BEST Things To Do In Tucson
Friday, August 23, 2019

The Event Oracle knows ALL the fun things to do in the land of the Tucson sun. Select your date above then scroll down for all the Arts, Entertainment, and Events in my crystal ball...

• Carnival of Illusion

  Scottish Rite Grand Parlour
  160 S Scott Ave.
  Tucson, AZ 85701
  

  Carnival of Illusion is an evening of Old-World Magic in the style of classic entertainers such as Buster Keaton, Mae West, Gypsy Rose Lee, and Harry Houdini. The hosts have performed as house entertainers at the world's top resorts, Fortune 100 CEOs, to the 200 Most Powerful Women in America and operate the longest-running Arizona theater show. Carnival of Illusion is “Magic, Mystery, and OOOH La La.”

  CHECK TICKET AVAILABILITY HERE

• The Retablo of Ciudad Rodrigo

  University of Arizona Art Museum
  University of Arizona, 1031 Olive Rd.
  Tucson, AZ 85721
  

  The Altarpiece of Ciudad Rodrigo is a jewel of the University of Arizona Museum of Art's collection and one of the most important works produced in 15th-century Spain. This altarpiece, also called a retablo, was made for the cathedral of the city (Ciudad) Rodrigo in the province of Salamanca, Spain, between the years 1480 and 1488, and after 1493. This exhibit is on permanent display, Tuesday-Sunday, at the University of Arizona Museum of Art.

• Boat Builder’s Study at Lake Tahoe, Madelyn Cook, ca. 1993

  4455 E Camp Lowell Dr
  Tucson, AZ 85712
  

  The Boat Builder’s Study began in a class on inlaid floors taught by Bruce Plumb and Ankar Rasmussen. Madelyn Cook designed the pattern for the floor and learned to create split columns, a domed ceiling, and a curved wall.

  Cook explains: “Truly with this much work you need a reason for this to exist, a story line.
  My resident is a gentleman in love with ship modeling. His favorite view is outside the windows “Lake Tahoe” where everyone sails. (I think he hires window washers who don’t mess with the geraniums). He also reads all those books about modeling and ships. He appears to like ice tea (maybe hot toddies in the winter). He smokes a pipe and needs glasses. He even regularly waters his ferns. He somehow manages to keep things neat and clean.”

• Solar System Revealed

  1601 E University Blvd
  Tucson, AZ 85721
  

  Featuring scale models of the planets, you’ll be amazed to see just how tiny the Earth and Mars are in comparison to the size of our Sun. Discover interesting facts about all 8 planets along with Pluto the dwarf planet, the Asteroid Belt, and the Kuiper Belt. Build your very own Solar System at the Solar System Creator. Learn about the amazing science being done in our Solar System by researchers here at the University of Arizona.  Plus, you’ll learn about NASA’s new OSIRIS-REx mission to return a sample from an asteroid. The University of Arizona is leading this breakthrough mission and the mission headquarters is right here in Tucson!

• Koppel House, unknown artist, ca. 1880

  4455 E Camp Lowell Dr
  Tucson, AZ 85712
  

  This pinewood cabinet with six rooms on four floors is completely furnished with approximately 30 pieces of Biedermeier furniture. A tiny newspaper, Die Gartenlaube, records a greeting from Aunt Henriette Ree to Doritha Koppel on the occasion of her 4th birthday.

  According to Legoland Museum records, the house was later acquired by a family named Nielsen, probably from the Danish island Langeland, who later immigrated to America. In the mid-20th century it was acquired by Estrid Faurholt who donated it to the Legoland Museum in Billund, Denmark. The museum is now closed and the artifacts were auctioned off which is how The Mini-Time Machine acquired this and other pieces from the Legoland Museum.

• HiRISE: Eye in the Martian Sky

  1601 E University Blvd
  Tucson, AZ 85721
  

  Come explore the HiRISE gallery and take a closer look at the mysterious and beautiful planet Mars. This gallery features a selection of incredible high-resolution images taken by the powerful HiRISE camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft currently orbiting the red planet. These captivating photos show the vast diversity of Martian surface features with stunning texture and color.

  HiRISE is a University of Arizona instrument, and each image sent back from Mars arrives at the U of A for processing. These photos of the Martian surface are like nothing you’ve ever seen before! Come learn about this unique scientific instrument and its marvelous achievements.

