City Week

METAPHYSICAL HELPER

A popular saying asserts that we are spiritual beings having a human experience. Some people are able to connect with the spiritual side of life more easily than others. Metaphysical clairvoyant Stephanie Ann Stevens says she is one of these people.

Stevens began meditating at the age of 6 and conducted readings for friends and family at 15. Now, with more than 30 years experience, she wants to help people in their lives by providing answers and guidance.

Her popular, free lecture series, "Premonitions, Prophecies and Predictions," offers live audience readings, including contacting those in spirit. (Grandma may say hello.)

Participate in a spiritual discussion and experience the power of OM. After the lecture, limited private readings (five minutes for free) will be available. Arrive early, as Stevens attracts a crowd. Your soul will thank you.

THE RED PLANET

You've probably heard this already, considering all the attention it's received, but to repeat: Mars is invading. It's the closest to Earth it has been in 60,000 years.

To celebrate this, David Levy, comet hunter, author and science editor for Parade, will give a special encore presentation about Mars entitled "A Time for Mars." Levy will use video and music to discuss Martian history and the possibility for life on the red planet. Tickets are $7 for adults; $6 for seniors, students and military; $5 for children 3 to 13.

You can also observe Mars at the observatory through the center's newly refurbished 16-inch telescope, weather permitting, from 6:40 p.m. to 10 p.m. It's free, but donations are requested. Mars is visible after 8 p.m.

DANCE FOR PEACE

Earthdance is a global collective of international promoters, visionary artists, musicians and supporters of electronic music who feel strongly about world peace and healing. On one day, they create gatherings around the world to form a united global dance floor to dance for peace and world transformation. This year, there will be more than 100 Earthdance events worldwide. It's the fifth year the Old Pueblo is hosting such an event.

As of press time, the location in Tucson hasn't been determined, but there will be three main stages featuring more than 50 musicians from throughout the world. This year's event features Charles Feelgood, Simply Jeff and Nicholas Bennison. Check the Web or call the number above for up-to-date details.

At a specific moment during the event, (12 a.m. GMT), every musician at all Earthdance events will simultaneously play a special song for world peace. Imagine hearing a song in Tucson at the same time as your long-lost relatives in Europe.

Tickets are $20 in advance, available at Sounds Fresh Music and Clothing, 517 N. Fourth Ave. If you wait, pay $25 day of show. Proceeds from the event will be donated to the Tibet House of Trust and the Earthdance Foundation.

BEER BASH

Here's your chance to taste more than 100 beers from various breweries across the Southwest while drinking to a good cause.

The 17th annual Great Tucson Beer Festival offers plenty of beer, of course, but you can chase those suds with food from Trader Joe's, Bashas' and Texas T-Bone. A strolling magician will perform tricks and bands Breech, Sunday Afternoon and Degrees Plato will fill the air with tunes. A live and silent auction will also be on tap.

Tickets are $25 general admission pre-event, $30 at the event. VIP tickets are $50 and include early entry, a private seating area, additional beverages, catered food, a vintage T-shirt and private restrooms.

Proceeds from the festival support the Tucson Sun Sounds radio station. Sun Sounds provides free live and taped readings of newspapers and other print media to the blind and visually impaired, physically challenged, learning disabled and those with difficulty reading due to the aging process. Sun Sounds has provided this service free of charge since 1985. All reading is done by volunteers.

Let's toast to these good folks. But please, have a designated driver and drink responsibly. (By the way, we should note that The Weekly is a sponsor of the event.)

ILLEGAL POETRY

Watch out. You might get mugged.

The Poetry Thugs are a group of performance poets on the prowl, aiming to bring the unconventional world of performance poetry to the Old Pueblo. Performance poetry melds poetry, music, street theater and multimedia sound and fury.

The idea is the brainchild of longtime Tucson performance poet Albert Lannon. "Poetry began as performance," says Lannon, "spoken and sung rather than written." He put together a chapbook entitled Poetry Thugs, available for a suggested donation of $5 at the event.

It might seem like a contradiction to capture performance poetry via the written word, but it was Lannon's hope that not too much would be lost in the transition to the printed page. It might just inspire readers to seek out Tucson's poetry venues to catch the poetry live.

Some of the Thugs that might get you include: Thomas Brinson, Dov Diamond, Teresa Dawn Driver, Doctor E., Ishaub Enjoube, The Funktional Adix, Chilan Itza, Albert Lannon, Scott Stanley, Erin Witfield, Whitney Weirick and Merie Wolfie.

"The poets ... carry on that primal tradition that embraces all the senses ... there is street energy here that reflects the real world, sometimes harsh, often beautiful, always engaged, committed, relevant," says Lannon.

Sounds like an evening of artistic crimes without the jail time. But bring some bail money just in case.

MOTOWN REVUE

No need to hear this news through the grapevine. You won't have to be too proud to beg. Don't be uptight. Get ready.

Listen to the good stuff, with understandable lyrics and groovy beats, as the musical group Equinox joins other Musicians for Children performing a night of classics from The Temptations, Smokey Robinson and other Motown greats. Equinox shares the stage with The Bad News Blues Band, Neon Prophet, The Nod Squad, The Rowdies and Brown Sugar.

You can hear all of this great music for only $15, and the proceeds help Aviva Children's Services abused children's fund. The fund is used for the special needs of children who are in the care of Child Protective Services. The money has been used to pay for sports team registration and equipment, camp fees, music lessons, dress shoes for choir performances and other events that promote a child's development and improve self-esteem.

Helping kids feel better about themselves? I second that emotion.

REEL MOMS

Raise your hand if you've ever been to a movie with a crying baby in the audience. Yeah, pretty annoying. OK, but did you ever think about the parent in that situation? Maybe they just needed to get out of the house for some well-deserved entertainment. The good news is that new moms, dads and caregivers can now go to the movies with their babies without the fear of disturbing fellow moviegoers.

Each Tuesday, Loews offers a first-run film for moms and babies so they can watch the movie in a darkened theater instead of at home months later on DVD. This week's film is The Fighting Temptations. All babies are admitted free. (After all, they might sleep through the movie.)

As the movie starts, theater lights are dimmed to a comfortable setting so mom can take care of junior. Even the volume is turned down to a moderate level. Moms can expect valet stroller parking, play areas and other baby-friendly amenities. So, here's to you mom; enjoy the show.

SPOKEN WORD ARTIST

Esquire magazine praised Saul Williams as "the Bob Marley of American poets." Born in 1972 in Newburgh, N.Y., Williams, along with the educational activist group Funkamentals, is among the leading spoken word/hip-hop artists performing around the country today. They join together for a night of poetry power presented by the UA Poetry Center.

Williams is a well-rounded artist in a variety of areas. He had the lead role in the film SLAM, winner of the Sundance Film Festival grand jury prize. He recorded a musical CD entitled Amethyst Rock Star. He's performed with hip-hop artists The Fugees, Erykah Badu and KRS-1. As a writer, he's been published in The New York Times and Esquire, and he's written two books. (Does he ever sleep?)

Funkamentals is a performance group with a live band that embraces the expression and culture of hip-hop music and spoken word. Since 1997, they have toured the country, appearing at the Harlem School of the Arts, Harvard University and The World Anthropology Conference in Washington, D.C., among other locations. Thousands of young people have enjoyed the group during school assemblies and community events.

Tickets for the event are $10 in advance; $12 at the door plus a $2 box office fee. Besides online, get tickets at Biblio Bookstore, 222 E. Congress St., Antigone Books, 411 N. Fourth Ave. and at the UA Poetry Center, 1216 N. Cherry Ave.