This is the second year that some smart and creative folks have designed and built a guitar to support the All Souls Procession - remember that the Procession happens entirely from donations, no sponsors or government support - and considering the work (by DJ Odious, Doc Hudson Guitars and Moises Orozco) that went into this stunning thing, the $5 it costs to get into the raffle seems like a bargain.

Tech stuff for people who have some idea what this stuff means, from the raffle's website:

Solid Mahogany body — hand-rolled fretboard — Flamed Maple 24 3/4″ scale Neck — Medium jumbo frets — Grover style tuning machines — GFS Power Rail humbucking Pickups (15.8K bridge and 10K neck) — Top-loading Hardtail Bridge — CTS Pots — Sprauge Orange-Drop tone Capacitor — Switchcraft Jack.

More info from the guitar's builder, Simon Davenport, via Facebook:

I spent the afternoon test-driving the thing through a two-channel tube amp and a 2X12 speaker cab. As gorgeous as it LOOKS - it sounds and plays even better. There were times while building it that I wished I'd gone with basswood for the body instead of mahogany. Its lighter and MUCH easier to work (its a softer wood, closed cell structure, with similar tonal characteristics) but having played it I'm glad I didn't! I played, blues, rock, pop, jazz, even (forgive me!) "Smoke on the Water". It handled all of them with ease. I didn't try country or death metal - not genres I've spent any time with. The overwound pick-ups LOVE an overdriven amp - sustains forever. Stick it in the clean channel and its clear, warm, and articulate (also with great sustain) with a nice balance between the bridge and neck pickups. Even rolling the tone all the way down it refused to get muddy. The maple bolt-on neck even lets you pull a nice Fender-like quack that makes me think it'd work fine for country - It'd be interesting to see that! But I built it, so I'm not exactly an unbiased opinion - I'm looking forward to other guitarists playing it and getting their views.

Tickets go on sale this weekend, with the winner announced at the Dance of the Dead event at the Rialto on November 9. You can pick up tickets at PopCycle, Borderlands Brewing, Tucson Thrift Shop, 5 Points Market and at various events around town. Follow the raffle on Facebook for more info.

Tomorrow, Friday, Sept. 26, is the final deadline to submit three-dimensional art work for the Cardboard Ball, which takes place, Saturday, Sept. 27, 7 p.m. To submit your art work, from noon to 8 p.m., go to Maker House, 283 N. Stone Ave. Tucson artist Mykl Wells will be there to take your beautiful work.

Now hopefully, you're also working on your cardboard costumes. At my house we have run out of glue sticks and I think I cut my right pinky, but life goes on. You can still get your Cardboard Ball tickets at Maker House, Yikes or Pop-Cycle for $10 (if you hurry), but if you forget to get them in advance, you can get them at the door for $15.

Wells, who organizes the ball, is a co-founder of the All Souls Procession. The ball helps raises needed funds for a series of weekend community workshops Wells runs all next month to help people build the entries, memorials, masks and lanterns—really anything they want specifically for the All Souls Procession. They are amazing workshops. Mykl is very helpful and his beautiful mom is often on hand to help folks out. While we can talk about the All Souls being a true community-inspired event, the workshops Mykl organizes lead up to that really all in the spirit of building community and culture. It's actually what I'd say is another good example of what you can do in Tucson to "walk the talk" we so often love to claim around these parts.

So, really, consider coming to the Cardboard Ball to help kick off the workshop and celebrate community. Last year, I believe our friend Daniel Buckley wore a box from a Coca-Cola 12-pack. You don't have to go crazy (even though my household is, at least a little).

Want to understand where Mykl is coming from in his work? I really recommend an interview on the Many Mouths One Stomach site done by All Souls Procession volunteer Jhon Sanders. It's a great interview with Mykl that gets into the history of All Souls and the heart of Mykl's workshops.

From Sanders' interview:

Probably one of the key elements to a healthy and happy individual —a happy life, a good life— is….before things like health and food and shelter, is actually the efficiency of the community working together. Can people gather together around a common cause and do something about it? Can they organize? Can they work effectively together? And I would say that’s probably one of the greatest strengths in this, that it’s this intense community-building thing, and it really has this powerful ability to break down barriers between people. It doesn’t matter if you’re conservative or liberal, or this or that, whatever….everyone shares this stuff in common, this is universal. And in the workshops especially: when you come together to build things, the focus is on the project, it’s not on who you are or what you’re doing. It gives people this opportunity to work together and really bridge the gaps that occur between us. It brings our community much tighter together.

