During his countless trips to Oaxaca, Mexico, Exo Roast and Exo Bar founder Doug Smith realized the variety of mezcal—and therefore what there is to learn about mezcal—is almost limitless. This depth is the reason behind two new changes at Exo Bar: a name change to El Crisol and a new series…
This month, UT Press is publishing “America’s Most Alarming Writer,” a collection of essays remembering longtime Tucson reporter and author Chuck Bowden, who died in 2014. Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Jack Dykinga was a frequent collaborator with Bowden and brings us his memories in t…
The sophomore slump seems to be nowhere in sight for Tap & Bottle’s second annual Invitational Beer Festival. Not only will the event host multiple local brewers, but breweries from multiple other states will attend as well. And brand new this year, whiskey and wine will be on the roster.
After a successful “Three for Free” preview to launch the season, the Opera Guild of Southern Arizona is bringing the vocal arts back to Oro Valley with another free event.
At a grueling rehearsal last week at the Ballet Tucson studios, four dancers were practicing a demanding and unusual dance: it combined ballet and modern into one piece.
For the real horror aficionado, October is the merriest time of year. It’s a season to look forward to, where a love of jumpscares, slashers, monsters and ghosts just makes you festive. It’s a rare time where you can turn to just about any stranger and find a friend of Freddy Krueger, an adm…
Thousands of people in Arizona took part in a summer-long reading event that, in return, gave nearly 6,000 books back into the community.
A Golder Ranch firefighter is giving back to the organization that once gave to him, in the form of intricate metal crosses.
After traveling to more than 120 countries on seven continents and visiting all 50 states, Clark Norton has narrowed the focus of his award-winning travel writing to the strangeness of the Tucson area with his newest guidebook, “Secret Tucson: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure.”
Early in the brilliant play “The Royale” at Arizona Theatre Company, we learn just how determined a boxer named Jay is.
American architect Frank Lloyd Wright spent seven decades becoming one of the most iconic and interesting figures to ever build in the 20th century. From houses to offices, churches to schools, high-rises and plenty more, Wright’s work can be found throughout the country, including Arizona.
From living in a cabin in the woods to moving to Tucson, Brandon Shimoda may have lost sight of various issues, but one thing always on his mind is to question and understand history, how it is being interpreted and what we are doing with it. As a Tucson-based poet and author, he has publish…
With sculpted eyebrows, a well-fitted suit and a Mid-Atlantic accent perfect for radio, The Gaslight Theatre’s David Fanning leads the way with a suave touch (and plenty of humor) in the company’s newest production, “009 Licence to Thrill.”
After Ted DeGrazia married his wife, Marion, in the jungles of Oaxaca, Mexico in 1947, he returned from their honeymoon with dozens of fresh paintings. The tropical flora and fauna inspired his impressionist art style, as did the small chapel where their wedding took place.
A collection of sordid, introspective stories from Arizona suburbs are coming to a streaming service near you. Twelve short films based on Tucson author and Tucson Weekly writer Brian Smith’s book, “Spent Saints,” will land on Amazon Prime later this month.
More than 250 people squeezed into the Gaslight Music Hall last Sunday evening to watch the finale of the Oro Valley’s Got Talent competition. For the second year in a row, the family-owned theater put out a call for all talented Tucsonans ages 8 and up to show off their best singing, dancin…
For Hotel Congress’ 100th anniversary, HOCO Fest is returning to Tucson with more than 100 performers and artists. What was once a weekend celebration at Hotel Congress is now expanding all throughout the downtown area, and at no point has it grown more than this year. In 2018, HOCO Fest hos…
The Pima County Public Library is hosting a new series of film screenings aimed at better understanding and appreciating Native American cultures. But sometimes, just watching a film isn’t enough; that’s where the “Many Nations” team comes in.
The first time Jack Dykinga saw the Grand Canyon he was a “typical, motorized tourist in a long line of cars driving from viewpoint to viewpoint,” he writes in the introduction to his new book, “Grand Canyon: A Photographer’s Favorite Viewpoints.”
NON NEGOTIABLE
You have amnesia so badly you can’t even remember your name. You have no idea who you are or how to regain your memory. No one will even try to help you. You wind up in a care home for people with similar issues: mental breaks and complicated personalities. It is here, at Paradise Found Care…
There’s a certain sense of discomfort that can arise when people are speaking in front of you in a language you can’t understand. Chances are, what they’re saying is perfectly nice. But the unease comes from never being sure. This feeling permeates “Midsommar,” certainly one of the strangest…
Prepare to raise a glass (or a few) and celebrate the culinary spirit of Southern Arizona, the World Margarita Championship returns to Tucson next month.
THEATER
In the 22 years since Kimi Eisele came to Tucson to get a master’s in geography from the University of Arizona, she’s accomplished more than most of us do in a lifetime.