• Cauldron Coven, Pat Arnell, 1984-1998

  The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures
  4455 E Camp Lowell Dr
  Tucson, AZ 85712
  

  This miniature was built by Pat Arnell from Real Good Toys kits for a Victorian House. Pat began the project in 1984 and completed the final tower in 1998. The Internal parts of the house were redesigned to facilitate the witches’ needs. This was a kit-bashing project. None of the doors from the kit were used, the staircase was omitted and the sizes of the upstairs rooms were changed.

• Daneway House, English, 1775

  4455 E Camp Lowell Dr
  Tucson, AZ 85712
  

  The Daneway House is a typical 18th century baby house, built to show off a collection of miniature furnishings rather than as a scaled re-creation of a real home. At some time the original George III facade was lost and replaced with a plywood front of a different architectural era. Miniature artist Casey Rice restored the house in 1988. She researched its background and the construction techniques in use when it was built. Photographs in a vintage book showed the house as it looked over thirty years before, which helped to clarify its long history of modifications and “makeovers.”

  Rice meticulously stripped away numerous layers of paint and other historically inappropriate details. Tiny sconces made from seashells were among the first to go. Large lights thrust through holes cut into the sides were removed, and a new, architecturally fitting front was added. The restoration effort took a year to complete but returned the miniature to a condition that probably more closely matches its original appearance.

• Sharks: Magnificent & Misunderstood

  1601 E University Blvd
  Tucson, AZ 85721
  

  Shark. The very word sends a shiver up the spine. Turn your fears to fascination as you explore the science of sharks in Flandrau’s new exhibit Sharks: Magnificent and Misunderstood. 

  Full of interactive displays, this exhibit experience will transform your understanding of these captivating creatures and the future of Earth’s oceans. Take the controls of a deep-sea research submarine in the Deep Sea Explorer simulator. Play family-friendly learning games like Hungry Shark and Shark Racer that will teach you about shark biology and physiology as you test your skills. You’ll discover the wide variety of shark species, the surprising senses they use to hunt, and how scientists investigate these denizens of the deep. Plus don’t miss a family photo next to towering tail fins and massive shark jaws!

• Woven Through Time: American Treasures of Native Basketry & Fiber Art

  1013 E. University Boulevard
  Tucson, AZ 85721
  

  Arizona State Museum's new permanent exhibit features a sampling of the more than 35,000 specimens of basketry and other fiber art in the museum's extensive collection, ranging from millennia-old objects to modern-day masterpieces that celebrate the Southwestern U.S. region's ancient and abiding fiber-weaving traditions. ASM’s total assemblage of basketry and fiber art specimens dating back some 8,000 years represents the major indigenous basket-making cultures from across North America. The museum's unparalleled collection of basketry and pottery has been designated an American Treasure by the National Endowment for the Humanities’ Save America’s Treasures Program.

• Welcome to the Critical Zone

  1601 E University Blvd
  Tucson, AZ 85721
  

  What makes life on Earth possible? That’s the big question behind the “Welcome to the Critical Zone” exhibit. Scientists use the term “Critical Zone” to describe the thin layer on the surface of the Earth that supports life – that layer extends from the top of the trees down through the soil and groundwater to bedrock. We live in the Critical Zone and we depend on it for the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat.

  Thanks to a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the University of Arizona is home to a Critical Zone Observatory that brings together scientists from many different Earth Science disciplines to study this zone. Geologists, soil scientists, hydrologists, ecologists, microbiologists, and many others all study the same field research sites. Come explore the exhibit and discover Critical Zone science. Journey from the tops of the tree canopy down through the layers of the Critical Zone, from the surface where we live alongside plants and animals, down into the soil that is full of microbes, and below that into the Deep Critical Zone where groundwater circulates and microbes help break down rocks into soil.

• Woven Through Time: American Treasures of Native Basketry and Fiber Art

  1013 E University Blvd
  Tucson, AZ 85721
  

  This exhibit celebrates the region's ancient and abiding fiber-weaving traditions by featuring millennia-old objects to modern-day masterpieces. Contemporary Native voices enrich discussions of materials and technologies and bring to life the many functions basketry has served and continues to serve. 

