, Improv 101 and 501 Showcase; 8:30 p.m. Open Mic with host Holly Hilton; 6:30 p.m. Friday, May 26, Improv Jam with host Sara Alcazar Silva; 7:30 p.m. “The Soapbox” with Rocque Perez; 9 p.m. Stand Up Showcase; 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 27, “The Meeting” and “Finding the Words;” 9 p.m. “Fourth Avenue Confessions” Unscrewed Theater, 4500 E. Speedway Boulevard, unscrewedtheatre.org, $8, live or remote, $5 kids. 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 26, Family-Friendly Improv; 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 27, Family-Friendly Improv; 9 p.m. Uncensored Improv Comedy with house teams NBOJU (Not Burnt Out Just Unscrewed) and The Big Daddies.
MUSIC
LIVE MUSIC CALENDAR
By Connor Dziawura Tucson Local Media Staff
MAY 25
Hank Topless
LaCo Tucson, 6:30 p.m., free
Sarah Shook & the Disarmers Club Congress, 8 p.m., $17-$20
MAY 26
Grade 2
191 Toole, 8 p.m., $16
Greg Morton & Jim Stanley
LaCo Tucson, 5:30 p.m., free
The Luis Muñoz Quartet featuring Lois Mahalia
The Century Room, 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., $20-$30
MAY 27
All Time Low
Rialto Theatre, 7 p.m., $45-$60
Bob Bauer
LaCo Tucson, 11 a.m., free
Fat Tony
Hotel Congress Plaza, 10 p.m., free
Ice Cube w/Too $hort
Casino del Sol’s AVA Amphitheater, 8 p.m., $32-$100
The Luis Muñoz Quartet featuring Lois Mahalia
The Century Room, 7 p.m., $20-$30
MAY 28
C U Soon, Louis On Tour, Death Will
Bring Change and The Dead Writers
Groundworks, 7 p.m., $10
Jerry’s Middle Finger
Hotel Congress Plaza, 7 p.m., $25-$30
Mik and the Funky Brunch
LaCo Tucson, 11 a.m., free
Rob Scheps and Glen Moore
The Century Room, 4:30 p.m., $15-$20
MAY 29
Century Room Jazz Orchestra
The Century Room, 7 p.m., $15-$20
MAY 30
Larry June
Rialto Theatre, 8 p.m., $45
Miss Lana Rebel & Kevin Michael
Mayfield
LaCo Tucson, 5:30 p.m., free
MAY 31
Mysterious Babies Traditional Jazz Band
The Century Room, 7 p.m., $10
Oscar Fuentes
LaCo Tucson, 5:30 p.m., free Zebra
Rialto Theatre, 8 p.m., $39-$58
GYRO SHACK PILES MEAT HIGH ON PITAS
By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski Tucson Weekly Staff
Boise, Idaho-based Gyro Shack has brought its Chicago/ Greek-style dishes to Tucson, marking the brand’s first Arizona location.
Located at 5775 E. Broadway Boulevard, Gyro Shack serves the authentic Greek street food for which founder Gus Zaharioudakis was known.
“He wanted to take the food that he remembered growing up on and spread it around to the people of Idaho,” said Matt Lord, Gyro Shack’s director of operations. “We didn’t have anything like that available to us at the time.”
Gyro Shack was acquired by Boise-based entrepreneurs Mark Ur-
ness and Matt Jeffries in 2000. They launched an aggressive franchising strategy.
“My bosses, the current owners, worked with him and bought him out when he wanted to semi retire,” Lord said. “Since then, we’ve tried our best to maintain his vision, which is serving affordable Greek food to the masses.”
Gyro Shack celebrated the grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 12. The brand donated 20% of all sales to the Wounded Warriors Project on May 11 and May 12.
The menu offers a variety of gyros and pita sandwiches, including the original with gyro meat, tzatziki sauce,
tomato and onion. Lord called the deluxe the stereotypical gyro with gyro meat, tzatziki sauce, tomato and onion and topped with feta cheese. The super adds bacon, hummus, pepperoncini, kalamata olives and spicy sauce.
cept,” Lord said. “That’s our big, fancy signature item.”
