With the exception of the most ardent collectors and the older generations, the influence and legacy of the big bands is largely forgotten despite their overwhelming popularity and significant role in early radio.  Join Larson as he revisits the sounds that America listened and danced to for more than three decades.  Learn how iconic artists […]

With the exception of the most ardent collectors and the older generations, the influence and legacy of the big bands is largely forgotten despite their overwhelming popularity and significant role in early radio.  Join Larson as he revisits the sounds that America listened and danced to for more than three decades.  Learn how iconic artists […]

Charles Lindbergh is best known for his famous 1927 flight across the Atlantic Ocean. But few realize that Lindbergh and his wife, Anne, played a brief but important role in archaeology. In 1929 they teamed up with noted archaeologist Alfred Kidder to conduct an unprecedented aerial photographic survey of Southwest prehistoric sites and geologic features […]

We commonly assume that the early history of the Pimeria Alta (now Sonora/Arizona) was greatly determined by the Spanish colonizers. But, in reality, the Jesuit Order can be credited with having had the greatest impact on the region, perhaps best represented by Padre Eusebio Kino.  A surprisingly large number of his successors hailed from German-speaking […]

On February 17, 2015, traditional potters and educators Jacob Butler and Ron Carlos (Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community) will share their perspectives on heritage and connecting to the past. Archaeology Café is an informal forum where adults can learn more about the Southwest’s deep history and speak directly to experts. We have based Archaeology Café […]

Just weeks after Pearl Harbor, the War Department announced the construction of a massive ammunition depot ten miles west of Flagstaff. The Army rushed the $17 million project to completion in a spasm of boomtown upheaval. One thousand Navajo and Hopi construction workers stayed on to run the struggling new depot. Meanwhile, the Navy halted […]

This presentation will demonstrate that hip hop and rap is, as Robin D.G. Kelley argues, “arguably the post Civil Rights Era’s highest form of creative, extemporaneous, ever evolving form of communication and expression.” Whitaker will argue that it developed as collective critique of the stigmatization and marginalization of black youth, and has evolved into a […]

U.S. Route 66, known as the “Mother Road,” was built in 1926. It ran from Chicago to L. A. During the depression of the 1930s, it became the major path by which people migrated west, seeking work, warm weather and new opportunities. Shore shares the history of Route 66 in Arizona, including the impact it […]

Discovered in 1863 by Henry Wickenburg, the Vulture Gold Mine was the first big gold mine in Arizona.  The mine and its colorful cast of characters, along with the town of Wickenburg, were instrumental in stimulating considerable growth and development in Central Arizona. This presentation will share the multi-layered story of the gold mine, thus […]

Vicariously experience the environment and atmosphere of a 1960s-era Civil Rights Movement camp.  Through theatrical performance, music, poetry, and participatory activities, audience members will examine the culture of discrimination, racial prejudice, and social injustice in the United States as it was during the 1960s.  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s strategy of passive resistance will be […]

Join the Girl Scouts Arizona Cactus-Pine for a fun family-friendly day of global celebration for all ages! Gather your sister Girl Scouts, friends and family to come tour the world with you. Experience new cultures, foods, games, and crafts from various countries. Learn from cultural advisors, the Kawambe-Omowale African Drum & Dance Theater! Registration Required […]

The 4th Annual Youth and Peace Conference (YPC) is scheduled to take place in Tucson at Higher Ground at Wakefield on February 21, 2015. With strong youth involvement in the conference planning process, YPC is a significant Tucson event empowering youth to be courageous leaders and creative peace-builders. The conference is free and open to […]

A killer camel, a tornado-riding con man, a dead dragon, and a naked horse thief are some of the characters in the quirky stories from Southwest history that Peach loves to share in his original cowboy poetry.  Laugh at and learn from these very tall and mostly true tales, like how Arizona forfeited a seaport […]