• The Hatchling Apprentice, Pat Arnell, 1998

  4455 E Camp Lowell Dr
  , AZ 85712
  

  Museum founder Pat Arnell designed the Hatchling Apprentice using a glass conservatory created by Linda Young, known professionally as Lady Jane. Lady Jane constructs her display cases, miniature greenhouses, and miniature conservatories of glass, combining 1/8" double strength clear with accents of stained art glass, Lady Jane uses the "Tiffany" method of foil and solder.

  This wizard’s library includes items that every proficient wizard would have at his disposal. Of particular note, is a side table with a top that resembles a coiled snake. The tabletop is made from an ammonite fossil, a type of cephalopod that went extinct 65.5 million years ago, which was believed to have magical properties throughout the middle ages. Two other exquisitely crafted objects in this room not to be missed are a handcrafted Book of Mythical Creatures by Barbara Rehab and an apothecary cabinet by John Davenport.

• Vault Show

  University of Arizona Art Museum
  University of Arizona, 1031 Olive Rd.
  Tucson, AZ 85721
  

  The UAMA collection is comprised of approximately 6,000 works of art that span many centuries and cultures. Started in the 1970s, the UAMA Vault Show is a periodic exhibition that creates an opportunity to showcase selections from the permanent collection, bringing out artworks from the vault that are thematically diverse and juxtaposing them with other pieces to create new and exciting dialogues. The works in this iteration of Vault Show depict a variety of subject matter – from landscape, to spirituality, to pure abstraction – yet they are all linked through scale and demonstrate how size can impact one’s experience with a work of art.

• Art of the American West

  140 N Main Ave
  Tucson, AZ 85701
  

  In the early 1980s, the Art of the American West collection was established by a donation of paintings, drawings, and sculpture by Ileen B. and Samuel J. Campbell. The collection has flourished and now includes artwork from over 200 years ago to the present.

  The West embodies diverse cultures, traditions, and histories that can be traced through many art forms. Although styles have changed over time, Native American cultures, cowboy life, and landscapes continue to resonate in realistic or imaginative ways. Some artists represent idealized and romantic views of the West, while others seek to convey images as truthful as possible. As art of the West evolves, universal subjects remain steadfast but are revitalized and transformed.

• Saving an American Treasure: An Unparalleled Collection of Anthropological Photographs

  1013 E University Blvd
  Tucson, AZ 85721
  

  The photographic collection at Arizona State Museum has been designated an American Treasure, a status underscoring the importance of one of the nation's most prized assemblages of documentary materials. More than half a million prints, negatives, transparencies, and movie films document human ingenuity and cultural traditions in what is now the U.S. Southwest and northern Mexico from 13,000 years ago to the present.

• One World, Many Voices

  1013 E University Blvd
  Tucson, AZ 85721
  

  This traveling exhibit, produced by Canyon Records--an independent and Grammy Award-winning label specializing in Native American music--features more than 45 photographs of recording and performing artists it has represented since its establishment in 1951. Musician portraits by Robert Doyle, Canyon Records president, include Radmilla Cody (left), R. Carlos Nakai, Tony Duncan, Southern Scratch, and many others. Listen to the accompanying soundtrack of commissioned flute music and traditional songs while learning about the history of Canyon Records.

• Native American Culture and Arts

  140 N Main Ave
  Tucson, AZ 85701
  

  Native American cultures have inspired artists of all backgrounds for decades. People from different tribal affiliations create objects that reflect their cultural ideals, beliefs, and knowledge. The designs, materials, and techniques used in pottery, textiles, baskets, and other items show how strongly art forms relate to their culture of origin. Today, Native Americans continue making traditional art with materials found near them: wool for textiles, grasses for baskets, and various clays for pots. In addition, there are artists who express their heritage in painting or sculpture using modern art styles.

• Edward Weston’s Leaves of Grass

  1030 N Olive Rd
  Tucson, AZ 85719
  

  In 1941, famed Modernist photographer Edward Weston embarked upon an epic cross-country road trip to create what would become his last major body of work: a suite of photographs made to accompany a luxury edition of Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass. Whereas Whitman considered his poems to be photographic, in that they presented a clear and truthful picture of his subjects, Weston wanted his photographs to be poetic – rather than simply illustrate Whitman’s text.