Lord said Gyro Shack doesn’t sacrifice taste for convenience. He was a fan before he started working for the company.
“It’s Chicago style,” he said. “We thin shave our meat and roast it fresh in the store. Then, we pile it up high on the pita. It’s all fresh cooked and thinly shaven.”
As for pita sandwiches, there are the chicken bacon ranch, spicy bacon avocado, Philly gyro and the “Z,” the latter of has gyro meat, tzatziki sauce, grilled onions, pepperoncini, feta and spicy sauce.
“The super gyro drags the European concept through the whole Greek con-
“I spent a lot of money going through their drive-thrus,” he said with a laugh. “I usually eat the deluxe or the Z, a gyro with grilled onions. It depends on if I want spicy or not.”
Gyro Shack
5775 E. Broadway Boulevard, Tucson 520-771-6248 gyroshack.com
THE DISSONANCE SURROUNDING THC VAPES
By Eva Halvax Tucson Weekly Contributor
In late October 2019, reports of a mysterious and severe lung disease crept throughout the country. What later became known as e-cigarette, vaping associated lung injury (EVALI) was sickening an alarming amount of people.
As of early 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported an eventual total of 2,506 cases of EVALI that required hospitalization; and all were linked to vaping. Arizona has reported 51 cases.
At first, it was unclear if the illnesses stemmed from nicotine or cannabis vapes. There was no clear connection in the cases between any brand, device or substance in any of the cases. Both THC and nicotine users were becoming sick, but those who reported using THC vapes were becoming sick at higher amounts.
Most cases were eventually linked to black market, unlicensed THC vapes, cracking open a messy legacy of illicit vape carts that are packed with toxic
chemicals, specifically vitamin E acetate, which is now believed to be the main culprit of the outbreaks. A study from Illinois and Wisconsin found that 83% of EVALI patients had used black market vapes, and 66% had reported using Dank Vape cartridges, a cryptic and illicit THC company that would later become notorious in the outbreak.
Because vitamin E acetate is odorless and colorless, while maintaining a similar viscosity to THC oil, it is commonly used as a cheap additive in black market vapes to toy with the consistency of the oil. While not typically harmful when ingested, vitamin E acetate can hinder regular lung functioning when inhaled, causing symptoms like shortness of breath, chest pain and a cough.
The crisis that ensued via contaminated vapes illuminated the dangers that occur when an industry is left unregulated. Vitamin E acetate has a complicated history in cannabis, one that is shrouded in secrecy, all while it sunk its teeth into the black market.
The California-based company Honey Cut Labs was a key player in this
phenomenon. Honey Cut Labs created a new type of vape additive, one that spurred the creation of multiple copycat products across the country.
A sample obtained o Craigslist by SC Labs found that the additive was 95% vitamin E acetate.
But it was too late, and the damage had already been done. Honey Cut Labs has since scrubbed itself of any digital presence, and much is still unknown about the company.
The CDC also reported that “the latest national and state findings suggest products containing THC, particularly those obtained o the street or from other informal sources (e.g., friends, family members, illicit dealers), are linked to most of the cases and play a major role in the outbreak.”
The gritty network of black market THC vapes exists ubiquitously online, with commercially packaged products available for purchase. They disguise themselves as industry regulated carts in a variety of ways: websites with lengthy industry jargon, QR codes
TUCSON AREA DISPENSARIES
BLOOM TUCSON
4695 N. Oracle Road, Suite 117
520-293-3315; bloomdispensary.com
Open: 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily
BOTANICA
6205 N. Travel Center Drive 520-395-0230; botanica.us
Open: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily
DESERT BLOOM RE-LEAF CENTER
8060 E. 22nd Street, Suite 108 520-886-1760; dbloomtucson.com
Open: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily O ering delivery
DOWNTOWN DISPENSARY
221 E. Sixth Street, Suite 105 520-838-0492; thedowntowndispensary.com
Open: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Saturday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday
D2 DISPENSARY
7139 E. 22nd Street 520-214-3232; d2dispensary.com
Open: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Saturday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday
EARTH’S HEALING
Two locations:
North: 78 W. River Road 520-253-7198
South: 2075 E. Benson Highway 520-373-5779
earthshealing.org
Open: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays; O ering delivery
GREEN MED WELLNESS CENTER
6464 E. Tanque Verde Road 520-886-2484, greenmedwellness.com
Open: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday; 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday
HALO CANNABIS
7710 S. Wilmot Road
520-664-2251; thegreenhalo.org
Open: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily
HANA GREEN VALLEY
1732 W. Duval Commerce Point Place
520-289-8030
Open: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday
HARVEST OF TUCSON
2734 E. Grant Road 520-314-9420; askme@harvestinc.com; harvestofaz.com
Open: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily
NATURE MED
5390 W. Ina Road 520-620-9123; naturemedaz.com
Open: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily
THE PRIME LEAF
Two locations:
• 4220 E. Speedway Boulevard
• 1525 N. Park Avenue
520-44-PRIME; theprimeleaf.com
Open: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays
TUCSON SAINTS
112 S. Kolb Road 520-886-1003; medicalmarijuanaoftucson.com
Open: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily
to access test results (these are usually falsified), familiar branding, and so on. Further findings from the CDC revealed that the black market brand Dank Vapes were consistently linked to severe THC lung injuries, and even deaths.
