The 2012 parade will feature marchers including floats, military units, local dignitaries, media and entertainment personalities and civic, cultural and social groups. The Tucson parade has a 25-year history and provides a good time for the entire family.

The St. Patrick’s Day Festival opens at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, March 17 at El Presidio Park Plaza, 160 W. Alameda Street, with live Irish music, dancers, entertainment, a children’s game area, and food and merchandise vendors. Irish organizations, ethnic and cultural tables will be set up in the park as well. Festival Schedule TBA.

The one hour Parade will begin at 11:00 A.M. at Pennington & Stone Avenue, making its way through Downtown – around the Presidio – down Main – through the heart of Tucson.

The 2012 parade and Festival theme, “Honoring our Founders”, will pay tribute to our parade founders, celebrate their vision, and honor their dedication to the Irish and Tucson community.

Portion of Festival Proceeds to benefit the Tucson Police Officers Association.

In memory of the more than one million Irish who died in the Potato Famine 150 years ago, marchers and spectators are asked to remember the hungry of Tucson. The Community Food Bank will accept canned food donations during the Festival.

Grand Marshal was supposed to be Mike Haggerty, one of their parade founders, and former Ward 3 Councilmember. Unfortunately Mike passed away at age 81 on 3/5/12 but he will be there in spirit and memory. The Haggerty family will be riding their decorated golf cart in the parade.

I usually go to this very “green” parade & festival, which is lots of fun, even for those of us who aren’t Irish (but would like to be). Note new location of festival at El Presidio Park on Alameda next to City Hall, west of Church Ave. and not at Armory Park.

www.tucsonstpatricksday.com

Also happening that morning for joggers:

The Third Annual “Running with the Irish” will feature the “Green Isle Mile.” It will begin at the corner of Pennington and Stone at 10:55 a.m.

This is THE competition for bragging rights to the fastest mile in Tucson!

The 1 mile run through beautiful downtown Tucson serves as the kick-off to the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Register on www.taggrun.com and don’t forget to wear your green!

“The New Pueblo: A Multilingual Celebration of Voice and Culture from Tucson and the Sonoran Desert”
El Presidio Park,
160 W. Alameda St., downtown Tucson
from 3 PM – 7 PM,
on Saturday, September 24th, 2011.

In answer to the global call from 100 THOUSAND POETS FOR CHANGE, “The New Pueblo: A Multilingual Celebration of Voice and Culture from Tucson and the Sonoran Desert” will hold its first annual festival of language and action at Tucson’s El Presidio Park, from 3:00PM-7:00PM, on September 24th, 2011.

As participants at one of more than 600 simultaneously scheduled events in 450 cities and 95 countries—from Egypt to Afghanistan to the Ivory Coast to Columbia—performers and audience members alike will represent Southern Arizona in the world’s largest ever poetry reading. The New Pueblo shares the 100TPFC commitment to make September 24 the first day in a critical mission to “seize and redirect the political and social dialogue of the day and turn the narrative of civilization towards peace and sustainability.”

Here’s the schedule from website: http://www.bigbridge.org/100thousandpoetsforchange/?cat=626

*Capoeira Mandinga Tucson will be conducting all-age capoeira workshops from 3:30-5:00.

*Lisa Levine and friends from the U of A MFA program in creative writing will be painting children’s faces.

*We’ll have two 30 minute open mic sessions—at 4:20 and 5:30—so audience members can add their words to those from the following line-up:

v Ben Quick ¤ Essayist, Poet, Teacher, Activist ¤ Organizer and Host ¤ Hometown: Dixon, IL ¤ ben-quick.com

v Kristen Nelson ¤ Founder and Executive Director of Casa Libre en la Solana ¤ www.kristenenelson.com

v Mike Wilson ¤ Tohono O’odham Human Rights Activist

v Lisa Bowden ¤ Co-founder and Publisher of Kore Press ¤ Kore’s GRRLS Literary Activism Project

v Aisha Sloan ¤ Essayist, Teacher, Activist ¤ Hometown: Los Angeles, CA

v Sewing the Seeds: A Women’s Writing Collective presents: Mari Herreras ¤ Rosi Andrade ¤ Geneva Escobar ¤ Elena Díaz Bjorkquist ¤ Jenny Fiero ¤ Kaitlin Meadows ¤ Wanda Poindexter

v 4:20-4:50 OPEN MIC

v Chet Phillips ¤ Essayist, Poet, Activist ¤ Cascabel Working Group Co-Chair

v Waylon Nakai Begay ¤ Dine Poet, Scholar, Activist ¤ Hometown: Shonto, AZ

v Tucson Youth Poetry Slam and YWCA’s Nuestra Voz present: Sarah Gonzales ¤ Director of Racial Justice Programs, Tucson YWCA ¤ Alexia Vasquez, Sunnyside High Alum ¤ Amy Briseno, Sunnyside High Alum ¤ Enrique Garcia, Junior at Pueblo High

v 5:30-6:00 OPEN MIC

v Lisa O’Neill ¤ Essayist, Teacher, Musician, Activist ¤ Hometown: New Orleans, LA

v Leon De La Rosa ¤ Professor of Art at the Universidad Autónoma de CIudad Juárez ¤ leondelarosa.org

v Ocotillo Poetry Slam, Tucson’s official poetry slam presents: Maya Asher ¤ Shaikh Sammed ¤ Brian Towne ¤ Mickey Randelman ¤ Melissa Della Femina.

