Zocalo Magazine - October 2014

Z贸calo Tucson arts and culture / ZOCALOMAGAZINE.COM / October 2014 / no. 56

index October 2014 07. Events 25. Business 26. Film 32. Arts 43. Community 44. Garden 46. Poetry 46. Food & Drink 49. History 53. Tunes 56. Life in Tucson 58. Escape On the cover:

Photo by Erin Durband / www.ekahd.com Face Painting Artist: Adela Antoinette Hair: Lindsey Epperson Models: Bettina Balderas and Cory Kuehn Succulents: EcoGro Tucson

Zócalo is an independent, locally owned and printed magazine that relects the heart and soul of Tucson.

PUBLISHER & CREATIVE DIRECTOR David Olsen EDITOR Jamie Manser CONTRIBUTORS Craig Baker, Marisa Bernal, Andrew Brown, Jon D’Auria, Erin Durband, Tony Hoagland, Kerry Lane, Jim Lipson, Jamie Manser, Brandon Merchant, Niccole Radhe, Steve Renzi, Herb Stratford, Eric Swedlund.

LISTINGS Marisa Bernal, listings@zocalotucson.com PRODUCTION ARTISTS Troy Martin, David Olsen CONTACT US:

frontdesk@zocalotucson.com P.O. Box 1171, Tucson, AZ 85702-1171 520.955.ZMAG Zocalo Magazine is printed in Tucson at Sundance Press.

Subscribe to Zocalo at www.zocalomagazine.com/subscriptions.

Zocalo is available free of charge in Tucson, limited to one copy per reader.

Zocalo may only be distributed by the magazine’s authorized independent contractors. No person may, without prior written permission of the publisher, take more than one copy of each issue. The entire contents of Zocalo Magazine are copyright © 2009-2014 by Media Zoócalo, LLC. Reproduction of any material in this or any other issue is prohibited without written permission from the publisher. Zocalo is published 11 times per year.

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from the editor Life is punctuated by milestones. Between birth and death is a dazzling journey of ups and downs, smart and not-so-smart decisions along with seemingly random events. When one reflects on those collective circumstances and subsequent outcomes, life’s trajectory takes on a whole new perspective.

For me, my time as Zócalo’s editor marks a significant period in my life. I was able to grow as a writer, editor and content creator. To Zócalo Magazine’s Publisher David Olsen, I owe a debt of gratitude for his role in my professional and personal growth. We’ve worked together, on and off, since 1998. First at the Tucson Weekly, then at the Tucson Downtown Alliance – where we helped support Downtown’s evolution via events, marketing and promotion through the monthly Downtown Tucsonan and other endeavors. By April 2009, due to individual factors, neither of us were employees of the – then rebranded – Downtown Tucson Partnership.

Through David’s DIY courage, we launched Zócalo Magazine in May 2009. He trusted me to be a cocollaborator and eventually lead in compiling the editorial content. He emboldened me to work closely with Zócalo’s dedicated contributors who beautifully showcase Tucson’s personalities, organizations, history and events.

Through Zócalo Magazine, my heart has been fully opened to our incredible community. Working with the magazine’s talented and passionate writers and their coverage of the town, I’ve come to deeply appreciate the big things small groups of people can do to make the world a better place. It is inspiring and humbling.

As I scribe these words, it is with a profound mix of sadness and excitement; a flurry of bittersweet swirls in my soul as I mark this chapter’s end as Zócalo’s editor.

In mid-September, I began my full-time position with the UA’s Confluencenter for Creative Inquiry as its Communications and Events Coordinator. It is thrilling and challenging to join a budding and promising three-year-old center at the university that has already won awards and is doing amazing work to bring together students and faculty of various disciplines to research topics that touch humanity in so many productive ways. Between the Confluencenter’s event series, book series, the faculty and graduate grant programs and the work needed to get the word out; I had to make the difficult decision to resign as Zócalo’s editor.

Zócalo Magazine will continue to bring interesting articles to the Old Pueblo and I will continue to scribe for this beautiful publication. It has been super awesome on so many levels! Being a part of it has taught me so much and I am forever grateful.

Thank you for being so cool and continuing to support one of the few hyper-local journals in town that gives a damn.

– Jamie Manser

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Consume Culture y Comida Tucson Meet Yourself’s annual multi-cultural celebration is in its fortieth year.

by Craig Baker

photos: Steven Meckler/courtesy of Tucson Meet Yourself

James “Big Jim” Griffith is a national treasure. No, really — the National Heritage Foundation gave him a fellowship in 2011 saying as much. The Bess Lomax Hawes Award is given each year to a person who has made a “significant contribution” to the preservation of cultural heritage and it’s generally regarded as the highest honor in its field — like the Nobel Prize or Fields’ Medal of folk arts — and Big Jim brought one of those bad boys home to Tucson. (Author’s note: Big Jim was incredibly humbled by the award despite the tone of this paragraph.)

Throughout his career Griffith has advocated for folk art in all forms, from religious painting to tribal dancing to Tohono O’Odham fiddle-playing.

He worked for 19 years as the UA’s Southwest Folklore Center’s public folklorist, which meant that he got to meet a lot of interesting people and catalog their artistic contributions, many of which might have otherwise disappeared into historical oblivion.

Despite the fact that he’s now nearly eighty-yearsold, Griffith still serves on the board of directors at the Southwest Folklife Alliance as well as the board of the Patronato San Xavier, which serves to keep the 17th Century mission near his home in ship-shape. He is also coordinating a bluegrass music segment at Tucson Meet Yourself (TMY) this year and is even known to pluck a mean banjo himself from time to time. All this, though he prefaces the list with: “Well, I’m retired, you know.”

You’ll likely see Griffith maneuvering around Presidio and Jacome Plazas downtown on his three-wheeled scooter during all three days of the TMY festival this month if you’re looking for him. And if you ask — and if he’s not too busy — he’ll probably be willing to tell you a little about what it was like in 1974 when he and his wife Loma founded and coordinated the very first “Tucson, Meet Yourself” event in the history of our community.

He and Loma were regulars on the folk festival circuit and the idea came to them to throw some sort of party that could also help to “serve the community.” He says there was “simply a lot of beauty being created in Tucson within small groups of people — ethnic groups, religious groups, occupational groups — and food too —

and there was no occasion on which everybody in Tucson could enjoy this and see just how exciting this community is.”

Though Griffith served as director of the event for many years, longtime volunteer and former Folklife Alliance Board President Maribel Alvarez, Ph.D., has taken the reins on the project for the last two years. Still today, though, she insists that (despite many locals having dubbed the event “Tucson Eat Yourself,” as homage to the amount and variety of food available at the festival) the heart of TMY is still cultural education. “Our ideal is that within about five minutes of being there, somebody would recognize that we are about traditional arts and heritage,” says Alvarez, adding, “but at the same time it does come in the shape of a fun event.”

Alvarez, who is also an associate research professor at UA’s School of Anthropology and at The Southwest Center, points out that TMY and festivals like it are part of a long cultural tradition of coming together to eat, drink, and enjoy performance art in whatever form available (certainly it’s an idea that at least predates TV). And it is precisely that tradition that can actually help to keep those folk arts alive by giving them a platform — and, in this case, a relatively large one — on which to be seen.

Though forefront in their mission, to the average Tucson Meet Yourself participant the educational component of the festival is basically a by-product of having a good time — and that’s just how the organizers want it. “You’ve gotta have a great big sugary coating around that pill or else nobody’s gonna swallow it,” says Griffith of his lifelong drive toward public education. “It’s gotta be fun."

And he must be right, because Tucson Meet Yourself (they dropped the comma in the name years ago) has grown from a small-time performance art festival to a three-day cultural extravaganza that accommodates about 100,000 attendees, 125 individual performances, and more than 50 cultural food vendors in a single weekend.

So, there it is; Tucson Meet Yourself is more than a full belly and a happy heart — it is annual proof positive of the Old Pueblo’s living culture. Oh, and it’s a whole lot of fun! n

Tucson Meet Yourself takes place Downtown Oct. 10-12.

Find the schedule of events, locations and other information at TucsonMeetYourself.org.

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The Big Picture SAT 4

Photo: fotovitamina

Members of the Central Tucson Gallery celebrate their season opener for the contemporary art galleries with a kick-off expo at several galleries in Tucson including The Drawing Studio, Raices Taller, Conrad Wilde Gallery, Joseph Gross Gallery, Davis Dominguez Gallery, Philabaum Gallery, Contreras Gallery, Louis Carlos Bernal and Obsidian Gallery Free. Galleries open at 11am, reception events start at 6pm. CTGATucson.org

Tucson Modernism Week FRI 3 - SAT 11 A Celebration of Tucson’s Mid-Century Modern design and architecture. Events include: A spotlight on architect icon Robert Swaim, films, lectures and more. See website for times, locations and prices.

TucsonMod.com

Garrett Eckbo Modern Landscape in Tucson

Pumpkin Fiesta SAT 4 - SUN 5 Sonoran Glass School invites the public to explore artisan glass pumpkin patches on bales of hay or create their own colorful pumpkin alongside a professional artist at the 8th annual Pumpkin Fiesta. Admission is free and sales from glass pumpkins or Make Your Own Pumpkin Experiences support Sonoran Glass School’s educational programs, including award-winning and free glass art educational programming for school-aged children in Southern Arizona. It takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m on Oct. 4 and 5 at Sonoran Glass School near Barrio Viejo at 633 West 18th Street in Tucson, Ariz. Glassblowing instructors will be on hand to help individuals sign up and choose the colors and design for their pumpkins. Attendees may make a glass art pumpkin for $85. More info at SonoranGlass.org

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Tucson Fashion Week THU 16 - SUN 19 Tucson Fashion Week explodes into national prominence October 16th through 19th, with a world-class array of leaders and icons in the Fashion industry. With four days full of fashion fun at four of Tucson’s favorite venues, Tucson Fashion Week offers a wide range of events for every taste. The standout event of the lineup will be the Project Runway Showcase & Project Arizona show (below.) Details at www.tucsonfashionweek.com

Project Runway Meets Tucson

Pictured (clockwise): Designers Korto Momolu, Peach Carr, Mila Hermanovski, Bert Keeter, and Daniel Esquivel.

Sat 8, 6pm - 10pm at Fox Tucson Theatre Featuring capsule collection from Costume Designer and former UA School of Theatre Dept. Chair, Al Tucci; the works of three emerging Project Arizona designers: Estrella Sevilla, Loreto Echevarria, and 2013 Betsey Johnson’s Choice winner Meggen Connolley of Magnetic Threads and a presentation of TFW Founder Elizabeth Denneau’s CandyStrike collection. The evening concludes with the Project Runway Showcase featuring the works of five Project Runway/Project Runway All-Star designers Bert Keeter, Korto Momolu, Daniel Esquivel, Mila Hermanovski, and Peach Carr. Details at www.tucsonfashionweek.com

Sun 19, 10am - 1pm at Playground Shop and Sip: An intimate brunch and trunk show will offer the works of Project Runway Designers. Details at www.tucsonfashionweek.com

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photo: Andrew Brown

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The Conjuring at the hidden Hotel Congress room THU 19, THU 16, THU 23, THU 30 Prepare to have the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end all October long at The Hotel Congress. Famously known as the hotel with history, the nearly century-old building has been privilege to countless unexplained mishaps, strange happenings, and tragedies. Hotel Congress engaged the services of Kenneth Macabre and Medium, Miss Malanga, two experts in the occult, to evoke and expel the spirits fervently haunting the hotel. The Conjuring takes place in The Hidden Room of Congress, which was unexplainably left unharmed after the fire that ravaged the hotel in 1934. Some may say Mr. Macabre and Ms. Malanga merely perform parlor tricks, whereas others claim to have seen the veil between the living and the dead lifted, if only for a moment. You’ll just have to decide for yourself, with the limited engagement of shows open to the dauntlessly curious. 45-minute shows at 7:30 and 9 p.m. every Thursday in October. Details at HotelCongress.com

Downtown Lecture Series WED 15, WED 22, & WED 29 The Conjuring

Humanities Week MON 13 - FRI 17 Series of events showcasing professors and topics from the College of Humanities. See website for various times and lecture topics. Dorthy Rubel Room, 1508 E. Helen Street. Free. 626-4319, Humanities.Arizona.edu

Master Gardens Home Garden Tour

SAT 18, 9am - 3pm

16th Annual self-guided tour of four unique gardens, planted and cared for by Pima County Master Gardeners with talks and demonstrations by Master Gardeners at each site. Tickets are $15 and are on sale at nurseries throughout Tucson (Civano, Harlow Gardens, Mesquite Valley Growers, Plants for the Southwest, Green Things, The Magic Garden, B&B Cactus Farm, Bachs Cactus Nursery) and at the Pima Co. Extension Office 4210 N. Campbell Ave.

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The University of Arizona’s College of Social and Behavioral Sciences is the “The People College.” We study people and their connections with each other, their pasts, and the world around them to better understand the complexity that shapes their daily lives. The Downtown Lecture Series is designed to share those insights by inviting UA faculty to take the stage in downtown Tucson and share their work. This year, the series will explore “food” and its connections with people’s health, culture, and environment. Fox Tucson Theatre, 6:30pm.

Details at DowntownLectures.arizona.edu

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image: Andrei Kukla

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Envision Tucson Sustainable…Please!

by Jim Lipson Saddled with a name that is cumbersome at best, ambiguous at worst, an argument could be made there is no day-long gathering more important to our very survival as a species than the third annual Envision Tucson Sustainable Festival.

Yes, a bit melodramatic perhaps. But living in a world where essential resources such as water, food and energy are becoming painfully more finite, figuring out how we can sustain our way of life without depleting the dwindling resources around us is eventually going to have to become part of everyone’s consciousness. This is especially so should we hope not leave it to our children to deal with the excesses of political shortsightedness and environmental mismanagement.

Wow, more hyperbole, and yet – besides using a more energy efficient light bulb or rolling a blue recycling container in front of or behind the house once a week – how many of us really look to incorporate new ideas or technologies into our lives or lifestyles, that could really make a difference? This is the essence of the festival, which this year – by moving out of the traditional feelgood Reid Park bandshell and surrounding display area – is hoping to facilitate a much more engaged experience combining educational talks, displays and workshops with many hands-on opportunities.

