June 29 - July 5, 1995
Thursday 29
BERO GALLERY. Bero Gallery, 41 S. Sixth Ave., takes an
innovative turn with this latest exhibit, opening tonight with
a reception from 6 to 9 p.m. The Poetry Gallery at Bero
is the brainchild of co-curators Annie Guthrie and Jennifer Till.
According to gallery owner Beth Watchel, Guthrie, a jewelry artist
herself, had envisioned a "poet's gallery" as an experiment
aimed at pushing poets beyond the confines of the two-dimensional
page. But their call to artists for "visual poetry"
submissions turned out a range of content and media none had imagined.
"There are strong visuals by poet-artists and poet/artist
teams," says Watchel, easing carefully into her description
of the exhibit. Among the participants are Gregory Sale, Karen
Falkenstrom, Bisbee poet Colleen Estrada, Etherton Gallery's Jerre
Johnston and Lisa Bowden, whose Tucson-based Kore Press has revived
the craft and artistry of book-making. From relatively straight-forward
pieces including a mobile, books and Bowden's poem printed on
handmade paper, Watchel moves into a description of Estrada's
piece: "a handmade rifle adorned with bottles, with a message
shooting out of the muzzle, like those old (vaudeville) guns";
to a piece by UA photography student Rene Lillie, which Watchel
describes as a "sculptural photographic piece" made
of plexiglass columns filled with water "with her poem etched
on the columns, with electrically projected images." There
is also an "installation with a bedroom setting" by
Richard Siken.
The Poetry Gallery at Bero continues through July 27.
Visit tonight's reception from 6 to 9 p.m. during Art Walk, or
stop by Downtown Saturday Night, 7:30 to 10 p.m. July 1, for
readings by Jami Mcarty, Karen Falkenstrom, Colleen Estrada, Brenda
Todaro and Dennis Prieto. Call 792-0313 for information.
Friday 30
GET MERRIED. As we head into the scorching summer
months, take these final opportunities to spend time outside before
the evenings cease to cool down to a comfortable temperature.
Pack a picnic, your favorite blanket or lawn chair and scurry
over to the Reid Park DeMeester Outdoor Performing Center for
Tucson Parks and Recreation Community Theatre's performance of
Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor. This isn't the
Shakespeare you struggled over (or avoided altogether) in high
school--it's the 17th-century playwright at his comic best, with
the antics of Sir John Falstaff and his "band of ne'r-do-wells"
certain to appeal to audiences of all ages. Performances continue
at 8 p.m. through July 2. Admission is free.
Saturday 1
SONORAN SUMMER NIGHTS. Every Saturday evening through
September 30, the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, 2021 N. Kinney
Road, will extend its hours until 10 p.m. Out on the west side,
the city lights are sufficiently dimmed to enjoy the night sky
and get a new view of Sonoran desert night life. For a little
sustenance before your evening adventure, stop by the Ironwood
Terraces Restaurant for dinner, dessert or a light snack. Admission
to the museum is free for members, $8.95 for adults ages 13 and
over and $1.75 for children 6 to 12. Call 883-2702 for information.
DOWNTOWN SATURDAY NIGHT. See all the things that go bump
in the night in the Old Pueblo as the downtown arts district gears
up for another wild selection of arts in the streets. A "Gecko
Feats" parade will wind from Armory Park, through downtown
and back to the park, at South Sixth Avenue and 13th Street,
beginning at 7 p.m. The celebration concludes with a sunset performance
featuring movement, live music, spoken word and visual art. Find
the Tragidiots, "the infamous troupe of Shakespearean groundlings,"
expounding the wit and wisdom of Shakespeare at 8 and 9 p.m. in
the Arizona Alley; and the sweet sounds of the Desert Wing jazz
and blues band will float above the Ronstadt Transit Center, Sixth
Avenue and Congress Street, from 7 to 10 p.m. Night owls can
catch the late show at The Screening Room, 127 E. Congress St.,
with TheCreature from the Black Lagoon screening in 3-D
at 10 p.m. Call 622-2262 for ticket information. For more information
on Downtown SaturDay and Downtown Saturday Night events, call
624-9977.
Sunday 2
CREATIVE IMPULSE. "Out of the dust of a Tucson
summer springs The Creation," reads the unusually
dramatic opening on the UA press release for this three-part work
by Joseph Haydn, featuring chorus, chamber players and three vocal
soloists. Both choir and orchestra are comprised of UA faculty
and staff, students and community singers and players. Soloists
include doctoral voice candidate Deborah Wilke, UA professor of
voice Grayson Hirst and professional opera singer and Tucson resident
David Majorof. This concerted effort to make the performance a
true University-community partnership was an integral part of
conductor Josef Knott's plan. "There needs to be more of
that (collaboration)," he says, "and what better way
to do that than with a piece entitled 'Creation' ?"
The work itself, a year-long effort completed by Haydn in 1798,
is a descriptive musical journey through the Bible's six days
of creation. "The first part," says Knott, "deals
with the creation of sea, earth and trees, with the music reflecting
a more chaotic theme. Then the second begins with creation of
whales and beasts, and an underground kind of music emerges. The
second half of part two is a little more sublime as we enter into
creation of Adam and Eve." He calls the third part a celebration
of the creation as a whole.
