Thursday 16
HAND-ME-DOWNS. Treasured Traditions: Three Tucson Women reveals rich artistic legacies at Tohono Chul Park.
Ed Nah Weber grew up in Oklahoma, where she watched her grandmothers in the Pawnee Nation create intricate beadwork designs using needle, thread, and tiny seed beads on leather.
Betty Williams, a young African-American girl in Mississippi, observed her mother and grandmother during quilting bees. When she was 12 years old, she gathered some fabric scraps and created her first quilt -- a nine-patch. And Magdalena Nowacka-Janotta, born in Poland, learned to make wycinanki (papercuts) as a young girl, using the traditional sheep shears and free-hand cutting.
Working with their hands, each of these women uses beads, fabric and paper to breathe new life into timeless folk art.
The show runs through January 17 in the Tohono Chul Park Exhibit Hall, 7366 N. Paseo del Norte. Hours are 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. A $2 donation is suggested. Call 575-8468 for information.
Friday 17
TOYLAND TRIUMPH. Wild-eyed wooden soldiers rally the troops for a toyland coup in The Nutcracker, performed by the Ballet Arts Foundation.
What more can be said about this holiday classic, except that it takes on a new and beautiful charm at the hands of the Foundation dancers, instilling a boxful of playthings with a joie de vivre that puts Nintendo and its minions to shame.
Show time is 7 p.m. in the PCC Proscenium Theatre, 2202 W. Anklam Road. Performances continue at 2 and 7 p.m. tomorrow and Sunday. Tickets are $18, and available by calling 623-3373.
HONORABLE DISCHARGE. Four brave rugrats take center stage in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, presented by Third Street Kids.
The fantastic troupe is dedicated to integrating young performers with or without disabilities, and their mission glows in this drama about tikes who cross over into a fantasy world, and discover that a path of courage and honor is always the right course to follow.
Show time is 7:30 p.m. in the Tucson Center for the Performing Arts, 408 S. Sixth Ave. Performances continue at 2 and 7:30 p.m. tomorrow, and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $8, $6 for students, $5 for children under 12, and available by calling 622-4100.
Saturday 18
FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES. The holidays hit a high note when Tucson Kitchen Musicians Association host their annual Holiday Concert.
This year's yuletide blast will feature a melodic tapestry with WomanSong; guitar, conga and vocals with Wayback Machine; standards, swing and "other things" with Evan Dain, Lou Stebner and Elise; acoustic Latin jazz with 18 Strings and a Shaker; "exquisite instrumentals" with Arm & Hammer; and originals, blues and hot guitar with Stefan George and Lavinia White.
Great music is complimented by a fine potluck at this bash, all designed to keep Tucson well anchored in the roots of real music.
Party time is 7 to 11 p.m. in the Unitarian Universalist Church, 4831 E. 22nd St. Admission is $6, $5 for TKMA members. Call 326-9021.
SIGHTS IN FLIGHT. Feast your eyes on wondrous birds of prey when the Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory offers another Hawk Stalk.
These all-day and half-day nature tours of scenic Sulphur Springs Valley will spotlight stunning high-fliers, from dainty American Kestrels to magnificent Golden Eagles. Other likely sightings include Sandhill Cranes.
Tours depart from Bisbee at 8 a.m. and return by 4 p.m., stopping for lunch at a local restaurant. The cost is $55, and $45 for observatory members. For reservations and other information, call (520) 432-1388.
Sunday 19
HAPPY NAVIDAD. El Centro Cultural de las Americas celebrates the holidays in fine Latin style with Feria Navideña.
This month-long fiesta features a naciemiento (nativity) display, a Christmas market, cultural food, tons of entertainment, and a chat with members of Club España.
For its part, the Feria Navideña Christmas market is a five centuries-old tradition dating from the arrival of Spanish priests in the New World. Appropriately, this version will feature plenty of traditional naciemiento items for sale, including human figures, animals, houses, backdrops, trees and moss.
The festival runs from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Historic C.O. Brown House, 40 W. Broadway Blvd. Call 629-9536 for information.
MOVIN' ON. High culture is afoot when the ZUZI! Move It Dance Co. presents Solstice Celebration.
The rapidly growing troupe was recently appointed to the Arizona State Commission on the Arts Residency Roster. That means an influx of bucks, even more elaborate performances, and the chance for ZUZI! to pursue its mission of teaching, community outreach, rehearsals and performances.