  Weston’s photographs are presented in dialogue with recent acquisitions or lesser-known, never-before-exhibited works from the Center for Creative Photography’s permanent collection. The Heritage Gallery honors the Center’s founders while presenting a continuum of photographic practice across time.

• Selections from the Kasser Mochary Art Foundation

  140 N Main Ave
  Tucson, AZ 85701
  

  The Mary Jo Brown Gallery displays selections of European paintings and sculptures from the late 19th to the mid-20th century by some of the most renowned artists of the time. Their works are marked by a new-found freedom prompted by a resistance to the conservative and restrictive art academies that dominated artistic taste. These works explore ideas about dreams and the inner mind, depict the human body with an expressive frankness, and showcase a personal iconography and individualized manner of creation.

• The Pottery Project

  1013 E University Blvd
  Tucson, AZ 85721
  

  The Pottery Project celebrates 2,000 years of Native pottery-making traditions in the U.S. Southwest by showcasing 500 choice specimens from the larger, renowned collection of 24,000 whole vessels. The exhibit features interactive displays, interviews with archaeologists and Native potters, videos, and hands-on experiences. 

• Snow Village, Department 56, 1980s

  4455 E Camp Lowell Dr
  Tucson, AZ 85712
  

  The Snow Village under glass in the museum’s Enchanted Realm is a collection of Department 56 lighted buildings and accessories collected by Pat Arnell in the 1980s. These porcelain miniature houses are thoughtfully created using hand craftsmanship and artistry. It takes over sixty steps to create each individual building. Exhibit designer Mike Spiewak was inspired to create this installation for the Mini Time Machine Museum by a similar miniature display he encountered in a cathedral in Europe.

• Latin American Folk Art

  140 N Main Ave
  Tucson, AZ 85701
  

  Latin American folk art is a source of pride by the artisans who make it and the communities and countries from which it originates. This exhibition features more than 200 works of 20th century Latin American folk art from some of the most acclaimed folk artists from Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, and other Latin American countries. Including devotional and ritual objects, depictions of festivals and everyday life, utilitarian objects, and trees of life, this exhibition is a selection of the museum’s collection of more than 2,000 folk art objects given by more than fifteen donors. They reveal a harmony of the utilitarian, the ceremonial, and the decorative. Created with exuberant colors, rich imagination, and reverence for tradition, these works speak of the resilience, resourcefulness, and creativity of individuals and cultures.

• Jack Dykinga: The Grand Canyon National Park (1919-2019)

  135 S 6th Ave
  Tucson, AZ 85701
  

  Etherton Gallery celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Grand Canyon National Park with an exhibition featuring  the work of Pulitzer Prize winning photographer and environmental activist, Jack Dykinga, and a selection of vintage photographs of the Grand Canyon by William H. Bell, Ansel Adams, Lee Friedlander, Mark Klett and many others, demonstrating our enduring fascination with one of the truly great wonders of the world.

• Teo Gonzalez

  Fox Theatre
  17 West Congress Street
  Tucson, AZ 85701
  

  **THIS SHOW WILL BE PERFORMED ENTIRELY IN SPANISH**

  Teo Gonzalez tambien conocido como “el comediante de la cola de caballo” es un icono de la comedia mexicana. Su carrera comenzo mientras el era portero del Club Leon de la primera division mexicana, el hacia reir mucho a sus compañeros lo que lo llevo a entrar de lleno a la comedia profesional. Teo es reconocido entre muchas cosas por sus espectaculares imitaciones, chistes de gangosos y la imitacion del claxon de un Volkswagen viejo.

   

  Teo Gonzalez also known as “the pony tail comedian” is an icon from the mexican comedy. His career started while he was a professional goalkeeper for Club Leon in Mexico’s first division football league, he often made his teammates laugh which took him to pursue a career in the comedy sector. Teo is recognized for a variety of actions including his great imitations, humorous jokes and the sound imitation of an old Volkswagen horn.

• Free Form Friday

  4500 E. Speedway
  Tucson, AZ 85716
  

  All kinds of Improv Comedy. Long form, short form, and musical. Unscripted and different every show. Second Friday of every month. *May contain adult language and subject matter. 17+ encouraged.