Featured ReviewTucson Museum of ArtThe Tucson Museum of Art has been connecting art to life in the city since 1924 and still shows no signs of stopping. In its 88 years showcasing beautiful art, the museum has relocated and expanded to encompass an entire block in historic downtown Tucson. Aside from the main building, which could be considered a work of art in itself, the block is composed of 5 restored and renovated houses original to the Old Pueblo all surrounding a beautiful courtyard. Be sure to grab a coffee and bite to eat at the Café a la C’Art while enjoying the picturesque views of the city center’s skyscrapers and the Tucson Mountains. Tucson Museum of Art is open Wed 10am–5pm, Thurs. 10am–8pm, Fri & Sat 10am–5pm, Sun. 12–5pm, and closed Mon–Tues. Call (520) 624-2333 for more information. |
 140 N. Main Ave. Tucson, AZ 85701 |
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Bear Down Fridays
Friday, August 31, 2012 — Friday, November 22, 2012Catch the University of Arizona spirit every Friday before home football games at Main Gate Square’s 7th Annual Bear Down Fridays! Cheer on our favorite football team with live music, entertainment, games, great deals, and giveaways at the family-friendly events. The Pride of Arizona Marching Band, Wilbur and Wilma, cheerleaders, and a variety of U of A coaches make guest appearances at each street-wide pep rally!
Bear Down Fridays are August 31, September 7, September 14, September 28, October 19, October 26, November 9, and November 22.
Guadalajara Fiesta Grill Patio Grand Opening
Friday, November 9, 2012 — Saturday, November 10, 2012Have a real fiesta on the new patio at Guadalajara Fiesta Grill! Enjoy an extended happy hour, food and drink specials, live music, UA Folklorico Dancers, and promotional giveaways both evenings. There will be so much fun, culture, and great Mexican food that it won’t be able to fit inside!
Sahuarita Pecan Festival
Saturday, November 10Discover why locals are nuts about this annual festival that takes place just south of Tucson. The Green Valley Pecan Company hosts the 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. affair with harvesting demonstrations, food, live music, hayrides, children’s activities, a pecan cooking contest, and the Pecan Classic and Nut Run. To get to this free event, take Interstate 19 south to Sahuarita Road, exit 75, and look for the signs.
Festival of the Arts
Saturday & Sunday November 10 - 11St. David’s Holy Trinity Monastery attracts more than 170 artists and crafters who gather twice a year to sell their wares. Add stage entertainment, a book sale, goods from the monastery bakery, several masses, and food, and it becomes a full weekend of entertainment. Take time to tour the complex and relax in its peacefulness. Holy Trinity lies 2 miles south of St. David, near mile marker 302 along Arizona Highway 80. Go east on Interstate 10 and get off at exit 304 or 303. A $3 donation for parking is requested.
Holiday Craft Market
Friday - Sunday November 16 - 18Browse the wares of more than 120 Southwest artists and artisans in this juried show. Plus, visit Maria Luisa Tena’s intricate El Nacimiento (nativity) exhibit. For more than 30 years, she and her family have added scenes and figurines that number in the hundreds to depict not only moments in Christ’s life, but also in biblical stories and Mexican peasant life. Partake in this local treasure, then cruise the market to find a treasure of your own. It’s all at the Tucson Museum of Art, which has other treasures for you to see during this free-admission weekend.
Open Studio Tour
Saturday and Sunday November 17 - 18Every year more that 100 artists citywide participate in the fall Open Studio Tour – a free, self-guided tour of exhibits and presentations. Take a look into the working world of artists and studios, and witness creativity in action from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days.
Native American Month Social & Indian Craft Market
Friday - Sunday November 23 - 25This annual gathering of Native Americans features activities that teach native history, clothing, food, and traditional practices. Intertribal exhibition dancing, drumming, and singing draw crowds, while the market offers traditional crafts and food. The event takes place at the Sheraton Tucson Hotel & Suites. Admission is free.
Holiday Nights
Friday - Saturday November 23 - 24 & November 30 - December 1Tohono Chul Park has half a million twinkling lights around the grounds to attract music lovers, holiday revelers, and early shoppers to its stage entertainment and gift shops, which feature ornaments and decorations made by local artists. Bathe in the glow of the season during rare evening hours at the gardens, 5:30-8:30 p.m. Admission costs $15 for adults, $2 for children 12 and under.
Nordic Guild Holiday Fair
Saturday December 1Sometimes the Old Country beckons. That’s where the Nordic Guild and its 31st annual fair come in. Embroidered cloth, woodcrafts, folk dancing, music, and especially, home-baked goodies draw Tucsonans yearning for a taste of Scandinavia. Find out about traditional Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, and Finnish arts and food during the free 9 a.m. – 3p.m. fair at Streams in the Desert Lutheran Church.