As one of its organizers, Greg Wetzel acknowledges, “The first two (festivals) were very humble. We feel this one will be different because having it at the Y, with its courtyard, conference room and back areas will help make it more of a community expo.” And indeed the expansive YWCA on Bonita Street just west of Downtown, will provide a completely different feel and more contained environment for the variety of speakers, exhibitors and Do it Yourself (DIY) areas.

In addition to asking the public to begin thinking (or thinking more in-depth) about what “sustainability” means and what it might look like, the festival will also serve as a showcase highlighting many activities around sustainability that

are already going on within our community. Things such as composting, solar, organic gardening and water harvesting will all be a part of the festival. New ideas such as energy economics and sustainable business models will also be on the agenda.

For sustainable ideas in transportation, the Tucson Electric Vehicle Association will also be on hand with a selection of electric vehicles, answering your questions and providing perspective on the viability of such vehicles. In celebration National Co-op month, the Food Conspiracy Co-op is collaborating with a cluster of business cooperatives to talk about and share information on the variety of cooperative business models.

This year’s festival will also recognize the next generation of sustainability leaders. According to its press release, Envision Tucson sustainable will again honor a school and its enthusiastic kids that integrate raising food and building green skills with classroom learning. This year’s award winner is Manzo Elementary School, which has also been honored nationally as a Green School of the Year. The University of Arizona’s Students for Sustainability are also working with the festival to make this a UA campus collaboration with the community.

Local and native foods will also be on display in a food court for purchase, which will of course feature non-GMO options. The YWCafe will be open, selling organic coffees and aquas frescas. Local musicians throughout the day are set to provide a soundtrack for the event.

True to its mission, the festival will also be practicing what it preaches by leaving the Y with a newly planted 30’ x 30’ garden plot that is going in on Saturday, Oct. 18 - the week before the Sunday, Oct. event. According to Wetzel, “We have to leave something behind that’s sustainable.” n

The Envision Tucson Sustainable Festival takes place on Sunday, Oct. 26 at the YWCA, 525 N. Bonita Ave. from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information visit EnvisionTucsonSustainable.org.

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All Souls Procession A Tucson Ritual

by Eric Swedlund

Tucson’s All Souls Procession is celebrating a milestone this November – its silver anniversary.

Accompanying the procession’s 25 years has been a tremendous grassroots growth that has transformed it from the humble performance piece organized by local artist Susan Johnson to mourn her father’s passing into a communitywide phenomenon. This is one of Tucson’s signature festivals that is expected to draw more than 100,000 people Downtown for a weekend’s worth of events Nov. 8 and 9, culminating in the non-motorized, human-powered procession and an awe-inspiring grand finale.

“There are things that it has in common with lots and lots of traditions all over the world, especially carnival traditions that take something terrifying or sad and processes it, processing it through the community and dressing up and dancing and singing. That model is all over the world,” says Nadia Hagan, artistic director of the procession.

“But I think what’s amazing about the All Souls Procession is – in all of those other instances, there’s an agreed-upon tradition, there’s a dogma, there’s a religion and everybody has this consensus about what God looks like and what song God likes to hear or what God wants you to wear,” Hagan says. “We don’t have that. I love that it’s this flurry of art, but it’s an artistic democracy and no one art form dominates another art form. Everything gets wheeled through the same corridor. That to me is so particularly American and I love that.”

The festival’s growth – particularly in the last decade – has brought Hagan press attention and questions about how people should participate, something Hagan was hesitant to answer, even as costumes and face-painting spread on its own, person to person.

“The press really wanted me to give them a checklist and I don’t want to do that,” she says. “It’s really important to me that the way we express is really honest for us. There are these things people do and you may be really inspired, but for it to have meaning, it really has to have a personal connection. It has to be what we want to express in that deepest grief that really matters to us and there’s nobody that can tell you that. It has to be an inner thing that happens for each person.”

The growth has also heightened monetary challenges for the non-profit event. The procession’s expenses include permits, police, barricades, port-apotties, lighting, artist stipends, supplies for arts workshops and more, which totaled almost $100,000 last year. More than two-thirds of that was raised through individual and small business donors and fundraisers sponsored by local businesses, including Buffalo Exchange, Pop-Cycle Shop, Borderlands Brewery, and Surly Wench Pub. Last year also began fundraising in the Nights of 1000 Parties model, with small parties acting as fundraisers as well.

“It was slow going, but it’s finally caught on,” Hagan says. “Because there

are so many crowd-funding models out there now, there’s so much more familiarity with these different models, people understand what it means when lots and lots of people give a little bit.”

Corporate or public sponsorship has never been an option, even as the expenses closed in on six figures.

“There is a way that people do things in the corporate scheme, but for the mode and the intent of the festival and the process, those two things just don’t go together,” Hagan says. “We’ve always had a vision for was true for the procession. I don’t ever think we could have strayed off that. For us, the vision was tied up in the doing of it. The model and the mode are the same for us. It’s intrinsic and it’s never been difficult to stay true to it.”

This year’s finale again features Odaiko Sonora, founded in 2002 to bring taiko, Japanese ensemble drumming, to Tucson. For Odaiko Sonora, the grassroots collaboration and humanity of the procession is emblematic of Tucson’s true spirit.

“I’m interested in community ritual. It’s something that’s lacking in our culture these days. It’s hard to find a ritual that’s not attached to a specific social cause or some belief system. This is open to all traditions and that’s important to me,” says co-founder Karen Falkenstrom.

Odaiko Sonora’s other co-founder, Rome Hamner, says her participation in the All Souls Procession began to feel much deeper in 2008 when she flew on a crane during the finale.

“The experience of rehearsing with the aerial artists and soaring a couple hundred feet over the crowd playing drums was terrifying but also very profound,” she says. “The finale ritual is about transforming and shifting energy and ever since then, the procession has felt much deeper to me.”

Hagan encourages everyone to find their own way to participate.

“Everyone suffers loss. Once you’ve suffered a loss that’s close, it changes over time, but it doesn’t go away. That loss is still there, but how you feel it and the way you want to participate changes,” she says. “I know some people who back off when they’ve suffered something difficult. They’d rather stand on the side and watch. It’s hard to throw yourself in when you feel broken. Other people go 100 percent because it connects and it means something for them that they’ve never felt before.” n

Leading up to the All Souls Procession are many workshops and events, which include activities for families and children, happening throughout the month of October. Visit AllSoulsProcession.org to find out about the sundry ways to get involved. All Souls Procession is Sunday, Nov. 9. See the website for route information, times and other details.

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Cycle the Open Road

by Jon D’Auria

With year-round sunny weather and steadily improving roads, Tucson is an ideal place for bicycling – whether it is for exercise, sport, leisure or as a way to commute around town. Some people still feel uneasy about sharing the roads with motorists – even with demarcated bike lanes – or taking to the city’s streets after dark, but one organization has made it their mission to set the record straight and educate Tucsonans on the joys of pedal commuting.

“Our goal is to provide an opportunity for people who don’t normally use biking or walking for transportation in their lives to see how accessible it can be. We want to encourage people to use active transportation as a daily function,” says Cyclovia Event Coordinator Kylie Walzak. “There is a perception that the streets aren’t a safe place for biking or walking, but when you increase the number of people on the streets, the level of violence goes down. We also want to show people roads that they can use that are low-stress routes where people should feel comfortable riding along the streets.”

Living Streets Alliance is holding their 7th Cyclovia Tucson event on Sunday, Nov. 2, an event that encourages people to hop onto their bikes and get into the roads. Cyclovia will be blocking off a 2.5-mile route from 6th Avenue and 7th Street to University Boulevard and 4th Avenue to 6th Avenue and north Blacklidge Drive along the Fontana Avenue Bike Boulevard. The event is expected to draw more than 30,000 people who will be taking the streets on bikes, by foot, on roller skates and many other forms of healthy, human-powered transport.

“If you haven’t been before, we find that people often assume that it is a bike race, but we assure you that it is not. It is an event that celebrates active transportation for the community of Tucson,” says Walzak. “The streets are literally filled with people getting on their bikes or walking and jogging and stopping to partake in fun activities. There are DJs and food vendors and sidewalk chalk artists everywhere and it’s very spontaneous and fun. We’re encouraging people to get out and connect and explore parts of town that they might not experience every day.”

The event is family friendly and will include food, entertainment, art and

music all along the route where local businesses and non-profit organizations will have booths and activity stations set up for attendees to experience. One of the event’s biggest supporters is BICAS (Bicycle Inner-Community Art & Salvage), the non-profit that recycles old bicycles and parts and turns them into new bicycles or pieces of art, while inspiring our town's bike community to grow and expand.

“We’ve been participating in Cyclovia ever since it came to Tucson and we’ve loved being involved from the very beginning,” says BICAS shop mechanic and collective member Carlyn Arteaga. “This year we’re going to be offering free bike repairs and bike rentals for $8 to ride in the event. We also have made some customized kids bikes that have extended handlebars and fun features and we’ve made an obstacle course that kids can ride through.

Cyclovia is like a circus with all of your neighbors and friends. People on all types of weird bikes and other things like roller blades are riding in the open streets and there’s food and music and it is just a great time. You’re not just watching, you’re participating.”

This November marks the first fall edition of Cyclovia and a vision realized: holding the event twice a year has become a reality. The 5-mile loop will be open to non-motorized vehicles from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and attendees are encouraged to visit the local businesses that border the participating streets. Grab your bicycle, don your helmet and get ready for a fun ride.

“Tucson is exceptional for walking and bicycling between the months of October and April,” says City of Tucson Bicycle and Pedestrian Program Coordinator Ann Chanecka, “and we see big jumps in the number of people using these options for transportation during these months. (Fall) Cyclovia is a great way to celebrate the return of cooler weather to Tucson and encourage people to get out and give biking and walking a try.” n

Cyclovia Tucson: Midtown Tucson, is Sunday, Nov. 2 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. For more information visit CycloviaTucson.org or LivingStreetsAlliance.org.

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photo: © 2013 A.T. Willett/courtesy of Glow

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Wanna Glow? Gotta Go!

by Jim Lipson

Ten years ago when Sharon Holnback combined a passion for art with her love for her land in Oracle at the Triangle L Ranch, no one could have predicted how her uber-hip Glow party would mushroom into the production and phenomenon it has become. “It started as a one night art party,” says Holnback, “and 500 hundred people showed up. Obviously, it struck a chord.”

And truth be known, no one in Tucson had ever seen or experienced such a thing before — hordes of people walking around dimly lit paths, at night, in the desert but with lights seemingly everywhere to showcase a plethora of illuminated sculptures and unique art installations. You could also hear music, recorded and live, coming from two or three different directions. And you couldn’t believe the scores of cars that were lining up on surrounding desert roads. How many casual friends could one person have that would make the hour long drive to get to this place?

However it happened, Glow was an immediate hit. In the years that followed, it began to evolve into one of Southern Arizona’s signature art and party events.

Word of mouth is of course powerful, but Glow probably received its biggest public relations coup courtesy of the Pinal County Sherriff’s department.

In 2006, mistakenly taking Glow for some kind of a drug-infested rave, the police infamously raided the event and sloppily dispersed the multi-generational crowd. Subsequently, the Tucson Weekly published – on its cover -- the iconic image of Gary Mackender of The Carnivaleros, handcuffed against his van. For many, that image will forever be associated with the event. Shutting down Glow that night couldn’t have provided a better platform and forum for Holnback and other artists involved, to highlight exactly what Glow was and wasn’t. To their credit, the Sheriff’s office later held a town hall and issued a public apology.

Now, of course, working with the Sheriff is integral to the logistical success of the event.

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Holnback however, acknowledges bigger is not always better. “Attendance had been building so much that last year we decided to rent a lot in Oracle for parking and had shuttles bringing people back and forth from Oracle to the land.” Selling tickets in advance, online and at the gate, Holnback sighs when she says 1500 people showed up for Glow’s final Saturday night last year.

“Last year, in order to accommodate all those people it cost a lot,” she said. “It was a turning point really and the message was clear — to simplify and get back to basics.” But don’t be mistaken into thinking basics means less dynamic. This year Glow has expanded into four different Saturday nights, each one with a specific theme including last month’s first ever designated family and kid friendly Day Into Night Glow.

This year Holnback glows (sorry) about the expanded paths and installation sites and the more vastly illuminated landscapes encompassing a greater part of the ranch. “There’s Bradley Ronsick’s laser light show illuminating the rocks and granite boulders, a shrine garden, a gypsy camp with fortune tellers, a Zen Garden and the The Oracle, an eight foot Styrofoam head that is now a permanent fixture (at the ranch). And there’s food and pie and music of course.”

This month’s themes, Harvest Moon Glow (Saturday, Oct. 4) and Last Chance To Glow (Saturday, Oct. 11) will be limited to 500 tickets per night with the idea that more manageable crowds will allow attendees to more enjoy what Holnback loves most — the art, the lights and the land. n

For information on purchasing advance tickets online and at Yikes ($15), directions, and a primer on what to expect and how best to prepare, visit the Glow! 2014 website at TriangleLRanch.com/glow.

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Café à la C’Art, 150 N. Main Avenue, 6288533, CafeALacartTucson.com

SAT 2-SUN 5 MEXICAN BASEBALL FIESTA A tournament between some of the most popular teams in Mexico. See website for game times. $6-$15. Kino Sports Complex, 2500 E. Ajo Way. 546-5466, MexicanBaseballFiesta.com

SUN 5 SUNDAY EVENING FORUM: LINDA RONSTADT Enjoy an “armchair” interview with Linda conducted by her long time friend and UA Professor Emeritus Jeff Haskell, who is the co-founder and musical director of the Tucson Jazz Orchestra. $125 VIP. Free general admission.

6pm. Fox Theatre, 17 W. Congress St. SundayEveningForum.com

SAT 4 HEAT WAVE A celebration of art and creative work based on living in the desert southwest. Main event and workshops; 10am-1pm. Evening event; 6pm-10pm.

Casa Libre En La Solana, 228 N. 4th Ave. 325-9145, CasaLibre.org

PIMA COUNCIL ON AGING ART AUCTION Food, beverages and a silent auction. Free. 6pm-9pm.

