I was playing some records outside on the Hotel Congress patio on Saturday with Dave, so I got a glimpse of the Underwear Party action happening inside. It was a bit surprising to me how many people were ready to get down to their underwear — men and women, across the size spectrum — which might be a sign that this town is filled with 800 or so secret exhibitionists or possibly that, despite the fact that we generally give up on the summer here as far as events and entertainment go, people still actually want to have fun, even as the temperatures cross into the range of the unpleasant.

I don't know exactly how Kitty Katt McKinley finds the energy for this stuff, but he's back at it on Friday with a Yacht Rock party at La Cocina. The promo video is spectacular and based on the turnout Saturday at Congress, everyone you know will likely be there anyway, so make your plans accordingly.

For some reason, Dave Slutes, entertainment director of Hotel Congress, is allowing me to spin records (and also whatever the digital equivalent of that is, click files?) this Saturday night on the hotel's patio, so if you'd like to hear the strange collision of my musical tastes (Early hip-hop! Early 80's new wave! 60's soul! Australian dance-pop! Songs about trucking!) over largeish speakers while drinking the beverage of your choice, stop on by. Things should kick off around 9ish, be sure to say hello if you're around.

Daniel Buckley began a Kickstarter project last week to help support the final push for a documentary project on El Casino Ballroom, which will premiere in August at the Tucson Fox Theatre.

In March 2010, I went to the El Cine Plaza series at the Fox to watch great old movies my mother watched at the old theater when she was a kid. That theater was torn down in the name of downtown redevelopment. Before each screening, Buckley's first Tucson documentary series opened taking us back to that dear old theater, the destruction of Barrio Viejo (which continues today), and the people.

Buckley followed up with more documentaries, the latest on Barrio Hollywood. This anticipated gem on El Casino is expected, from my perspective, to bring together aspects of Tucson that those who understand and love this gravel-lot town know how it all comes together at El Casino.

From Buckley's Kickstarter (the goal is $7,500 and has $1,255 pledged so far):

The funds raised will go toward finishing the editing of the film, paying for transcription of all of the interviews involved, renting the Fox Theatre so that the premiere can be a free event AND the hiring of three young interns to participate in the film's creation. Two of the interns will come from Tucson's now-banned Mexican American Studies program. The third will be a high school graduate starting a journalism program at college in the fall.

There's a whole lot of rewards offered, ranging from the DVD of this and other Cine Plaza at the Fox documentaries to opportunities to attend portions of the filming of the documentary, credit in the film and much more.

All of the raw footage and all of the transcripts from the interviews will be turned over to the Arizona Historical Society for research and inclusion in other people's projects.

El Casino Ballroom turns 65 this year, and has been the home to more musical and cultural celebrations than just about any landmark in the city. Become part of preserving and celebrating its history by supporting this project in any way that you can. And please forward this to other friends who may be interested.

The film is being produced in partnership with CHISPA, The Fox Tucson, KXCI Radio, and the Arizona Historical Society with additional support from the Tucson Pima Arts Council's PLACE Initiative Grant. This will be the fifth installment of the Cine Plaza at the Fox documentary series.

• Jim Nintzel

The Tucson Padres return to Tucson tonight to launch a four-game series against the Reno Aces. It's also Thirsty Thursday, which means you can get yourself a 16-oz. beer—or soft drinks—for just $1.50.

And if you like mixing adult beverages with baseball, tomorrow night's Kino Krawl is for you: $15 gets you a ticket to the ballgame and eight drinks! On Saturday, the Zooperstars are coming for a visit and you'll enjoy a post-game fireworks show. And on Sunday, you can bring your dog to the ballpark.

Details on all the promotions, ticket sales and the rest can be found here.

ETA: As sharp-eyed reader Red Star notes, the Kino Krawl promotion has been revised. From the Padres' Facebook page:

We apologize about the confusion but our Friday promotion has changed. Pima County informed us that they would not allow the Kino Krawl as it was offered so we came up with another great deal. It's a $2 drink special on 16 oz. beer (Miller, Coors and Bud), 16 oz. soft drinks and water; $3 for mixed drinks (normally $6.50), wine, kraft beers (normally $5.50) and margaritas when the gates open at 6:00. The alcohol special ends at 9:00. College students and military get in for $5 with an ID. If you already bought tickets, we'll be sending you an e-mail to explain our conversion later today. Game time is 7:05

On Tuesday, June 5, at approximately 3:04 p.m., the planet Venus will begin crossing the face of the sun. The most recent transit of Venus was in 2004. The next one will take place in 2117. Venus will be passing between the sun and the Earth, and from our vantage point, Venus will look like a small dot traveling across the sun. But don't view this with the naked eye. You must use special equipment.

Here is a list of special events to celebrate the transit.

Loews Ventana Canyon Resort, 7000 N. Resort Drive
Time: 3-5:30 p.m.
How much: Free and open to the public
Details: Guided by astronomy professionals, guests will look through specialized H-alpha telescopes at the Sun. The event will also include: live video feeds from NASA and Mt. Lemmon SkyCenter, lectures from cultural astronomer Richard Poss and astronomer/child author Steve Kortenkamp, kids’ activities and complimentary solar-filter viewing cards. The event will be followed by a Transit of Venus happy hour in the Cascade lounge at 5:30 p.m., featuring Chasing Venus sauvignon blanc.