“Dank Vapes appears to be the most prominent in a class of largely counterfeit brands, with common packaging that is easily available online and that is used by distributors to market THC-containing cartridges,” the CDC
DEALER’S CHOICE
stated. Dank Vapes, like many illicit THC vapes are masters of disguise.
It's not hard to find mysterious websites with a hearty inventory of cannabis cartridges and promises of discreet shipping.
A selection of Dank Vapes online promise “lab-tested, extremely authentic, pesticide-free vape items, suitable for both medical and recreational use.”
Three years later, the consequences of the 2019 outbreak still bleed into concerns regarding the safety of vap-
THIS WEEK'S INDICA: Northern Lights is known for its heavy body high. The high from Northern Lights will blanket you into a happy state of relaxation. Northern Lights can also help aid with appetite and insomnia and is a good choice for those looking to quiet down the brain.
THIS WEEK'S HYBRID: Fire OG, while technically an indica-leaning hybrid, delivers an apex of creative stimulation and dreamlike bliss. Thanks to Fire OG’s rich presence of myrcene, it is the perfect strain for uninterrupted relaxation, aches and pains.
THIS WEEK'S SATIVA: Sour Diesel is a cerebral classic, known for its euphoric effects. If you’re looking for a strain to keep you on your feet, Sour Diesel is the one; a great choice for a good ol’ wake and bake.
ing THC products. The unfortunate reality is that there are illicit THC products in circulation. Dank Vapes included. But, these are not products that are available in any licensed dispensary.
In Arizona, each cannabis product sold in a dispensary is required to have a certificate of analysis, a document from a licensed lab that provides data that confirms the potency, purity and safety of a cannabis product. Dispensaries are required to have these on hand, and can provide them to any customer as needed.
Cannabis products cannot be sold legally without being tested for a plethora of heavy metals, residual solvents and pesticides. It’s a rigorous process. Cannabis brands must also be properly licensed within Arizona. These license numbers can be found on each individual product to verify its authenticity.
Smoking, whether it be electronic or not, will always pose risks. Inhaling any substance into the lungs comes with its own set of possible consequences, but the regulations within the industry are in place to ensure that these risks remain minimal, along with keeping consumers informed.
If a cannabis product is missing any of these qualifications, it is best to avoid it. On the other hand, if it passes these qualifications, happy toking!
COMICS
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 19)
My reading of the astrological omens inspires me to make a series of paradoxical predictions for you. Here are five scenarios I foresee as being quite possible in the coming weeks. 1. An epic journey to a sanctuary close to home. 2. A boundary that doesn’t keep people apart but brings them closer. 3. A rambunctious intervention that calms you down and helps you feel more at peace. 4. A complex process that leads to simple clarity. 5. A visit to the past that empowers you to redesign the future.
TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20)
GEMINI
Do you want a seed to fulfill its destiny? You must bury it in the ground. There, if it’s able to draw on water and the proper nutrients, it will break open and sprout. Its life as a seed will be over. The plant it eventually grows into will look nothing like its source. We take this process for granted, but it's always a miracle. Now let’s invoke this story as a metaphor for what you are hopefully on the verge of, Taurus. I invite you to do all that’s helpful and necessary to ensure your seed germinates!