Steinfeld Warehouse, 101 W. 6th St. 7900505, PCOA.org

SAT 4-SUN 5 ANNUAL PUMPKIN FIESTA The Sonoran Glass Art Academy presents over 400 unique glass-art pieces up for sale! Make your own pumpkin for $85. 10am-5pm daily. Sonoran Glass Art Academy, 633 W. 18th St. 884-7814, SonoranGlass.org

EARTH HARMONY FESTIVAL A weekend celebration of living in environmental, social, spiritual, & musical harmony. Free. Avalon Organic Gardens and Eco Village, 2074 Pendleton Drive, Tumacaori, AZ. 398-2542, EarthHarmonyFestival.org

SUN 5 ARTS AND CRAFTS FAIR

Local artists and craftspeople show jewelry, woodwork, wrought iron, candles, art and more. Free. 9am-2pm. Cat Mountain Station, 2740 N. Kinney Rd. 578-4272, CatMountainStation.com

PORCH FEST

Hosted by The Vista del Rio Neighborhood. 7 “stages,” food trucks, music and more. 4pm-6pm. Facebook.com/TucsonPorchFest

THU 9 2014 FALL FILM AND MUSIC GALA National and local film, music videos and performances. The touring Gadabout Film Festival, Eric Ayotte (IN), Charlyne Yi (CA) and more. $8. 7pm10pm. Maker House, 283 N Stone Ave. DietPoPRecords.com/events

THU 9-SUN 12 TUCSON FILM AND MUSIC FESTIVAL 10th annual showcase of music‐related films and international music artists. See website for lineup and ticket information. TucsonFilmandMusicFestival.com

FRI 10-SUN 12 BOOK SALE

A benefit for Tucson Libraries. 9am-4pm. Pima County Public Library, 2230 N. Country Club. 795-3763, PimaFriends.com

FRI 10-SUN 12 TUCSON MEET YOURSELF The largest free, three-day Folklife Festival in Arizona-Sonora. Six stages with 250 performances of world music and dance, 100 + folk artists demonstrating their crafts, delicious ethnic foods shared by 65 food vendors, workshops, lectures, hands-on activities and more!

Free. Downtown Tuscon. TucsonMeetYourself.org

SAT 11 2nd SATURDAYS DOWNTOWN A free, family-friendly urban block party! 6pm-11pm. Performers on Scott Stage include: Black Cat Bones, Belly Dance Tucson, Funky Bonz, Sun Bones. Free. 6pm-11pm. Congress Street, 2ndSaturdays.com

20 ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com | October 2014

AFRICA NIGHT DANCE FUSION Featuring World Beat and Af-

Plaza Colonial Courtyard, Skyline and Campbell. 797-3959, SAACA.org

ropop band Elikeh, led by Nassama Dogo of Togo. Special performances by percussionist Gamal Gomaa of Egypt and the Reggae sounds of Rockers Uptown. $15$20. 9pm. The Sabbar Shriner Center, 450 S. Tucson Blvd. 888-1262, DiasporaShowcase.com

BAJA OKTOBERFEST Hosted by

SUN 12 AIDSWALK 5K walk & 10K fun run in remembrance of loves ones lost to HIV/ AIDS and in support of services and prevention education for anyone living with, affected by, or at risk for HIV/AIDS. Registration fees. 7am. Joel D. Valdez Main Library, 101 N. Stone Ave. 628-7223, AIDSWalkTucson.com

MON 13 13TH ANNUAL FEED THE WORLD DAY Healthy 6 course vegan dinner, music, health related booths and more. Free. 4pm-8pm. Govinda’s Natural Foods, 711 E. Blacklidge Dr. 792-0630, GovindasOfTucson.com

FRI 17 POISONOUS AND VENOMOUS CREATURES Jeff Servoss of U.S. Fish and Wildlife displays live animals in a lecture on rattlesnakes, scorpions and more. 2pm-3pm.Woods Memorial Library, 3455 N. 1st Ave. 594-5445, Library.Pima.gov

FRI 17-SUN 19 TUCSON SALSA BACHATA FESTIVAL Performances, lessons, workshops and late-night dancing. See website for times and prices. Holiday Inn Suites, 4550 S. Palo Verde Rd. TucsonSalsaBachataDanceFestival.com

SAT 18 PRIDE IN THE DESERT FESTIVAL A pride celebration! Featuring Tucson Pride Grand Marshall Daniel Hernandez. Kino Sports Park, 2500 E. Ajo Way. 11am- 9pm. 219 S. 5th Ave. Free.

622-3200, TucsonPride.org

WORLD MARGARITA CHAMPIONSHIP Taste over 15 original margaritas with paired food from a variety of Tucson original restaurants. $55. 6pm.

Arizona Craft Brewers Guild. Over 75 craft breweries, games, food and music. $45$75. 4pm-10pm. Kino Fields, 2500 W. Ayo Dr. BajaOktoberFest.com

PIMA COUNTY MASTER GARDENER HOME GARDEN TOUR Explore four home gardens of master gardeners. Tours take place every 1/2 hour on the hour. 9am-3pm. See website for locations and prices. 6265161, Extension.Arizona.Edu/Pima-Master-Gardeners

9TH ANNUAL MUJER LATINA BREAST CANCER CONFERENCE Vida! featuring bilingual education classes on early screening info, risk factors, survivors and more. Free. 8am1pm. El Pueblo Community Center, 101 W. Irvington Rd. 626-9103, Vida.Arizona. edu

GNOME FEST 2014 Local bands, Guinness Book World Record attempt of Largest Gathering of People Dress as Garden Gnomes, Food trucks and more.

Free. 11:30am-6pm. 4044 E. Speedway.

320-3780, MetroGnomeMusic.com/OurStore/Gnome-Fest

SUN 19 BLUES HERITAGE FESTIVAL Lineup includes various blues singers and bands including The Cash Box Kings, Baja Arizona Blues, Johnny Ain’t Right, Union Stone Band and more! 11am6:30pm. $10. Rilito Race Track Park, 4502 N. 1st Ave. AZBlues.org

WED 22 HISTORIC MANSION WALKING TOUR Meet at the NE corner of Main Ave and Washington Street at 10am.

Hear stories of the movers and shakers of early Tucson including Sam Hughes, Albert Steinfeld, Hiram Stevens and Frank Hereford. $15. 625-8365, KruseArizona.com

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October 2014 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 21

Z events

october SAT 25

FRI 31

FEAST WITH THE DEARLY DEPARTED Mariachis, sugar skulls,

CELTIC KIDS HALLOWEEN PARTY Games, scavenger hunt, for-

luminarias, workshops, Sonoran food, more. 5pm-8pm. Non-members: $8 adults, $4 children (ages 4-12) Members: $4 adults, $2 children (ages 4-12). Tucson Botanical Gardens, 2150 N. Alvernon Way. 326-9686, TucsonBotanical.org

tune teller, costume contest and trick or treating. Free admission until 6. 5pm9pm. Rilito Park, 4502 N. 1st Ave. TucsonCelticFestival.org

TUCSON FIRE FOUNDATION CASINO NIGHT Fundraising dinner, silent auction, and Las Vegas style casino games to benefit the non-profit fire foundation. $80. 5pm-9:30pm. Arizona Historical Society, 949 E. 2nd St. TucsonFireFoundation.com

TUCSON FIREFIGHTERS CHILI COOK OFF Over 30 booths selling chili, nachos, chili dogs, roasted corn, quesadillas and more. TFD stations compete for the honor of best chili bragging rights. Proceeds benefit the Tucson Firefighters Adopt-A-Family program.

10am-10pm. Reid Park, 900 S. Randolph Way. 791-4873, IAFFLocal479.org

SAT 25-SUN 26 INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF TUCSON Featuring authentic cuisine from Syria, Greece and Europe, beer an wine, and live entertainment.

Sat; 11am-8pm, Sun; 11am-5pm. Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church, 5910 E. 5th St. 622-2265, TucsonInternationalFestival.org

SUN 26 DOGTOBERFEST FOR HANDI-DOGS A dog carnival featuring dog activities, food, a parade and more. $5.

10am-2pm. Gregory School, 3231 N. Craycroft. 326-3412, DogtoberFestAZ. org

ENVISION TUCSON SUSTAINABLE FESTIVAL A festival dedicated to promotion aspects of sustainability including home energy, recycling, gardening and more. Free.

11am-4pm. YWCA, 525 Bonita Ave. TucsonSustainable.org

22 ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com | October 2014

CELTIC PUB NIGHT AND HALLOWEEN PARTY Proceeds benefit Tu Nidito Children and Family Services. Featuring a torchlight ceremony, kilt contest, music and whisky tasting. $8. Rilito Park, 4502 N. 1st Ave. TucsonCelticFestival.org

ONGOING FALL 2014 SCIENCE CAFES Discussions on scientific happenings.

See website for times and locations. Free.

Flandrau.org/Programs/Science_Cafe.

Thu 9: American Lutz Ley; Tue 14: Tumamoc Hill: An Island in the Desert Tortoise Landscape; Wed 15: What Makes The Sun Shine?; Tue 21: Adventures With Hurricanes

FALL PUMPKIN CELEBRATION Pumpkin patch, corn maze, games, food, an orchard and more. 9am5pm. Takes place weekends in October.

See website for ticket pricing. Apple Annie’s Pumpkin and Produce, 6405 W Williams Rd., Willcox, AZ. AppleAnnies.com

NIGHTFALL AT OLD TUCSON Old Tucson transforms into a haunted town with monsters and ghouls! Thu-Sun, 6pm-10pm; Fri- Sat, 6pm-12pm. $26 Adults; $21 Children 4-11. Old Tucson, 201 S. Kinney Rd. 883-0100, NightFallAZ.com

THE

SLAUGHTERHOUSE

Haunted house featuring five houses.

See website for times and prices. 1102 W. Grant Rd. 784-2501, SlaughterHouseTucson.com

events Z

Nam Jam Rockin’ For All Vets

by Craig Baker

Dennis St. Germaine returned to Tucson from Vietnam in 1967 and enrolled at the University of Arizona a week later. “And that,” he says, “was an eye-opener.”

As an enlisted man, St. Germaine says he hadn’t given the antiwar movement a whole lot of thought, but once he was on campus, “all of the sudden, there it was.” He stared talking to local activists and it led him to doubt his involvement in the war, and that doubt racked him with guilt.

“I had to start questioning myself,” says St. Germaine.

He wondered if considering the other side of the debate was akin to betraying the trust of his fellow vets, that is, until he came across a group of veterans that were experiencing the same thing.

Coming back to the United States from an active combat zone, St. Germaine explains that “There were so many people who were not on our side, (and) were actually blaming us (for the war)” though, he points out, enlisted men “didn’t have much to do with it starting and didn’t have much to do with it ending.” He believes at least some Post Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms come, not just from memories of being under fire, but also from the feeling of alienation that inevitably follows a soldier’s return from war.

In 1987, twelve years after the end of the roughly 20-year-long Vietnam War, a replica of the Vietnam Memorial came to Tucson as a traveling exhibit where it was erected in a corridor on the Tucson Convention Center grounds. One day during a torrential monsoon storm, visitors to the replica wall crowded into the corridor to escape the rain as two veterans — folk musicians Michael Martin and Tim Holiday, billed as Martin and Holiday — filled the air with acoustic guitar music about their time spent at war. The party moved from there to the home of a young lady whose brother had died in Vietnam and happened to be at the memorial that day, and that evening’s celebration, in turn, sparked the inspiration for Tucson’s first ever Nam Jam. The event has been rockin’ ever since.

When Nam Jam first started over two decades ago, it was basically an excuse for vets to get together, drink a few beers, and listen to live music. The local Vietnam Veterans Association, VVA 106 — named in honor of the 106 Tucsonans that lost their lives in the war — supported the event by selling hotdogs, burgers and t-shirts. Things went so well that they did it again the next year. And the next. Now, with Steve Kreamer as Nam Jam's Director, the event has evolved from a concert which allowed Tucson’s Vietnam Vets a chance to socialize with each other as well as with the public at large, to an event that helps introduce veterans of all wars to the resources available to them in their local community.

Kreamer explains that there are three basic elements important to the recuperation and reintegration of any veteran — community, camaraderie and resources. His goal was to get all three in one place. Thus Kreamer has brought in groups like the Wounded Warrior Project, Therapeutic Riding of Tucson (TROT), and the homeless veteran shelter Esperanza En Escalante (which was actually started thanks in part to the efforts of VVA 106 and Nam Jam) to the event. And the Vietnam vets on site, Kreamer says, are now able to act as mentors to local vets from more recent wars like those in Iraq and Afghanistan. And, as such, they are helping to form a healing community all their own — this is why Nam Jam is now “Rockin’ For All Vets.” Says Kreamer, “Reentering into a community is one of the most healing things you can do (as a returning veteran).” And what better way to do it than with an open-air concert?

But Nam Jam isn’t just a veterans’ event. St. Germaine insists that there’s something at the show for everyone. “We have beer and music if that’s what you want,” he says. Kreamer is quick to point out that the concert is completely free and features acts like the Talking Dead, Main Street and LeeAnne Savage. But, says St. Germaine, there will also be a bit of history and real artifacts from the war itself at the Vietnam Veterans Traveling Education Museum exhibit, along with a handful of military vehicles to check out, and a kids’ play area. Even Mayor Jonathon Rothschild has gotten involved by officially proclaiming the day of the event, Oct. 18, as “Nam Jam Day” in Tucson.

St. Germaine says that the most important thing that a vet can do for their own healing is to get involved with an organization as soon as possible, and so the free party format of Nam Jam is there to make that step easier for them.

And even if you aren't a vet, what more excuse do you need to show up — you did read the part about “free party,” right? n

Nam Jam is on Saturday, Oct. 18 at Rillito Downs, 4502 N. 1st Ave., from 9 a.m. to dusk. All proceeds go to charities that support local veterans.

More details are available at NamJamTucson.org.

October 2014 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 23

24 ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com | October 2014

photo: Krysta Jabczenski

business Z

Hydra Celebrates 20 Years of Sexy

by Craig Baker

Margo and Joey Susco

Before the corner store with the gigantic display windows on 6th Avenue and Congress Street started selling love-me pumps and vinyl under the moniker of Hydra Leather & More, it served a string of businesses including retail clothing shops, an art gallery, and even played host to local community radio station KXCI for a spell. But when Hydra’s owner, Margo Susco (who says she is in the process of dropping the “Leather & More” from her small business’ title) found the shop empty in the summer of 1994, she knew it would be the perfect place to support her plans for a fashion-forward boutique.

