BEST Things To Do In Tucson
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...
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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.”
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A Portrait of Poetry: Photographs and Video by B.A. Van Sise
1030 N. Olive Rd.
Tucson, AZ 85721
The Center for Creative Photography and the Poetry Center at the University of Arizona are delighted to collaborate to exhibit a captivating project by B.A. Van Sise in a celebration of the bicentennial of Walt Whitman's birth. Van Sise is a New Yorkbased photographer with a lifelong love of poetry and a family lineage that traces back to seminal American poet Walt Whitman. Van Sise has undertaken an expansive and inventive poetry portraiture project.
The exhibition will feature one video portrait (of acclaimed poet Sharon Olds) and about 80 photographs showcasing the breadth of American poetry today, including a who's who of Pulitzer Prize winners, Poet Laureates, and Chancellors of the Academy of American Poetry. In the Center's Heritage Gallery, adjacent to A Portrait of Poetry, related materials from the Center's collection will be shown to complement Van Sise's ambitious project. -
Borrowed Time/Borrowed Books
4455 E. Camp Lowell Dr.
Tucson, AZ 85712
The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures, a Blue Star Museum that offers free admission to active-duty military and their family from Memorial Day-Labor Day, unveils Borrowed Time / Borrowed Books featuring six miniature libraries, constructed of steel, which were inspired by iconic libraries featured in the following classic films and shows: All the Presidents Men, Fahrenheit 451, Wings of Desire, The Time Machine, The Breakfast Club, and Time Enough at Last (Twilight Zone, season 1, episode 8).
The artist is Jill Orlov, a Baltimore-based architect-turned-miniature-metalsmith. Using off-the-shelf steel bars, strips, and tubes, Orlov cuts, welds, and shapes the steel to create these libraries from our cultural collective memory. -
Watercolors from the Art of the American West Collection
140 N Main Ave
Tucson, AZ 85701
Watercolors have been in existence since they were used in China around 100CE, and over time have developed into a distinguished artistic medium worldwide. It provides artists with the ability to create images quickly as well as provide different degrees of color transparency and opacity. In 19th century America, water-soluble pigments were often employed to create studies before making final oil paintings. They also began to be used outside, in plein air, to capture fleeting moments in nature or events. Artists who explored the American West used watercolors while on expeditions, as they were light and transportable; however, by the 20th century, watercolors became a major medium which showcased stylistic diversity. Many artists who lived in or visited the Southwest applied their knowledge of watercolors to images of the landscape and architecture of the region.
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Arthur Lazar Photographs
140 N Main Ave
Tucson, AZ 85701
Arthur Lazar was born and raised in New Mexico where he began his work in photography. He received an MFA degree from Ohio University in 1978, and has taught photography at the University of New Mexico, Institute of Design at Illinois Institute of Technology, and Ohio University. He currently teaches at Columbia College, Chicago and Lake Forest College, Lake Forest, Illinois, and lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Lazar has published several books including Of Earth and Timbers Made, and photographs of native New Mexican architecture, A Garden for All Seasons, and Intimate Landscapes, a monograph published in 1993 by Lake Forest College. He was a past recipient of a NEA grant. His work is included in collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, Philadelphia Museum of Art, International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House, Fogg Museum at Harvard University, and Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
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DeGrazia Paints Cabeza de Vaca
6300 N Swan Rd
Tucson, AZ 85718
The story of the ill-fated Spanish expedition is told in this collection that includes sketches, watercolors, oils and enamels. DeGrazia read extensively about the adventures of the Spanish explorer Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, known as the first non-Native American to travel into what are now the states of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.
In 1527, Cabeza de Vaca and 600 Spanish conquistadors set sail for the Americas charged with conquering the Native Americans, converting them to Christianity and finding the seven cities of gold. Upon reaching the coast of Florida, only four men including Cabeza de Vaca, Alonso Castillo, Andrés Dorantes and his slave Estebán, an Arab Moor from Morocco, survived illness and the seas. The men embarked on a nine-year-long trek through Texas, New Mexico and Arizona battling starvation, cholera, malaria, mosquitoes and slavery at the hands of the Native Americans. Despite their struggles, Cabeza de Vaca learned to understand and appreciate the local tribes. In turn, the Native Americans came to believe the conquistadors had traveled from the sun and had great powers of healing. Crowds of Native Americans followed them in their journey and asked for blessings from the bearded strangers.
