City Week

Wine With Everything

"Wines Without The Mystery" Classes
Various dates
4326 E. Elmwood St.
325-0566; JonLRogers@aol.com

Do you think wine is just for socialites at parties, or for people who enjoy a little alcohol with their tannins? Well, put down your mai tai and get ready to expand your libational horizons. Jon Rogers of Wines Without the Mystery wants to help you enjoy everything from chardonnay to zinfandel in a comfortable environment where you won't be laughed at for asking how exactly a liquid can be "dry."

Rogers holds frequent classes on numerous types of wine. In each class, he presents a choice of wines, accompanied by foods that complement the different types of wine. Just remember not to wear perfume--extraneous scents can mask the nuances of fine wine.

This week, choose from a whopping four classes (or, choose 'em all!). From 7-9 p.m. Thursday, May 13, "Worldwide Gewurtztraminer" introduces you to this hard-to-spell variety. From 7-9 p.m. Friday, May 14, "Happy Two Hours" features bubbles, white, red and dessert wines for sampling. From 6-8 p.m. Sunday, May 16, "Worldwide Bubbles" introduces five to six wines with the famous "tiny bubbles." Finally, from 7-9 p.m., Wednesday, May 19, "Syrah vs. Shiraz" pits the northern and southern hemisphere syrah grapes against each other. Each of these classes costs between $32 and $35, and all require prepaid reservations.


Get on the Ball

International Pilates Day
6-9 p.m. Friday, May 14
Body Works Studio
1980 E. River Road, Suite 250
323-7070, bodyworksstudio@earthlink.net

Pilates is growing in popularity, and is one of the most fashionable ways to exercise and get fit. Even jaw-wired-shut rapper Kanye West endorses the fitness activity, in his song "The New Workout Plan": "All them mocha lattes / you gotta do Pilates ..." Do you need another reason to start your own new workout plan? After all, Pilates isn't just playing around and falling off the big bouncy ball. That is pretty fun, though.

Body Works Studio is Arizona's first fully equipped Pilates studio, and is the host studio for the first-ever International Pilates Day (or, in this case, International Pilates Evening). The 2,000-member Pilates Method Alliance has designated May 15 Pilates Day, and Friday's activities are part of the celebration. The event is intended to expand local knowledge of Pilates and to encourage would-be exercisers to take advantage of their access to this state-of-the-art Pilates facility. The evening begins at 6 p.m. with a one-hour introductory mat class, followed by a PowerPoint presentation on Pilates and a question-and-answer session. Finally, socialize and enjoy a reception at the studio until 9 p.m.

Body Works Studio is located in St. Philip's Plaza, just above Calico Corners. The event is free and open to the public.


Art, Healing and The Great Outdoors

WomanKraft Courses
noon-2 p.m., Friday, May 14; 9 a.m.-noon, Saturday, May 15
WomanKraft
388 S. Stone Ave.
629-9976

WomanKraft is well-known as a fine local art resource. Nearly every week, Elaine Higginbotham and her creative crew host classes on everything from painting with coffee to Mexican paper flowers. A nonprofit organization, WomanKraft provides free art classes to low-income folks older than the age of 50, and to the rest of us at a modest charge. These days, when art is scarce in schools, and the daily grind often pre-empts artistic inspiration, institutes like WomanKraft are positively invaluable.

This week, WomanKraft offers a different mix of classes than usual. One art class and an outdoors-themed class provide a diverse pair of courses in which participants can learn and create. On Friday, May 14, spend the afternoon creating beautiful, handmade paper in your own style. Best of all, you'll know for sure that it's 100 percent recycled! Supplies are included in the course tuition of $20.

On Saturday, May 15, get some fresh air on an educational walk through the neighborhood with Jessica Schuman. Explore several native plants with healing properties, and gather samples for your own field book. Bring a hat and a bottle of water, and get ready to learn a bit about your floral friends. The class costs $20.

Check the Art Announcements section of City Week in future weeks for more WomanKraft classes, or call the above number for information on upcoming courses.


Holding a Candle for AIDS

21st Annual AIDS Candlelight Memorial
6 p.m., Sunday, May 16
Jacome Plaza, Downtown Tucson-Pima Public Library
Corner of Stone Avenue and Pennington Street
628-7223; mpetillo@saaf.org

On Sunday, Tucsonans will join people all over the world in the international AIDS Candlelight Memorial. The event honors and remembers the 28 million people who have been lost to AIDS and supports the 42 million people currently living with HIV/AIDS. The theme of this year's celebration is, "Turning Remembrance Into Action."

Remember friends, loved ones or acquaintances at the memorial, and allow it to inspire you to take action to help make the world better for people with HIV/AIDS. Perhaps a donation to an AIDS research charity or to a group that supports ill people is how you can help. Alternatively, you can educate others on the importance of prevention and the misconceptions many people hold about the disease. In either case, the 21st annual memorial is an excellent opportunity to show your support for those affected by AIDS, infected or uninfected, living or dead.

Sponsored by the Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation, Tucson Interfaith HIV/AIDS Network and Wingspan, the event invites the whole family to spend the evening remembering those lost to this epidemic. Activities for the kids begin at 6 p.m., and an interfaith service starts at 6:30 p.m., featuring music, prayers and readings. The secular candlelight vigil begins at 7 p.m., and will include music and an opportunity to light candles in memory of loved ones who have died of AIDS.

The event will be on the library's Jacome Plaza, just west of the huge red sculpture. Everyone is welcome, and there is no charge.