Monsoon Farmers Camp
Who loves the mud? Kids ages 5 to 9 can let their dirt flag fly for a purpose in this week-long agricultural adventure. Campers learn about dirt, digging, compost and planting, rain or shine, to grow veggies with the summer monsoon rain. They’ll also help with farm chores like tending worms, seed saving, harvesting and preparing garden beds for planting summer crops. When the work is done, they’ll relax and play in the farm’s water play area and snack on fresh veggies straight from the field.
8 to 11 a.m. Monday, July 10, to Thursday, July 14, Tucson Village Farm, 4101 N. Campbell Avenue, tucsonvillagefarm.arizona.edu, $225
Tucson Sugar Skulls Air-Conditioned Football
Our summer football team plays against the Green Bay Blizzard in its final game of 2023. The season’s been up and down, but this game will be a winner no matter the score. It’s a cool idea that Wisconsin’s bringing us a blizzard in July, and the arena is air-conditioned. As always, we enjoy the cachet of having a woman-owned football team. Props to Cathy Guy, military veteran and owner and chief operating officer of Tucson Indoor Football.
6:05 p.m. Saturday, July 15, Tucson Arena, 260 S. Church Avenue, tucsonsugarskulls.com, $14
Naim Amor and the Cocktail Hours
The classic sounds of cocktail lounges and the late-night jazz clubs of yore mix with the tiki lounge vibe of the ’50s and a splash of ’60s exotica in this after-dinner haven for grownups Downtown. If we’re lucky, Naim Amor and his band might mix in some western swing and a bit of authentic French chanson. Amor’s versatility spans just that eclectic a range, and here he has just the band to support it.
9 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Saturday, July 8, and every Saturday, Century Room, Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress Street, hotelcongress.com, $15
“Affaire d’Amour: The Fireworks Edition”
Although other producers have sprung up over the years, Surly Wench has been the anchor of Tucson’s burlesque scene since 2006, regularly scoring “Best of Tucson” honors. The club’s “First Fridays Burlesque” features a different producer and theme each month. This “Fireworks Edition” features Stephka VonSnatch as host. Performers include Matt Finish, Dottie May Duitt, Stormy Leigh, Jashie Manster, Sonia Rita, Divina Moorephina, Bunny Boom Boom, Jaryn Garters and Desiré d’Amour.
10 p.m. Friday, July 7, Surly Wench Pub, 424 N. Fourth Avenue,
surlywenchpub.com/burlesque, $10
Wet Hot American Party
Dress to get wet! This party has a water slide straight from an island fantasy. In fact, Hotel Congress promises an entire water park. We expect the bar menu to feature a fun run of frosty summer drink specials. There will also be great munchies from The Cup and Plaza Eats, and the best beats from DJ Bex and DJ Halsero. We suspect all your friends will be there. Lookin’ at you, Wildcats.
10 p.m. Saturday, July 8, Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress Street, hotelcongress.com, free, age 21 and over
PCOA “Memory Café”
The Pima Council on Aging is collaborating with three sites in the city to provide opportunities to socialize among memory-impaired, and otherwise cognitively impaired folks, and their caregivers. Each“café” is designed to create a unique, distinctive experience. Some events include special guests and musicians, others are just for relaxing and chatting. Locations are midtown, Casas Adobes and Green Valley. See the website for details.
Pima Council on Aging “Memory Cafés,” various dates and times, monthly at each location, pcoa.org, free
Mission Gardens’ “Bookworm Path”
This charming, fully accessible adventure is perfect for a summer Saturday morning. Bring a book, find a bench, listen to the birds and relax under a tree with a cold refreshment from the Garden Shop. Or bring some kids along to explore the “Bookworm Path.” Its 20 different stops offer books and activities in English, Spanish, Chinese, braille and other languages. Cues in signage along the way encourage visitors to look, taste, touch and learn.
8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesdays to Saturdays, Mission Garden,
946 W. Mission Lane,
missiongarden.org/bookworm-path, $5 suggested donation, open rain or shine.
“Tucson en Foque: Chicanidad and Art”
Tucson artists Luis Mena, Cristina Cardenas and Ruben Urrea Moreno talk about “Chicanx” themes and their influence in the artists’ own work in a panel that’s presented live and online. Mena is a lifelong muralist best known for the piece where Congress Street meets Broadway Boulevard. Cardenas, who works in several media, has participated in multiple residencies internationally. Moreno’s work on the themes of culture and human rights is in the collections of museums in Austin and El Paso as well as the Tucson Museum of Art.
6 p.m. Thursday, July 13, Arizona History Museum, 949 E. Second Street, arizonahistoricalsociety.org, free, in person or online. Find the Zoom link on the website.
STEAM Camp at the Air and Space Museum
Over the course of three Saturdays, kids ages 10 to 14 will learn to code and fly drones and then run them over an obstacle course on the last camp day. Activities are designed to help kids understand applications in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics according to STEAM education principles.
1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, July 8, July 15 and July 22, Pima Air and Space Museum, 6000 E. Valencia Road, pimaair.org/steamcamp, $150, no refunds
Free Books for Kids!
Quincie Douglas Library is giving away kids’ books to promote its summer learning program. Stop at the front desk and give the librarians the age of their child. You’ll get two books, a summer learning program sticker, a reading tracker and an invitation to participate in the library’s program to reward kids’ reading 20 minutes each day over the summer.
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday, Quincie Douglas Library, 1585 E. 36th Street, library.pima.gov, free.
