Tohono O'Odham Baskets

Neighbor Roy and I took off yesterday late morning to soak up some local culture. Hence, we went to the SAACA sponsored Classic Car Show, Blues Fest, and BBQ at the Oro Valley Market Place, and then headed south to the University to check out the Native American arts and crafts on the lawn in front of the AZ State Museum.

Neither of us was impressed with the “art” at the Southwest Indian Art Fair. In general, the arts and crafts were mediocre and overpriced. Tons of jewelry for sale and I didn’t see anything that looked particularly original or unique. I did spot a beautiful bronze sculpture of a mother and child about 30 inches tall and weighing about 90 pounds. I would have bought it but I didn’t have $12,000 in my pocket.

There was one booth displaying Tohono O’odham baskets. The baskets were exceptionally fine, but fine art at the Indian Art Fair was the exception.

The Classic Car Show in Oro Valley was a big hit … very well attended. However, the vast majority of the cars on display were not “classic” in the sense that they had been lovingly restored to their original condition. Almost all of the cars were “custom”… having been chopped, souped up and re-purposed.

We didn’t hear much Blues. We didn’t eat any BBQ. But we certainly enjoyed seeing the cars of our misspent youth. Here are a few photos to give you the sense of the event.

Amazing what one can do with an old Ford

Lincoln Continental. I had forgotten how huge these cars were. Riding in one was like floating on a cloud.

Serious Hot Rod

Chevy Truck Restored

'57 T-Bird. My buddy's mom had one and we thought she was really cool.

'57 Chevy. I had one, but it was not a convertible.

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 19th, 2012 at 9:17 am and is filed under Classic Cars, Day/Weekend Adventures, Fairs & Festivals, Local Art, Native American Culture. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.