(MAY 21-JUNE 20)
Your meandering trek through the Unpromised Land wasn’t as demoralizing as you feared. The skirmish with the metaphorical dragon was a bit disruptive, but hey, you are still breathing and walking around — and even seem to have been energized by the weird thrill of the adventure. The only other possible downside was the new dent in your sweet dream. But I suspect that in the long run, that imperfection will inspire you to work even harder on behalf of your sweet dream — and this will be a blessing. Here’s another perk: The ordeal you endured e ectively cleaned out stale old karma, freeing up space for a slew of fresh help and resources.
CANCER
(JUNE 21-JULY 22)
Testing time is ahead, but don't get your nerves in an uproar with fantasy-spawned stress. For the most part,
your challenges and trials will be interesting, not unsettling. There will be few if any trick questions. There will be straightforward prods to stretch your capacities and expand your understanding. Bonus! I bet you’ll get the brilliant impulse to shed the ball and chain you've been absent-mindedly carrying around with you.
LEO (JULY 23-AUG. 22 )
Biologist Edward O. Wilson said that the most social animals are ants, termites, and honeybees. He used the following criteria to define that description: “altruism, instincts devoted to social life, and the tightness of the bonds that turn colonies into virtual superorganisms.” I’m going to advocate that you regard ants, termites, and honeybees as teachers and role models for you. The coming weeks will be a great time to boost your skill at socializing and networking. You will be wise to ruminate about how you could improve your life by enhancing your ability to cooperate with others. And remember to boost your altruism!
VIRGO
(AUG. 23-SEPT. 22)
Jack Sarfatti is an authentic but maverick physicist born under the sign of Virgo. He suggests that if we make ourselves receptive and alert, we may get help from our future selves. They are trying to communicate good ideas to us back through time. Alas, most of us don’t believe such a thing is feasible, so we aren’t attuned to the potential help. I will encourage you to transcend any natural skepticism you might have about Sarfatti’s theory. As a fun experiment, imagine that the Future You has an important transmission for you — maybe several transmissions. For best results, formulate three specific questions to pose to the Future You.
LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22)
I have five points for your consideration. 1. You are alive in your mysterious, endlessly interesting life, and
By Rob Brezsny.
you are imbued with the fantastically potent power of awareness. How could you not feel thrilled? 2. You’re on a planet that’s always surprising, and you're in an era when so many things are changing that you can't help being fascinated. How could you not feel thrilled? 3. You have some intriguing project to look forward to, or some challenging but engaging work you're doing, or some mind-bending riddle you're trying to solve. How could you not feel thrilled? 4. You're playing the most enigmatic game in the universe, also known as your destiny on Earth, and you love ruminating on questions about what it all means. How could you not feel thrilled? 5. You never know what's going to happen next. You’re like a hero in an epic movie that is endlessly entertaining. How could you not feel thrilled?
SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21)
“Trust those that you have helped to help you in their turn,” advises Scorpio author Neil Gaiman. Let’s make that one of your mantras for the coming weeks. In my astrological understanding, you are due to cash in on favors you have bestowed on others. The generosity you have expressed should be streaming back your way in abundance. Be bold about welcoming the bounty. In fact, I hope you will nudge and prompt people, if necessary, to reward you for your past support and blessings.
SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22-DEC. 21)
So many of us are starved to be listened to with full attention. So many of us yearn to be seen and heard and felt by people who are skilled at receptive empathy. How many of us? I’d say the figure is about 99.9%. That’s the bad news, Sagittarius. The good news is that in the coming weeks, you will have an exceptional ability to win the attention of good listeners. To boost the potential healing e ects of this opportunity, here’s what I recommend: Refine and deepen your own listening skills. Express them with panache.
CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN. 19)
Because you’re a Capricorn, earthiness is probably one of your strengths. It’s your birthright to be practical and
sensible and well-grounded. Now and then, however, your earthiness devolves into muddiness. You get too sober and earnest. You’re bogged down in excess pragmatism. I suspect you may be susceptible to such a state these days. What to do? It may help if you add elements of air and fire to your constitution, just to balance things out. Give yourself a secret nickname with a fiery feel, like Blaze, or a crispy briskness, like Breezy. What else could you do to rouse fresh, glowing vigor, Breezy Blaze—even a touch of wildness?