Tickets to see the world anew range from $3 to $6 at the door.
Performance begins at 3 p.m. in the recently renovated Crowder
Hall on the UA campus. Call 621-2998 for information.
Monday 3
INDEPENDENCE EVE. The real question today is whether
it's a holiday. The Spaniards have an enlightened solution the
rest of the world should adopt to avoid all confusion in calendar
years where a national holiday falls on a Tuesday or Thursday:
It's called a puente, or "bridge," and it mandates
that the holiday be extended to include the in-between day, thus
bridging the gap between work week and weekend. You gotta love
a nation that collectively believes no one should work the day
before or after a holiday. If you're one of the lucky ones free
to play today, review the Declaration of Independence while flipping
burgers, dress up as your favorite forefather and lose yourself
among the Touchable Sculpture exhibit at the Arizona Historical
Society, or recite the Bill of Rights while discharging your firearm
in the sanctity of a remote desert locale.
Those of you slaving away to ensure our status as the most productive
nation in the world might take some office time to draft a letter
to your favorite elected representative, proposing a puente
initiative.
BATTER UP. Slip into an all-American spirit by heading
out to Hi Corbett Field to enjoy our national pastime. Not only
will you get to see the formidable Tucson Toros knock the stuffing
out of the Phoenix Firebirds (we hope), you'll also get a head
start on your Fourth of July fireworks celebration. Following
tonight's game, those bullheaded folks at the ballpark will launch
their well-stocked arsenal of red, white and blue rockets. Game
time is 7 p.m. Tickets are $3 to $5. For information on other
Toros games this weekend, call 325-2621.
Tuesday 4
STAR-SPANGLED BANDWAGON. Here's a selective guide
to Old Pueblo entertainment for those wanting to paint the town
red, white and blue: Celebrate indoors all day in the air-conditioned
TCC Exhibition Hall, 260 S. Church Ave., with traditional contests
like pie- and watermelon-eating, a cakewalk, rides, balloon artists
and face painters, live music and displays of military and Tucson
Fire Department equipment. Outdoor activities include a dunking
tank, food booths, a drop-in visit from the Marana Skydivers and
a DMAFB fly-by. And of course, no Fourth of July would be complete
without setting A-Mountain ablaze with the "Fire In the Sky"
(if only it would remain there) fireworks display, scheduled
for 8:30 p.m. For more information on City of Tucson events, call
791-2549.
For those on the northwest side, Sportspark, I-10 west near Ina
Road, offers a full afternoon of BBQ, tug-of-war, sack races,
hayrides, live music, carnival games and more beginning at 4 p.m.
The Marana Skydivers will chute over for a special show prior
to the main fireworks presentation at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $2.50
for patriots 8 years and older. Call 744-9496 for information
and a parking pass.
CAN'T BEAT THE HEAT. If family picnics hold as much appeal
for you as a greased pig, don't despair. Your faithful friends
at Club Congress bring you one of the best events you'll attend
this summer. The esteemed Reverend Horton Heat blazes from his
Texas home to Tucson for some feverish "psychobilly"
guitar and upright bass play on the outdoor stage. These guys
are amazing, totally dominating the stage at Mesa Amphitheater
last year when they opened for Soundgarden (in our admittedly
anti-grunge opinion), with the Revs deadpan drawl and Jimbo Wallace's
full-frontal attack on that fire-engine red bass. Other musical
guests include Chick Cashman, Gila Bend and a host of local bands.
Tickets are $7 in advance, $9 at the door.
Wednesday 5
THE CONTACT ZONE. This summer's UA visiting writers'
series, Arts of the Contact Zone, borrows its title from the phrase
coined by literary scholar Mary Louise Pratt to describe the phenomenon
of several distinct cultural groups coming together to create
new narrative forms. The series continues tonight at 7 p.m. at
the UA Modern Languages Building auditorium, with a free reading
by Demetria Martinez, Tucsonan, journalist and author of the Western
States Book Award-winning novel, Mother Tongue. She reads
tonight from works addressing the plight of Salvadoran immigrants.
Call 621-1836 for information.
Cutline 1: "Untitled," by Joseph A. Rheaume, is part
of a show of photographic works by various artists, continuing
through July 31 at Eclectic Gallery, 69 E. Pennington St.
Cutline 2: "Winds of Change," by Lynn Rae Lowe, highlights
the mixed-media, three-artist show opening with a reception from
2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, July 9, at the Tucson Jewish Community Center
Fine Art Gallery, 3800 E. River Road.
Cutline 3: Other-worldly adventure: Capt. James P. Trek of the
Starship Entrepreneur battles evil (Cameron Martin) in Space
Trek: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone, continuing through
August 19 at the Gaslight Theatre, 7010 E. Broadway.
Cutline 4: God and country: Ricky Skaggs joins local choirs in
the Tucson Toros' "Celebrate America" post-game concert
Sunday, July 2, at Hi Corbett.
June 29 - July 5, 1995