It all comes home to roost in this show celebrating the "season of shadow and light" with music, poetry and great dance.
The performance is 7:30 p.m. in the ZUZI Little Theatre, inside the Historic Y at 738 N. Fifth Ave. Tickets are $10, and discounts are available. For reservations, call 877-1603.
MULTI-CULTURAL MYSTERY. A Latino cop with a poetic bent turns crime on its mysterious head in The Wonderland Murders, written by Kent Braithwaite.
The cop in question once held a Congressional seat. But now he must solve an amusement park murder in balmy southern California, where the uneasy ethnic mix adds to the novel's richness.
Braithwaite is well-known for his crime fiction, poetry and literary criticism.
He'll sign copies of The Wonderland Murders from 2 to 4 p.m. in Clues Unlimited, 16 Broadway Village, at the corner of Broadway Boulevard and Country Club Road. Call 326-8533 for information.
Monday 20
TIMELESS LENS. The 19th century was a rich time for frontier photographers, who busily recorded aspects of daily life and ethnic customs among indigenous people. The Etherton Temple Gallery celebrates the prime arbiter of those heady photographic times with Edward S. Curtis: The North American Indian.
This riveting exhibit features selected photogravures by Curtis, focusing on the Southwestern Apache, Mohave and Navajo tribes, among others.
Born in Wisconsin in 1868, Curtis eventually moved to Minnesota, where he found a job in a St. Paul photographer's studio. By 1900, he was visiting the Blackfoot Reservation in Montana, where he began documenting what he called "the vanishing American."
Theodore Roosevelt helped Curtis obtain patronage from J. Pierpont Morgan, allowing the photographer to spend the next 30 years documenting tribes of the Southwest, Great Plains and the Pacific Northwest. This show is a prime sample of his far-reaching vision.
Edward Curtis: The North American Indian runs through January 5 in the Etherton Temple Gallery, at the Temple of Music and Art, 330 S. Scott Ave. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and during ATC performances. Call 624-7370 for details.
Tuesday 21
MALL MERRIMENT. The Tucson Mall spreads cheer among budding consumers with a free Christmas party featuring the Ronstadt Cousins.
Hailing from the Old Pueblo's first family of music, the cousins will warble their way through a roster of children's tunes and Christmas songs, presented with their characteristic charm, and even a touch of silliness.
Show time is 10:30 a.m. in The Tucson Mall Food Court. For information, call 293-0543.
WEE THESPIANS. An American classic gets a youthful take when the Bianco Theatre presents Annie.
This troupe of children and teens makes up a rich cast of characters, including Helen Hannegan, Grace, Rooster, Lilly, the orphans, and of course, Daddy Warbucks himself.
The family-oriented show begins at 11 a.m. in the Gaslight Theatre, 7010 E. Broadway Blvd. Tickets are $8, $7 for seniors, $6 for children and students, and available by calling 886-0860.
Wednesday 22
CHRISTMAS REPAST. For nearly 20 years, the Sosa-Carillo-Fremont House Museum has been home to the Christmas in the Arizona Territory exhibit. That tradition lives on this year in a display featuring hands-on fun with replicas of antique toys.
Created by the Arizona Historical Society, displays include antique German glass, antique toys, Dresden gilded paper, and hand-spun cotton Christmas ornaments hung on Christmas trees, all contained within one of Tucson's oldest adobe buildings.
Christmas In the Arizona Territory runs through January 29 in the Sosa-Carrillo-Fremont House Museum, 151 S. Granada Ave. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Admission is free. For details, call 622-0956.
ROMANTIC YULETIDE. Windham Hill recording star Jim Brickman brings his soothing holiday sound to Tucson for one performance.
The comfortable, intimate setting of Brickman's holiday concerts have earned him rave reviews, thanks to the combination of his powerful piano work, great vocals and enthusiastic onstage rapport. Brickman also totes a legacy of highly popular recordings; his latest Gold album, Destiny, rapidly climbed the charts last summer.
Tonight's show will feature his "trio of friends," including Anne Cochran, John Trones and Tracy Silverman.
The performance is 7:30 p.m. in UA Centennial Hall, inside the main gate east of Park Ave. Tickets range from $27.50 to $32.50, and are available at the Centennial Hall box office, or by calling 621-3341.
