Oro Valley’s premier arts event is on hiatus this year after the Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance canceled the Spring Festival of the Arts, which was scheduled for May 16 and 17 at the Oro Valley Marketplace.

According to the nonprofit, the decision was made based on information from the Pima County Health Department, the Arizona Department of Health Services, and the Centers for Disease Control.

“Considering recent developments in Arizona and the Governor’s proclamation of extending the Stay at Home Order until May 15, and with the extension lasting indefinitely through the end of May for large gatherings of 10 or more in outdoor venues, it is with deep regret that SAACA must cancel the event,” the company wrote in its May 5 announcement.

When was the last time you attended a concert? Unless you live near a musician gracious enough to share their talent with the neighborhood, it’s been a while.

But that could change next Wednesday, May 13 when The Gaslight Music Hall hosts its first-ever drive-in concert, featuring The Tributaries.

The financial strain of the COVID-19 pandemic and business closures has hit the entertainment industry particularly hard, and Gaslight Founder and President Tony Terry was looking for a way to bring in some business (and provide a bit of entertainment).

“I wanted to reward and remind the Town of Oro Valley that we’re here, that we’re going to be here,” said Gaslight founder and President Tony Terry. “Come have some fun and enjoy some live music. It’s been two months since anyone could.”

The Rialto Theatre and 191 Toole have joined forces with the National Independent Venue Association to ask legislators to provide federal funding for struggling concert halls. Part of this initiative is asking all those who enjoy local independent music venues to sign a letter on the NIVA website, requesting that members of congress support federal assistance for independent venues.

"When this crisis began, independent music venues were the first to close, and we will be the last to open," Rialto wrote in a letter to patrons. "Together with you we have played a role in bringing Tucson to life and furthering the careers of countless artists... Now independent venues like ours are at risk, and we need you to tell our Senators and Representatives how important The Rialto and 191 Toole are to you and to Southern Arizona."

If your company thrives on community events and foot traffic, the COVID-19 pandemic basically dammed revenue streams and sent business plans out the window.

Such was the case for Madaras Gallery, owned and operated by local artist Diana Madaras, when President Donald Trump delivered his speech at the March 17 Coronavirus Task Force press briefing.

The same night the president asked businesses to allow employees to work from home and limit social gatherings to no more than 10 people, Madaras sent an email to her staff to remind everyone how vital it was to keep the gallery clean. She voluntarily closed down a few days later.

Madaras said she was uncomfortable and worried for the safety of her staff and customers. She was hearing too much “scary information” about COVID-19.

That decision came with a price, however.

“We’re still doing some online business, and we’ve tried to get creative to generate revenue,” Madaras said. “It’s been a real challenge.”

Rising to the challenge, the gallery team shifted its focus to several new ventures. Madaras and her sister produce one-minute videos for YouTube, the company website now hosts free coloring pages for kids. In addition to artwork, customers can also purchase birthday gift baskets, and there’s now curb-side pickup. Customers can also take advantage of free no-contact delivery for larger canvases.

One of the most popular new programs is the virtual home visit, Madaras said. Customers can send a photo of their wall and provide a list of paintings they live or ask for suggestions based on decor. The Madaras team then edits artwork into the photos so customers can plan out their rooms.

Aside from helping customers decorate their homes during quarantine, Madaras and her team repainted the gallery and hung new art so everything is fresh and new for re-opening. They’re still waiting for guidelines from the government regarding customer safety, and Madaras said she doesn’t anticipate hosting any large events for a while.

Outside of the gallery, Madaras recently donated 600 coloring books and boxes of crayons to Tucson Unified School District for distribution in the school lunch program.

“Here are these kids that are quarantined...and they might not have coloring books and crayons at home,” Madaras said. “These are the kids that would come to school for the school lunch program. So when they came for their lunch, they got a little surprise.”

For more information, visit madarasgallery.com online or call (520) 615-3001 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

My name is David Slutes. I’ve been a part of Hotel Congress for, oh, 24 years or so. I’ve taken on various roles—Cyber Café manager (remember cyber cafes?), Hotel Manager, self-appointed sommelier, and for the last 16 years, Entertainment Director. But even prior to my employment, I spent a great deal of my life here at Hotel Congress. As a musician, this was my favorite place to play; as a bachelor, this was my favorite place to play. Now, in April 2020, I am married with two children, and packing groceries at the Hotel Congress Market.

And I couldn’t be more grateful.

Hotel Congress is a special, weird, controversial, sprawling beast. The creative energy of the people who work here, the professionalism/anarchy of the management, the fearless politics and “go for it” attitude of ownership, and the “every guest, every time” mantra we corp-speak is actually embraced.

But now, most of this has been silenced. The concert venues, sit-down dining, dance club, weddings, parties, and hotel guests have all necessarily disappeared.