“I knew that my shop would be a little more avant-garde than maybe Tucson was ready for,” explains Susco, “which turned out to be a good thing.” It was twenty years ago this November that Hydra filled its storefront windows with mannequins in alluring (not to mention minimal) threads and opened its doors to the public. “There weren’t even that many spaces open at the time,” she says, “but I felt pretty confident with that location.” Susco says she began generating interest in the shop months before her official grand opening with “tons of flyers,” a handful of mini-fashion shows, and what she calls “some interesting window displays.”

Despite the large size of the space she had acquired, Hydra “started off relatively humbly in terms of product,” but their reputation grew as quickly as their inventory and the store was “pretty much filled in no time,” says Susco.

Susco, a native Tucsonan, studied business at the University of Arizona where she graduated in 1988 before hitting the road for six years to see the world. She moved to Spain first, then returned to the states where she found a job in Seattle as a fashion buyer before moving to L.A. The pull of her hometown, though, never abated. Susco explains that a number of her family members were already involved the local retail industry — her sister was already running a store on 4th Avenue when she returned — and so it seemed like a natural fit for her to return and bring Tucson with her to the edge of fashion.

For a little bit of perspective on how a store like Hydra has managed to stay on the forefront of the fashion industry for two consecutive decades, Susco

says that when she opened up shop all of her business correspondence was conducted through the use of her pager (remember those colorful little plastic boxes that beeped and flashed a numerical message when someone wanted to be in touch with you?) and local payphones. But, clearly, like the technology available to her as a business owner, Susco says she has had to be flexible with respect to stocking her shelves.

“When you have a small business, you aren’t obviously changing your business plan, but you have to grow, and you have to morph, and you have to change with the times — you cannot be stagnant. Stagnant is the death knell for a small business.” And though the store might still be seen as too racy for some of the more conservative downtown shoppers, Susco asserts that her success has been due in part to the diversity of her clientele. “If a mother and father were to walk in with two teenage children, everybody would be able to find something,” she says.

Now a Tucson staple, Susco has been able to translate the success of her downtown shop to two more locations — one in Bisbee, which opened on hip Subway Street on Nov. 9, 2013, and another in Rome, Italy (called Hydra 2, which Susco pronounces with the Italian inflection) opened by her brother, Joe, not far from the Coliseum in 2004. All three shops are thriving still today.

“And I’m really happy,” Susco says, “that after twenty years I still feel really passionate about what I do, we still have a lot of fun every day at the shop, and we still enjoy our customers, so I’m pretty lucky in that respect.”

Though details had not yet been finalized as of press time, Susco plans to throw a party this fall to commemorate the store’s twenty-year mark. The celebration will include the unveiling of some major renovations to the Tucson shop and will no doubt feature some of those classic mini-fashion shows, so bring your favorite pair of leather pants and an open mind to help Hydra rev up for another two decades of sex-cess. n

Hydra is located at 145 E. Congress St. Call 791-3711 or visit HydraDowntownTucson.com for more information.

October 2014 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 25

Z film

The Last Kamikazis of Heavy Metal

Tucson Film & Music Festival Turns Ten

by Herb Stratford

At times Tucson is a nexus of artistic activities magically coming together to become a unique, different and fabulous creation. Ten years ago, the twentieth anniversary of Club Congress’ founding and the screening of the music documentary High and Dry, led to a Tucson festival unlike any other. The Tucson Film and Music Festival (TFMF), birthed from music documentary High and Dry, uniquely blends both film and music with not only movies about music, but with great live concerts, parties and other special experiences. This year, as the festival marks its tenth anniversary, it has slipped into a comfortable niche and audiences old and new are in for some treats they may not be able to see anywhere else.

Festival founder and director Michael Toubassi has again found the sweet spot with the fest’s programming. Toubassi’s screening team has mined several gems this year both in the narrative and documentary categories that are both music based or have some connection to Tucson or the Southwest.

Previous years have found breakout music documentaries that both enlighten audiences to the creative process and the unseen drama of artistic creation, but this year’s closing night film stands tall among previous other favorites such as Anvil: The Story of Anvil, which was a personal highlight for me in the field of music docs.

Heaven Adores You is a documentary about acclaimed singer/songwriter Elliott Smith by director Nickolas Rossi. Rossi, in his directorial debut, has crafted a engaging, poignant and bittersweet look at a musician from his earliest days to his tragic death in 2003. Perhaps best known for his song that was nominated for an Academy Award in 1988, for the film Good Will Hunting, Smith struggled with depression and in the end some substance abuse, but this story is not about his end, it is about his journey. This look at the creative process, and the journey from struggling musician to acclaimed performer is very engaging and sad as Smith struggled with his demons despite his enormous 26 ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com | October 2014

talent. Heaven Adores You will screen at the Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St., on Sunday, Oct. 12 at 7:30 p.m. with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. Following the screening, a special tribute concert will take place with performances by local and regional artists including: Sun Bones, Andrew Collberg, Brianna Lea Pruett and more. Tickets are just $10 via the Rialto website, box office and on ticketfly.com.

Other films of note on this year’s schedule include the quirky narrative film Burnout, which follows a sad sack part-time pot dealer wrestling with the legalization of marijuana and its potential impact on her business. The Last Kamikazis of Heavy Metal is a documentary about a group of five Chicago underground musicians in the band HESSLER, who are struggling to make it despite the odds. Alive Inside, scheduled to play at the Tucson Jewish Community Center (JCC, 3800 E. River Rd.), follows the work of researchers tracking the impact of music on memory loss patients, which was a big hit at the Sundance Film Festival this past January. Also on tap at the JCC will be a shorts program for those who like their cinema in smaller bites.

The events are set to take place at a variety of venues including The Loft Cinema, Cinema La Placita and the Rialto Theatre. An additional program venue is the Tucson Jewish Community Center thanks to a partnership with the Tucson International Jewish Film Festival. Opening night will take place at the Loft, 3233 E. Speedway Blvd., with other screenings soon to be finalized at a variety of locations. n

The tenth annual Tucson Film and Music Festival takes place Oct. 9-12 at various locations. Visit TucsonFilmandMusicFestival.com or the Facebook page for more information.

October 2014 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 27

28 ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com | October 2014

Photo: Debra Spinney

film Z

I am Big Bird, traces the history of puppeteer Caroll Spinney who has performed as the large yellow bird since its inception over 40 years ago.

The Original Binge-Watch The 5th Annual Loft Film Festival

by Herb Stratford What do Big Bird, Nazi zombies, the Quidditch World Cup and women soldiers have in common? They’ll all be on screen at the 5th Annual Loft Film Festival when it un-spools Oct. 16-19. Drawing films from such acclaimed festivals as Sundance, South By Southwest (SXSW) and the Seattle International Film Festival, The Loft has again assembled a stellar lineup of must-see films that might not otherwise be in Tucson anytime soon.

A few standout documentaries at the festival this year include the excellent Mudbloods, which is first-time director Farzad Bujbakht’s look at the sport of Quidditch, which is born of the famous Harry Potter books. Described as a cross between lacrosse, dodge ball and rugby, it is played while running around clutching a broom between your legs – not flying like in the books. This intramural sport has become one of the fastest growing activities on college campuses, and the world cup boasts over 70 teams in competition from around the world. The documentary follows the USC team in their quest to win the cup.

Also of special note is I am Big Bird, which traces the history of puppeteer Caroll Spinney who has performed as the large yellow bird since its inception over 40 years ago. He also performs as Oscar the Grouch on Sesame Street and his life story is fascinating, as is the look behind the scenes of the inner workings and history of the iconic children’s show. If you loved the documentary Being Elmo from 2011, this is a great film for you.

One of the most intriguing and different films at this year’s Sundance film festival was the new work by the Zellner brothers entitled Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter. This sweet, odd and compelling film follows a shy Tokyo office worker who is obsessed with the classic movie Fargo. Kumiko decides she knows where the stash of cash is buried in the North Dakota snow at the end of the movie, and sets off to America to find it. Her journey, and the people she meets along the way are a true slice of Americana and this quirky film is a perfect companion to the original film, as well as the recent award-winning TV show. Unlike anything else you are likely to see at the multiplex, Kumiko is a must-see of the festival. Another film of note is Little Accidents, by director Sara Colangelo. This dark drama follows the intertwined lives of two families,

struggling with loss and redemption. With standout performances by Elizabeth Banks and Josh Lucas, this look at family, loss and forgiveness is a powerful film by an emerging director.

Other films that are making their Tucson premiere following strong festival debuts around the world include; The Tale of Princess Kaguya from the acclaimed Tokyo animation studio Ghibli about a Japanese folk tale of a five-inch tall princess, White Bird in A Blizzard with red hot actress Shailene Woodley by director Gregg Araki, about a teenage girl’s search for her vanished mother, and Strange Little Cat, a German film that eavesdrops in on a typical German family to experience their world as it unfolds on one average day.

But we can’t forget about the women soldiers and Nazi zombies, what would a festival be without zombies? Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead is the follow up to the 2009 cult horror film Dead Snow, that had a group of vacationing skiers in Norway unwittingly awakening scores of Nazi zombies. The latest chapter follows the sole survivor of the first film and his plan to re-awaken Soviet Red Army zombies to combat the Nazi forces. Surprisingly funny and gory, the film stars Martin Starr who many will recognize most recently from Silicon Valley, and in Zero Motivation, a group of female Israeli soldiers toil away at a remote desert base with dark comedic results.

This eclectic cinema mix is of course par for the course for The Loft, Tucson’s home for thought-provoking independent film, but their annual film festival is the perfect way to binge-watch the best that modern cinema has to offer in one intense period. While some of the film fest films will likely make a return in the months to come, many may just be on screen during the festival. There’s really no excuse for not going to the Loft from Oct. 16-19 unless you’ve been at Tribeca, Sundance, SXSW and Cannes this year so far, and even then, get out to support your local art house cinema. n

The fifth annual festival takes place at the Loft, 3233 East Speedway Blvd., from Oct. 16-19. For more information on the festival’s schedule visit LoftCinema.com or call 795-7777 for a recording of showtimes.

October 2014 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 29

SILVER CITY, NEW MEXICO

SilverCityTourism.org • 575-538-555

Places of Elevation: 6,000+ feet!

Tucson

A -----

YOU CAN BE HE

Farmers’ Market – Buy fresh and Gila Monster Gran Fondo – Cycle the stunning, iconic course of the Tour of the Gila at your own pace!

local. Live music, homemade foods and natural products.

silvercityfarmersmarket.blogspot.com

tourofthegila.com October 4

Southwest Festival of the Written Word – Prologue weekend: poetry &

prose! Workshops, lectures, readings.

swwordfiesta.org October 2-4

All Souls Urban Trail Races – A fun 5K & 10K from Historic Downtown to the open-space trails of Boston Hill.

Silver City Museum – Gila Wild Exhibit: 90th Anniversary of the Gila Wilderness and 50th of the Wilderness Act.

silvercitymainstreet.com October 25

silvercitymuseum.org Through Jan. 4

Gila Cliff Dwellings – 3.3 million acres of Gila National Forest & Wilderness... scenic drives, hiking, birding, dark skies.

Funded by Silver City Lodger’s Tax

southwestnewmexico.org

55

f Interest

ERE FOR LUNCH! - - - - -

B

Silver City

+

Plan to stay.

Indie/Folk Series – Award-winning RED DOT Art Weekend – Enjoy

three days of gallery and studio tours, demonstrations and all things art!

singer David Francey kicks off the series at the Opera House in Pinos Altos.

mimbresarts.org October 18

Quaint and Charming – Funky and

elegant...Silver City’s Arts District has something for everyone.

silvercitytourism.org

silvercitygalleries.com October 11-13

Tamal Fiesta y Más – A celebration of food and culture including capirotada, bizcochos, even red-chile kettle corn! tamalfiestaymas.org November 29

Continental Divide Trail – Enjoy hiking and biking this 3,100-mile-long crown jewel National Scenic Trail.

silvercitytourism.org

Lighted Christmas Parade – A Silver City favorite. The Historic Downtown District lights up for this holiday treat. silvercitymainstreet.com November 29

32 ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com | October 2014

Photo: vlavetal

arts Z

Playing with Clay

by Eric Swedlund

“This is my favorite lesson. It was my first lesson.”

And with that, sculptor, teacher and all-around ceramics enthusiast Julie Richmond launches into another session of her Community Clay Play, teaching the basics of pinch pots and slip-and-score to a group that’s both eager and nervous to begin.

Richmond began leading her monthly Community Clay Play two years ago as a way to provide a no-pressure open studio for anyone who wants to create.

During the day, she runs ceramics classes for adults and children with special needs at Arts For All, 2520 N. Oracle Rd. “I’d tell people what I do here and they’d say ‘How do I get in your class?’

I thought I could open the studio and teach a class for anyone who wants to come. I’m a clay lover, so I want to share that with people,” she says.

Community Clay Play usually draws a couple handfuls of people, including plenty of regulars. “It’s the coming back part that I like,” says Richmond, who’s since branched out into Family Clay Play as well.

“I want people to be able to come as a family unit and have an experience as a family unit,” she says.

Community Clay Play isn’t judgmental or overly serious and is suitable for people of all skill levels, from hesitant first-timers to experienced clay molders.

“Don’t stress out. Relax from your day, zone in and have a couple of creative hours to yourself,” Richmond says. “You always feel good when you come in and start grooving.”

Community Clay Play is the first Thursday of every month, from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Family Clay Play is the third Saturday of every month, from 12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. Cost is $10, which covers instruction, clay and other materials like glazes, tools and firing.

“Working something with your hands, people don’t do it a lot now. Working with your hands to create something is super satisfying,” Richmond says. “It’s character building.”

Unlike some commercial places that feature stock shapes already fired that people simply glaze, Community Clay Play participants start with just a hunk of clay and their imaginations.

“I have everyone create on their own. We don’t use templates or molds.

