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What's New in Tucson
November 2008
Create Warm Holiday Memories: Forget snow shovels, ice picks and salt bags this holiday season. Tucson resorts are creating warm holiday memories with low rates, sunny days and fun activities. The Westward Look Resort (1-520-297-1151) is decking the halls with traditional décor, a menu of international comfort foods at its award-winning restaurant and 30 percent off regular rates between Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve. In December, the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort and Spa (1-520-792-3500) will become a Winter Wonderland, with a sledding hill (covered with 50 tons of ice), carolers, carriage rides, a 30-foot lighted Christmas tree and three Winter Wonderland packages, December 19 through 21. Boys and girls can see Santa Claus and his elves fall safely from the sky - via helicopter - onto the Starr Pass Golf Course on Friday before Christmas. Loews Ventana Canyon Resort (1-520-299-2020) invites neighbors, resort guests, and the public to its 15th Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony, on December 2, for traditional holiday music, a mariachi band, photos with Santa and a feast of treats. Loews' annual Holiday Tea - a four-course tea service with champagne, various loose-leaf teas, sandwiches and holiday pastries - begins November 6 and continues through the season.
Ring in a Jazzy New Year: Southern Arizona's jazziest New Year's party gets better each year. The Tucson Jazz Society's 2008 All Stars Gala promises to be another incredible evening, Wednesday, Dec. 31. Revelers will enjoy a gourmet five-course dinner, world-class jazz, a midnight champagne toast and balloon drop, and dancing at one of Tucson's most luxurious venues - JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort and Spa. The star-studded lineup includes award-winning artists Rick Braun, Richard Elliott, Jeff Golub, Brian Bromberg, Gregg Karukas, Ricky Lawson, and New York City's Urban Jazz Coalition. And for the first time this year, the four-to-five-hour concert will be will be broadcast live via Internet streaming through the Arizona Jazz Network, www.azjazz.net. Single tickets for the gala are $175 per person. A New Year's Eve Gala/Hotel package costs $450 plus tax and includes two tickets to the gala and an overnight stay for two at the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort and Spa. For details, visit www.tucsonjazz.org, or call 1-520-903-1265.
A Raisin in the Sun, Onstage: Fifty years ago, the gripping tale of one family living and learning together on Chicago's south side in the 1950s was the first authentic voice of an African-American playwright to hit the Broadway stage. Lorraine Hansberry's award-winning play, A Raisin in the Sun, has been called "one of the greatest dramas of the last century." Arizona Theatre Company (ATC) will present A Raisin in the Sun, January 10-31, 2009 at Temple of Music and Art, in Tucson. With this production, ATC continues its "America Plays! Celebrating Great American Stories" program launched last season with To Kill a Mockingbird featuring readings, discussions and other events that will coincide with the play. For information, call Bevan Brunelle Bluemer, at 1-520-884-8210, ext. 8205.
Dillinger Days Marks 75th Anniversary: Downtown Tucson will roll back the calendar to 1934 for Dillinger Days, January 24, 2009. This time warp will mark the 75th anniversary of the capture of notorious Chicago gangster John Dillinger and his gang. The Dillinger gang's Depression-era crime spree enthralled the nation and ended in Tucson after a nationwide manhunt. This story is now a motion picture, titled Public Enemies and starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, set for a July 2009 release. Dillinger Days is a free, all-ages street festival featuring an action-packed re-enactment of the gang's capture at Tucson's Hotel Congress, lectures, tours, antique cars, 1930s music, food, and more. For more details, call the Downtown Tucson Partnership at 1-520-547-3338, or visit www.DowntownTucson.org.
Gem Show Vacation for Rockhounds: The Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase (Jan. 31 - Feb. 15, 2009) is a great place to begin a rockhound vacation. This citywide event consists of more than 40 different shows by international vendors and top-quality museums. Serious prospectors will find prime rock collecting sites in mineral-rich Tucson and Southern Arizona, though many are tricky to access. A more convenient place to discover gems, minerals and meteorites is at the University of Arizona Mineral Museum, which holds one of the largest public collections in the United States. Amateur rockhounds can imitate real miners on underground tours of the Copper Queen Mine in Bisbee and the Good Enough Mine in Tombstone; or explore geologic exhibits at Asarco Mineral Discovery Center, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, and Bisbee Mining and Historical Museum. For more information, visit: www.visittucson.org/visitor/events/gemshow.
In the Kitchen with Star Chefs: Restaurants like Janos and the Ventana Room have helped establish Tucson as a culinary destination. Both restaurants boast award-winning chefs known for their innovative menus. Now these chefs are sharing their culinary knowledge and encouraging use of local foods by teaching cooking classes. Chef Janos Wilder's cooking school is located at his Janos restaurant on the grounds of The Westin La Paloma Resort. His monthly, two-and-a-half hour classes run now through April and cost $50 each. For details, call Janos at 1-520-615-6100. Chef Marc Ehrler's Loews Culinary Institute at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort is collaborating with the Tohono O'odham Nation on monthly classes that explore the food traditions of Southern Arizona's "Desert People." Each class focuses on a specific Sonoran Desert food, such as cholla buds, tepary beans, baby squash, O'odham corn, or saguaro cactus syrup; and Chef Ehrler teaches a contemporary dish made with the featured ingredient. Classes run through February 18 and cost $50 per person. For details, call the Ventana Room at 1-520-615-5494.
Museum Curator Featured in One-Woman Show: Temple Galley, at the historic Temple of Music and Art in downtown Tucson, will present a one-woman art show by Julie Sasse, Chief Curator at the Tucson Museum of Art. The "Julie Sasse: Mixed Media" exhibition will run from December 5, 2008 through January 13, 2009, with an artist reception on Friday, Dec. 5 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Julie Sasse blends cast-off materials, such as rusted metal, printed paper, and crumbling mirrors, with painting and drawing to create collage-like works. Information on Temple Gallery exhibitions can be found at the Etherton Gallery website, www.ethertongallery.com.
Good, Clean Fun Under 5 Miles Per Hour: Enjoy Tucson's most interesting sights with a guided tour on a Segway-an electric-powered, self-balancing, two-wheeled personal transportation device. Segway riders explore Tucson's historical neighborhoods, the University of Arizona, and downtown museums and historical streetscapes. Segway of Tucson offers three different itineraries, ranging from one-and-a-half hours to two-and-a-half hours (including a 30-minute orientation session at the showroom) priced from $55 to $65 per person. "The Presidio Trail" tour glides along sidewalks past the Fourth Avenue Shopping District, the Historic Train Depot on Toole Avenue, the Presidio San Agustin de Tucson museum, and a historical Barrio Viejo streetscape. All riders must be at least 16 years old. More information is at www.tucsonsegway.com.
Walking a Desert Labyrinth: Modern pilgrims are discovering the spiritual and physical benefits of labyrinth walking. People of all ages and beliefs can benefit from walking - or dancing, skipping, crawling, or traveling by wheelchair - a labyrinth's continuous, circular paths. Labyrinths at three of Tucson's spa-resorts - Canyon Ranch, Miraval and Westward Look Resort - are laid out on smooth earth and outlined with rocks and other natural materials. Westward Look Resort's labyrinth is open to the public and features the traditional Tohono O'odham "Man in the Maze" layout. This sacred, seven-circle design has been used in the tribe's ceremonies for centuries and is a symbol often featured on baskets and jewelry. Information on these and other Tucson resorts is available on the Spas page at www.visitTucson.org/spa.
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