I miss it all. I miss our festivals and giant events of course—that’s my thing—but mostly I miss the days to hum. I miss the clink of wine glasses, I miss Salvador Duran crooning on Thursdays, I miss the wide grins of old friends meeting at the Tap Room to reminisce or pregame. I miss the knowing Michigan snowbirds showing their friends historical building details while adding new apocryphal details to the Dillinger legend. I miss the aging musician regaling his girlfriend about the amazing show he played here back in the ’90s opening for the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I miss the late night thump of the disco and the sleepless guest calling down to tell us to please turn it down. I miss the FBI-escort surrounding the political power lunch while seated next to the punk rock band, both tables tucking into the baked eggs. I miss the late night love birds sneaking into the dark corners where they think the security staff can’t see them. I miss the quartet of mezcal fueled dancers swaying to cumbia under the stars. I miss the giant pancakes awaiting to be eaten by the kids who are running laps around the plaza while a honeybee, eying his opportunity, swoops in. I miss best-bartender-ever Barb, yelling at one guest then hugging his best friend. I miss the clamor of the food truck as it churns out tasty 2am food to the post-drinking, pre-Uber club bum bar folk. I miss the boomers demanding more chairs for the early evening concerts then barely giving way as the horde of dancing millennials take over late night. I miss the gentle touch of our door staff escorting out that guy who is acting like a jerk. I miss the woman who insists on renting a “ghost room” then gets too scared to stay in it all night. I miss the ghost that scared her. I miss that awful band that drove everyone out of the Club. I miss that sold out show that everyone waited in a line for an hour on Congress Street to see. I miss the finely dressed wedding party guests getting down on the dance floor with the grimiest downtown hipsters. I miss the death-warmed-over, hungover couple who stumble down the stairs after their late-checkout, staring straight into the front desk attendant’s eyes and boozily stating “That was the best goddam night EVER” and then pleading for Tylenol and a Bloody Mary.

Parents picking up homework for their young children at 14 schools across Tucson were recently handed a dozen brand new books to help get through the summer slump.

The literary surprise was the most recent installment of the United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona’s My Summer Library Program.

United Way Worldwide is an international nonprofit organization that works with community organizations, government agencies, educational institutions and charitable individuals to provide aid for community members in need.

That work is accomplished through a variety of partnerships and programs, including the summer library launched in Tucson ten years ago.

“Kids tend to lose a lot of their reading ability over the summer when they don’t have anybody reading to them,” said LaVonne Douville, executive vice president of United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona. “This simple intervention can really help kids be ready when they start school in the fall.”

When Marana High School senior Matthew Glasshoff looked through a collection of monologues for this year’s Shakespeare competition, he was searching for a role he’d never before played.

He found that part in 20 lines from a scene in Titus Andronicus, a play involving the eponymous Roman general, the queen of the goths, their children and a lot of revenge killings. Some would call it a dark tale.

For Matthew, it was perfect. He plays Aaron the Moore, lover of Queen Tamora, and a rather sinister man.

In his brief performance, Matthew’s character is asked to repent for his numerous sins—or face death. Instead of a confession, Aaron delivers a devilish recounting of his misdoings in an attempt to scare his captors.

“I’ve done a lot of theater in my time, and I’ve never really been the bad guy,” Matthew said. “When I read (the monologue), it just seemed cool to me. It was like something you would see in a modern movie.”

The Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona recently unveiled two grants totaling $50,000 to support Pima County artists affected by COVID-19 closures. 

The Pivot Grant will fund “alternative methods” of sharing art in compliance with pandemic guidelines set up by the CDC. The grants will range from $500 to $1,000 to individual artists and $1,000 to $2,000 for nonprofit arts organizations creating and sharing art in a virtual, digital or socially distant manner.

“In crafting this call, I especially didn’t want to point to specific examples of messages or art, because I didn’t want it to seem exclusive to one type of method. I wanted this call to be open to the type of innovation we’re seeing across the field right now,” said AFTSA grants manager Natalia Gabrielsen. “We’re open to whatever kind of method folks are using right now to get their artwork out.”

The Emergency Relief Fund will provide emergency support for working artists, teaching artists or other arts contract-workers who have experienced canceled events, residencies or contracts. The fund was initially seeded with $130,000 from the Arizona Community Foundation, and $25,000 from the Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona, with the submission process managed by the Arizona Commission on the Arts. Other fund partners include Artlink Inc., and the City of Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture.

It's Friday, which usually means going and doing something fun to cap off the end of the work or school week. What's that you say? Everything is closed? Well, not to worry! Tonight, Fox Presents Friday Nights In!

Co-hosted by Tucson Weekly, tonight's "Friday Nights In" features Acoustic Crossroads with singer/songwriters Billy Shaw Jr. & Amy Munoz right in your living room. Stream starting at 7 p.m. to take part in this virtual concert, without having to worry whether you're standing six feet away from the closest concertgoer.

Billy Shaw Jr. is a Tucson native and country music award-winning entertainer. Amy Munoz is a rocker who hails from Bakersfield, California, but has become a beloved Tucsonan. Get a taste of their tunes from your couch or dance like nobody's watching in your room.

For more information, visit the Facebook event here. We'll see you there!