MHC Healthcare and United Blood Services will be hosting their third annual Halloween Vein Drain on Oct. 31 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Not only can you get in the spooky spirit at the Vein Drain by donating blood, they will also be holding a costume contest.

Depending on what your fellow donators come up with, the distractions may take away from the poke of the needle-a perk for those of you who aren't the biggest fans of donating blood. They will also be accepting book donations for the Children's Steele Center.

The blood drive will be hosted on the side of the MHC Healthcare building. On wheels, your veins will be drained at the Bloodmobile. Make sure to dress up and get ready to drain some blood!

For more information and appointments, Click Here.

You know what is not so sweet about all that 600 million pounds of Halloween candy?? All of the wrappers, which are NOT recyclable. Besides the fact that candy wrappers are generally too small, their mixed composition of paper, aluminum and plastic also make them difficult to recycle.
“These materials contaminate the stream and potentially ruin viable recyclable materials,” said Adam Serrano, district manager for Waste Management of Arizona.

“Waste Management encourages people to focus on recycling clean bottles, cans, paper and cardboard. These common items can be made into new consumer products from cereal boxes and clothing to bicycles and playground equipment. Using recycled materials saves natural resources, reduces energy use in manufacturing and contributes to cleaner air.”

Have you thought about making your costume out of recyclable materials this year? Getting crafty and creative is all the rage these days! Be sure to check out Pinterest for some cool costume ideas made from recyclable materials. You won't have to worry about showing up to a Halloween party with the exact same costume as anyone!
Waste Management suggests “making a witch’s hat constructed from recycled newspapers, a ballerina tutu fashioned from plastic grocery bags, or Waste Management truck costume made with a recycled box.”

Share your reuse-and-reduce-inspired costumes by posting photos to social media tagged @WasteManagement.

After relaunching in 2018, The Pathway to Purchase (P2P) program is providing down-payment and closing-cost assistance to prospective homebuyers.

The program is run by the Industrial Development Authorities of the City of Tucson and Pima County. Since relaunching, nearly $25 million in loans have been received. Those funds have provided an average of more than $15,000 in down-payment and closing-cost assistance to new home owners.

The programs achievements were highlighted during a news conference at the office of Mayor Jonathan Rothschild on Friday, Sept. 28. It was announced that the program helped more than 1,000 individuals and families purchase homes in Tucson during the 2016-17 year. 

“The Pathway to Purchase program has helped a lot of Tucsonans to achieve their
dream of home ownership,” Mayor Rothschild said, reported in the press release.

The Tucson Industrial Development Authority (TIDA) is a nonprofit corporation authorized to provide lower-cost financing for qualified projects through the issuance of revenue bonds. TIDA gives loans to small businesses and helps finance community development projects when sources of funding may be unavailable.

“As a Board member of the Tucson IDA, I am proud of the success of the Tucson P2P program and all it has done to help the residents of Tucson,” Neal Eckel said, according to the press release. 

Pathway to Purchase applicants do not have to be first time home buyers. To learn more about P2P click here. 

Bookmans East Bookstore is hosting a Young Adult Book Club this month starting on Saturday, October 27 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The book chosen for the book club is acclaimed New York Times bestseller Caraval by Stephanie Garber. A mystery fantasy novel about a girl named Scarlett who is forced into marriage by her father. Scarlett and her sister Tella escape from their father and tiny island home to visit Caraval, a once a year extravagant performance. Bookman's invites you to stick your nose into a book of love, heartbreak and magic.

Bookmans is also hosting a studio night of halloween painting on Friday, Oct. 26. The painting class is free and all ages are welcome. No need to bring painting supplies, all crafts will be provided.

Sign up for both events by e-mailing [email protected] and receive updates via Facebook by joining our official Young Adult Group.

Since the beginning of October, the CenturyLink Clarke M. Williams Foundation has invited local pre-kindergarden through 12th grade teachers to apply for a Teachers and Technology program.

The program offers grants up to $5,000 to fund STEM projects in classrooms including subjects like science, technology, engineering and math. The grant program started in 2008 and has since awarded more than $8 million dollars in grants to teachers. It has provided students with the opportunity to use recent technology tools in their education and supports student achievement.