Those people, when they walk out of there, they have much more of an experience than just making a mask or whatever; they’ve worked with other people, they talk, they bond. I know lots of people who’ve made friendships in the workshops that have lasted for years. I also know that just seeing other people do these things is inspirational. “Oh…they just put together this thing and they did it. We could put together something and do it”. You see a lot of smaller cultural events popping up out of this greater Procession community. And that is the essence of building community, that right there.

I’m not very big on organizing people, but what I’m very big on is trying to spread a culture. To me it’s really about creating a culture of collaboration and creativity, and getting people excited about that. You don’t get sailors by offering them money, you make them yearn for the open sea, right? I’m paraphrasing there. But, so, to create this community you don’t do it by saying, “Okay! We’re going to build a community!” You say, we’re going to build an amazing Procession. We’re going to give you opportunites to create with other people. You create the incentive and th yearning to be part of something bigger and to work well with others. I don’t think I could have organized the workshops to function as well as they have if I hadn’t done it from a cultural approach as opposed to an organizational approach. Instead of trying to impose this rule on it, you instead create a culture of openness, and non-judgement, and creativity, and you show people how to do things but you let them make their own things. It pretty much self-organizes if you let it. People want to contribute to that. People feel like they’re getting something out of it. And they are.

Pima Community College Theatre Arts presents the family theatre adventure Stuart Little

Pima Community College Theatre Arts launches its 2014-2015 Season with the exciting family production, STUART LITTLE, adapted by Joseph Robinette, based on the book by the renowned children’s author E.B. White. Directed by Mickey Nugent. Kids and adults alike will be captivated by this warm-hearted and exciting story about a most unusual mouse. As the second son in a human family, Stuart encounters several adventures, big enough to match any imagination, as he struggles to survive in his over-sized world. He is kind, courageous and loved by most, except perhaps Snowbell the family cat. Stuart embarks on a journey of a lifetime after his best friend, the little bird Margalo, flees to escape being eaten.

SANAR is a pop-up restaurant* that throws beautiful dinners around town. The SANAR team consists of Dave Valencia of Agustin, Brian Smith of Acacia and Bri Grateron of La Paloma. The crew is throwing their final pop-up dinner of 2014 on October 6, this time held at Reilly Pizza and Drink. We are talking ten courses for $100 a person with an option of drink pairings (an additional $30). Dinner starts at 5 p.m. To make reservations, call 302-8400 or head to www.sanarfood.com.

From what I hear these dinners are every bit of a culinary event! Why not try something new?

Here's the 10 COURSE (!!!) menu:

*Definition from Wikipedia - Pop-up restaurants, (also called supper clubs), are temporary restaurants.

Zombies and ghouls will be ready to scare visitors at Old Tucson from Friday, Sept. 26 through Friday, Oct. 31. Show titles include The Reaping (an extraterrestrial storage and research facility), Monster's Kitchen (a reality-show style cooking competition) and Magic of the Macabre (with John Shryock and Mari Lynn).  There's also an iron door mine, creepy crawly cave, a zombie shoot, haunted hay ride, costume contest and more. 

Nightfall is open Thursday-Sunday from 6-10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 6 p.m.-midnight, through midnight on Halloween. Tickets are $26 (ages 12 and older), $21 (ages 9 to 11), free (kids 8 and younger). From Friday, Sept. 26 through Sunday, Sept. 28, pay $16.50 for anyone 9 and older. More info at nightfallaz.com. 

Participating state parks and weekend dates for fall 2014:

Lost Dutchman SP, Apache Junction (Session A): September 27 & 28
Lyman Lake SP, St. Johns: September 27 & 28
Catalina SP, Tucson: October 4 & 5
Kartchner Caverns SP, Benson (Session A): October 4 & 5
Fort Verde SHP, Camp Verde: October 11 & 12
Lost Dutchman SP, Apache Junction (Session B): October 11 & 12
Patagonia Lake SP, Patagonia: October 18 & 19
Kartchner Caverns SP, Benson (Session B): October 25 & 26
Dead Horse Ranch SP, Cottonwood: October 25 & 26
Cattail Cove SP, Lake Havasu City: Nov. 8 & 9

Families should bring sleeping bags or any bedding, pillows, camping chairs, flashlights, clothing, sturdy shoes and personal items including toothpaste, towels, soap, etc. The program will provide tents, sleeping mats, lanterns, GPS units, and all activity equipment. Beverages provided include water, coffee, tea, and Gatorade. Meals provided include one dinner, one breakfast, one lunch, and all snacks. Families are responsible for bringing a cold lunch for Saturday's arrival meal.

Registration is now open for fall sessions at AZStateParks.com/Family. Program fee is $85 for up to family of 4, plus additional family members are $5 each. Sorry, children 5 years and younger or pets cannot attend this program. Registration is limited and is first-come, first-served.