It’s all about the individual touch and perspective. I set everyone on their own

individual path to making what they want to make,” Richmond says.

The studio walls are filled with pictures to give examples and inspiration and Richmond bounces around the room, giving hints, instructions, ideas and most importantly, a push to get people going further than they would on their own.

“Julie doesn’t give you a pass. She helps you expand your horizons and whenever you might want to stop, she encourages you to continue,” says Kim Rios, one of the Community Clap Play regulars. “It takes time and you have to have patience, but every time you grow and it gets better and better.”

Rios, who has an interior design degree but wasn’t doing anything creatively, first came to the Family Clay Play with her two children and enjoys coming back on her own too.

One of Rios’ current projects started as a bowl, morphed into a plate with an inspirational message: “If nothing ever changed, there would be no butterflies.”

She’s also working on surprise gifts for her children, bowls that reflect their interests, featuring pirates and flowers.

“It’s a very nice way to zone and just do your thing and not worry about what anybody thinks about it,” she says.

Richmond got into clay herself toward the end of high school, in Philadelphia. As a senior, she had an internship at a clay studio and then as a University of Arizona art student, she had a work study job at the ceramic studio, learning the ins and outs of running a studio.

After graduating from the UA in 2003, she stayed in Tucson for a few years, sharing a studio and concentrating on her own work, before moving back East.

She earned her MFA in ceramics in 2011 from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, teaching college ceramics and a non-credit community course while there. Seeing the job posting for Arts for All, Inc. brought her back to Tucson.

“I moved back to Tucson because of the community, so doing this fits,” she says. “To have it be open is a really cool thing for bringing people together.” n

The next Community Clay Play is Thursday, Oct. 9. Email Julie at julieannerichmond@gmail.com for more information. Learn more about Arts for All, Inc., at ArtsForAllInc.org.

October 2014 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 33

34 ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com | October 2014

WAMO at Ten

Ten years ago, the Warehouse Arts Management Organization began, formed by a small group of artists set on preserving historic buildings and keeping studio space available and affordable.

Today, the WAMO board members – all volunteers – throughout the years can point to successes that have made the Warehouse Arts District its own destination in the context of broader downtown redevelopment activity.

“We’ve had a lot of ups and downs, but it’s mostly been ups we’ve achieved a lot. I’m amazed,” says Marvin Shaver, former president and current treasurer of WAMO. “What we’ve managed to do, against all odds, is to secure close to 100,000 square feet for artist to use, for low rent, way below market in some cases, for studio spaces and exhibition spaces. It’s really gratifying, but there’s still an ongoing struggle and a lot of work to do.”

WAMO-owned spaces like the Toole Shed and Citizens Warehouse are thriving, generating more money than it takes to run the buildings, while the historic Steinfeld Warehouse is full of possibilities once renovation efforts are completed.

“Ten years ago, even less than that, we would go to meetings with the City or the Council and they were all polite, but they’d clearly look at me like ‘Good luck.’ They were very skeptical that a group such as WAMO could do what we did,” Shaver says.

People outside the group, including architect Corky Poster, one of the lead architects in renovating the Steinfeld Warehouse, also saw the vision and contributed their efforts to make it a reality.

“We can take a lot of pride,” Shaver says. “There’s not a huge financial support network for artists, so artists are used to doing with less, so they’re good at thinking creatively. With WAMO, there were not a lot of options, so we stayed focused on what we set out to do.”

Susan Gamble, another past WAMO President and owner of Santa Theresa Tile Works since 1986, says she’s been through similar planning processes before, as other groups formed and dissolved over the years, including the Artists Alliance and the Arts District Partnership, and while there is still a long way to go, she’s excited with WAMO’s accomplishments.

“Has it been smooth? No. But over the 10 years, what we’ve really been able to do is refine our mission and change the paradigm of how other commu-

arts Z

by Eric Swedlund

nities have handled these same situations, whether it’s SOHO or TriBeCa or the Pearl District,” Gamble says. “Let’s first save these historic buildings, to keep artists in the area and keep a diversity and a mix so that we’re not gentrifying the hell out of ourselves.

“WAMO and this master plan are really starting to show how important it is to keep that diversity. We doggedly hang in there,” she says. “It’s not about handouts or subsidies for artists. It’s about creating and maintaining affordable places for artists to stay and live and work and bring a vibrancy to downtown in a way that only the arts can.”

Events like the Toole Avenue Art Walk, Saturday, Oct. 5, create visibility for the Warehouse Arts District and connect the WAMO name to an occasions that bring the people to the artists.

“A year ago, it was still a huge thing just to get people downtown. Now they can understand the Warehouse Arts District as a component of downtown and they can have glimpse of how many artists are in this area, to see this as a destination just like Congress Street,” Gamble says.

In addition to the Art Walk, there is a wealth of regular, ongoing activities in the district, at spots like Exploded View gallery and mircocinema, Studio ONE, the Conrad Wilde Gallery, Solar Culture and the former Skrappy’s building at 191 Toole.

“The evolution has come this far without any infrastructure. We had a master plan and a bunch of artists took it up to get stuff done,” Gamble says.

“When I look back, I think we’ve accomplished a lot in 10 years, especially being a totally volunteer organization, with no staff and no funding stream.”

Contrast WAMO’s effectiveness at creating a plan and seeing it through to fruition with the millions of dollars spent on Rio Nuevo consultants and planning that went nowhere and the artists’ accomplishments look even better.

From her own perspective as a business owner, Gamble says more is better. When Carly Quinn opened her studio tile shop on Sixth Avenue, Gamble welcomed the fellow artist.

“People who love tile now have two places to go,” Gamble says. “I don’t see it as competition across the street. I see it building more things of interest.

None of us are big enough to become a destination on our own, but together we are.” n Learn more about WAMO at http://wamotucson.org October 2014 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 35

october Performances ARIZONA FRIENDS OF CHAMBER MUSIC Hagen Quartet performs Wed, Oct 29. 7:30pm. TCC’s Leo Rich Theatre, 260 S. Church Ave. 577-3769, ArizonaChamberMusic.org

ARIZONA OPERA Cruzar La Cara de La Luna shows Sat, Oct 18-Sun, Oct 19. TCC’s Music Hall, 260 S. Church Ave. 293-4336, AZOpera.com

ARIZONA ROSE THEATRE COMPANY

Robin Hood The Musical takes place Fri, Oct 10- Sun, Oct 12. Berger Performing Arts Center, 1200 W. Speedway Blvd.

888-0509, ArizonaRoseTheatre.com

ARIZONA THEATRE COMPANY Vania and Sonia and Masha and Spike con-

Photo by Ed Flores.

Photo courtesy of Waypoint Theatre Company.

“Church Basement Ladies” shows at Berger Performing Arts Center as part of Waypoint Theatre Company Fri, Oct 24Sun, Oct 26.

“Premium Blend” by UA Dance opens Thu, Oct 23.

Photo featuring UA Dance Ensemble members Maxwell Foster, Diane Diamond, and Benjamin Koehl.

LIVE THEATRE WORKSHOP The Complete Works of William Shakespeare continues through Sat, Oct 11. Sleepy Hollow and the Ride of the Headless Stick-Horseman continues through November. 9 Parts of Desire opens Thu, Oct 6. See website for prices and times. 5317 E. Speedway Blvd. 327-4242, LiveTheatreWorkshop.org

NOT BURNT OUT JUST UNSCREWED

Shows every Friday and Saturday throughout October. Unscrewed Theater, 3244 E. Speedway Blvd. 861-2986, UnscrewedComedy.com

ODYSSEY STORYTELLING SERIES Peer Pressure takes place Thu, Oct 2.

7:00pm; Free. Fluxx Studios and Gallery, 416 E. 9th St. 730-4112, OdysseyStoryTelling.com

PCC THEATRE ARTS Stuart Little continues through Sun, Oct 5. 2202 W. Anklam Rd. 206-6670, Pima.edu/cfa

tinues through Sat, Oct 4. Wait Until Dark opens Sat, Oct 18. Temple of Music and Art, 330 S. Scott Ave. 884-8210, ArizonaTheatre.org

TUCSON CHAMBER ARTISTS America The Beautiful, shows Fri, Oct 10- Sun, Oct

BALLET TUCSON Opening Night Gala takes place Fri, Oct 17. Season Opener

TUCSON GUITAR SOCIETY Bill Kanengiser performs Fri, Oct 3. 7pm. $7.50-

takes place Sat, Oct 18-Sun, Oct 19. Stevie Eller Dance Theatre, University of Arizona, 1737 E. Univeristy Blvd. 903-1445, BalletTucson.org

$25. Grace St. Paul’s Church, 2331 E. Adams St. 332-0022, TucsonGuitarSociety.org

BLACK CHERRY BURLESQUE Tantalizing burlesque performance on Fri, Oct 3. Surly Wench Pub, 424 N. 4th Ave. 882-0009, TucsonBurlesque.com

BORDERLANDS THEATER They Call Me A Hero continues through Sun, Oct 5.

Zuzi’s Theater, 738 N. 5th Ave. 882-7406, BorderlandsTheater.org

CHRISTIAN YOUTH THEATRE The Addams Family Musical takes place Fri, Oct 17-Sun, Oct 19. Pima Community College Center for the Arts Proscenium Theatre, 2202 W. Anklam Rd. CYTTucson.org.

CIVIC ORCHESTRA OF TUCSON Free classical concerts take place Sat, Oct 11 at 7pm and Sun, Oct 12 at 3pm. See website for locations. 399-1750, COTMusic.org

DON’T BLINK BURLESQUE The Tuesday Night Tease takes place every Tuesday night throughout October. 9pm. The Hut, 305 N. 4th Ave. 245-0532, DontBlinkBurlesque.com

FOX THEATRE Kansas performs Fri, Oct 3. Nils Lofgren performs Sat, Oct 4. Linda Ronstadt/Sunday Evening Forum is Sun, Oct 5. Paul Reiser performs Thu, Oct 9. Girls Night: The Musical takes place Sat, Oct 11. Kris Kristofferson performs Sun, Oct 12. Asia performs Mon, Oct 13. Lee Ann Womack performs Thu, Oct 16. Under The Streetlamp performs Fri, Oct 17. Ray LaMontagne performs Thu, Oct 23. Circus Electronica: Singularity takes place Fri, Oct 24. David Broza performs Thu, Oct 30. Prices Vary. 17 W. Congress St. 624-1515, FoxTucsonTheatre.org

THE GASLIGHT THEATRE Cronan The Barbarian continues through November. 7010 E. Broadway Blvd. 886-9428, TheGaslightTheatre.com

12. Times and locations vary, see website for details. 401-2651, TucsonChamberArtists.org

TUCSON JAZZ SOCIETY Dmitri Matheny CD Release is Sat, Oct 25. 7pm. Pima Community College, 1255 N. Stone Ave. 903-1265, TucsonJazz.org

TUCSON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Just For Kids Opening Day Festival takes place Sat, Oct 4. Barber and Copland: American Souvenirs takes place Sat, Oct 18-Sun, Oct 19. Michael Cavanaugh performs Sat, Oct 25. Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto takes place Fri, Oct 24- Sun, Oct 26. TCC’s Music Hall, 260 S. Church Ave. 882-8585, TucsonSymphony.org

UA’S ARIZONA REPERTORY THEATRE Boom shows Thu, Oct 9- Sun, Oct 12. Harold Dixon Directing Studio. 621-1162, web.cfa.arizona.edu/theatre

UA DANCE UA Dance “Premium Blend” shows Thu, Oct 23- Sun, Oct 26; Thu, Oct 30- Sun, Nov 2. Stevie Eller Dance Theatre, 1713 E. University Blvd. 621-1162, Dance.Arizona.Edu

UA PRESENTS Jay Leno performs Sat, Oct 25. An Evening with Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly takes place Sun, Oct 26. Centennial Hall, 1020 E. University Blvd. 621-3341, UAPresents.org

VALLEY OF THE MOON Harry Potter and the Haunted Ruins, a walking theatre production, takes place Fri, Oct 10-Sun, Oct 12; Fri, Oct 17-Sun, Oct 19; and Fri, Oct 24-Thu, Oct 30. 6pm. $10. Valley Of The Moon, 2544 E. Allen Rd. 323-1331, TucsonValleyOfTheMoon.com

WAYPOINT THEATRE COMPANY

Church Basement Ladies shows Fri, Oct 24Sun, Oct 26. Berger Performing Arts Center, 1200 W. Speedway. 742-9079, Waypoint-Theatre.org

XANADU DANCE STUDIO

GLOBAL CHANGE THEATER An original one-act play and spoken word takes

Traditional Mideastern Dance and Music Performance takes place Sat, Oct 11-Sun, Oct 12. See website for times, location and prices.

881-0883, KathrynFerguson.net

place Fri, Oct 17. $13-$18. 7pm. Sea of Glass Center For The Arts, 330 E. 7th St. 3982542, TheSeaofGlass.org

ZUZI! DANCE COMPANY No Frills-Cheap Thrills Dance Happenin’ takes place Fri, Oct 24-Sat, Oct 25. Zuzi’s Little Theater, 738 N. 5th Ave. 629-0237, ZUZIMoveIt.org

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October 2014 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 37

38 ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com | October 2014

Z arts Photo courtesy of Wilde Meyer Gallery

Photo courtesy of Etherton Gallery.

“Tree Roots,” a 2014 gelatin silver print, shows at Etherton Gallery through Sat, Nov 1 as part of the exhibit “Without and Within: Keith Carter and Kate Breakey.”

"Hear Her Story" by Jim Nelson features at Wilde Meyer Gallery as part of the exhibit "American Expressions" opening Thu, Oct 9.

Photo courtesy of Davis Dominguez Gallery.

“Slightly Surreal: paintings by Wayne Crandell.”

Opens at Art House Centro with a reception Saturday, October 11th, 7-9 pm.

“Frontera,” a 2014 linoleum print on flag by Juan Enriquez, shows at Davis Dominguez Gallery through Sat, Oct 25 as part of the exhibit “Four To Watch- Young 21st Century Artists.”

