Wednesday
Calling all Trekkies - the UA Flandrau Science Center sponsors the "MarsQuest Planetarium Show" tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the Star Theater. Narrated by former Star Trek actor Patrick Stewart, the show traces Mars through history, looks at the planet during the present day and makes predictions about the Mars of the future, including a description of what is needed to send humans on missions to the Red Planet. Tickets for the show are $4 and $5. For more information, call 621-3645 or visit www.flandrau.org.
It's not very often gallery goers get the chance to view the art and learn details about it too, so take advantage of this opportunity. The Center for Creative Photography will sponsor "Write Then and Now: Insights into the Book Arts in Ralph Gibson's Photography," a gallery talk by special collections librarian Shaw Kinsley. The program, scheduled for 5:30 p.m. today, will describe some of the artifacts and books depicted in the exhibit's photographs, including the Rosetta Stone and the Polyglot Bible. For more information on the event, call 621-7968 or visit the CCP's Web site at www.creativephotography.org.
Thursday
An all weather event - "Come Rain or Shine: 20th Century American Realism" is now showing at the UA Art Museum. These paintings, sculptures and works on paper by George Bellows, Thomas Hart Benton, Luis Jimenez, Norman Rockwell, Reginald Marsh and many others can be seen at the museum in the UA Fine Arts Complex through July 18. Call 621-7567 for more information.
Friday
Even though Tucson's monsoon season typically doesn't begin until later in the summer, those suffering from heat stroke will get a little stormy relief. The Fourth Avenue Merchants Association's sixth annual "Monsoon Madness" features local performers of all musical genres playing at the Winsett Outdoor Performance Center, 316 N. Fourth Ave. Vanessa Zuber and Epic Friends play tonight from 7 to 10. Call 624-5004 for more information.
Saturday
Come find out a little bit about ethnic diversity - from 9 a.m. to noon today, the UA department of linguistics and the department of language will sponsor language experts and trainers Mary Eunice Romero and Christine P. Sims in "Language Maintenance Efforts Among the Pueblos of New Mexico." The program is offered in conjunction with the 22nd Annual American Indian Language Development Institute's "Ensuring a Place for Our Languages: Linguistics, Social and Cultural Aspects of Indigenous Language Teaching" event. Call 621-6897 for more information.
What do you get when you combine classic jazz music with guitar instrumentation? The Second Annual Tucson Jazz Guitar Festival is what. Presented by the Tucson Jazz Society, the event will be held today from 8 to 11 p.m. at La Placita Village, 110 S. Church St. Tickets are $11 general admission and $6 for members of the society. Call 903-1265 for more information.
Sunday
Pitch your $8 movie ticket and free rental coupons and get over to Harvill Auditorium for the second week of the media arts department's Summer Cinema Series "The Genres of Hollywood." "An American in Paris," coupled with the Bugs Bunny cartoon "French Rarebit," fit this week's musical genre. The series was created to not only pay tribute to several Hollywood genres but also to the movie theater as a dying form of cheap entertainment. Film tickets are $3 for the general public and $1 for students, with popcorn and soda sold at the show. Call 626-2847 for more information.
Whoever said only Dorothy and Toto could dream of a better place over the rainbow? Tonight at 7 at the DeMeester Outdoor Performance Center at Reid Park, 1100 Randolph Way, Nancy Davis Booth and her daughter Erin will sing duets from "Lakme" and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." Nancy will also share favorite selections from "Carousel," La Traviata" and "Dianni Schicci." Call 722-5853 for more information.
Monday
Instead of venturing out of the house to see the work of one artist, why not visit the Avis Dominguez Gallery, 154 E. Sixth St., and see the work of over eight artists. "The big mix" is a group show featuring
paintings and sculpture by James Cook, Joanne Kerrihard, Joy Fox, Charlotte Bender, Ben Goo, John Davis, Bruce McGrew, Duncan Martin and others. The exhibit shows through June 13. Gallery hours are Tuesdays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call 629-9759 for more information.
Tuesday
If you grew up even remotely near the decade of the '80s then you have definitely heard of this Broadway hit gone celluloid. The UA Arizona Repertory Theatre presents "Steel Magnolias," a comedy-drama that follows the lives of six young women over a three-year period. Directed by Deborah Dickey, the performance shows at 7:30 tonight and will be showing through Saturday at the Laboratory Theater in the Fine Arts Complex. Tickets are $11. Call 621-1162 for more information.
If there's one thing that's consistent in Tucson during the summer its definitely the rising temperature. Beat the heat in the air-conditioned Center Court of the Tucson Mall, 4500 N. Oracle Road, for "Hot Night - Cool Country. " Sponsored by the mall, this new summer concert series encourages fans and shoppers of all ages to relax with an evening of cool country every Tuesday in June and July from 6 to 8 p.m. Call 293-7330 for more information.