For information about all 27 Arizona State Parks, the Trails and Off-Highway Vehicle Programs and State Historic Preservation Office call (602) 542-4174 or visit AZStateParks.com. Campsite reservations can be made online at AZStateParks.com or by calling the Reservation Call Center at (520) 586-2283. Open 7 days a week, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. MST. 

• Andres Volovsek

That's what playwright Dawn Costello Sellers has crafted here with beautiful direction from Eva Tessler, showing us that when man meddles with nature, not only does it create a complicated mess and tragedy, but it also compromises our own survival, both physically and spiritually.

The true tale took place in 2009, when a biologist with the Borderlands Jaguar Detection Project set a snare trap in the Atascosa Mountains west of Nogales and north of the border in hopes of trapping a male jaguar, using female jaguar feces to attract him. The elusive jaguar, an animal not seen in the area since the mid-'90s, had been photographed and with that egos and politics went to work and the bureaucracy meant to protect Macho B, failed—failed big time.

The female feces worked, Macho B was caught in the snare—the animal panicked and severely injured himself unable to break free. Biologists found him, drugged him with Telazol and put a radio collar on him. The jaguar, hypothermic and injured, died days later. It took investigations from several agencies and the guilty conscious of one of the biologists involved, to get an idea of what really happened—the careless crusade to tag this jaguar for glory.

In "Jaguar!," the same story is told, but through the eyes of Moon (Avis Judd), who protects Macho B (Christopher Johnson) and loves him with all her heart. There's also a little girl, Maya (Milta Ortiz), who happens to love nature, but just a little too much. She's us—the human who explores, catches and collects—sometimes holding in her hands just a little too tightly. Moon lectures Maya, who eventually dreams of finding jaguar. We watch Maya grow up to become a biologist, hired to work with the biologist and his assistant on the hunt for Macho B (played by Brian Taraz and Tenoch Gomez, respectively).

Together this cast deftly tells the story of Macho B as if telling us the same folktale that's been told over and over again over the centuries about jaguar—how much humankind has loved and worshiped him, and his mystery and power. Moon helps with this, too: When she wears her mask, she is the storyteller and without the mask, she is our conscious that deep down feels pained with every wrong, reminding us, or really Maya, to be better, and reminding her precious jaguar to be careful. After all, "people aren't always the brightest."

In a conversation between Moon and Maya is the obvious, such foolish people we are: "I can't see in the desert without you," Maya tells Moon. "You can't see in the desert with me," Moon answers.

By the end of the play, the lessons are clear and Maya is transformed—emotionally and physically—just like we should be or at least should have been once we heard the full true tale of Macho B, sacrificed for needless scientific glory and a broken system.

I have to say that watching Judd as Moon, with Oritz playing Maya and Johnson as Macho B, is delightful. They are perfect in their roles. Joining them are three coati played by Yvonne Montoya, Sherry Mulholland and Anjelina Mendibles, who dance and play with jaguar—mischief makers who share the desert with Macho B, and live in fear and love of him. Nannette Robinson also does beautiful aerial work as Moon hanging sky, the evening stars as her backdrop.

The matinee I caught was a school-day production, the audience a large group of middle school students from Palo Verde Middle School, who seemed to enjoy the production and had great questions for the cast and crew at the end of the show. But what's unique about this play, is this storytelling method Seller's uses, and I could see a younger set of kids easily letting go and entering Maya's world, a world they love and know that comes with their own desires to catch butterflies and poke at lizards, all with curiosity and sometimes love. At the end, they'd understand the injustice deftly.

Then there's us who know better at this point. Have we completely given up on being transformed? Are we so jaded now that nature has no place in our hearts? "Jaguar!" is a mirror for us, a folktale that needs to become part of our consciousness in order for us to finally do what's right: Protect what we have left and allow the transformation of a new world to take place.

The Latina Dance Theater Project has given Tucson a gift, a beautifully crafted play about what we did to Macho B that left us with profound lessons. Keeping Macho B's memory alive, well, maybe that's the only way we'll finally learn.

This is the show's closing weekend, tonight and tomorrow, 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. at the 738 N. 5th Ave. theater. For more info, go to jaguarplay.com.

Local volunteers with Words of Peace Global and the Loft Cinema present a free screening of "Peacemakers: Jeremy Gilley in Conversation with Prem Rawat" at 3 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 21. The Loft Cinema is located at 3233 E. Speedway Blvd. 

