The Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation will hold a local candlelight memorial Sunday as part of the worldwide 26th International AIDS Candlelight Memorial.

The event will be at Himmel Park, near East Speedway and North Tucson Boulevards. It will start at 5:30 p.m. with music and performances, and the candles will be lit at 7:30 p.m.

The memorial is aimed at reducing stigma and discrimination associated with AIDS; ensuring access to treatment; increasing resources to HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis; and promoting greater involvement by affected communities, SAAF said in a news statement.

Similar candlelight memorials will be held in more than 1,200 communities worldwide.

AIDS group to hold

candlelight memorial

Homicide Survivors will host its annual vigil Saturday to stand up for victims’ rights and remember those killed by violence.

The vigil runs from 6 to 8 p.m. at Children’s Memorial Park, 4851 N. 15th Place. The program includes remarks from survivors, music, a memorial balloon release and candle lighting.

The 25th annual vigil is part of the National Crime Victim Rights Week.

For more information, contact 740-5729.

RYN GARGULINSKI

A giant alligator, sizable skull, jumbo serpent and two big ghosts have found new homes in Tucson, nearly the last of the Magic Carpet Golf statues.

The only concrete statues left from artist Lee Koplin’s collection are the massive sphinx and the roulette wheel. They remain at the defunct golf course at 6125 E. Speedway Blvd.

The sphinx’s interior measures at least 200 square feet, said statue-saver Charlie Spillar, big enough to be transformed into an artist studio or office.

Spillar, an artist himself, is also the spokesman for Valley of the Moon, a 1920s-era fantasy land at 2544 E. Allen Road. Five of the statues are going to Valley of the Moon, while the rest have gone to area businesses or residences.

Anyone interested in the sphinx or roulette wheel can contact Spillar at cspillar@q.com.

Shoppers walk along North Fourth Avenue near East Ninth Street during the Fourth Avenue Spring Street Fair on Sunday. About 400 arts and crafts vendors set up booths.

The 40th annual Fourth Avenue Spring Street Fair has wrapped up, after drawing an estimated 300,000 Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with mixed reviews.

Some said the money was good, even with a faltering national economy.

Other said not as much was being spent by visitors this year.

“I think we’ve had a good turnout of people. Despite all the bad news about the economy, people have decided to go to the fair,” said Kanella Conklin, owner of Kanella’s, a North Fourth Avenue clothing store.

John Sedwick, executive director of the North Fourth Avenue Merchants Association, said the word he was getting from art-booth operators was the revenue from sales at the fair were down about 20 percent.

But vendors, many of whom follow a circuit of street fairs around the country, report that revenue at other street fairs is down 30 to 50 percent, Sedwick said.

“People are not spending at the level of past years, but the artists are pleased,” Sedwick said.

Monica Cota, 34, owner of the Rustic Candle Co. said of the fair, “It’s been good, but it’s been a little slower than the winter one.” A street fair is also held along the avenue in the winter.

People are holding back, “maybe a little,” on their spending because of the economy, said Cota, whose business is on North Fourth.

But, Cota said, “in general, I think it’s going well.”

The street fair, Sedwick said, featured 400 booths, with merchants selling such things as ethnic foods from a variety of cultures, including Greek, Mexican and Thai foods. There also were a variety of arts and crafts and T-shirts being sold along the avenue.

There also were street jugglers, a kids’ hands-on art pavilion, face painting, balloons and a Ferris wheel for the kids, Sedwick said.

In past years, Sedwick said, the fair has drawn between 200,000 and 400,000 people.

The fair, Sedwick said, helps fund a number of non-profit charities each year.

Among those at the fair Sunday were Hector Garcia and his wife, Delores, in Tucson for the weekend from El Paso, Texas, to see a Diamondbacks spring training game.

With the couple was their 9-year-old daughter, Alejandra Garcia.

Sunday was her first time at the street fair and she said, “It’s good, lots of things to look at.

Her mother said the family had not bought anything at the fair other than food, but that was only because they had just arrived early Sunday afternoon.

