If you haven’t seen the 2013 winner of the Academy Awards Best Documentary Feature “Searching for Sugarman”, you need to since the phenomenol star/musician/songwriter of the movie Sixto Rodriguez is coming to Tucson this week.

I wrote a movie review of this inspiring film before it won the Oscar (click here) after I saw it at the Crossroads Festival Theater (where it is still playing once a day). And last week the Loft Theater, which had originally shown this movie, brought it back for one night on April 11.

Seeing this movie the 2nd time brought to reality the role that Rodriguez’s existential, anti-establishment lyrics had on the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa.

The star of the film, Sixto Rodriguez is now on tour, and coming to Tucson on April 19, at the AVA Amphitheater, 5655 W. Valencia Road. Online tickets at tickets.solcasino.com, or call 1-800-344-9435. More info:http://www.rialtotheatre.com/news/archives/2013/02/rodriguez_at_av.html. Originally he was supposed to perform at the Rialto Theater downtown on Congress St, but due to his recent popularity, the venue was changed to the AVA Amphitheater at Casino del Sol, to accommodate the thousands of new fans.

All ages welcome, doors open at 7 p.m., for the 8 p.m. live show. Giant Sand will also be performing, and tickets are $20 and up.

Listen to new phenomenon Rodriguez perform this week, then see the film (or vice versa). DVDs of the film are also already available at Casa Video and at the Pima County Public Library.

Rodriguez’s nationwide tour starts off in Mesa, Arizona on April 18, comes here, then goes on to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, Portland, Salt Lake City, Broomfield (CO), Dallas, Austin, New Orleans, Tampa, Atlanta, Nashville, St. Paul (MN), Chicago, and ends up in his hometown of Detroit, MI, all in a month! Some of his songs are also on youtube.com. I especially like the haunting lyrics of “I Wonder”.

It’s almost three years since the very first 2nd Saturday Downtown kicked off on May 8, 2010 (click here for the first photo gallery), and the fun & excitement has continued every month since then (except for a few nights with a bit of inclement rainy weather, and also on January 8, 2011 after that mass shooting in Tucson).

I’ve been blogging about this monthly event every month before the 2nd Saturday of the month. There’s been free outdoor movies to see hosted by Cinema La Placita and even often free films (or live performances) at The Screening Room (127 E. Congress St.). This Saturday the Cinema La Placita showing is at a new location: the Old Pueblo parking lot, 43 E. Congress St. between Scott & Stone Ave.

There’s been live music bands on the streets of E. Congress and close by, on the large Scott Avenue Stage (between Congress and Broadway), and at both the Fox and Rialto Theaters.

Performing along E. Congress are usually the 7 Pipers Band (Scottish bagpipes), and sometimes the mute or singing/dancing living statues from the Parasol Project. Tucson Circus Artists on stilts are usually entertaining downtown.

Food vendors and art & craft merchants are often selling their wares somewhere near the Scott Avenue Stage (there’s been some changes due to the modern streetcar construction). And eclectic art receptions have been held at Sacred Machine (245 E. Congress), The Drawing Studio (33 S. 6th Ave.), Dragonfly Gallery (146 E. Broadway), and Etherton Gallery (135 S. 6th Ave.)

Check out the event schedule every month at www.2ndsaturdaysdowntown.com.

There’s even entertainment now (or so I hear) on the top of the somewhat new green Pennington Street Garage (110. E. Pennington). This venue is being abbreviated as T.O.P. (Top Of Pennington) with jazz, rock & roll music, etc. Check it out.

And if you’re new to Tucson, or rarely go downtown, here’s your chance to enjoy downtown Tucson, mostly for free at this urban street fest. Just find Congress Street and roam around that area between the Hotel Congress & Rialto Theater on the east end, to the Fox Theater on the west end.

DESIGN CHARRETTE FOR PUBLIC INPUT ON MODERN STREETCAR FOCUS AREA BEGINS MONDAY January 14

The City of Tucson Planning and Development Services Department (PDSD) will be conducting a design charrette for individuals and groups with an interest in the quarter mile focus area of the Tucson Modern Streetcar line (Sun Link). Interested neighbors, business owners, developers and all interested parties are encouraged to attend. The public process will begin with an opening reception on Monday, January 14, 2013 at 6:00 p.m.

A design charrette is a collaborative and open planning process conducted over multiple days. The goal of the Tucson Modern Streetcar Design Charrette is to listen to the community and stakeholders and to develop recommendations based on stakeholders input. A multidisciplinary team, consisting of stakeholders, community, support staff and consultants, will collaborate as part of this effort.

The Tucson Modern Streetcar Design Charrette will offer a variety of opportunities for public input including:

• Initial Visioning public meeting

• Strategy Meetings for identified areas within the Quarter Mile Focus Area of the Sun Link line

• One-on-one meetings for individuals or groups that prefer privacy

• A Public Open House

• A Final Presentation

A detailed schedule, map of the focus area and additional information is available at www.tucsonaz.gov/planning/streetcar_design_charette or by calling Planning and Development Services at 837-4996.

For info contact:

Jim Mazzocco
Planning & Development Services
Jim.Mazzocco@tucsonaz.gov
520-837-6964

The opening reception on January 14 will be at the Rialto Theater, 318 E. Congress St. in downtown Tucson, 6 to 9 p.m.
Go to the online schedule to see the planning process for 6 days, till the final presentation on January 19, 10 a.m. again at the Rialto Theater. See the map below of the Sun Link streetcar line.

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