Thursday, May 26, 2016
Historians, skeptics and believers in the paranormal can all find something to love about the downtown Tucson ghost tours put on by Specter Tours.
The small Tucson-based tour company leads walking tours around downtown Tucson.
Tour guide and business owner Robert Owens is a dedicated historian and entertainer. Tour goers are taken around many Tucson landmarks such as the Rialto Theater, the Fox Theater and the Pioneer Hotel.
The Pioneer Hotel, the site of Arizona’s most deadly fire, has a rich history and spooky ghost stories to compliment it.
The tour also stops by 101 E. Pennington Street, an old mortuary that is now the home of Reilly Craft Pizza & Drink and Tough Luck Club. Owens recommends it as a place to relax with a drink while looking for apparitions after the tour.
Specter Tours is in the process of adding a new route, which is expected to open in early July. The new route will take tour guests around Fort Lowell Park with ghost hunting equipment similar to what you might see on television, like thermal imaging scanners.
Tickets can be purchased through Groupon for the Friday and Saturday tours. Tours start in front of the Rialto, loop around downtown, and end at Hotel Congress.
Tags: Ghosts , History , Tours , Tucson , Downtown , Entertainment
School is out, temperatures are rising and (finally!) public pools around Tucson are opening. Breakers Water Park is among those summer institutions preparing to open their doors this weekend.
Want to go? We're giving away tickets! Tell us how many you want (don't be greedy! Maximum 8.), give us your name and phone number and wait by the phone.
Planning to spend the entire summer in the wave pool? The park offers season passes.
Season Pass ($39.99)
Unlimited admission to the waterpark all summer
Early entrance: get into the park at 9:30 a.m., half an hour before the park opens to the public
VIP Wednesdays: perks change weekly
If you buy two or more Season Passes for the family, you get a complimentary Great American Savings coupon book
Gold Pass ($49.99)
All the benefits of the regular Season Pass, plus:
Four additional "bring a friend free" days
A Breakers collector cup with 99 cent refills
Two $10 cabana rental discounts
Two free inner tube rentals
Tags: breakers water park , summer in tucson , wave pool , water slides , free stuff , win tickets , Image , Video
Monday, May 23, 2016
Enjoy the Zoo every Friday evening of the summer, with live music, animal features and dining.
Each week will have a different theme.
The first Summer Safari kicked off last Friday, but there's still plenty of time to go on an adventure.
The themes for the remaining nights are as follows:
May 27: Hooray for Underdogs: Meet the Zoo's Lesser Known Animals
June 3: Animal Playground: Watch Training and Enrichment with Zoo Animals.
June 10: Buggin' Out : Meet the Animals that Dine on Bugs
June 17: Hats Off to Dads: Learn about our Zoo Dads
June 24: Go Grey: Elephant and Rhino Night
July 1: Spots and Stripes Forever: Zoo Animals with Spots and Stripes
July 8: Staying Cool at the Zoo: Learn how the Animals Stay Cool at the Zoo
The last Summer Safari Friday Night will be on Friday, July 8. Safari nights offers families the chance to enjoy a picnic concert or wander through the zoo, learning about animals and participating in wildlife activities.
Wondering how much these fun filled nights cost? Look no further. $9 for adults, $7 for seniors, $5 for children, children 2 years and under are free and members get $2 off.
Sound like fun? Follow the Summer Safari Facebook or check out their website for more information.
Monday, May 16, 2016
Looking for something fun, new and exciting? Then get your derby on and become a Renegade!
Renegade Rollergirls of Tucson, a free roller-derby league, is looking for their next generation of roller girls.
Starting Monday May 16, there will be free skills and drills practices every Friday and Monday throughout the summer for those interested, curious and wanting to become a renegade roller.
All females 18 and older are eligible to play, and experience is welcome but not necessary.
Membership, travel and a uniform are all free but skates, knee pads, elbow pads, wrist guards and a helmet are required to participate in practice. Don't have the required equipment? You're still welcome to come and meet the team.