“We just barely got here,” Delores Garcia said.

She said her family decided to come to the fair after seeing an information pamphlet about it at their hotel.

Alejandra Garcia, 9, of El Paso, Texas, enjoys some brisket on Sunday at the Fourth Avenue Spring Street Fair.

Come join the peace effort at the 6th annual Jewish-Muslim PeaceWalk.

The event starts at 2 p.m. Sunday, going from Congregation Or Chadash, 3939 N. Alvernon Way, to the Al Huda Islamic School, 2800 E. River Road, where a meal will be served at 5:30 p.m.

There will also be activities at Brandi Fenton Park, River Road and the Rillito River, west of Dodge Boulevard.

For more information, call 404-1988 or go to www.peacwalktucson.org.

Kaya, a 16-month-old African lioness, is the newest addition at the Reid Park Zoo. She came from the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park.

The king of the jungle is getting a queen at the Reid Park Zoo.

Kaya, a 16-month-old female African lioness, arrived at the zoo last week and will soon be joining male African lion Kitabu in his habitat.

She’s currently in quarantine, just to make sure she’s “super-healthy” before she’s introduced into the zoo’s population, education curator Vivian VanPeenen said.

The two lions will be more roommates than anything else, as Kitabu had a vasectomy in December.

Even though they won’t be mating, Kaya is expected to bring a playful bounce back into the habitat.

“She will challenge Kitabu to put pep back in his step,” VanPeenen said. Kitabu is still a young 16 years old, and he’s expected to become even more spry with a younger pal.

“She is full grown but still has that sort of baby look to her,” VanPeenen said of the lioness.

Kaya hails from the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park, where her keepers described her as “bold and independent.”

“They said she was incredibly inquisitive and very playful,” VanPeenen said.

A third lion at the Reid Park Zoo, old man M’bali who is 21, will not interact with Kaya.

He’ll stay in the large area behind the scenes when Kaya and Kitabu are in the main exhibit. The lions will be rotated, with the duo behind the scenes when M’bali is on exhibit.

“People will never see all three lions together at once,” VanPeenen explained.

The zoo’s previous female, A-Tatu, used to trade off spending time with both males. She was euthanized in October at age 21 because her quality of life was diminished due to ailments like progressive arthritis.

Kaya, however, may be a bit much for M’bali to deal with.

“For geriatric animals, it’s too much of a challenge,” VanPeenen said.

She said Kaya should be out of quarantine in another two to three weeks.

Prior to Kaya, the most recent additions to the zoo were three little pigs – Visayan warty pigs, to be exact. Pearl, Dakila and Calaya came to the Reid Park Zoo in July.

A Pig Party is planned for the trio at 1 p.m. Sunday, which is National Pig Day.

“We never had pigs before,” VanPeenen said. “This is new for the zoo.”

The Pig Party will feature pig crafts, activities, a warty pig training demonstration and a pig parade for the kids.

The party is free with regular admission to the zoo.

Reid Park Zoo's Visayan warty pigs, another fairly new arrival, will be celebrated at 1 p.m. Sunday with a Pig Party.

ABOVE: Kane Kee Benson is bucked off a horse in the saddle bronc riding event Sunday afternoon at the 71st annual Tohono O'odham Rodeo and Fair in Sells.

LEFT: Erich Rogers competes in the calf roping event. His time was 11.4 seconds.

SELLS – Rodeo fans and fairgoers braved a cold Sunday at the 71st Annual Tohono O’odham Nation Rodeo & Fair.

In addition to the rodeo, there were carnival rides, games and plenty of food.

It is the longest running Indian rodeo in Arizona, said Pete Delgado, spokesperson for the event. The four-day event started Thursday at the Eugene P. Tashquinth Sr. Livestock Complex, on state Route 86, 60 miles west of Tucson.

It’s also an event LaNoa Segundo never likes to miss.

Segundo, 62, was born in Sells and attended the event as a child. It has always been an event family members on and off the reservation traveled to and saw each other at, she said.

“It was always something you did,” she said.