40 ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com | October 2014

arts Z

art Galleries/exhibits ART HOUSE CENTRO Slightly Surreal, paintings by Wayne Crandell, opens Sat,

MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART Art Now!, a series of casual salon

Oct 11 with a reception from 7pm-9pm. Old Town Artisans Complex, 201 N. Court Ave. 620-1725, OldTownArtisans.com

Baker + Hesseldenz

13 Masters of Pop-Surrealist Painting on view through Nov. 29. Opening reception on Oct. 4. 100 E 6th St, 760-0037, Bakerhesseldenze.com

style talks, take place every Thursday in October (except the first week). $10, 6pm. White Mystery with Bradford Trojan and Otherly Love perform Wed, Oct 15. $15, 7pm. Lunchtime Express Curator Tour takes place Fri, Oct 17. Free with general admission. 12pm12:30pm. General admission: $8, adults; free, children under 12, members, military; free to all last Sunday of the month. Wed-Sun, 12pm-5pm. 265 S. Church Ave. 624-5019, MOCA-Tucson.org

CENTER FOR CREATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY Performance: Contemporary

PHILABAUM GLASS GALLERY & STUDIO Wired 2 opens Sat, Oct 4 with a

Photography from the Douglas Nielsen Collection continues through January 2015. Free exhibition tours during Photo Friday on Fri, Oct 3. Gallery Talk by Brian Paul Clamp takes place Thu, Oct 12. Artist Talk by Richard Renaldi takes place Thu, Oct 21. Mon-Fri, 9am5pm; Sat & Sun, 1pm-4pm. 1030 N. Olive Rd. 621-7968, CreativePhotography.org

reception from 5pm-8pm. Tue-Sat, 10am-5pm. 711 S. 6th Ave. 884-7404, PhilabaumGlass.com

CONTRERAS GALLERY Breve Introduction a L’art Nako and Le Chamanacuz by Martin Quintanilla shows Sat, Oct 4-Sat, Oct 25. Reception opening night, 6pm-9pm. TuesFri, 11am-5pm; Sat, 11am-4pm. 110 E. 6th St. 398-6557, ContrerasHouseFineArt.com

DAVIS DOMINGUEZ GALLERY

PORTER HALL GALLERY Art by David Conklin shows Wed, Oct 1-Fri, Oct 31.

Reception Fri, Oct 3 from 5pm-7pm. Fiesta Sonora Show opens Tue, Oct 14. Awards reception Thu, Oct 16, 5pm-7pm. Daily, 8:30am-4:30pm. $13, Adults; $12, Student/ Senior/Military, $7.50, Children 4-12; Free, Children 3 and younger. 2150 N. Alvernon Way. 326-9686, TucsonBotanical.org

SOUTHERN ARIZONA WATERCOLOR GUILD WOW: Watch Our Walls

Four to Watch-Young 21st Century Artists showcases paintings by Juan Enriquez, Jennifer Day, Joshua Olivera and sculpture by Michael Fadel, which continues through Sat, Oct 25. Reception Sat, Oct 4, 6pm-8pm. Art

by Pamela Marks, Carrie Seid and installation by Alfred Quiroz opens Thu, Oct 30. TueFri, 11am-5pm; Sat, 11am-4pm. 154 E. 6th St. 629-9759, DavisDominguez.com

Show #5 continues through Sat, Oct 11. Tue-Sun, 11am-4pm. Free. SAWG Gallery, 5605 E. River Rd. 299-7294, SouthernAzWatercolorGuild.com

DEGRAZIA GALLERY IN THE SUN Degrazia Paints the Signs of the Zodiac

TUCSON MUSEUM OF ART

TUCSON DESERT ART MUSEUM

The Dawn of American Landscapes continues through October. 7000 E. Tanque Verde Rd. 202-3888, TucsonDart.com

DESERT ARTISANS GALLERY Rivers of Light continues through Sun, Nov 9.

The Figure Examined: Masterworks from the Kasser Mochary Art Foundation opens Sat, Oct 18. Tue-Wed & Fri-Sat, 10am-5pm; Thu, 10am-8pm; Sun, noon-5pm. $10, adults; $8, seniors; $5, college students w/ID; Free youth 18 and under, members, veterans and active military. Free to all the first Sunday of the month. 140 N. Main Ave. 624-2333, TucsonMuseumofArt.org

Mon-Sat, 10am-5pm; Sun, 10am-1:30pm. 6536 E. Tanque Verde Rd. 722-4412, DesertArtisansGallery.com

UA MUSEUM OF ART A Continuing Legacy: Museum Purchases Part 2 opens Sat,

DRAGONFLY GALLERY Abstract Men: The Art of Phil Hastings, Bob Kray, Bart

Oct 4. Of Dust and Rainbows: Selections From The Prentiss Taylor Gift opens Sat, Oct 18. TueFri, 9am-5pm. Sat-Sun, 12pm-4pm. 1031 N. Olive Rd. 621-7567, ArtMuseum.Arizona.edu

Mahoney and Photographs of Rod Mullen continues through October. 146 E. Broadway.

628-3164 x210.

UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH OF TUCSON Photographs by

THE DRAWING STUDIO Belonging: Works by Children and Adults Served by

Pete Velonis continues through Sun, Oct 5. Tue- Fri, 9am-1pm; Sunday, 11:30am-1pm.

4831 E. 22nd St. 748-1551 UUCTucson.org

the Primavera Foundation opens Sat, Oct 18 with a reception from 5pm-8pm.Tue-Sun, 12pm-4pm. 33 S. 6th Ave. 620-0947, TheDrawingStudio.org

WEE GALLERY

continues through January 2015. Degrazia’s Greatest Hits continues through January 2015. Daily, 10am-4pm. 6300 N. Swan Rd. 299-9191, DeGrazia.org

ETHERTON GALLERY Without and Within: Keith Carter and Kate Breakey continues through Sat, Nov 1. Tue-Sat, 11am-5pm. 135 S. 6th Ave. 624-7370, EthertonGallery.com

FOUR CORNERS GALLERY Refreshing, landscapes by Michael Drury, continues through Sun, Oct 26. Reception Fri, Oct 17, 3pm-6pm. Artist workshop “Movement: Painting, Clouds and Water” takes place Sat, Oct 17, 9am-12pm. Tucson Desert Art Museum, 7000 E. Tanque Verde. 202-3888, TucsonDart.com

JOSEPH GROSS GALLERY Eva Struble: Produce continues through Thu, Nov

Art by Titus Castanza shows Sat, Oct 4- Sun, Oct 26. Thu-Sat; 11am-6pm, Sun; 11am-5pm. 439 N. 6th Ave Suite #171. 360-6024, GalleryWee.com

WILDE MEYER GALLERY The Art of the Landscape continues through Sat, Oct 18. Native Expressions continues through Sat, Oct 18. American Impressions opens Thu, Oct 9. Main Street Stars opens Thu, Oct 23. Go Figure opens Thu, Oct 23. Dia de los Muertos opens Thu, Oct 23. Mon-Fri, 10am-5:30pm; Thu, 10am-7pm; Sat, 10am-6pm; Sun, 12pm-5pm. Wilde Meyer Gallery, 3001 E. Skyline Dr. WildeMeyer.com

WOMANKRAFT ART GALLERY Falling Into Fall continues through Sat, Oct

6. Mon-Fri, 8am-5pm. 1031 N. Olive Rd. 626-4215, CFA.arizona.edu/galleries

25. Reception Sat, Oct 4, 7pm-10pm. Wed-Sat, 1pm-5pm. 388 S. Stone Ave. 629-9976, WomanKraft.org

LOUIS CARLOS BERNAL GALLERY Southwest Observed continues through

YIKES TOYS AND GIFT-O-RAMA Bugs, Bones, Butterflies-original gouache

Fri, Oct 10. Then And Now opens Mon, Oct 27. Mon-Thu; 10am-5pm. Fri; 10am-3pm.

2202 W. Anklam Rd. 206-6942, Pima.Edu/cfa

and ink paintings by Wil Taylor continues through December. Mon- Sat, 10am-5:30pm; Sun, 10am-3pm. Yikes Toys and Gift O-Rama, 2930 E. Broadway Blvd. 320-5669, YikesToys.com

October 2014 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 41

42 ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com | October 2014

Photo: Niccole Radhe

Fashion Forward Fundraiser

by Niccole Radhe

While most women don't really need a good reason to shop for designer handbags, Tucson’s YWCA is presenting a fabulous reason to do so at its inaugural “P.O.P.! Purses on Purpose” event. The crux of the YWCA is facilitating positive change in women’s lives and in our community. So, how about purchasing a purse to help fund change?

Buffalo Exchange has partnered with YWCA to present a recycled clothing fashion show, while local live music sets the mood for an evening of shopping on purpose. Designer purses, gift baskets and other irresistible silent auction items will give your eyes something to do while your taste buds are dancing to the local cuisine presented by women restaurant owners. Some of the Old Pueblo's top female bartenders are on tap to mix creative cocktails. P.O.P! is set to be a fun celebration of women who are business owners, community leaders, creative spirits and courageous individuals.

This fun-filled, foodie, auction and shopping extravaganza is a womenpowered steam engine for social change in Tucson and will help the YWCA in its mission of eliminating racism and empowering women. Proceeds from this event, held in conjunction with the YWCA USA’s “Week Without Violence,” will support their work to help domestic violence survivors become economically independent. Through their Women’s Center for Economic Opportunity (WCEO), the YWCA Tucson helps empower more than 2,500 women each year to create opportunities for growth in their lives, careers and community. The women who attend the YWCA’s WCEO program are given life skills in successful interviewing, resume writing, job hunting, and they leave with a professional wardrobe to portray the confidence needed to be successful in the job hunting arena. One program attendee shares this about the program: “It gives me hope, hope that we are hire-able, hope that we can get jobs and take care of ourselves.”

The P.O.P. event is at the YWCA Community Center of Tucson, localed in a beautiful building on appropriately named North Bonita Avenue just south of St.Mary’s Road and west of I-10 at 525 N. Bonita Ave. This is a lovely place not just for the organization and its personnel, but also for the larger Tucson community. It boasts a delicious and unique café, open to the public daily, a rotating art gallery featuring local women artists, a gift shop with handmade jewelry and crafts by local women, along with many other amenities.

The YWCA of Tucson is a place of hope, a place of change and a place of power. Join YWCA for this incredible event and help eliminate racism and invest in women's lives. n

Tickets for the Sunday, Oct. 12, 5-8 p.m., fundraiser are $65 in advance or $80 at the door (525 N. Bonita Ave.). To purchase your advance tickets and learn more about the YWCA, visit YWCATucson.org or search YWCA Tucson on Facebook.com. You can also join one of their monthly luncheon tours, when the The YWCA staff and volunteers provide a delicious meal and they give the public an in-depth tour of their property and programs. This month's tour is Tuesday, Oct. 21 from noon to 1 p.m.

October 2014 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 43

photo: Karaidel

Z garden

Enjoying the Fall Garden

by Brandon Merchant

Julia Child, my mother was not. Looking back on my youth I recount endless dinners of canned spinach, boxed mashed potatoes, and boiled chicken. It was only after I moved out on my own and began shopping and cooking for myself that I finally discovered what real food was supposed to taste like. As I tried new ingredients I had never heard of and recipes from cuisines I had never tried before I began to develop a passion and an appreciation for food I had never had. In fact, it was this love for food and desire to seek out fresh and unique ingredients that eventually started me on my journey with my first backyard vegetable garden.

There are countless reasons to start a vegetable garden, canned spinach being one of them, but when I ask people their reasons for wanting to start a garden I often hear some version of “I want to be able to go outside and harvest a salad before dinner.” Who wouldn’t, over just the last few weeks there have been recalls on packaged turnip greens, spinach, and salads. More than that though, it’s the feeling one gets when harvesting this evenings dinner salad while the chicken is roasting in the oven. I believe it connects us in some way to our hunter gatherer ancestors as we realize that this was the way it has been done for thousands of years.

The winter garden is wonderful in that regard. Unlike summer gardens that often leave us unprepared for a bounty of produce that comes in a surge, the winter garden is much slower growing and the crops that are grown can be planted and harvested in moderation over the course of the growing season. If properly planned, it is possible to plant and harvest winter vegetables almost continually from now into late winter or even early spring. This is a much more relaxing and enjoyable way to garden and for those who are new to gardening or thinking about giving it a try October is the perfect month to get your hands dirty for the first time.

44 ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com | October 2014

Leafy greens and root vegetables are staples of the winter vegetable garden and all can be planted now. While many varieties of lettuce, kale, and cabbage often dominate the winter garden, it should be noted that there are many varieties of Asian vegetables that do remarkably well during the fall/winter growing season. Several varieties of bok choi, Chinese cabbages, and Asian mustard can be grown along side more traditional varieties. One of my favorites is a Japanese turnip green called komatsuna. It can tolerate heat very well and a single plant can generate a large amount of greens over the course of the season. Seeds for komatsuna and other Asian vegetable can be purchased from Kitazawa Seed Co. out of Oakland, Ca. October is also garlic month. Traditionally garlic is planted sometime after the second week of October. Garlic is a very slow grower, it takes about six months from planting to reach maturity, because of this should be located someplace that will not be disturbed. Garlic is an excellent companion to roses, so if you have some to spare be sure to place some in your rose beds. When it comes to choosing garlic, there are two main types, hard-neck and soft-neck.

For our region, soft-neck varieties do much better. One of the best is a variety native to Hermosillo called “Purple Queen.” Purple Queen is grown in Arivaca and is available from Native Seed Search. Other good varieties of garlic include Ajo Rojo and Creole Red. Whatever variety you choose keep in mind that with Halloween right around the corner it might come in handy to hold on to some of that garlic on the off chance you have a run in with a vampire. n

Brandon Merchant is the proprietor of Southwest Victory Gardens. Visit his website at SouthwestVictoryGardens.com.

October 2014 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 45

Z poetry POEM WRITTEN IN THE MANNER OF BILLY COLLINS First I take out the reference to global warming, and the extinction of the blue-backed frog, and in addition I delete any sappy, victim-like particulars about my childhood.

I replace the checkpoint in Syria, and the car speeding toward it with a cup of coffee made from fine-ground Abyssinian beans and a string quartet on the radio, playing, I don’t know, something by Chopin.

With a small bottle of White-Out and the accompanying exquisite little brush, I erase the part about the gun used by the sergeant from Afghanistan to blow off his commander’s head.