University of Arizona’s Biosphere 2, 32540 S Biosphere Road
Time: 3pm – 6pm
How much: Free and open to the public.
Details: Guests will enjoy live telescope viewing of the Sun and Venus transit along with presentations by local astronomers about the importance of this event. This event is supported by the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association and the University of Arizona College of Science.
More information: More information at http://www.b2science.org..

University of Arizona, presented by Flandrau Science Center and Kuiper Space Sciences:
Time: 3pm – 8pm
How much: Free and open to the public.
Details: Viewing of the Sun and Venus Transit on the UA mall and activities for kids and adults inside the Flandrau Science Center and Kuiper Space Sciences Building, as well as live video feeds of the transit from observatories all over the world, and presentations by University of Arizona astronomers. Additional night sky viewing will follow the Venus Transit at the Flandrau Science Center. Activities will be supported by staff and volunteers from the University of Arizona College of Science, the Planetary Science Institute, the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona, and the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association.
More information: Get all the details at http://flandrau.org.

The Tucson Padres managed a late-game comeback to win, 11-10, against the Las Vegas 51s yesterday. The homestand continues tonight with a 7 p.m. game and $1 hot dogs. Tomorrow is Thirsty Thursday, co-sponsored your friends at the Tucson Weekly. You can find details on tickets and promotions here.

Here are details from last night's game, courtesy of the Padres' Tim Hagerty:

The Tucson Padres trailed by six runs in the sixth inning Tuesday and came back to beat the Las Vegas 51s, 11-10. The Padres sent 10 batters to the plate in the bottom of the sixth and scored six times, one shy of a season high for runs in an inning. Matt Clark and Yasmani Grandal hit back-to-back home runs in the rally, which also saw an RBI single by Jedd Gyorko and a sacrifice fly from Blake Tekotte. With the score tied in the bottom of the eighth, Gyorko blasted a high solo home run to left field to put the Padres ahead.

If you’re into charity events and spa days, look no further than this Friday’s “Just Say
Spaaah” event hosted by Arizona Spa Girls. Spa Girls is “a girlfriend-to-girlfriend guide
to Arizona spas, salons, beauty and wellness,” according to their website.

“Last year was the first time that we took the Series outside the Phoenix area with an
event in Sedona,” said Lisa Kasanicky, the founder. “We chose Elizabeth Arden Red
Door Spa at the Westin La Paloma because I felt that the Tucson Red Door Spa was the
perfect place to treat locals to a taste of luxury in their own backyards.”

A percentage of each ticket, along with sponsorships and 100 percent of the raffle will go
directly to Fresh Start, Women’s Foundation, an organization that empowers women.

If you go, tickets are $95 and include an evening reception with wine, food, a keepsake
beach bag brimming with spa and beauty products, a charity raffle, exclusive discounts,
wellness demonstrations and mini spa services.

Event guests also receive a spa certificate valid for one free spa treatment.

Use the code “GoTucson” to access this discount of the normally $115 ticket price tag.

The event will be on June 1 and will go from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Learn more here: http://summerspaseries.com/06-01-12-elizabeth-arden-red-door-spa-at-
the-westin-la-paloma-tucson/

While I personally find my own near-nakedness too repulsive to expose to the general public, if you have a mild exhibitionist streak, you might enjoy the Lose Your Clothes underwear party coming to Club Congress on June 16th, brought to you by Kitty Katt McKinley and his Powhaus-sequel MEOWmeow Productions. Doors at 9 pm, $3 cover (but free if you strip down to your underclothes), 21 and over.

A nice touch: there will be a complimentary clothing check.

Homemade Horchata

Makes about 7 cups

1 cup raw or blanched almonds)

2/3 cup white rice, uncooked (medium or long-grain preferred)

2 1/2 cups water + 3 cups water

one 3-inch cinnamon stick

2/3 cup sugar, or to taste*

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (increase to 1 teaspoon, or to taste, if you love vanilla)

in a bowl combine the almonds, uncooked rice, 2 1/2 cups warm tap water, cinnamon stick, cover and place in the refrigerator for 8 to 12 hours. Remove from the refrigerator, remove the cinnamon stick, and blend the mixture for 2 to 3 minutes on high speed, or until blended as smoothly as possible. Then add sugar (to taste), vanilla extract, 3 cups more water and blend again for 2 more minutes, or until mixture is as smooth as possible. If you're not into grit, strain horchata. Refrigerate and serve (shake it a bit before pouring). You have up to five days to drink it up.

Man-about-town Dan Hernandez is kicking off a new weekly bit of entertainment tonight at Auld Dubliner, mixing bingo with cheap drinks and prizes, which is just about any human being could ask for from a night out.

From tonight's event page on Facebook:

BINBIN BINGO!

I GOT A BINGO WHEEL
AULD DUBLINER HAS THE DRINKS

Its completely FREE to play , and every round we will be going away swag/ funny crap / concert tickets to Stateside Presents shows/ drink tickets!

Its at the auld dubliner, its crazy in there, like wood bar , tons of spots to sit and a smoking patio.

$3 makers Mark
$2 sessions

giving away 2 pair of tickets to :

PLANTS AND ANIMALS (5/23)at congress at 10pm
Hospitality & Leopold and his fiction (6/5) at plush at 11pm
Maps and atlases (6/5) at plush at 12am