Back then, people looked forward to the dancing and the music, but there has always been a Ferris wheel, she said.

Ki:hod Thomas, 13, and Conrad Williams, 15, both eighth-graders at Baboquivari Middle School in Sells, came for the rides.

Both said they had been going to the rodeo as long as they could remember.

Thomas said he liked being with friends and that it “wasn’t as expensive.”

Teresa Newberry, 51, a science instructor at Tohono O’odham Community College, went on Sunday to set up a school exhibit at the fair’s expo. She took her 10- and 12-year-old children with herand said she was enjoying it.

“I want to see the powwow,” she said. “The kids want to ride the rides.”

Frances Garcia, 6, a first-grader at Indian Oasis Primary School in San Miguel, thought the rides were the best thing at the fair, too.

“The Zipper is the best because you get to go around four times,” she said.

The Zipper is a carnival ride where passengers sit in a cage that spins.

There is one thing she didn’t ride that may be even scarier than the Zipper – a real bucking bronco.

But that is what Shiloh Amiotte, 19, does for a living.

The native of Wanblee, South Dakota, said he has been on the road since November 2008 and does between 60 and 70 rodeos a year.

He said sitting on the horse just before it’s released from its stall for the bareback riding event is always a nerve-wracking experience.

“You’ve got a lot of adrenaline going on, you want to do good,” he said. “So you focus and pretty much you got to block everything out.”

He placed second with 71 points on Sunday.

Parker Reed, 19, of Wickenburg wasn’t as fortunate at team roping. His team didn’t win its events, but it didn’t keep him down.

“It’s a great rodeo,” he said as he practiced lassoing with a plastic cow head on a bale of hay. “There is a lot of money to win.”

Tohono O’odham Nation rodeo

Tohono O’odham Nation rodeo

The 71st annual Tohono O’odham Nation Rodeo and Fair was held Sunday, at the Eugene P. Tashquinth Sr. Livestock Complex in Sells.

Producer: VAL CANEZ/Tucson Citizen

Slide 1 of 13.
Kane Kee Benson gets bucked off a horse in the saddle bronc riding event Sunday afternoon. Benson was competing in the 71st annual Tohono O'odham Rodeo and Fair in Sells. Benson received a no score on the ride.
Source: VAL CANEZ/Tucson CitizenSlide 2 of 13.
Kane Kee Benson gets bucked off a horse in the saddle bronc riding event.
Source: VAL CANEZ/Tucson CitizenSlide 3 of 13.
Shiloh Amiotte, of Wanblee, S.D., competes in the bareback riding event Sunday afternoon. Amiotte received a score of 71 on the ride.
Source: VAL CANEZ/Tucson CitizenSlide 4 of 13.
Shiloh Amiotte, of Wanblee, S.D., competes in the bareback riding event. Amiotte received a score of 71 on the ride.
Source: VAL CANEZ/Tucson CitizenSlide 5 of 13.
Members of the Noligk traditional singers and dancers perform.
Source: VAL CANEZ/Tucson CitizenSlide 6 of 13.
Visitors attend the 71st annual Tohono O'odham Rodeo and Fair.
Source: VAL CANEZ/Tucson CitizenSlide 7 of 13.
Earl Tsosie Jr. competes in the bareback riding event. Tsosie received a score of 70 on the ride.
Source: VAL CANEZ/Tucson CitizenSlide 8 of 13.
Ed Holyan misses the steer in the steer wrestling event. Holyan received a no score on the attempt.
Source: VAL CANEZ/Tucson CitizenSlide 9 of 13.
Brandon Bates competes in the steer wrestling event. Bates received a time of 7.1 seconds.
Source: VAL CANEZ/Tucson CitizenSlide 10 of 13.
Doyle Yazzie competes in the steer wrestling event. Yazzie received a time of 6.4 seconds, which was the best time for Sunday.
Source: VAL CANEZ/Tucson CitizenSlide 11 of 13.
Erich Rogers competes in the steer wrestling event. Rogers received a time of 13.8 seconds.
Source: VAL CANEZ/Tucson CitizenSlide 12 of 13.
Zach Little gets bucked off Red Hills in the saddle bronc riding event. Little received a no score on the ride.
Source: VAL CANEZ/Tucson CitizenSlide 13 of 13.
Erich Rogers competes in the calf roping event. Rogers received a time of 11.4 seconds.
Source: VAL CANEZ/Tucson Citizen

