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What’s New in Tucson / January 2007
“Australia – Minerals From Down Under” – More than 50 exhibit cases filled with minerals from the vast continent of Australia will be featured at the 53rd Annual Tucson Gem & Mineral Show at Tucson Convention Center (TCC), February 8-11. Australia’s distinctive geology will be represented in exhibits showcasing a range of colorful mineral specimens: deep-blue azurite, vibrant-green malachite, reddish cuprite, orange crocoite, varied shades of copper, sparkling opals, and many more. The stunning assortment of colors, shapes, and sizes should dazzle the most discriminating collectors and shoppers. Australian opals, for example, are among the finest in the world, with 95 percent coming from the dry and remote outback deserts. Ticket sales begin Wednesday, Jan. 10 at the TCC Ticket Office (520-791-4101). For more information, go to the Tucson Gem & Mineral Society website, http://www.tgms.org/.
Fox Tucson Theatre Receives Award – The Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) has honored the Fox Tucson Theatre Foundation with a “2006 Phoenix Award” for outstanding accomplishment in the conservation, preservation, and beautification of a travel destination. In 2000, The Foundation purchased the Fox Theatre –vacant for more than 30 years– and re-opened it in December 2005, following a $13 million restoration process. The theater, designated as a Nationally Significant Building on the National Register of Historic Places, hosts a variety of classic films and live performances, and is a linchpin of downtown development and cultural renewal. For more on SATW Phoenix award, go to http://www.satw.org/ or for more on the Fox visit http://www.foxtucsontheatre.org/.
History in Downtown Neighborhoods – Tucson’s roots are the focus of two guided walking tours of historic Old Pueblo neighborhoods, starting January 15, 2007. Guides from the Southern Arizona Guides Association will conduct both tours: the El Presidio neighborhood (north of the Visitor Center) on Mondays, and the Barrio Historico neighborhood (south of the Visitor Center) on Tuesdays. Both tours begin at the Tucson Visitor Center at 10 a.m. and last approximately two hours. The cost is $15 per person. For details, contact Dale Sloan at SAGA (sagamailbox@comcast.net). The Tucson Visitor Center is in La Placita, at Broadway Boulevard and Church Avenue.
Saucy Tucson Barbecue Spots - Where there's smoke, there's good barbecue. And there's a lot of hickory-smoking going on at Rod's KC Barbecue (520-388-9295), a favorite take-out place on Fourth Avenue, where the specialty is Kansas City-style meat, slathered with either hot or mild sauce. On Tucson's far northwest side, Bubb's Grubb (520-825-6510) is popular with both families and sports fans for its unforgettable Texas pit-barbecued meats and entertaining wide-screen televisions. For more than 50 years, Jack's Original Barbecue (520-750-1280) has satisfied its customers with original recipes for barbecued meats, seafood platters, home-style side dishes and desserts, ranging from fried okra to sweet-potato pie. Not far from Jack's 22nd Street location is Bob's Smokehouse (520-745-1212), an Arizona restaurant chain offering Chicago-style beef and pork, smoked and served with traditional cole slaw, beans, and rolls. With so many tasty options, it's easy to see why Tucson's barbecue scene is really heating up.
Butterfly Magic at the Gardens – See tropical butterflies in the wintertime at the Tucson Botanical Gardens. Now through February 28, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., hundreds of exotic butterflies from the Tropical Americas (Central and South America and the Caribbean) are on display in an indoor exhibit at Tucson’s midtown garden oasis. Visitors can walk among a rainbow of fluttering butterflies, or watch new specimens emerge from their chrysalides, or set up their tripods during special photography sessions. All the butterflies are from butterfly farms—commercial ventures praised by environmentalists—and are exhibited to raise public awareness and education about threatened butterfly habitats worldwide. For more information, call (520-326-9686), or visit http://www.tucsonbotanical.org/.
Glassblowing for Beginners – Tucson is home to the only public glass-art educational facility in the Southwestern United States: the Sonoran Glass Art Academy. No experience is necessary for beginner classes in glassblowing and flame working, which range from one-day experiences to 10-week courses. A class schedule, including master classes taught by internationally renowned artists, is at http://www.sonoranglass.org/. Academy co-founder and instructor, Tom Philabaum is an award-winning glass artist who offers tours of his Philabaum Glass Studios in the Tucson Arts District. Studio visitors sit inside the “hotshop” watching glassblowers glide alongside each other, balancing the hot molten material that eventually ends up in the artist’s downtown showroom or foothills gallery as one-of-a-kind sculpture, serving bowls, paperweights, or vases. See his work at http://www.philabaumglass.com/.
Self-Service Bliss at Spa Bar - Create your own bliss at an affordable spa-treatment center now open at Main Gate Square on the University of Arizona campus. Salud Spa Bar is stocked with exclusive beauty brands and the latest favorites for skin care, bath and body, and home fragrance. Customers can mix and match customized treatments for everything from facemasks ($14) to foot soaks ($16), choosing from more than 70 scents and a variety of ingredients, such as organic lotions and fresh herbs. Treatments can be enjoyed either at home or in the spa’s relaxation room, which seats up to five. Special events include skincare seminars and perfume parties. For more information, phone (520-396-3298) or visit http://www.saludspabar.com/.
Romantic Specials for Lovers – Tucson’s hotels and resorts are great places to find Valentine’s Day celebrations, from weekend-stay romance packages with all the perks, to deals on visits to spas and restaurants. For a tranquil sensory journey, book your sweetheart a Purification Ritual at the Red Door Spa at Westin La Paloma Resort (520-615-8354). This detoxifying experience combines aromatherapy, body scrub, mask, hydro bath, and massage for $260/per person. Together, you can enjoy La Paloma’s Strawberries and Champagne Red Door Signature Couples Pedicure, for $68/per person, February 13-17. For a complete list of Tucson-area lodging options, visit the Metropolitan Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau website, http://www.visittucson.org/.
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