R.R.O.T. also offers advice about finding gear and has limited gear available for loan—if notified ahead of time.
Practices are held every Friday and Monday from 7 to 9 p.m. through Friday, July 29. You join throughout the summer—but you'll get more out of it the sooner you join.
Practices are at 3525 E. Pima Street, located at a hockey rink attached to the parking lot at the corner of Pima and Palo Verde.
Interested? Check out the Renegade Rollers of Tucson website or the Tucson Renegades Recruitment and Info Facebook page for more information.
Tags: Renegade , Down and Derby , Roller girls , recruits , track
Sunday, May 8, 2016
How could we be here already? The first round of Best of Tucson® voting closes at the end of next Sunday, May 15.
Once the gates close on this ballot, our team of caffeinated pandas will comb through your answers and compile a ballot of finalists based on the top 5 nominees in each category.
Give us about a week to get everything together then be on the look out for the finalists to be announced (and the second round of voting to open)!
Vote. Spread the ballot. Time is running out!
P.S. Are you having trouble getting into your ballot? There's a reason the ballot says first and last name are required! Your name is, in essence, your Best of Tucson password. You have to type your name the exact same way from year to year, or you won't be able to get into the ballot. Can't figure out how you typed your name last year? Email me: [email protected]
Wednesday, May 4, 2016
Last week we talked about the plethora of ridiculous holidays we "celebrate" each day of the year, but I think I just found my favorite one: World Naked Gardening Day takes place this Saturday, May 7.
From wngd.org:
Gardening has a timeless quality, and anyone can do it: young and old, singles or groups, the fit and infirm, urban and rural. An elderly lady in a Manhattan apartment can plant new annuals in her window box. Families can rake leaves in their back yard. Freehikers can pull invasive weeds along their favorite stretch of trail. More daring groups can make rapid clothes-free sorties into public parks to do community-friendly stealth cleanups.Just watch out for the cholla and don't let your neighbors see.
Why garden naked? First of all, it's fun! Second only to swimming, gardening is at the top of the list of family-friendly activities people are most ready to consider doing nude. Moreover, our culture needs to move toward a healthy sense of both body acceptance and our relation to the natural environment. Gardening naked is not only a simple joy, it reminds us—even if only for those few sunkissed minutes—that we can be honest with who we are as humans and as part of this planet.
Tags: world naked gardening day , daily holidays , watch for thorns , Image
If you're looking to inject a little Jedi love into your day pick up a copy of The Force Awakens, embark on a 15.5 hour marathon of all seven movies and (we should have known someone was going to make this) enjoy a Star Wars Hamilton parody video:
May the Fourth be with you. (And also with you).
Tags: star wards , han shot first , luke son of anakin , Video
Monday, April 25, 2016
A jello wrestling benefit and auction for the Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation is held on Saturday, April 23 on 4th Avenue and 7th Street. The evening saw multiple drag performances and several wrestling match ups throughout the jello shot-filled evening of generous donations.
Tags: Jello wrestling , SAAF , southern arizona aids foundation , benefit , auction , 4th avenue , Tempest DuJour , Slideshow
Scenes from the second and final weekend of the 2016 Pima County Fair including side shows, copious amounts of barbecue, a performance from nu-metal band P.O.D., rides, games and family fun on Friday, April 25.
Tags: Pima County Fair , 2016 , pima county fair grounds , carnival , rides , games , barbecue , bull riding , family fun , ferris wheel , tilt-a-whirl , Tucson , Arizona , Slideshow
Tucson, you've probably noticed we're a little bit blessed when it comes to game stores. Pretty much anywhere in town, you're just a few minutes away from picking up a game of Catan or some Magic the Gathering cards.
Support your favorite local game stores in Best of Tucson's Best Game Store category—but also support them in real life because we've seen too many (Hat's, A2Z, Game Daze) call it quits over the last few years.