Kruse International show first of its kind for Tucson

Michael Moga leans on a 1970 Plymouth Hemi 'Cuda with a rare A990 Hemi racing engine. The 1971 Hemi 'Cuda (center) has a 426 Hemi engine. The third car is a 1969 Plymouth Roadrunner A-12.

Tucson will get a taste of big-time classic car auctions Feb. 27-28 at the Tucson Convention Center, 260 S. Church Ave., where some cars are expected to sell for more than $1 million, the sponsor said.

The Greater Tucson Collector Car Auction is the first major classic car auction here. It will be put on by Kruse International, based in Auburn, Ind., which had one of the four prominent winter classic car auctions in Phoenix/Scottsdale alongside the high-profile televised Barrett-Jackson auction.

The Tucson auction will feature more than 300 cars, including a 1970 Plymouth A990 Hemi ‘Cuda and a 2009 Bugatti Veyron that could exceed $1.8 million, event sponsor Michael Moga said.

Other cars listed so far are a 1966 Ford Mustang, a 1971 Chevrolet Camaro, a 1954 Chevrolet Corvette and a 1934 Ford Coupe.

Moga, a Tucson resident since 1967, said he negotiated directly with Kruse owner Dean Kruse to land the auction for Tucson.

The Tucson auction is one of 15 collectible car auctions Kruse is staging this year. The list includes the Kruse Fall Auction each Labor Day in Auburn, Ind., which is the largest classic car auction in the world, drawing more than 5,000 vehicles and 200,000 attendees. The Labor Day auction is the fourth largest event in Indiana behind the Indianapolis 500, the Brickyard 400 and the Indiana State Fair, according to the Kruse Web site.

“We want to have our own high-caliber classic car auction,” Moga said.

Moga expects bidders to fly in from as far away as Florida, New York and Mexico City. He thinks there will be more than 200 registered bidders.

Tucsonans can be bidders, too, by paying a $100 bidder fee and being able to verify the source of payment.

Tucsonans can also put their cars on the auction block for $350 for a reserve (minimum) selling price or $250 as a nonreserve entry with no minimum selling price.

Spectators who just want to look at classic cars can get in for $10 per day and children 12 or younger get in free. The auction starts at 10 a.m. each day and runs until 6 to 8 p.m., depending on how sales progress during the day.

More information is available at www.kruse.com/auctions/tucson09.

“It’s a great opportunity for people to view extremely rare and exotic and collectible automobiles,” Moga said.

The Tucson Convention Center has put on car shows and auctions but nothing reaching this caliber, said Kate Breck Calhoun, TCC’s sales and marketing director.

“Because of the huge success with Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale, we’re tapping into an incredibly popular phenomenon,” Calhoun said.

The Kruse auctions started in 1971 in Auburn, where the luxury Duesenberg cars were built, and later that same year Thomas W. Barrett and Russell Jackson brought Dean Kruse in to help start a collector car auction in Phoenix.

“(Kruse is) the originator of the collector car auction,” Moga said. “Kruse started Barrett-Jackson.”

Moga, a Salpointe Catholic High School and University of Arizona graduate, will auction some classic cars from his own collection, which ranges in size from 15 to 33 cars, depending on how much he’s buying or selling. In his stable, he has Corvettes from 1953, 1962 and 1967 and the 1970 Hemi ‘Cuda that will be auctioned.

“That’s the center of my collection,” Moga said about the Hemi ‘Cuda, a model that in past years has brought in a half million dollars at Barrett-Jackson.