Pinball was originally outlawed in the ’30s and ’40s because it was viewed as an “illegal game of chance” no different than gambling. It wasn’t until the ’70s, when pinball aficionados testified it was a game of skill, that the ban began to lift across the country.
When Chef David Solorzano bought tickets to Guadalajara, he almost didn’t come back.
Tucson is such a literary city it manages to surprise both the authors and the hopefuls. While many locals may be surprised to know the Pima County Public Library hosts a “Writer in Residence” program, it is the writers in residence themselves who are surprised by the writing talent of those…
Long before musicians recorded in Tucson, the dust was here. But ever since locals began fusing folk, mariachi, rock and tejano music onto tapes and vinyl records, that same dust has had the chance to (quite literally) become part of the music.
The Sonoran Desert’s yearly monsoons lost the race into Tucson by a different kind of monsoon: those on the Joe Pagac’s largest mural yet. Pagac, a local muralist known for his massive artworks all throughout downtown Tucson, is nearing completion on a new mural at the corner of Grant and Ca…
If you’ve read this column for the past few years, you know that some of my fellow food writers and I get together each spring for the Tucson Food Media Barbecue Throwdown.
In a city of many talented cuisiniers, there can be only one Iron Chef. The competition heats up at Casino Del Sol for a night of fire and fury as Chef Wendy Gauthier attempts to knock standing champion Chef Brian Smith from the throne.
Prepare your palate, Oro Valley. Tacos are coming.
By the end of July, The Loft Cinema will boast a new marquee, though the updates may actually look old to longtime residents. With the new “Light Up the Loft” fundraising campaign, The Loft Cinema plans to restore their marquee to its former, taller size, while still maintaining a retro aesthetic.
Burritos are amazing. That is general knowledge. But is it possible to improve a burrito? How about making it enormous, and wrapping it in bacon? Could it possibly get any better? Make it one of over 20 different dishes available at a festival celebrating all things Mexican food, and it’s su…
Meet Tseng Kwong Chi, world traveler.
While Christopher Rodarte’s students at Sam Hughes Elementary know him as Mr. Rodarte, on paper he is simply “Rodarte,” a man with a love of spookiness who grew up with the story of La Llorona.
Captain’s Log, Star Date 22.63: The crew of the Spaceship Excelsior is traveling through the outer asteroid belt of the Forbidden Zone, a hostile sector of space that’s long been the site of a brutal war between the intergalactic civilizations of Mylanta and Zantac.
While it’s true the Greater Tucson Metro Area is full of great hiking trails, plenty of shopping and a burgeoning downtown scene, there’s plenty of adventures to be had across Arizona.
They had their spot in the stairwell. They were Chicano kids—Mexican Americans—growing up in Tucson in the 1950s. They were The Chasers. You either were, or were not, a Chaser.
When I walked into Maru Japanese Noodle Shop, I was immediately greeted by a familiar face: Yoshimi Tashima, owner of the long-standing midtown sushi staple Yoshimatsu, who told me this was a new venture strictly focused on Japanese-style noodles.
Ballet Tucson recently announced its 2019-2020 season, which includes a steampunk version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, a celebration of Dave Brubeck and brand new ballets by local artists.
There was great wisdom in the prescription by Greek physician Hippocrates when he said, “Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food.” Though he spoke these words thousands of years ago, their relevance remains at the newest restaurant to come from the Flores Concepts family, Charrovida.
With Memorial Day behind us, summer has officially started in Tucson and the temperatures are ramping up. Humans are not the only ones who prefer the cooler temperatures of the evenings during these hot months, and the animals at Reid Park Zoo are ready to show off their super powers at Summ…
Fusing elements of soul, funk and pop, Tucson’s recent favorite hard-to-classify band are putting the finishing touches on their debut album. Miss Olivia and The Interlopers have been recording in WaveLab Studios over the past seven months, and expect their new album, Little Stories, to be f…
Tucson City Councilman Steve Kozachik watched his mother Marian make a lot of sacrifices. A single mom, she toiled away in a nursing job to ensure Steve and his brother Pete had what they needed as kids.
The walls of the Raices Taller 222 Art Gallery & Workshop are covered in art that’s colorful, personal, silly, serious, textured, symbolic and beautiful. It spills off the walls in the form of sculptures and metal work. There’s a painting of a donut, some fiber work of grocery carts sitt…
Whoever issued the decree that the first Saturday in June shall be National Bubbly Day forevermore obviously spent some time in Southern Arizona.
After six years of research that sent Kate Stewart trekking around the globe, the local author’s first biography offers a dazzling view into the life of a librarian who refused to walk the line.
The Gaslight Music Hall is bringing Oro Valley three decades worth of music this summer with their Golden Oldies Rock & Roll Revue, a production series celebrating the music of the 50s, 60s and 70s. For every Thursday throughout the summer months, the Gaslight Music Hall will erupt into …
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