Things to Do!

Every so often, I will hear someone snivel that there's nothing to do in Tucson.

To these snivelers, I say: You're out of your freaking minds.

Even in the dead of summer, it seems like there's a fair amount of cultural activity happening in the Old Pueblo. In the fall and spring, the amount of things to do skyrockets. And at certain times ... well, it almost seems like there's too much to do.

This weekend is one of those times.

One of the highlights for me will, of course, be our annual Fall Club Crawl®, which features a stunning amount of music (80 or so acts) in close proximity (downtown and Fourth Avenue) for one low price ($8 in advance at Zia Records, or $10 at the gates). That's taking place Saturday night, and you can read all about it herein.

However, that's just the tip of the iceberg, events-wise. I'll be spending part of Friday night at the Loft Cinema for the come-one, come-all First Friday Shorts contest, and I'll be spending parts of Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort at the Tucson Culinary Festival, which is chock-full of foodie events I strongly recommend. I'll even be one of the judges at Sunday's Blues, Brews and Barbecue Sunday Brunch and Copper Chef Challenge, pitting Elle's Jeff Fuld against the defending champ, Jim Murphy of Kingfisher and Bluefin. (Details at www.tucsonculinaryfestival.com.)

Somewhere in there, I imagine, I'll have to sleep and get a little work done, too.

This means I'll miss numerous plays, concerts, art openings, readings and other happenings occurring this weekend—many of which you can read about in this issue.

So ... if you're one of those nothing-to-do complainers ... I recommend an attitude adjustment—and make it quick, because there are numerous things to do this weekend that are a lot more fun than sitting around and sniveling.