Firecrackers, dancing, beauty pageant featured as Vietnamese celebrate

The dragon dance kicked off the festivities during the Vietnamese New Year's celebration at the Our Lady of LaVang Parish, 800 S. Tucson Blvd.

Tiffany Le, 4, loved the dancing dragon. For Cecilia Nguyen, 17, it was the food.

Both were among the more than 1,000 who attended the fifth annual Vietnamese New Year’s celebration at Our Lady of LaVang Parish, 800 S. Tucson Blvd.

“It’s getting bigger every year.” said Anton Tran, who left Vietnam in 1979 and arrived in the United States after spending eight months in Thailand.

Officially, the Vietnamese New Year began Monday, but Tucson Roman Catholic Diocese Bishop Gerald Kicanas authorized a Mass and celebration to occur Sunday, Tran said.

Many of the attendees were Chinese, who are also celebrating the new year with their own festivities, said Jane Trinh, 26, a church spokeswoman.

This year, the Chinese and Vietnamese new year are on the same day, but that is not always the case, Trinh, said.

This new year for both is the Year of the Ox, which represents “prosperity through fortitude and hard work.” Trinh said.

Hard work paid off for Le, who knocked enough stuffed animals off a shelf at a carnival booth.

Wearing a light-blue flowery traditional Vietnamese dress called an ao dai, she won a teddy bear at the Animal Kingdom booth.

Other activities included a beauty pageant, bingo, dance performances and firecrackers to scare away evil spirits.

The church yard was lined with stands selling traditional food.

David Chen, 19, a University of Arizona biochemistry and molecular biophysics major, is Taiwanese-American.

According to Chen, despite cultural differences, the Chinese celebrate the new year much like the Vietnamese. Chen’s mom makes moon cakes and long noodles to celebrate the new year.

And eating long noodles is a good thing.

Short noodles mean you will have a short life, while long noodles give you a long life, said Duyen Kim, 29, a Vietnamese Buddhist who came to the United States in 1993.

People reach for the envelopes on the fortune tree during the Vietnamese New Year's celebration Sunday. It's the Year of the Ox.

By David L. Teibel, Daniel Woolfolk

ABOARD THE GRAMBLING BUS – Jamarius Hunt’s mother called him at 7 a.m. Sunday to make sure he was awake.

His grandmother called 15 minutes later for the same reason.

“They said, ‘You ready?’ ” he says.

“I said, ‘I’m ready.’ ”

Of course he’d be ready for a trip like this.

Hunt, 19, a sophomore at Grambling State University in northern Louisiana, and 200 of his classmates, members of the Grambling State University Tiger Marching Band, boarded four buses shortly after 10 a.m. The caravan is destined for a 1.8-mile stretch of Washington, D.C., where the band will perform in the parade Tuesday honoring the country’s newly sworn-in president, Barack Obama.

Competition to get into the parade was fierce. The Presidential Inaugural Committee had 1,382 applications — three or four times the usual number — for the 94 spots, says spokesman Brent Colburn.

Hunt, who plays the mellophone, an instrument similar to the French horn, says he’s looking forward to having a place in history.

The election of the nation’s first black president “shows me that anything is possible in the world if you set your mind to it and go for it,” he says.

The black-and-yellow-clad band, renowned for its energetic shows and high-stepping precision, has grown used to high-profile gigs over the years, including President Bush’s first inauguration, the first Super Bowl, the Bicentennial celebration at the Washington Monument and the inauguration of Liberian president William Tolbert in 1971. That accounts for the “World Famed” usually added to its title.

But this performance, at this moment in history, carries special meaning for the band and the university. Grambling is a historically black college. Out of the nearly 5,200 students who attended the school in 2007, about 4,500 were African American.

“Our band has had many honors over these many years,” says Horace Judson, Grambling’s president. Marching Tuesday, though, “is not just another honor. This inauguration is not just another inauguration.”

Every band member interviewed supported Obama’s campaign. Many gave him their first-ever vote.

Senior Dawn Wilson, 21, who plays the trumpet, has traveled to Pasadena, Pittsburgh, Dallas, Miami, Reno and other cities with the band. This trip, however, already ranks No. 1 on her list.

