BEST Things To Do In Tucson
Wednesday, October 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.

• 12 Months of Madaras: Spirit Animal Month

  3035 N. Swan Rd.
  Tucson, AZ 85712
  

  Madaras Gallery presents 12 Months of Madaras: Spirit Animal Month - The Spirit Animals tell the story of Diana's deep connection to animals, a recurrent passion throughout her life. There will be 20 painted by the year's end to commemorate the Gallery's 20th anniversary. Visit the Gallery any time in the month of October to view a unique Spirit Animal art display. 

• 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.

• A Portrait of Poetry: Photographs and Video by B. A. Van Sise

  1030 N Olive Rd
  Tucson, AZ 85719
  

  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 York–based 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. Beginning in 2015, he embarked on a quest to make portraits of American poets that reflect the diversity and vitality of today’s poetry scene. Each portrait is a creative endeavor in which the poet becomes more an actor than a model, performing a concept Van Sise has created based upon one of the author’s poems. These narratives sometimes relate closely to the text (which is presented alongside the photograph), while at other times the connection is more abstract. The resulting “portraits” are at once a likeness of the poet, an evocation of the poem, and a presentation of a visual narrative fashioned by the photographer. 

• Broadway in Tucson: Hello Dolly

  1020 E. University Blvd. University of Arizona
  Tucson, AZ 85724
  

  Broadway In Tucson opens its 53rd season with the universally acclaimed smash hit "Hello Dolly" at UA Centennial Hall. This new production, directed by Jerry Zaks, pays tribute to the original work of legendary director/choreographer Gower Champion-hailed both then and now as one of the greatest stagings in musical theater history.

• Works of Art by Olaf Wieghorst

  140 N Main Ave
  Tucson, AZ 85701
  

  The Founders’ Gallery is home to the Tucson Museum of Art’s collection of works by Olaf Wieghorst.

  Born in Denmark, Wieghorst was a child acrobat and stunt rider who performed across Europe with the Danish Circus. In 1918, he arrived in the U.S. after time as a sailor, and enlisted in the U.S. Cavalry. At the end of his service, Wieghorst worked as a ranch hand in New Mexico, an experience that would later shape his artistic career.

• Spooktacular: A Fundraiser for Kid's Chance of Southern Arizona

  505 W. Miracle Mile
  Tucson, AZ 85705
  

  Kid's Chance is an organization whose soul purpose is to be there for Arizona children with a parent who was seriously injured or killed in a workplace accident. This will be the third year they have held their fundraiser at Monterey Court. This year'’s entertainment will include the bluegrass band Lizard Rock Ramblers among others. Here’s your chance to come out and support a great organization doing really important work here in the community for children. 

• Evening Series Concert: Russian String Orchestra

  260 S. Church Ave.
  Tucson, AZ 85701
  

  Arizona Friends of Chamber Music opens the season with an Evening Series concert featuring the Russian String Orchestra.  This Moscow-based chamber orchestra, founded in 1991, plays with all the warmth you'd expect from Russian strings, which is exactly what you want in Antonín Dvořák's lyrical serenade, but it's also known for bristling performances of works like those of Paul Hindemith and Alfred Schnittke. It’s conducted by founder and artistic director, Misha Rachlevsky, performing at Leo Rich Theatre.