AQUARIUS (JAN. 20-FEB. 18)
I love to use metaphors in my writing, but I hate to mix unrelated metaphors. I thrive on referring to poetry, sometimes even surrealistic poetry, but I try to avoid sounding like a lunatic. However, at this juncture in your hero’s journey, Aquarius, I frankly feel that the most e ective way to communicate with you is to o er you mixed metaphors and surrealist poetry that border on sounding lunatic. Why? Because you seem primed to wander around on the edges of reality. I’m guessing you’ll respond best to a message that's aligned with your unruly mood. So here goes: Get ready to surf the spiritual undertow all the way to the teeming wilderness on the other side of the cracked mirror. Ignore the provocative wasteland on your left and the intriguing chaos on your right. Stay focused on the stars in your eyes and devote yourself to wild joy.
PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH 20)
“The gift of patience opens when our body, heart, and mind slow enough to move in unison.” So says Piscean poet Mark Nepo. I feel confident you are about to glide into such a grand harmony, dear Pisces. Through a blend of grace and your relaxed e orts to be true to your deepest desires, your body, heart, and mind will synchronize and synergize. Patience will be just one of the gifts you will receive. Others include: a clear vision of your most beautiful future; a lucid understanding of what will be most meaningful to you in the next three years; and a profound sense of feeling at home in the world wherever you go.
for
by a
West Tucson. Ajo and Kinney. Privacy assured. 7AM to 7PM. In/Out calls available. Darvin 520-404-0901. No texts.
ACROSS
1 Nonmagical sort, in the Harry Potter universe
7 What’s found in cafés but not coffee shops?
13 Spanish loves
14 St. Bernard or mastiff, often 15 Hoity-toity types
Goofus
Wireless speaker brand
Place 19 Fencing equipment
20 Shade akin to fuchsia 23 Part of Q.E.D. 24 ___ blind 27 Dispenser of drafts
28 “Black gold” or “Texas tea”
30 Out of the office
32 Nine-digit ID
34 One leaving its pad quickly
39 Astronomical objects represented by the circled letters in this puzzle
42 One righting writing
43 “The lowest form of humor — when you don’t think of it first,” per Oscar Levant
44 “The Song of the ___” (Willa Cather novel)
Many a wedding cake topper
First Chinese dynasty
Unleashes on
47 Broadcaster of “The Price Is Right” for more than four decades
Intro to sociolog y?
49 Letters requesting help
50 Back talk
54 Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, for two 57 Offering in church 59 Noche’s counterpart 60 Nevada senator Jacky 64 Low-calorie cookie spinoff 66 Adverb in a contract 67 Eccentrics
“Evita” setting: Abbr.
Word with tax or cheat
Type of car whose name comes from the French word for “cut”
Toon hunting for a “scwew
68 Produce oxidation in 69 Author Hemingway 70 Tablet tool
Some shor t-term
1 Service that might be in Latin
“Yeah, that won’t work for me”
Was behind
“I’m listening ...”
Island between Java and Lombok
W.C. 31 As of now
Scolding sounds
Bit of shut-eye
450, in ancient Rome
Place to wash up?
Part of some “Red” or “White”
Many a wedding cake topper
Island between
Unleashes on
and Lombok
Intro to sociology?
“Evita” setting: Abbr.
Word with tax or cheat
of
Type of car whose name comes from the French word for “cut”
Toon hunting for a “scwewy wabbit”
Site of a mythical lion slaying
rendezvous
“Me, too!”
Patty’s place
___ Challenge (famous
Sorento and Telluride 37 Amazon-owned home Wi-Fi brand 38 Scolding sounds 40 Part of some “Red” or “White” uniforms
Son of, in Arabic surnames
St. ___ (Caribbean isle)
Some German cars
Word on the ___
“___, not ___!”
“Uncle Tom’s Cabin” author
Broadcaster
Approx. when planes take off
Oktoberfest vessel 53 Place to wash up? 55 Son of, in Arabic surnames