I paint out the fashion model with the fantastic cheekbones who starved herself to death, and the billionaire who gave every player on his football team a Cadillac until finally there is only a clean white page, like a living room floor where a child is on his hands and knees, feeding a piece of lettuce to a guinea pig, petting it softly with one finger, thinking hard and deciding to change its name from Joe, to Josephine.

— Tony Hoagland

Z food&drink

Table Settings

A conversation with Chris Bianco

by Kerry Lane

Chris Bianco needs little introduction. His success in Phoenix with Pizzeria Bianco has garnered accolades and attention from around the globe.

This summer, he opened a location in downtown Tucson at 5th Avenue and Congress Street. Amidst the buzz of what his presence means for the rapidly burgeoning restaurant scene, Bianco himself proves to be a warm, humble and enthusiastic purveyor of his own food philosophy. Make that life philosophy. And in keeping with his theme of restraint, I’ll let him do the talking from here.

B On His Favorite Style of Pizza I love many styles of good things. This life has taught me to respect every genre of good things. Like if I come into your home I wouldn’t really come and critique your artwork, you know, or look inside your drug cabinet. I would want to see what you invite me into and see what you showed me and then really submit to it to take it all in so I could learn and say, "Wow, I really can appreciate it. I don’t even know if I love it, but I really appreciate it." And I see that it has a place when I want this experience.

I’ve been very blessed with more good things that I could ever imagine in my life, but I take that with great responsibility. This journey has been a huge bridge…from our farmers to the millers we work with to the influences I’ve had in my life, professional influences to family to friends to people I’ve bumped into on an elevator, people that influence me greatly. And somehow my work is a way to try and continue to pay that forward and maybe influence the small, little footprint that we have, to make it better than we found it as a collective.

I mean this is my whole life, not just the pizza part…when we talk about pizza and it’s not that I don’t love pizza, I love…. I love period, you know? And pizza’s an aspect of that, you know what I’m saying? It’s like, if you single out things that you love, sometimes you trample the garden that goes around that.

C On What He Loves to Cook

Tony Hoagland, whose collections of poems include Donkey Gospel and What Narcissism Means to Me, studied with Steve Orlen and Jon Anderson at the University of Arizona in the 80s, and spent a considerable number of hours without clothes on in Sabino and Reddington Canyons.

Zócalo Magazine invites poets with Tucson connections to submit up to three original, previously unpublished (including online) poems, any style, 40 line limit per poem. Simultaneous submissions OK if you notify us ASAP of acceptance elsewhere. Please include contact information on each page of your manuscript. All manuscripts must be typed and accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE). Mss. won’t be returned.

Payment is one year's subscription to Zócalo, which acquires first North American rights on publication; author may re-publish with acknowledgment to Zócalo. The poetry coeditors are Jefferson Carter and Michael Gessner. Address submissions to Zócalo, Poetry, PO Box 1171, Tucson, AZ, 85702.

46 ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com | October 2014

Probably more that one thing, I love making salads. I think it’s the easiest way for me to tell a human being’s sensitivity. It’s the most transparent, it takes the most sensitivity, it’s a complete collaboration with nature. The way that you rinse off the greens or the beets. It’s this incredible balance of… if it’s a dressing the acidity and fat and then how much of it. It’s a really simple, almost afterthought of our life.

D On The Flavors He Loves I don’t like usually really overpowering flavor on any thing. I think sometimes when we cook or we bake, especially when you’re alone you ask yourself a lot of crazy questions, like, "what would go in this?" I try to use restraint as an actual ingredient. Restraint is the most important ingredient in a lot of cases.

Sometimes it’s instinctual and sometimes habitual to say “ you know what that needs?” and sometimes it doesn’t fucking need a thing. It might not need a strawberry fan because you don’t need to pop a color. Maybe. Because maybe it’s the dead of winter and you’re showing people the deprivation that exists in that.

The first time I went to Chez Panisse in my early twenties, sitting down and seeing them serve a dish of nectarines with nothing else on it, saying holy fuck that’s a plate of nectarines. I’m thinking, "they didn’t even do anything to them,

photo: David Olsen

food&drink Z

Chris Bianco, moments before opening his Tucson location this summer.

but what fucking incredible powerful restraint," that knowing all I have to do is wash this off. That it isn’t even about me. That my role sometimes… sometimes our role is to dust things off.

E On Foods He Craves I’m not much a dessert person after dinner. But, maybe if I’m spending a lot of time in England I have a great appreciation for a special tea and a tart or something like that. Like really submitting to something where I can show it a great respect and really savor that. So I think that I look for uncomplicated flavors, things that are optimum as far as a blueberry or a blackberry or an apple.

With younger chefs when they tell me they want to learn to cook, well, I always tell them you want to learn to eat first. Like right now we’re getting some really good peaches from Willcox and I’m craving it because they are at their height, they’re at their best.

Since I moved to Arizona, when I travel, when I come home I always crave Mexican. I always want chile verdes, homemade tortillas, something that was not part of my fabric when I was growing up. I mean, I don’t think I had chips and salsa until I was 18, or even heard of it. Things that offer a sense of home, and I feel that this part of the world is home. That’s what I really crave. I love tomales, my wife’s family makes really great tomales. I love the community it brings to make them. I love the story they’re celebrating. I hope my daughter gets into the flow of that. I love that. I love when you cook me something, whoever you are, that you love. And I love to submit to it.

F On The meal That Changed His Food Philosophy I went with my dad to northern Italy to visit my mom’s side of the family. My father’s side was definitely the dominant gene in the food pool, in dishes that I loved. And I remember going to visit my mom’s side and it was so foreign to

me. It was really Slavic almost and Germanic and things that I didn’t recognize as Italian food, and didn’t know if I liked or even if I was in a mental place to appreciate. I remember going to visit my cousins and they planned this trip to where this famous prosciutto came from and this friend that made prosciutto but also grew asparagus, white asparagus. And I never saw white asparagus in my life. I was thinking in my mind there was going to be this lunch and I was thinking it was going to be this extravagant, crazy ass feast, you know? And we got there and there were some chickens and pigs off in the distance, and a barn and a picnic table and a big boule, some mountain cheese and a big pot with a propane makeshift burner. And there was a string hanging out of it with a stone, and immersed in the pot was a tied bunch of white asparagus. They were boiling, almost over cooking, and a few random eggs were in the pot with it. And we sat down, almost like a crab boil, and my uncle’s friend fished out the asparagus, pulled it from the string, untied the bundle, put it on this big platter with a glug of this beautiful olive oil. It was such a humble meal, like, incredibly humble, but being in a field, in the origin of where all that came, was incredibly mind blowing to me. First of all, I never saw white asparagus, it was like seeing a fucking white unicorn. And it’s asparagi bianchi and my last name’s Bianco and I thought, oh, that’s kinda fucking cool! That was probably one of the most important meals of my life because it was around family, someone took me to a special place, and it was the opposite of what I expected. But it was so beyond what I could ever imagine. I had to rethink everything I thought of decadent or special. Like, what is good? What is optimum? What is special? And I think for me, it was that I had people who were able to share something with me that was special to them in the place where it came from, and it’s something I can tell you about 35 years later. n

October 2014 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 47

48 ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com | October 2014

Photo: Steve Renzi

Tucson was surrounded with 18 Titan II missiles - each Titan II missile was capable of being launched from under the ground in one minute, fly 450 miles above the earth, attain a speed of 17,000 mph and strike a target 6,000 miles away.

history Z

Atomic Tucson

by Steve Renzi

Before dawn, on July 16, 1945, there was an explosion in the desert of New Mexico. Seventy-five miles away, Georgia Green, a university student was riding in a car heading towards the University of Albuquerque. She had been blind since birth, but the flash from the explosion was so bright that for the first time in her life, her eyes saw light. The Atomic Age had begun.

Photo: Steve Renzi

Con Mall and Colossal Cave. Within the city, 16 storm sewers are also listed as potential shelters. People living in rural areas of Pima County are encouraged to seek shelter in abandoned mines. The Pima County Civil Defense Handbook contains these helpful tips: “When preparing to go into a shelter, make plans for activities which will help pass the time more quickly, take people’s minds off their worries, and help prepare them for life in a post-attack environment.

Games likely to arouse arguments should be avoided. Classes should be orgaYears later, in the late 1950s, the desert town of Tucson, Arizona installed nized in home repair, cooking and useful personal living skills.”

20 civil defense air raid sirens. Connected to NORAD, an early warning deHowever in 1964, the Tucson Commufense system strung across northern North nity Shelter Plan finds that Pima County with America, these sirens were placed alongside 291,000 residents only has shelter space Tucson streets, to give warning of an impendfor 30,000. Individual family fallout shelters ing nuclear attack. are encouraged. You can even get an FHA Paul Wine grew up in Tucson and rememhome improvement loan to help finance the bers the sound. “We lived in Pueblo Gardens, construction. A two-week supply of food is on the south side. Every Saturday noon, withrecommended and “don’t forget the can and out fail, they would test the sirens; the sound bottle opener.” would start off low, but quickly build into a Three neighbors on East 33rd Street, steady, ear-splitting wail, sounding like some near Wilmot, build shelters, according to an kind of perverse, atomic-age saxophone.” article in the Arizona Daily Star. Most TucsoA 1950 Gallup poll found that 75 percent nans do not. of the American pubic feared that American In 1982, the Titans were disarmed, taken cities would be bombed in the next war. It out of their silos and cut in half, complying would take a Soviet bomber five hours before with the SALT II Treaty. Jeff Cox served inside it could reach Tucson. A local civil defense the Titans for three and one-half years as an map and manual is published highlighting Air Force crewmember, part of the Strategic roads – Oracle Road, Ajo Way, Old Spanish Air Command’s 390th Strategic Missile Wing.

Trail – to be used as escape routes out of the He was part of a four-man crew, working a city. The manual gives useful survival advice: 24-hour shift on every third day.

“Keep one/half tank of gas in your car at all “We descended two or three stories down times, and out in the desert, a good source and had no idea of the weather, or if it was of food is animals and birds, except caterpilday or night. The sound inside was a conlars.” stant hum like a loud vacuum cleaner. We The year is 1961. Kennedy is in the White trained, read and watched television; we House, Elvis is in the Army and 18 intercould only get one channel and there was continental missiles called Titans are being no radio reception. You had to watch out placed, surrounding Tucson in a nuclear ring for rattlesnakes in the stairwell. There was a Fallout Shelter sign in the Tucson Warehouse & Transfer Station building, now the of fire. These Titans are positioned in underhome of Benjamin Supply. The shelter was in the basement and designed to house strict two-man policy; nobody could be alone ground silos throughout Pima County. The 100 people. in the red button areas. Fluorescent lights, United States and the Soviet Union have both electrical conduit piping, steel, everything was hard - only the beds were soft,” replaced long-range bombers with missiles that can launch and strike their said Cox. target in 30 minutes. Now, there is not enough time to run, only to hide.

The attack never came. One of the Titans, “The Copper Penny” is a muTo prepare, two strategies are developed: crawl under your desk, and head seum near Green Valley. In the early 2000s, the air raid sirens, silent for years, for fallout shelters. were finally taken down. The fallout shelter in the basement of the Tucson Television commercials starring Bert the Turtle tell kids what to do when the Warehouse & Transfer Station building, now the home of Benjamin Supply, is bomb drops – “Remember kids, when you see that bright flash, stay away from used for storage and filled with plumbing supplies. Up on the third floor, hidden windows, crawl under your desks and cover your heads.” Nationwide, and in for years in a cardboard box marked Civil Defense, are two tins full of saltine Tucson, schools practice “duck and cover.” crackers dated November 1963, unused and never opened. n We also build fallout shelters. Community shelters are located at the University of Arizona, Catalina High School, Bring’s Funeral Home, Woolworth’s, El

October 2014 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 49

October 2014 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 51

photo courtesy of Brent Kort

tunes Z

Funky Bonz

Celebrating Two Decades of Funk

by Jon D’Auria While it may seem like being a musician in a band is a glorious, instantly rewarding, fool-proof way to shine in the spotlight and soak up all of the success that comes with performing on stage and recording albums, the sad truth is that most musical outfits are short lived and only have the lifespan of around two years (if you’re lucky). But despite those dismal odds, some bands are able to rise above the usual cases of inner-band drama, creative differences and musical ennui that typically capsize most groups.

One stunning example lies in Tucson’s very own Funky Bonz, which has been cranking out albums and electrifying live audiences for over 21 years now.

If that doesn’t impress you, then perhaps taking a listen to the band's groovefilled, genre-hopping funk will. Founded in 1991 by singer Brent Kort (who has remained as the only constant member), the group found its niche in the flourishing Tucson music scene as it quickly gained popularity for impressive musicianship and upbeat songwriting.

“Some of our songs have lasted for over 20 years, but our songwriting skills have definitely evolved and I rely a lot on my band members' talent as well,” reflects Kort. “I love all of my original members, but when I started replacing members when they were leaving, I always gained some extra elements added into the music. At one point we added horns and have been a horn-driven funk band. We’ve seen a lot of different versions of this band, and I am very excited about the current line up we have.”

Merging funk, blues, reggae, rock, jam and dance music into its own personal style, Funky Bonz has made a big name for itself in the Southwest. The band has received six TAMMIES (Tucson Area Music Awards) and have shared the stage with acts such as Bootsy Collins, AWOLNATION, Fishbone, Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, Weapon of Choice, Leftover Salmon, Ozomatli, The Slackers and many other heavy hitters. But even with the success that Kort and Funky Bonz have experienced, the members never let it get to their heads and they remain fixed on why they first began playing music in the first place – writing danceable, upbeat songs just for the funk of it.

“I’ve never had any delusions of grandeur with this, and we’ve been through so many stages with this band and endured it all. For a while we were weekend warriors who were always touring the Southwest, though now we’re mainly homebodies, but we do still play out of town every once in a while,” says Kort.

“It’s fun to collaborate with other musicians and we’ve never taken ourselves too seriously. We just like to play in front of a crowd and have a good time. I love writing music and I couldn’t ask for better people to share these visions in my head with and perform them out live for people.”