Wilson’s family and friends from Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina and Alabama are traveling to Washington to see her perform as history is being made. “I’m proud, and so are my family and friends at home,” she says.

Grambling is the only participant from Louisiana. Among the other units: a high school mariachi band from New Mexico, an Eskimo dance group from Alaska, a Marine Corps junior ROTC color guard and drill team from Missouri and groups from other historically black colleges, including Delaware State University. “The application pool definitely looks like America,” Colburn says.

Every unit in the parade pays for its own transportation and lodging. Larry Pannell, chairman of the Grambling music department and director of bands, estimates the trip will cost $100,000, paid by donations.

The military-style band, influenced by jazz and New Orleans musical traditions, has prepared 10 songs for the parade, including march standards such as “Them Basses” and pop songs like “Let’s Groove,” the Earth, Wind & Fire hit.

It will play Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours” in front of the presidential reviewing stand. The song was played often at Obama campaign events.

Pannell will walk alongside the band. On Election Day, his wife of 34 years, Mary, died after battling cancer. Pannell voted for Obama about two hours later, just after the undertaker left. “I pulled that lever for the two of us,” he says.

Inauguration Day is sure to bring a roller coaster of emotions, he says, and it will have a lasting impact. “I can go back in that classroom and tell them, ‘There are some more Barack Obamas here. But are you ready? Have you prepared yourself?’ ”

Paul Willens, 21, the drum major who will lead the band up Pennsylvania Avenue, says he’s ready — at least for the inauguration.

“It will definitely be a story to be shared with future family,” he says, “to tell them how your dad or granddad was in the inaugural parade of President Obama.”

The downtown First Night Tucson celebration on New Year’s Eve will wrap up with a midnight fireworks show, organizers confirmed Monday.

The Tucson Fire Department gave clearance for fireworks to be launched from near the Tucson Music Hall-Leo Rich Theater plaza, where the countdown to the new year will take place, said Cara Rene, vice president for community relations at Downtown Tucson Partnership.

The fireworks cap off the 11:45 p.m. grand finale that includes a laser light show and the Brazilian rhythms of the local drum-and-dance ensemble Batucaxé.

“It will be very close, fun and intense experience,” Rene said about the proximity of the fireworks show, which will be funded by $10,000 from the Downtown Tucson Development Co.

First Night activities start at 4 p.m. Wednesday at several downtown locations and continue into the midnight hour.

FLAGSTAFF — The winter wonderland of Flagstaff has became a nightmare for many fun seekers, who have been turned away from the Arizona Snowbowl and a U.S. Forest Service snow play area in recent days because they were jammed.

The city of Flagstaff even closed an impromptu sledding area in a detention basin, citing liability concerns.

Hundreds of cars were turned away from Wing Mountain Snow Play Area on Monday because its parking lots were full. The Arizona Snowbowl resort reached its capacity of 3,500 and turned away scores of customers. They also were full on Saturday and the normally short trip from town to the mountain turned into a 3-hour adventure in gridlock.

Several feet of snow has fallen in the past couple of weeks and snowplay conditions are nearly perfect.

Register now to explore the natural lore of the solstice holiday on a night-time drive through Saguaro National Park – Rincon Mountain District on Saturday. The Holiday Car Caravan auto tours will feature several stops along the eight-mile Cactus Forest Drive. Each tour lasts approximately 90 minutes. Cookies and cider will be offered at the visitor center throughout the evening. Space is limited. When: 5:30, 6, 6:30, 7, 7:30 and 8 p.m. Where: 3693 S. Old Spanish Trail Price: Park fees apply – $10 per vehicle or pass Info: 733-5153

Say hello to 2009 with safe, family-oriented fun

Downtown Tucson Partnership is offering a family-oriented New Year’s Eve celebration.

This is the first year for the event, at seven venues in the heart of the city.

Paid admission allows entry to all venues. Buttons are on sale at all Bookmans and Food City stores, The Fox Tucson Theatre, and the partnership’s Web site.