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The Art of East Asia
140 N Main Ave
Tucson, AZ 85701
The Asian collection of the Tucson Museum of Art includes major forms and periods from ancient times through the twentieth century. On view are selections from China, Japan, and Korea, dating from 2200 BCE to the mid-1900s, including ritual, burial, domestic, and traded items. Ceramics, stone, and carved materials have left an enduring record of human activity as well as regional diversity in this part of the world. Throughout history, artists and craftsmen looked toward religion for inspiration, and rulers tightly controlled production and exports. Ultimately, Asian art contributed to the development of decorative styles of objects across the globe, influencing art forms in Europe and the rest of the Western Hemisphere.
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DeGrazia Paints Papago Indian Legends
6300 N Swan Rd
Tucson, AZ 85718
DeGrazia created this collection in 1975 drawing inspiration from Papago legends. During the 1980s, the name Papago was officially changed to Tohono O’odham, which means Desert People in the O’odham language. DeGrazia depicts four legends (the Creation of the World, the Monster of Quitovac, the Eagle-man and Ho’ok) from traditional Tohono O’odham Nation stories.
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The American Southwest and Western Traditions
140 N Main Ave
Tucson, AZ 85701
The American Southwest embodies diverse cultures, traditions, and histories that can be understood through art of the past and present. This gallery features regional art of the Southwest from the Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block collection by artists who spent time or were influenced by Arizona and the surrounding area, experiencing the region first hand.
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Travelogue: Grand Destinations and Personal Journeys
140 N. Main Ave.
Tucson, AZ 85701
In the United States in the 19th century, artists were drawn to far-flung destinations in the Americas and the West to portray new and fascinating lands and establish their careers through their photography, paintings, and drawings. This exhibition focuses on historical and contemporary artworks from the Tucson Museum of Art's permanent collection that identify specific landmarks created by travelers who encounter them with a new sense of discovery. Each work of art serves as a visual travelogue of the artists' journeys, at the Tucson Museum of Art.
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Desert Blooms
6300 N. Swan Rd.
Tucson, AZ 85718
The flora and fauna of the Sonoran Desert in spring are celebrated in an exhibition titled Desert Blooms, a selection of 1950s watercolors by Tucson artist Ted DeGrazia, known around the world for capturing the spirit of the Southwest and its people. These colorful and playful paintings of cactus flowers and desert critters will be on display at the Gallery in the Sun through September 4, 2019.
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Family Brain Boost
200 S. Sixth Ave.
Tucson, AZ 85701
Join the Children’s Museum of Tucson’s education team each weekend for Family Brain Boost, a chance to jump-start your brain with fun, interactive science activities from bubbles to building blocks. 11:30 a.m. Free with admission: $9; free for infants younger than 1.
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Funky Brunch
201 N. Court Ave
Tucson, AZ 85701
The Mik and Scott band play 3 hours of funky music in the courtyard of La Cocina / Old Town Artisans. Kid and pet friendly fun.
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Chris Isaak
Fox Theatre
17 West Congress Street
Tucson, AZ 85701
Chris Isaak is making his way back to the Fox Tucson Theatre!
Chris has been a Grammy nominated recording artist, songwriter and actor for more than 34 years. It’s been 30 years since the release of his breakthrough classic “Wicked Game,” and the song remains one of the most covered songs in music. Isaak’s film soundtrack credits include Wild at Heart, Blue Velvet, True Romance, and Eyes Wide Shut, and the California native has also done extensive work in front of the camera, including three seasons as the lead in The Chris Isaak Show on Showtime, hosted a music talk show The Chris Isaak Hour on BIO, and served as a judge on The X Factor Australia. Called “rockabilly’s greatest modern ambassador” by Rolling Stone, Isaak’s 12th studio album, First Comes The Night, was released in 2015 to much critical acclaim. He is currently recording a new studio album in Nashville. His legendary shows with his longtime band Silvertone have entertained audiences for over three decades.