The CenturyLink Clarke M. Williams Foundation is an organization dedicated to improving local communities. In the 2017-2018 school year, nearly 2,000 grant applications were submitted and more than 300 grants were awarded based on the project's overall innovation and anticipated impact the project would have in the classroom.

Applications for the Teachers and Technology grant will be accepted now through Jan. 12, 2019. The review process will be completed and grants will be presented from April 1 to May 15. To apply for a grant, click here. 

Tuscany's Gelato Festival returns to America by visiting seven different cities including Tucson on Saturday, Oct. 27 from 12 to 8 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 28 from 12 to 7p.m.

So far, the Festival has toured six different cities around the country including Jersey City in New Jersey, Chicago, Washington D.C., Dallas, Santa Barbara and Scottsdale.  
As part of the festival, the gelato chefs will have gone through a selection process for the competition. The winners in the festival will compete again for the three best American gelato chefs and will be part of the top 36 gelato chefs in the world.

In the 2017 Gelato Festival, there were nearly 40,000 visitors and 50 gelato makers. The chefs competed and showcased their gelato flavors to produce over 13,000 pounds of gelato.

Some events at this year's gelato festival feature the Gelato School, where award-winning gelato artisans will share information about being a gelato chef. There will also be a Gelato Eating Contest, where five people will eat five cups of gelato and the fastest will win a gallon of gelato.

For kids, there will be a Kid's Jury, where kids will have the opportunity to ask the chefs questions and vote on their favorite flavors.

Danielle Palazzoni, the General Manager of the Gelato Festival America, said that the festival had a huge success all over Europe and in its first festival held in America last year.

"We realize that Americans really do love gelato," Palazzoni said. "It is our goal to make certain that every American gets to taste what real Italian gelato is like and to spread the culture of artisan Italian gelato throughout the world's largest consumer market for frozen desserts."

Tickets for the festival will be sold at $30 for adults, $25 for seniors (65+), $25 for children (3 to 12 years old) and free for children under two years old. Purchase tickets online in advance to receive a discounted price.

To purchase tickets visit : gelatofestivalamerica.com/ticket

The developers of downtown’s AC Marriott plan are unveiling their plan for a new $88 million hotel project on Broadway and Fifth Avenue that will incorporate two new Marriott brands, as well as the historic Rialto Theatre.

The 16-story hotel, which could be under construction in a year, will incorporate Marriott’s Moxy and Element brands and include a multi-million-dollar remodel of the Rialto. The Moxy will have 109 rooms, while the Element will feature 140 rooms.

“We end up with three hotels who cater to three different types of guests that are all under 150 rooms, so they qualify as charming and boutique,” said developer Scott Stiteler, who is undertaking the project with his partner on the AC Marriott, Rudy Dabdoub. “And then they all work together. There's something for everyone.”

Stiteler said the success of the AC Marriott encouraged him to pursue this new project across the street. Marriott executives are also pleased with the AC, according to Stiteler.

“They see that Tucson is cool,” he said.

Marriott’s Moxy brand focuses on what hotelier calls “fun hunters” who are seeking a minimalist style, while the Element brand offers a space for travelers who are looking at longer stays, with fully equipped kitchens and similar amenities.

Stiteler said he’d be requesting tax abatements from the Rio Nuevo Board and the city of Tucson as part of the financing for the project.

The hotel will essential meld with the Rialto Theatre, allowing guests to attend shows without leaving the property. Stiteler envisions a lot of synergy between the two properties, including the possibility that guests who check into the Moxy will be able to look through a glass wall at the band playing on the stage of the Rialto.

Curtis McCrary, the executive director of the nonprofit Rialto Theatre Foundation, said he was thrilled at the possibility of a remodeled Rialto, especially since the plan includes new offices and green rooms for artists. The current office and green room, which the Rialto Theatre Foundation now rents from Stiteler, will be demolished to make room for the hotel.

The Rialto Theatre Foundation, which will continue to own the nearly century-old theater, is on the verge of completing its own capital fundraising campaign, with a goal of a million dollars. But even that was not going to make the kind of difference that the partnership with Stiteler will.

Once completed, the theatre will boast new mezzanine seating, a multi-level ground floor, new bars and many other improvements. Visiting artists will find much better accommodations in the new green rooms, including showers and other R&R facilities.

