Growing in the Desert: The History & Culture of the Tohono O’odham with Jacelle Ramon-Sauberan

Pima County Public Library - Caviglia Arivaca Branch

Many Arizonans call the Sonoran Desert and its striking landscapes home. Long before our urban centers and city lights lit up the dark desert skies, the Tohono O’odham were cultivating and shaping the land with abundant agriculture—from squash and beans to corn and cotton. For generations they passed down their rich knowledge and culture grown […]

Rivers of Dreams: Songs and Stories of Arizona’s Waterways with Jay Cravath

Buckeye Public Library - Coyote Branch Library 21699 W Yuma Rd, Suite 116, Buckeye, AZ, United States

The Colorado, the Gila, the Salt, the Verde, the Hassayampa, the Santa Cruz: Arizona’s rivers were lush green ribbons of life flowing through a desert landscape. They became sustaining paths for indigenous traders and immigrants leaving wagon tracks and settlements. The Hohokam built vast canals from the Salt to direct irrigation water for crops. European […]

The Jews of Sosua: An Inspirational Story of Holocaust Survival with Dan Fellner

San Tan Valley Library - Bronze Room (Building A) 31505 N Schnepft Road, San Tan Valley, United States

It is one of the most uplifting – yet often forgotten – stories of Jewish survival during the Holocaust. In the early 1940s, the Dominican Republic was the only sovereign country to accept large numbers of Jewish refugees. About 750 German and Austrian Jews found a safe haven on an abandoned banana plantation in a […]

The Rise of Antisemitism and Nazi Propaganda with Bjorn Krondorfer

Chandler Gilbert Community College 2626 E Pecos Road, Chandler, AZ, United States

In June of 2021, Holocaust education became a required subject in Arizona public middle and high schools, making space for a discussion on the rise of antisemitic propaganda in 20th century Germany. This presentation will begin with a brief look at the early stages of antisemitic messaging in the 1890s, 09’s and WWI into the […]

Take a Hike! Explore, Enhance, and Experience Your Understanding of Arizona with Rodo Sofranac

North Valley Regional Library 40410 N Gavilan Peak Parkway, Anthem, AZ, United States

There are only eleven designated national scenic trails in the United States. Our Grand Canyon State has one of them—the Arizona National Scenic Trail! In this discussion, participants will have opportunities to: explore the history of the creation of Arizona’s greatest volunteer project; enhance their knowledge of Arizona’s diverse geography, animals, plants, and especially people—from […]

Take a Hike! Explore, Enhance, and Experience Your Understanding of Arizona with Rodo Sofranac

Queen Creek Library 21802 South Ellsworth Road, Queen Creek, United States

There are only eleven designated national scenic trails in the United States. Our Grand Canyon State has one of them—the Arizona National Scenic Trail! In this discussion, participants will have opportunities to: explore the history of the creation of Arizona’s greatest volunteer project; enhance their knowledge of Arizona’s diverse geography, animals, plants, and especially people—from […]

Arizona Water Use from Prehistory to the Present with Jim Turner

Foothills Library 19055 N 57th Ave, Glendale, AZ, United States

This presentation covers humankind’s water use and food supply interactions with Arizona’s ecology from Clovis culture hunter-gatherers to prehistoric irrigation canals, contemporary Hopi and Tohono O’odham dry farming, and present-day American farmers. We will examine how overhunting and climate change affected the wooly mammoth populations and the agriculture experiments that followed. From early attempts to […]

Dark Skies Over Arizona with Kevin Schindler

Goodyear Civic Square Lawn and Stage 1900 N Civic Square, Goodyear, United States

There’s nothing like standing under a dark, star-spangled night sky to quiet the mind and reduce stress, share an experience of awe with family and friends, and to inspire creative thoughts. Yet such dark skies are a disappearing resource, with only 20% of the world living in a place where the center of our Milky […]

Indigenous Signs and Symbols: Pee-Posh/Kwatsan with Yolanda Hart Stevens

Suprise City Hall, Council Chambers 16000 N Civic Center Plaza, Surprise, AZ

Native Americans in the U.S. are diverse, and their contributions have enriched our lives in countless ways. People do not always realize the origins of Native contributions to the language, culture, and traditions of the U.S. What are Native signs and symbols? What do they mean? Where do they appear? They can represent animals and […]

FREE

Dark Skies over Arizona with Kevin Schindler

Summit Hall of the Palm Ridge Recreation Center 13800 W Deer Valley Dr, Sun City West, AZ, United States

There’s nothing like standing under a dark, star-spangled night sky to quiet the mind and reduce stress, share an experience of awe with family and friends, and to inspire creative thoughts. Yet such dark skies are a disappearing resource, with only 20% of the world living in a place where the center of our Milky […]

FREE

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