In addition, The Culture of Peace Alliance presents several events to mark United Nations International Day of Peace on Sunday, Sept. 21. cultureofpeacealliance.org

Sat., 9/20 & Sun, 9/21 - Multi-Generational Introduction to Kingian Nonviolence

9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days at City High School, 48 E Pennington Street

The Youth Team of the Nonviolence Legacy Project takes the lead in presenting this two-day introduction to the principles and practices of Kingian Nonviolence. Learn ways to deal with anger, reduce violence, resolve conflicts, and bring about positive change in your life and community. Donations are accepted.



Sunday, 9/21 - United Nation’s International Day of Peace

11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Creating a Culture of Peace at the Ronstadt Bus Station

We will discuss building Peace into your life and our community. At noon, we will hold a moment of silence for peace that is being held all over the world. Participants will be invited to attend afternoon workshops at the the Joel D. Valdez Main Library, organized by Martha Dominguez. Free and open to the public.



1 to 4 p.m, Joel D. Valdez Main Library, 101 N. Stone Avenue

A series of free 50-min workshops led by peace builders from around the Tucson community. Workshops presented:

1 p.m.-1:50 p.m.— Awakening the Dreamer, by Amity Foundation Pachamama Community, Janilyn Shuman; Happiness is an Inside Job, Sheena Brown; 2-2:50 p.m.— Talking about Tough Topics , Catherine Tombom; Break Through Communication Barriers: an Introduction to Compassionate Communication, Scott Lewis; 3-3:50 p.m.— Creating a Culture of Peace , Martha Dominguez; The Courage for Peace- Stories from Community Conversations, Sat Bir Kaur Khalsa.

Shakespeare returns to the park tomorrow, Friday, Sept. 19 with "King Lear."

OK, here's part for the CliffsNotes summary on the story of another one of those quirky British kings:

King Lear opens with a conversation between the earls of Kent and Gloucester, in which the audience learns that Gloucester has two sons: Edgar, who is his legitimate heir, and Edmund, his younger illegitimate son. This information will provide the secondary or subplot. Next, King Lear enters to state that he intends to remove himself from life's duties and concerns. Pointing at a map, Lear tells those in attendance that he has divided his kingdom into three shares, to be parceled out to his three daughters, as determined by their protestations of love. The two elder daughters, Goneril and Regan, exaggerate their love by telling their father that their affection for him exceeds all reasonable expectations. The youngest daughter, Cordelia, tells Lear that she loves him, but only as a daughter should love a father. Lear, angry and disappointed at what he deems a lack of devotion on Cordelia's part, divides his kingdom equally between Goneril and Regan, and banishes Cordelia. Later, France agrees to marry the now dowerless and banished Cordelia. When Kent attempts to defend Cordelia, Lear banishes him as well. Meanwhile, Goneril and Regan decide that if Lear becomes too much of a nuisance, they will have to decide what disciplinary actions to take.

The play, brought to you by El Rio Theater Project, is the group’s 8th year bringing theater to the park’s outdoor amphitheater at 1000 N. Tucson Blvd. Bring a blanket or lawn chair. $5 suggested donation.

The play runs two weeks, Friday Sept. 19 to Sunday, Sept. 21 and Friday, Oct. 2 to Sunday, Oct. 5, 7 p.m.

Tucson's Ronstadt Generations wants to return to the United Kingdom to tour, and they hope a successful Kickstarter campaign will help them get there.

There are four days to go, and so far the band is doing beautifully with 36 backers and $1,760 pledged toward their $2,000 goal.

On why you should provide your support:

Ronstadt Generations has gone to North Wales, England, and Ireland over the past couple of years for promotional purposes. Sharing our music and family stories, and we have started to build a following. These tours don't make much money due to their short duration and the fact that they are promotional. In the past we've gone over with just the trio ('Papa' Mike, Michael G, and Petie) and 'Bertha' the cello (yes we have to buy the cello a plane ticket). As you can imagine 4 round trip tickets to the UK can be pretty expensive and is a cost we have to come up with before we go over there and recoup any of our expenses. This year we are bringing along 'El Tucsonense', Mr Alex Flores (Tenor Sax), bringing the number of round trip tickets to 5.

Thats where you come in. We need your help to raise some funds so we can buy our plane tickets before they get too cost prohibitive (last year we spent close to $4000 on tickets for the trio). We are hoping to raise at least $2000 to help lessen the up front, out of pocket expense. Lets face it, we're musicians and it's rare that we have a spare $5000 to spend on tickets. With you're contribution ($2000), and our own contribution ($3000), we can get these tickets purchased and continue to share our music and stories with the lovely people of North Wales and the UK.

If we go on to raise more then the $2000 it will mean two things. First, you are all very generous and beautiful individuals. And second, we will have some capital to get merchandise (t-shirts, stickers, totes, etc) made to sell at our shows.