To celebrate its twenty plus years as a band, Funky Bonz released a retrospective album that encompasses the music created by the ensemble over the past two decades titled Buried Bonz: A Recorded History, Volume 1. This pseudo-greatest hits album offers a selection of the best songs from previous records, unreleased material, covers and even new tracks that the band recently recorded in Wavelab Studios. The album is currently available on iTunes.

“We went into Wavelab Studios and we recorded a few new songs for it, so there will be brand new stuff with our new members. I always love going into the studio and I wish I could spend more time in it, but time is money. I love Wavelab and I’ve always loved working in there,” says Kort. “I’ve had great experiences in the studio and this time we brought in guests to play with us on some songs. We were on a short-lived label called ExPat Records, so we made an EP for them that was only released through their distribution, but those songs will be on this. It’ll be a little old, a little new and all funk.”

Funky Bonz will also be celebrating by performing Downtown on Saturday, Oct. 11 at 8 p.m. as part of 2nd Saturdays on the Scott Avenue stage. With a stellar new horn section and a talented line up supporting him, Kort feels that his current lineup is one of his best ever. And if previous concerts serve as any indication, then Funky Bonz’s October 2nd Saturdays performance is one not to be missed.

“We’re going to play a lot of the songs off of our new album starting with our new stuff. We’re really looking forward to it because (2nd Saturdays) is one of the best stages to play at in town and it is really one of the best events in town. There’s always a great crowd that really seem to enjoy live music. Tucson is a great place for music because there are plenty of bars that give bands the opportunity to play for people and there are plenty of bands that come through town to play here. We have a very versatile scene here in Tucson.” n

Visit Facebook.com/FunkyBonz for updates on shows and new albums. To purchase the music of Funky Bonz, visit iTunes. See 2ndSaturdays.com for more information on the Oct. 11 event.

October 2014 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 53

Photo courtesy of ACLFestival.com

Photo courtesy of GrownFolksMusic.com

Photo courtesy of The305.com

Z tunes

“Linda Ronstadt” performs at Fox Theatre on Sat, Oct 5.

“Skrillex” performs at AVA Amphitheater on Tue, Oct 7.

“Parker Millsap” performs at Hotel Congress on Tue, Oct 7.

LIVE MUSIC Schedules accurate as of press time. Visit the websites or call for current/detailed information.

2ND SATURDAYS DOWNTOWN Congress Street, 2ndSaturdaysDowntown.com Sat 11: Black Cat Bones, Belly Dance Tucson, Funky Bonz, Sun Bones

ARMITAGE WINE LOUNGE 2905 E. Skyline Dr #168. 6829740, ArmitageWine.com Sun 5: Cameron & Carlie Tue 7: Tommy Tucker Sun 12: The Hot Club of Tucson Tue 14: Ashbury Sun 19: R & P Music Factory Tue 21: The Bryan Dean Trio Sun 26: Jillian Besset Tue 28: Naim Amor

BOONDOCKS LOUNGE 3306 N. 1st Ave. 690-0991, BoondocksLounge.com Sundays/ Tuesdays: Lonny’s Lucky Poker Mondays: The Bryan Dean Trio Wednesdays: Titan Valley Warheads Thu 2: Kathy & The Groovetones Fri 3: Angel Diamon & The Blues Disciples Sun 5: Heather Hardy and Lil’ Mama Band

Thu 9: Ned Sutton & Last Dance Fri 10: Equinox Sat 11: Straight Shot Again!

Sun 12: Mr. Boogie Woogie & The Firesweep Band Thu 16: Genevieve & The LP’s Fri 17: Atmosphere Sat 18: Zo Carroll & The Soul Breakers Fri 24: Johnny Ain’t Right Sun 26: Black Skillet Revue Tue 28: Special Solo show with Mr. Boogie Woogie Thue 30: Genevieve and the LP’s Fri 31: Halloween Costume Party with Anna Warr and Giant Blue

BORDERLANDS BREWING 119 E. Toole Ave. 261-8773, BorderlandsBrewing.com Thu 2: Hank Topless Fri 3: The Determined Luddites Sat 4: Mustang Corners

CAFE PASSE 415 N. 4th Ave. 624-4411, CafePasse.com See website for details.

CLUB CONGRESS 311 E. Congress St. 622-8848, HotelCongress.com/club Wed 1: Snowmine Thu 2: Aaron Behren & The Midnight Stroll Fri 3: Tom Walbank with Roman Barten- Sherman, Billy Sedlmayr Album Release

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Sat 4: K.Flay Sun 5: Com Truise Tue 7: Wildcat! Wildcat!, Parker Milsap Wed 8: Brother Ali Fri 10: Tom Walbank with Roman Barten- Sherman Mon 13: Polica Wed 15: The Drums Thu 16: An Evening with Chris Smither, Perfume Genius Fri 17: Tom Walbank with Roman Barten-Sherman, Turquoise Jeep Sat 18: Mutual Benfit Sun 19: Landlady Fri 24: Tom Walbank with Roman Barten-Sherman, Sinkane Tue 28: Zak Waters & French Horn Rebellion Thu 30: Milo Greene, Slaid Cleaves Fri 31: Tom Walbank with Roman Barten-Sherman

LA COCINA 201 N. Court Ave. 622-0351, LaCocinaTucson.com Sundays: Mik and the Funky Brunch Saturdays: DJ Herm, Harpist Wednesdays: Miss Lana Rebel and Kevin Michael Mayfield Thursdays: Stefan George Fridays: The Greg Morton Band Wednesdays: Miss Lana Rebel and Kevin Michael Mayfield

CUSHING STREET BAR & RESTAURANT 198 W. Cushing St. 622-7984, CushingStreet.com Saturdays: Jazz

DELECTABLES RESTAURANT 533 N. 4th Ave. 884-9289, Delectables.com Fridays and Saturdays: Live music

FLYCATCHER 340 E. 6th St. 798-1298, PlushTucson.com Sun 5: Cymbals Eat Guitars Mon 6: Shonen Knife Tue 7: Apache Dropout/ Good Faces/ The Night Collectors Wed 8: Black Joe Lewis Thu 9: Oso Nego/ Big Meridox/ Alture Mystic Fri 10: La Cerca Mon 13: J Roddy Walston Thu 16: Garboski/ Megafauna/ Ghostal Sat 18: Alter Der Ruine Mon 20: Ape Machine/ Burning of Rome Tue 21: Screaming Females/ Katterwaul/ Pujol Thu 23: La Fin Absolute Du Monde/ Mercy In The Basement Fri 24: Johnny Redd/ Jaca Zulu/ Horse Black Sat 25: Twin Ponies Sun 26: Romo Tonight Tue 28: Tera Melos/ Pure Bathing

Culture Wed 29: Lee Gallagher and the Hallelujah/ Andrew Colberg Thu 30: While You Slept feat. Big Ox Fri 31: Werewolf Bar Mitzvah

FOX TUCSON THEATRE 17 W. Congress St. 624-1515, FoxTucsonTheatre.org Fri 3: Kansas Sat 4: Nils Lofgren Sat 5: Linda Ronstadt (Sunday Evening Forum) Thu 9: Paul Reiser Sun 12: Kris Kristofferson Mon 13: ASIA Thu 16: Lee Ann Womank Fri 17: Under The Streetlamp Thu 23: Ray LaMontagne Thu 30: David Broza

HACIENDA DEL SOL 5501 N. Hacienda Del Sol. 2991501, HaciendaDelSol.com Sun 5: Grams & Krieger Sun 12: Bryan Dean Trio Sun 19: TBA Sun 26: The Coolers

MAKER HOUSE AND CHURCH OF BEETHOVEN 283 N. Stone Ave. 369-3179, ChurchOfBeethoven-Tucson.org Mon 20: Chamber Music and Spoken Word with Tucson Repertory Orchestra Quintet- 7pm

MONTEREY COURT 505 W. Miracle Mile, MontereyCourtAZ.com Sun 5: Joshua Breakstone Trio Wed 8: Tucson Songwriters Showcase Thu 9: Jim St. James & Scott Jordans Fri 10: Lone Madrone Sat 11: TKMA Presents Show Tue 14: 43 Miles North Wed 15: Neil & Lisa McCallion Fri 17: Black Skillet Revue Sat 18: Haywire Sun 19: Jazz Connection with Joe Locasio Tue 21: Brad Colerick Thu 23: Outsiderz Fri 24: Angel Diamon & The Blues Disciples Sat 25: Little House of Funk Sun 26: Kathy Davis & The Groove Tones

Tue 28: Dorian Michael Fri 31: Halloween Party

ORO VALLEY CONCERT SERIES Venues vary, 797-3959. SAACA.org Thu 9: Bouncing Czechs Fri 17: Barber and Copland: American Souvenirs

tunes Z

“House Rockin’ Halloween”

RIALTO THEATRE 318 E. Congress St. 740-1000, RialtoTheatre.com Sun 5: Mark Karan with Top Dead Center Mon 6: Social Distortion Mon 6: Shonen Knife @ Flycatcher Tue 7: Twenty One Pilots Wed 8: The Used, Living Colour @ The Rock Thu 9: Gaytino, Maldita Vecindad Fri 10: Chromeo Sat 11: Carolina Chocolate Drops Mon 13: Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives Tue 14: Ana Tijoux Thu 16: Insane Clown Posse Fri 17: Goatsnake and Neurosis Sat 18: Neurosis Sun 19: Sunn Tue 21: Belanova Wed 22: La Ley Fri 24: Sinkane @ Congress, Black Label Society Sat 25: Ab-Soul “These Days” Tour Mon 27: B.O.B. Tue 28: Matisyahu Wed 29: Jimmy Eat World Thu 30: Milo Greene @ Congress, Home Free

KXCI 91.3 FM presents “House Rockin’ Halloween” El Casino Ballroom Oct. 31, 8pm Featuring The Paladins (above) and Candye Kane (below.)

Tickets for the concert are $15 advance, $12 KXCI Members advance, $18 at the door night of show. Ticket outlets are KXCI, Antigone Books, The Folk Shop, The Parish and KXCI.org. There will be a costume contest and food available. Doors open at 7pm.

SKY BAR TUCSON 536 N. 4th Ave, 622-4300.

SkyBarTucson.com See website for details.

SOLAR CULTURE 31 E. Toole Ave. 884-0874, SolarCulture.org Wed 8: Matt Venuti Thu 16: Baraka Moon

ST ANDREWS CHURCH 545 S. Fifth Avenue. 490-1817 Sun 5: Homero Ceron and Jim Karrer

SURLY WENCH PUB 424 N. 4th Ave., 882-0009, SurlyWenchPub.com See website for details.

October 2014 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 55

Z lifeintucson

by Andrew Brown / @aemerybrown

Snapshots from last month’s HOCO Fest at Hotel Congress.

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October 2014 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 57

Z escape

Escape to Pena Blanca Lake

by Niccole Radhe There are very few natural retreats in Arizona that are not swarming with crowds, especially a high country lake with endless exploring and photography opportunities. On a recent holiday weekend escape to Pena Blanca Lake, I was mystified and pleasantly surprised to have this serene mountain treasure all to myself on such a busy-no-matter-where-you-go weekend. Pena Blanca is one of the most luscious and shady lakes in Arizona, with no modern amenities other than bathrooms and comfortable picnic areas equipped with charcoal grills. At Pena Blanca, you will find yourself in perfect natural solitude, listening to birds sing in the oak-dotted hills with the butterflies fluttering around the cat tail reeds. Wild flowers, vines and grass lean over the sidewalks, stairs and hand rails. There is a paved path that you can walk around most of the lake with benches at selected view points and a few fishing docks floating above the 65-foot deep waters. People here enjoy fly fishing, floating around on tubes and kayaking through the calm waters as they look up to the mountains that surround and protect this lake.

This reservoir was built by the Arizona Game and Fish Department back in 1957, and it was on every anglers bucket list with sun fish, crappie, trout, bass, and channel catfish. A small lake of only 45 surface acres, yet boasting huge largemouth bass, a full-service restaurant and boat rentals that were so popular they were on a reservation-only basis. This was the place to be for all outdoor enthusiasts and it was buzzing with people from Arizona and Mexico looking for a cool place to escape the Sonoran heat. This area has attracted people for centuries as it includes many diverse ecological niches; this is a natural transition zone between the dry desert and riparian oak woodlands. A haven for wildlife, this beautiful valley in the Coronado Forest, has been a magnet for early prospectors, explorers, and cattle ranchers throughout history.

But the magnet lost its pull. In the 1990s, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality issued a public advisory against eating the warm water fish due to high levels of mercury content. Many people immediately abandoned Pena Blanca. The pollution came from the flooding of old mine pits in the adja58 ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com | October 2014

cent valleys that were left over from the rich mining of the 18th century (when mercury was used heavily in the amalgamation process). As the valley and surrounding area flooded, the polluted water flowed into Pena Blanca and there it stayed. In 1999, attention was brought to this desolate land and efforts have been made over the past decade to drain and haul away all of the contaminated soil and water.

Between the Arizona Forest Service, Game and Fish Department and volunteers from nearby fishing clubs, this lake is looking up and has been improved upon for years. In the future, we may see another restaurant or lodging facility but for now the beautifully overgrown lake is quiet with little tourist activities.

This is an Arizona escape where one will find more wildlife than people, private campsites under oak trees, cooler weather and surprisingly green landscapes that rival any other in Southern Arizona. The bass here are huge as they are caught and released to grow some more: it is an anglers dream. For hiking, bird watching, fishing and photography, Pena Blanca Lake is the place to be. This trip can be a one day getaway or a weekend of borderland exploration.

Making Your Escape: From Downtown Tucson, take I-19 south towards Nogales, and proceed south for about 64 miles. After passing the quaint towns of Tubac and Rio Rico turn right on SR 289 (Ruby Road) and follow for 10 miles to the Pena Blanca Lake. You can park in one of the many side lots or follow the road to the right to the boat launch and floating fishing dock. White rock campground will be to the left hand side and picnic areas and restrooms are scattered throughout the recreation area. There is an older cement boat dock towards the northern end of the lake. For those who prefer to off-road and take the path less traveled, Pena Blanca Recreation Area can also be reached by taking 1-10 to the Arivaca exit and watching for the signs to Pena Blanca. Here you will pass some cattle ranches, ghost towns and an old fort from the 1900s. n For more details, visit the U.S. Forest Service website or VisitArizona.com.