Festival of the Arts
Saturday & Sunday December 1 & 2The Southern Arizona Arts & Cultural Alliance hosts this celebration of arts & crafts 10 a.m. – 5p.m. Saturday and 11a.m. – 4p.m. Sunday. Visit artists’ booths, see art demonstrations, taste exotic cuisine from the international food vendors, meet Santa Claus, and listen to holiday music. Admission into the festival at Oro Valley Marketplace, at the southwest corner of Tangerine and Oracle Roads, is free
La Fiesta de Tumacacori
Saturday & Sunday December 1-2Spanish missionary Eusebio Francisco Kino established his first mission in what is now Arizona near the Santa Cruz River. Amazing ruins provide the backdrop for this celebration. Kids can enjoy puppet shoes, pinatas, and craft-making. Guides lead tours of the mission and walks along the neighboring Santa Cruz River. Sunday begins with a mariachi procession and a mass in the front of the mission church. The fiesta runs 10 a.m. – 5p.m. at Tumacacori National Historical Park, off Interstate 19 at exit 29, 45 miles south of Tucson.
Zoo Lights
Thursdays - Sundays starting December 1-23View almost 10 miles of lights, animated seasonal scenes, and decorated living trees Thursdays-Sundays. The 6-8p.m. spectacle includes holiday music, visits with Santa, and refreshments. Admission is $6, $4 for ages 2-14. Find the zoo on Randolph Way north of 22nd Street.
Luminaria Nights/ Fiesta de Navidad
Friday - Saturday, December 7-8Expect the Whimsical, quirky, and sublime, when merchants from the artists’ colony of Tubac throw a party to decorate their storefronts for the holidays and businesses stay open late. The Chamber of Commerce ties it all together with luminarias – votive candles set in small paper bags weighted down with sand – lining the streets for this weekend. Enoy holiday music and refreshments while kids bend Santa’s ear. Find Tubac 45 miles south of Tucson on Interstate 19 at exit 34.
Luminaria Nights at Tucson Botanical Gardens
Friday - Sunday, December 7 - 9Tucson’s midtown botanical gem, hosts the 26th annual Luminaria Nights, running 5:30-8 p.m. each night, with more than 2,000 traditional luminarias lining the meandering garden paths. Admission into the event is $9 for adults, $5 for children, and free for infants.
Winterhaven Festival of Lights
Saturday, December 15 - Saturday, December 29For a few weeks in December, the Winterhaven neighborhood becomes a holiday gift that Tucsonans have relished for more than 60 years. Residents illuminate their properties, pipe in music, and spread the spirit with elaborate holiday decorations. You can walk through or, on specific nights, drive. It runs 6-10 p.m. every night. Winterhaven is bounded by Tucson Boulevard and Country Club, Prince, and Ft. Lowell Roads. See www.winterhavenfestival.org for further details, and for companies that offer haywagon and trolley rides throughout the neighborhood.
La Fiesta de Guadalupe
Sunday, December 16Hispanic Catholics in Mexico and the US celebrate a special religious holiday during this season of holidays: the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The story goes that this manifestation of the Virgin Mary appeared to a Mexican peasant on that date in 1531, leading believers to adopt Our Lady of Guadalupe as the country’s patron saint. The free 10a.m. – 4p.m. festival at DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun, includes music food, folk art, and more. Scheduled performers include Mariachi Tesoro de Tucson and Ballet Folklorico Tapatio. Las Posadas, a procession representing Joseph and Mary’s search for an inn (posada) at Bethlehem, concludes the festival.
2013 Tucson International Jewish Film Festival
Thursday, January 10 - Sunday, January 20This 22nd annual screening of more than 20 films about the Jewish experience draws movie fans to venues around town, including the Tucson Jewish Community Center, Crossroads Cinema, and The Loft Cinema. Watch documentaries, shorts, and feature-length films. Guest speakers, live performances, and receptions add to the festivities. For Schedules and ticket prices, phone 520-299-300 or visit www.tucsonjewishfilmfestival.org.
Quilt Fiesta
Friday - Sunday, January 11 - 13For mare than 30 years, the Tucson Quilters Guild has shown off the works of its members at this annual show, which continues to grow in size and prestige. See quilted blankets, clothing, and other items in modern and traditional styles. Find the largest quilt celebration in Southern Arizona at the Tucson Convention Center, 9 a.m. – 5p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 10a.m. – 4p.m. Sunday. Admission is $10 per day, or $20 for a 3-day pass.
Wings Over Willcox Birding & Nature Festival
Wednesday - Sunday, January 16 - 20“WOW” means 2 things this time of year in the Sulphur Springs Valley: Wings Over Willcox and your exclamation when you see the astounding variety of birds and other wildlife here. The popular sandhill cranes that roost here for the winter are the biggest draw. Hawks, owls, eagles, sparrows, woodland birds, and waterfowl are among the other birds, some 500 species, that make their temporary or permanent homes here. WOW central is at the Willcox Community Center, 312 W. Stewart St., about 85 miles east of Tucson off Interstate 10.
Martin Luther King Jr. Festival
Monday, January 21The annual festival honoring Martin Luther King Jr./Civil Rights Day starts at 8a.m., when participants march from The University of Arizona to Reid Park’s DeMeester Outdoor Performance Center. Stage entertainment includes music and inspirational readings. Community groups provide information and food vendors sell multicultural cuisine. The revelry continues until 4p.m. Find Reid Park at 22nd Street and Country Club.
Art Safari
Saturday, February 2Tucson’s astounding visual arts community shines during this one-day walking tour of the Warehouse Arts District, located on the fringe of downtown. See everything from photography and painting to glassworks and sculpture. The Central Tucson Gallery Association sponsors this colorful event, which features exhibit openings and artist receptions. For more information, including participating galleries and a map, phone 520-629-9759 or visit www.ctgatucson.org
Tubac Festival of Arts
Wednesday - Sunday, February 6 - 10Ever since an art school opened here in 1948, internationally known artists as well as up-and-comers have found inspiration in this former Akimel O’odham settlement and Spanish Colonial fort. Their works have brought art lovers to Tubac for decades. Tubac’s largest art event of the year brings in some 170 visiting artists, who set up booths alongside permanent galleries and studios in this annual juried show, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Music, food, and horse-drawn trolley rides add to the oldest art festival in Southern Arizona. Tubac is off exit 34 on Interstate 19 south of Tucson.
Cochise Cowboy Poetry & Music Gathering
Friday - Sunday, February 8-10This annual get-together of poets, musicians, singers, and storytellers draws big crowds to 3 ticketed headliner concerts Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday afternoon. Stick around for the inevitable jam sessions. Festivities center around Buena High School in Sierra Vista, about 70 miles southeast of Tucson. Take Interstate 10 east, then head south on Arizona Highway 90.
Fort Lowell Day Celebration
Saturday February 9The Fort Lowell neighborhood, which grew out of the ruins of the US Army instillation abandoned in 1891, hosts this multicultural celebration. A self-guided walking tour highlights 23 sites, from 1,500-year-old Hohokam pithouse to early 20th-century adobes that remain in use today. Music, military demonstrations, food booths, and other festivities fill Fort Lowell Park, 2900 N. Craycroft Rd. The tour starts at the San Pedro Chapel, 5230 E. Ft. Lowell Rd. The event runs 12-4p.m., although spectators are invited to a 10 a.m. vintage baseball game, which is played with the rules, uniforms, and equipment as they existed 1n 1860.
Arizona Renaissance Festival
Saturday, February 9 - Sunday, March 31Merry old England in the middle of the Sonoran Desert? Yes…at least for 8 weekends and Presidents’ Day. From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., a 30-acre village comes alive with 2,00 costumed actors presenting music, comedy, dance, storytelling, magic, and handmade crafts from the Middle Ages through the revival of art, literature, and learning. Admission $22, $19 for seniors, and $12 for ages 5-12, Enjoy merriment 95 miles north of Tucson. Take Oracle Road north to Arizona Highway 79 and continue north. Turn west on US Highway 60 and go 7 miles. For more info visit www.renfestinfo.com.
La Fiesta de Los Vaqueros
Saturday, February 16 - Sunday, February 24This 9-day extravaganza features a 6-event rodeo sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. Also enjoy daily events for kids and junior rodeo competitors, and the 2-hour nonmotorized parade Thursday at 9 a.m. City slickers and ranch hands alike don Western wear to get into the spirit of Tucson’s Old West heritage at Tucson Rodeo Grounds. For rodeo tickets ($12-$26) phone 520-741-2233 or check www.tucsonrodeo.com. For parade tickets, call 520-294-1280 or see www.tucsonrodeoparade.org
Southwest Indian Art Fair
Saturday & Sunday, February 23 - 24Find all the full range of visual expression from the more than 200 indigenous Southwest artists at this 20th annual juried show. Exhibits are complemented with artist demonstrations and native music, dance, and food. The fair is open 10 .am.-5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m-4 p.m. Sunday in front of the Arizona State Museum on the grounds of The University of Arizona. Admission fee. Phone 520-626-8381 or visit http://www.statemuseum.arizona.edu
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