Here are the details.

IF YOU GO

What: First Night Tucson

When: 4 p.m.-midnight Wednesday

Where: Seven downtown locations: • Leo Rich Theater at Tucson Convention Center, Scottish Rite Cathedral and Beowulf Alley Theatre. The ticketed sites feature varied entertainment including Hispanic roots music and dance, bluegrass, jazz, blues and world music, comedy and more. • The Fox Tucson Theatre. Movies will be screened, including a children’s feature from 4-6 p.m. • La Placita Village and Leo Rich Theater Plaza. Continuous free entertainment is featured during the festival. • Tucson Children’s Museum. Free entertainment outdoors from 4-8 p.m. A festival badge will allow attendees inside the museum for hands-on activities.

Price: $12 adults, $6 ages 6-12, free for 5 and younger

Details: 991-7926, downtowntucson.org This family-friendly, alcohol-free festival offers multicultural music, dance, comedy, magic, children’s activities and more. Activities and entertainment lead up to a grand finale at midnight.

COMPLETE SCHEDULE

LEO RICH THEATER at Tucson Convention Center 260 S. Church Ave. (Hispanic roots entertainment) • 4 p.m. Tucson Symphony Orchestra’s String Quartet – “Josefina the Javelina” (a musical adventure) • 5 Mariachi Aguilitas de Davis • 6 Nelly y Javier • 7 Ballet Folklorico Tapatio (traditional Mexican dance) • 8 Los Quatros Vientos (mariachi quartet) • 9 La Mezcla • 10 and 11 Santa Cruz River Band (Southwestern folk music)

SCOTTISH RITE CATHEDRAL 160 S. Scott Ave. • 4 & 5 p.m.: Rodney Housley Children’s Magic Show • 6: Mirror Image (jazz duo) • 7: DeGrazia Spanish Guitar • 8: Silver Thread Trio (folk/jazz/world music) • 9 Leila Lopez (folk fusion) • 10 and 11 Tim Weed (bluegrass)

TUCSON CHILDREN’S MUSEUM 200 S. Sixth Ave. (All outside entertainment is free; festival badge gets you inside for hands-on activities) • 4 p.m. Thorton Willoughby, the Southwestern Wizard (magic) • 5 Human Project New Era (hip-ho

dance) • 6 Sticks and Fingers (percussion) • 7 Puppet Muzik (puppet show)

BEOWULF ALLEY THEATRE 11 S. Sixth Ave. • 4 p.m. Stories that Soar! • 5 Lisa Otey and Diane Van Deurzen (singalong) • 6 Stories that Soar! • 7 Lisa Otey and Diane Van Deurzen (blues) • 8 LaughingStock Comedy Co. (improv) • 9 Angel and the Blues Disciples • 10 LaughingStock Comedy Co. • 11 Angels and the Blues Disciples

FOX TUCSON THEATRE 17 W. Congress St. • 4 and 6 p.m. Free “Spongebob Squarepants: The Movie”

LA PLACITA VILLAGE COURTYARD 110 S. Church Ave. (Free children’s and family-friendly programming) • 4-6 p.m. Face painting • 4 The Dusty Buskers (children’s set) • 5 The Rosano Brothers • 6 Beatnik Dream Vacation • 7 Kate Becker Project • 8 Stefan George • 9 The Tryst • 10 The Evolution • 11 The Dusty Buskers

LEO RICH PLAZA (in front of Leo Rich Theater) 260 S. Church Ave. • Ongoing Art installation by Mat Bevel • 3:30-6 p.m. The Physics Factory • 3:30 Amber Norgaard • 5:30 Mission Creeps • 7:30 Beatnik Dream Vacation • 8:30 Namoli Brennet • 9:30-11:30 El Camino Royales • Midnight grand finale with music and dance by Batucaxé and a countdown laser show.

He pitches in $1,500 for security at event that draws 8,000

Adilene Martinez, 3, gets a stuffed toy dog from Santa during the Miracle on 31st Christmas Party at the Tucson Rodeo Grounds.

A last-minute present from a 10-year-old boy gave thousands of area youngsters something to smile about Wednesday.

David Martinez ensured the annual Miracle on 31st Street Christmas party would go on by donating $1,500 to help pay for security at the event.

Organizer Ramon Gonzales was left scrambling when the agency that normally provides security for the holiday gift giveaway at the Tucson Rodeo Grounds backed out Tuesday.

The city would not allow the event – in its 38th year – to take place without security, Gonzales said.

Hiring off-duty Tucson police officers would cost about $1,200, Gonzales said, but all the funds raised for the event had already been spent on toys.

Enter David, who – though he had already donated $4,000 in toys this year (and $5,000 last Christmas) – provided another $1,500 Tuesday to pay for security.

“This whole party can happen because of that little boy,” Gonzales said.

How a 10-year-old could afford to pay thousands of dollars for security and presents will remain a Christmas mystery, however, because David and his family declined to discuss the donations.

Two police motor officers worked the event while on duty, which meant there was no charge for their services, said Officer Charles Rydzak, a Tucson Police Department spokesman.

And three off-duty officers worked the approximately nine-hour event for $35 an hour each, he said.

“TPD stepped up to bat so the event could go ahead,” he said.

Kids began lining up in the predawn chill at 5:30 a.m. to wait for Santa, who arrived by helicopter shortly after 10 a.m.

Adilene Martinez, 3, and her 2-year-old brother, Javier, were among the first to arrive.

Wearing Bratz shoes and a Barbie sweater, Adilene munched on a hot dog and chips during the wait. Though eager to see Santa, she was tired from getting up so early.

“She was the first one up this morning,” said her father, Angel Martinez. “She really wants to see Santa.”

When her turn came to see St. Nick, Adilene sat on his lap. She left with a big grin on her face, clutching a Care Bear, fashion phone and an astronaut Barbie.

Seven-year-old Alondra Sandoval eagerly awaited her turn to sit on Santa’s lap.

“I’m going to tell him to come to our house and give us lots of presents,” she said.

Food at the event was supplied by Silver Saddle Steak House, which provided chili dogs, chips, sodas and bottled water for the crowd.

Owner Orlando Alva said his restaurant has participated in the event for 23 years.

“As long as Ramon throws this party we’ll be there,” he said. “It’s for the kids. It’s the least we can do to give back.”

Live music and a display of motorcycles and lowriders helped entertain the partygoers.

By the time festivities were were winding down at 2:30 p.m., far more than last year’s total of 8,000 children had received toys, Gonzales said.

Collecting enough toys was again a last-minute scramble, said Gonzales, a retired sheet metal worker.

On Dec. 17, only 700 toys were on hand, he said, but more than 8,000 were collected in the final week of the drive.

“All of a sudden, all these people were knocking on the door. The phone never stopped ringing,” Gonzales said. “Toys for Tots gave us more than 6,000 toys.”

At 1:45 p.m. Wednesday, two trucks filled with toys collected by the Marine Corps Reserve for the Toys for Tots effort arrived at the Rodeo Grounds, destined for area kids. Toys for Tots had been desperate for donations itself this year. But earlier this week car dealer Jim Click donated $25,000 to the drive.

“Every year, the community comes through with the toys, and this year they did,” Gonzales said.

“Thanks to all people who supported this party for years and years and years.”

Gonzales has organized Miracle on 31st Street all 38 years of its existence.

He began throwing the party for a few children in his neighborhood and family in the 400 block of West 31st Street, hence the name.

He hopes Miracle reaches its 40th anniversary, and maybe more.

“God willing, I’ll try for two more years,” he said. “Why not dedicate one day a year to these kids?”

Some of the thousands of kids who lined up to see Santa. Miracle on 31st Street organizers saw to it that more than 8,000 kids received holiday toys and food. Event founder Ramon Gonzales said the turnout was the largest in the 38 years the party has been held.

Alexis Camargo, 4 months old, came dressed like Santa.

Adilene Martinez with her toy dog