*Every artist and performer is Tucson-based and is giving his or her time to help make this historic event a success. We believe in Tucson. Remember:

Everyone is welcome to set up non-staked tents and booths, pass out literature, sign up volunteers, collect petition signatures, grow membership and sponsor rolls, display art of every form, and conduct peaceful campaigns for any inclusive cause.

We encourage–in fact, we need–groups or individuals to provide children’s activities such as face painting, chalk art, and any language-centered expression. Activities that showcase Non-Western cultural or ethnic traditions are especially welcome.

The New Pueblo will be especially grateful to groups willing to donate and distribute bottled water and/or prepackaged food—candy, chips, etc. Buying a few bags of pre-wrapped treats from the 17th St. Market or other grocers carrying international selections of food and passing them out to festival goers is a great way to highlight the gifts of a culture.

If you wish to go further, please contact Pima County Health Department at (866) 939-PIMA (7462) or (520) 243-7770 to ensure health code compliance. If your group possesses a current permit from the PCHD and wishes to distribute unpackaged items, please contact event organizer Ben Quick at bnquick74@gmail.com or bquick@email.arizona.edu, or 520-250-0799. (Ben Quick, Department of English,Modern Languages Building,University of Arizona 85721. Ben’s Personal Webpage and Blog: ben-quick.com).

Be part of this “world’s largest-ever poetry reading”.

13 year old Toby Chivers (rock guitarist) will be the opening performer at the historic Fox Tucson Theatre, before Latin jazz musical group “Descarga”, on Saturday October 9 for the monthly 2nd Saturdays Downtown urban street fest. Concert is free, from 7 to 9 p.m., 17 W. Congress Street. Chivers plays with a teen band called “Deceptively Innocent.”

Toby Chivers

Event schedule to date from website, www.2ndsaturdaysdowntown.org.

Scott Avenue Stage (between Congress St. and Broadway Blvd.):

6:00pm-7:00pm: A Son y Sol (Latin American music with a twist)
7:15pm-8:30pm: Banana Gun (upbeat acoustic)
8:45pm-10:00pm: Jumper (power-pop)

Along Congress Street:

Art Car Exhibit: 10+ vehicles presented by Automorphosis
Odyssey Storytelling: Look for the StoryArts Cart on the topic – “Masks: Hidden Identities”
5:30 pm-6:15pm: 7 Pipers Band – bagpipers
7pm-9pm: Critical Stilts – Stilt walking & dancing
6pm-10pm: Living Statues, presented by Parasol Project (see photo below courtesy of Donovan Durband)

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Ronstadt Transit Center @ 6th Ave & Congress Street:
5:30pm-7pm: Les Avenge – beat boy acrobatics
7:00pm-8:00pm: Desert Melodies
8:00pm-9:00pm: The Technophobes – candy folk music
9:00pm-10:00pm: Honey Pistol – folk rock/indie/acoustic
7pm-9pm: Magician John Coppin
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Indian Village Lot – Kid’s Corner! Between Stone & Scott on Congress:
West wall: Cinema La Placita screens “Alice in Wonderland” & an encore presentation of a compilation of music videos from the Tucson Film & Music Festival.
East Wall: Ultimate Electronics hosts Rock Band video competitions.

Plus art activities for the kids, an anti-gravity jumping device and more!
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Old Pueblo Garage, 27 E. Congress Street:
6pm-8pm: Blanco Cliff & John White – blues

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NW Corner – Congress St./Stone Ave:
6pm-8pm: The Missing Parts – Folk music from an undiscovered country

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SW Corner – Congress St./Stone Ave:
7:30pm-10pm: Les Avenge – Beat boy acrobatics
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Chicago Store, 130 E. Congress Street:
6pm-10pm: One Phat DJ
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June’s Corner Store, 10 E. Broadway Blvd.
6:30pm-8pm: TBA
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Flanagan’s Celtic Corner, 222 E. Congress Street:
Annual Celtic Pumpkin and Gourd Carving Contest. Gift Certificates to Flanagan’s Celtic Corner will be awarded.

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And over at El Presidio Park and the Jacome Library Plaza of the Joel D. Valdez Main library is Tucson Meet Yourself, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., also on Saturday! Read my blog on that annual event (click here).

Upcoming 2nd Saturdays Downtown: Saturday, November 13, 2010 and Saturday, December 11, 2010.