But during the estimated two years of construction, the Rialto will have to close its doors. Fortunately for music fans, McCrary has already found an alternative location: The Corbett Warehouse at Sixth Avenue and Seventh Street, just east of the Sixth Avenue underpass. The warehouse, which is also owned by Stiteler, will serve as the Rialto’s temporary home.

McCrary said he was thrilled by the possibility of what the Rialto will become when it reopens.

“As H.I. McDunnough said in ‘Raising Arizona,’ this seems like the solution to all our problems and the answer to all our prayers,” McCrary said.

Fletcher McCusker, the chairman of the Rio Nuevo downtown redevelopment board, said that the hotel and Rialto project “might just be the most exciting thing to ever happen in downtown Tucson. Scott Stiteler has been and remains a game changer.”

Tucson City Councilman Steve Kozachik, who represents the downtown area, said the hotel strikes him as a great project for downtown. Kozachik led the fight to stop a major hotel project after he was first elected to the Tucson City Council in 2009 that would have been backed by city taxpayers, but he likes the way private developers such as Stiteler have been moving forward with new hotel projects in downtown.

“We did the right thing in being patient and letting the market catch a wave,” Kozachik said.

Kozachik called the notion of having the Rialto temporarily located at the Corbett Warehouse “ultra cool.”

“It'll give us time to make needed upgrades to the Rialto, keep the Rialto programming going and show that an entertainment use of the Corbett Building makes sense on that side of downtown,”

Kozachik said the project shows how far downtown Tucson has come in the last decade.

“Back in 2008, 2009, 2010, the city and Rio Nuevo and the Legislature were all litigating and trying to one-up the other,” Kozachik said. “Developers were caught in that mess and everyone was a loser. Now the city, developers and Rio Nuevo are all pulling in the same direction and the impacts on downtown resurgence is clear to anyone who cares to take a look. We've turned a significant corner relationally, and everyone is seeing the results.”

On Sunday, October 21 at 3 p.m., the UA Alumni association has partnered with UA Campus Recreation, Faculty Fellows, Housing & Residential Life and Campus Health for the Lighting of “A” Mountain 5K Fun Run event.

Formally known as Wildcats to the Rescue, this event supports a local cause as all participants are invited to donate non-perishable food items or a monetary donation to help students on campus.

All the proceeds will go to the UA Campus Pantry which works to reduce food shortage and insecurity in the Wildcat community. The theme for the event is Bear Down! Go Cats!

This event includes a Kitty Run (a Kid’s Run) and the first 300 participants get a T-shirt. There will be raffle prizes and awards for the best costume pair, best stroller and best overall costume for both kids and adults. And of course, access to the Lighting of “A” Mountain.

At 3 p.m. there will be registration at Old Main followed by the Kitty Run at 3:30 p.m., the 5K Fun Run at 4 p.m. and the Celebration at the Lighting of “A” Mountain at 5 p.m.

This event is free with parking at Main Gate Garage and will serve as the official kickoff to Homecoming! The run will take place at Old Main and will loop six times near Old Main to Cherry Ave and conclude with free pizza at the celebration on Main Gate Garage to watch the Lighting of “A” Mountain.

The Hello Kitty Food Truck (yes, there is such a thing!) will be stopping in Tucson for the first time on Saturday, Oct. 20. There will be exclusive goodies including giant Hello Kitty Chef Cookies, a lunchbox with confetti popcorn, and Hello Kitty plush toys.

Other best-selling items include thermal bottles, keychains, a 5 piece macaroon box set, headbands and t-shirts. 

Since 2014, the Hello Kitty Food Truck has catered to thousands of visitors across the U.S and has visited 60 cities, including major cities like Los Angeles, Seattle, Houston, Chicago and New York.

In 2018, the food truck expanded its traveling destinations and will now visit Boise, Idaho and Omaha, Nebraska as well as our hometown of Tucson.

Find the Hello Kitty Food Truck at La Encantada, 2905 E. Skyline Dr., on Saturday, Oct. 20 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

For more updates on Hello Kitty Cafe Truck’s upcoming appearances and whereabouts, visit their Facebook Page.

The Tucson Woman's Club will feature a sale of crafted miniatures from across the country including exhibits of miniatures, silent auctions, raffles and project workshops for children.

The showcase is sponsored by The Mini Time Machine League, a committee of the Mini Time Machine, Inc. and the Southern Arizona Miniature Enthusiasts social club. All the proceeds from the show will go towards The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures.