Tucson, AZ

Opa! We attended our local Greek Festival again this year at the end of September. St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church hosts the event over the course of four days and there is terrific food, great music, and interesting cultural dancing. The delicious aroma of the food cooking over open fire greets you long before the food stands come into view. If you weren’t hungry before you got there, one whiff and you will soon be starving. The cost is $3 for admittance (kids are free) and then the food ranges in price from $5 to $9 depending on the meal you order.

When a friend brought up going to a corn maze, I was startled to realize it was one of those things that I’ve heard talked about a lot, but had never actually been to myself. It just seemed like something I could swear I’ve been to before, you know, that time we went out to…and, I really had nothing. Luckily, Buckelew Farm has exactly that. So I was definitely all for it, and off we were for that quintessential activity I’d missed out on!

I am not known for being the biggest fan of live theatre. But if I can be talked into it, it is usually performances with local cast and crew that can keep my attention. Recently, my friend Nikki insisted I go with her to see a late night performance of “Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead” at the Live Theatre Workshop, located in a shopping plaza at 5317 E. Speedway (between Rosemont & Broadway). Since she had seen the performance the week before, which is based loosely on the characters in the Peanuts gang, and was raving about the cast and script, I decided to accompany her to play on a Friday night.

The nights are getting cool in the Old Pueblo and as a result, I can be more easily coaxed out of my house even before sunset these days. I heard that merchants and artists would be participating in a free event on 4th Avenue from on a Saturday evening from 4:00-9:00 p.m., an event called Rendezvous on the Avenue, and it would be featuring live music, vendors, and a fashion show. To start things off, I met my friend Carol around 6:00 p.m. for a yummy slice of Magpies pizza. Since the Avenue was full of hustle and bustle and parking was at a premium, I parked in the lot nearly Brooklyn Pizza. The weather was nice enough to enjoy the sunset and live music on the patio outside Magpies. We snacked on our slices and listened to the band, Nobody Et. Al., play as tables filled with couples and families ate their dinner and indulged in a little dancing

After a long week at work, my friend Nikki coaxed me into joining her for some live music and dancing at Plush on a Friday night. It is true, we hadn’t been out dancing in a while and when she mentioned that local bands Latino Solido and The Jons would be playing for just a $6 cover at the downtown venue on 4th Avenue, I put my dancing shoes on.

Upon the suggestion of my friend Carol, some girlfriends and I met at Cushing Street Bar and Restaurant in Barrio Viejo on a Saturday evening for some scrumptious fare and live jazz. Cushing Street is one of my all-time favorite haunts for atmosphere alone, so I was curious to check out the ambiance with live music thrown in the mix. This downtown establishment is located in a restored building dating back to the late 1800’s and is nestled in the barrio just south of the Tucson Convention Center, amidst other historic structures.

Happy Birthday Tucson! August marks Tucson’s 233rd birthday and there are a multitude of activities going on this month to celebrate in the Old Pueblo.

On a Friday night that was graced with cooling breezes and no monsoons in sight or sound, I took some out-of-town visitors to help me celebrate Tucson’s birthday at the annual “Heart and Soul of Tucson – ART” birthday festival.

This interesting little mini-festival is being held on the patio of the Vila Thai restaurant all during August. For those of you who have not discovered the Vila Thai — which many believe is the best Thai restaurant in Tucson — it is upstairs at 972 East University Blvd. at Park Street.

When the temperature soars to the triple digits in Tucson, I am rarely convinced that life exists in the Old Pueblo. I, like many desert inhabitants, was in the throes of my reverse seasonal hibernation when my friend Susan invited me see her friend’s band play at Frog and Firkin. I hadn’t been out much due to the heat, so I agreed to meet her and some of her friends at the University-area bar and restaurant for some live music and lounging on the patio. Now that the college students have filtered out of town for the summer, I can be more easily talked into hanging out on the University Main Gate area. Parking also was no problem as the parking garage on Tyndall and 4th Street was free after normal business hours and had ample spaces just a short jaunt away

Dressing up in Tucson isn’t exactly like dressing up in other places; the heat almost requires being much more laid back, making what might be ‘formal’ in other regions comfortable and casual, especially with the humidity of the monsoon. That doesn’t mean that looking good is out of style, though, as we found in [...]

My girlfriend is a fanatic about coral jewelry and one of the gals I work with told me that I simply had to go to the Old Town Artisans to get her some jewelry. She couldn’t remember the name of the specific shop but the description of the complex was too much to resist.