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Food Truck Roundups. Foodies are flocking to empty parking lots and other urban spaces throughout metropolitan Tucson to sample gourmet grub from a truck. The food truck revolution has hit Tucson and has quickly created quite a following. Local chefs share their creations with the eager masses; offerings include everything from Sonoran hot dogs from popular street vendors to such delicacies as duck tacos and sweet-and-savory crepes from top local chefs. Venues vary from movie theaters to city parks and often feature art exhibits, performances, and live music. Follow the food at tucsonfoodtrucks.com.
Arizona Highways Best Restaurants. Tucson and Southern Arizona is included in the April 2012 Arizona Highways roundup of the state's 15 best restaurants of 2012. On the magazine's cover is Maynards Market & Kitchen, located in downtown Tucson, which is noted for its seasonal French-inspired menu, excellent wine shop, and weekly farmers' market (520-545-0577, maynardsmarket.com); Downtown Kitchen, also in downtown Tucson, and run by James Beard Award-winning chef Janos Wilder, is pictured thrice and praised for craft cocktails and a creative menu that celebrates America's culinary melting pot (520-623-7700; downtownkitchen.com). In Bisbee, Santiago's, is a Mexican-food favorite admired for its enchiladas, tableside guacamole, Rocky Point tacos, and 55-bottle tequila selection (520-432-1910; santiagosbisbee.com). In Tumacacori, Wisdom's Café is regarded as a funky Mexican-food roadhouse brimming with character and famed for fantastic tortilla soup, fruit burro desserts, and potent margaritas (520-398-2397; wisdomscafe.com). (arizhwys.com)
Movies under the Stars. After the summer sun goes down, cool evenings in Tucson draw folks outdoors for fun and recreation. A favorite activity is watching classic movies under the stars on Thursdays with Cinema La Placita. This open-air cinema's 13th season begins May 3 with the 1983 teen movie Valley Girl, the Hitchcock thriller Shadow of a Doubt, and the kid's classic Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea. Movie-goers can dine before the show at one of the many new and noteworthy downtown Tucson restaurants, or arrive early and fill up on bacon-wrapped Sonoran hot dogs and other grilled items at Deb's Coney Café in La Placita Plaza. (520-326-5282; cinemalaplacita.com)
National Public Gardens Day. Celebrate National Public Gardens Day, May 11, in Tucson. Find home landscaping ideas and learn about plants and gardening at Tohono Chul Park and Tucson Botanical Gardens, both which will waive admission fees on that day. Tour the unique collection of plants from arid and semi-arid climates around the world on a free plant walk, offered daily by the University of Arizona Campus Arboretum. And tour the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum to see the 1,400 kinds of plants on its grounds; visit the Better Homes and Gardens website to download a voucher for free admission to the museum on National Public Gardens Day. Find find more resources regarding Sonoran Desert plants and animals on visitTucson.org.
Meet Me Downtown 5K. The streets of downtown Tucson's historical Barrio Viejo neighborhood make up the new course for summer's biggest foot race. The Meet Me Downtown 5k Night Run and Walk, June 2, is open to runners and walkers and wheelchair riders of all abilities. The post-race fun will include a children's pavilion, a free cycling-theme movie, live music, snacks, and discounts at area eateries and bars. Special rates are available for Meet Me Downtown at Hotel Congress (1-800-722-8848). (520-326-9383; azroadrunners.org/races/detail/mmd)
Wellness Adventure for Kids. Bodyology, the newest health-and-wellness exhibit at Children's Museum Tucson, helps kids ages 2-12 learn about their bodies as well as healthy eating habits and where food comes from. Kids can explore a farmer's market, a garden, an orchard, a juice bar, and oversized body parts, including a giant mouth, an ear with wax, a nose with hair, a beating heart, a breathing lung, and a blinking eye. The Children's Museum Tucson is the place for fun, play-based, interactive, hands-on learning experiences for children and their families. Admission is only $2 on the second Saturday of every month. (childrensmuseumtucson.org)
The Art of Glory Tacheenie-Campoy. An exhibit of colorful abstract images of the American Southwest as well as paintings of horses and landscapes in prints and watercolors by noted Diné (Navajo) artist Glory Tacheenie-Campoy is on display at The Amerind Foundation through October 31. The renowned museum of Native American archaeology, art, history, and culture is located in the town of Dragoon, in Cochise County, located about an hour's scenic drive east of Tucson. The museum is closed Mondays and major holidays. For more details, call (520) 586-3666 or visit amerind.org.org)
Pedal-Powered Cab Service. University Pedi-Cabs, Tucson's newest form of eco-friendly transportation offers free cycle taxi-service within the University of Arizona, Fourth Avenue, and downtown Tucson areas. Passengers may hail a moving pedi-cab, or call for pick up at the Tucson Visitor Center and at most university-area hotels. One- to two-hour pedi-cab tours of shopping and historical districts and a nature trail are available for $35 per person. For more information, phone (520) 860-1609 or visit universitypedicabs.com/
Old Tucson Breaks for Summer. Popular visitor attraction Old Tucson will be closed to the general public between June and September when visitation is least active. Old Tucson will remain open by reservation-only for groups interested in guided tours and private events such as weddings, corporate functions, and company picnics; it also will be open for film productions. Old Tucson will reopen to the general public on Fridays through Sundays in October. Old Tucson has been immortalized in over 300 feature film and TV Westerns and is Hollywood's most famous western movie location. (520-883-0100; OldTucson.com)
What's New in Tucson is produced monthly for travel writers by the Metropolitan Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau's Public Relations department. For media assistance, contact Public Relations Director Jessica Stephens, at jstephens@visitTucson.org. Send news to Editor Deborah Melcher, at dmelcher@visitTucson.org. Contact Isela Cano, at icano@visitTucson.org, to be added to, or removed from the mailing list. Find Tucson & Southern Arizona travel information on visitTucson.org.
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