And they are off!

The Quarter Horse Race began at the 80-year-old Lillyt Park Racecourse. Opened in 1943, Lilito Racecourse is considered the birthplace of modern formal quarter horse racing. It was also home to innovation in shooting and photofinishing. For more information, visit rillitoparkfoundation.org/history. From now he’ll find ponies on the track until April 2nd.
11:00am entry, 1:00pm post time, every Saturday and Sunday from Saturday, February 4 through Sunday, April 2, at Rillito Park Racetrack, 4502 N. First Avenue, rillitoracetrack.com$6, $5 Parking

44th Ajo Old Time Fiddler Show and Contest

Road trip! Jamming, dancing, dining, contests, gospel singing and lots more fun at Ajo this weekend! Take a day trip or take an RV, but be sure to bring your fiddle. If you don’t play the fiddle, a mandolin will suffice. Wooden drums and handheld percussion might work well. The music is closer to Hillbilly than Hippie His Hill, but if you like jamming, check out the Gem & Jam His festival info below.
7:00 pm From Thursday, February 2nd to Sunday, February 5th, fiddle shows and dancing from 7:00 pm and other activities at various days and times. ajochamber.com$8 for shows and dances, $8 admission, dry RV parking available for a fee

“Glass Menagerie”

family. It’s amazing that someone writes about something else. Or it’s amazing what anyone has been trying to write about family since Tennessee Williams brilliantly portrayed the complex dynamics of a family in The Glass Menagerie. Production notes from the Arizona Theater Company promise original staging that amplifies its tension and intimacy. It can give us a fresh perspective on how Williams changed the way we tell our stories.Directed by Chanel Bragg.
Various times and days through Saturday, February 11, Temple of Music and Art, 330 S. Scott Avenue, atc.orgwith ticket prices starting at $25

15th Annual Gem & Jam Festival

tie dye? Please wear it if you can. The Pima County Fairgrounds are packed with jam bands for days. Literally three days. A full roster might require reading glasses, but the only bands to play more than once are those that top the bill: The Floozies and emancipator’s String Cheese Incident. Besides music, there will be many food and craft vendors, drum sound workshops, acupuncture, yoga therapy, massage therapy, and his healing practitioners such as the Hanna Somatic educator.
Friday, February 3 through Sunday, February 5, Pima County Fairgrounds, 11300 S. Houghton Road, gemandjamfestival.comday tickets start at $75, with car camping options available for an additional fee.

“Happy Show”

Oracle’s “Art Ranch”, Triangle L Ranch, has been creating spaces for art that can’t fit anywhere else for decades. For example, their annual “Glow” experience showcases large-scale light sculptures. The Sculpture Park is his year-round attraction, and the Adobe Barn Gallery regularly showcases the work of local artists. The current exhibition focuses on works that we rarely see. It’s a selection of art in a variety of media meant to make us laugh, think silly, and yes, be happy.
Sunday, 10am-3pm, Adobe Barn Gallery, Triangle L Ranch, 2805 N. Triangle L Ranch Road, Oracle, triangle lunch.comfreedom

“Stage hand puppet” workshop for 8-18 year olds

The Scoundrel & Scamp Theater Company presents a workshop series that introduces young imaginations to materials and techniques for creating creatures large and small. Groups will also learn to write scripts, create scores, and vocalize what they create. Taught by Lisa Sturz of Red Herring puppets, the course runs from February 11th through her March 25th and concludes with a performance. Sturtz is a career puppeteer who has worked for Walt Disney Imagineering, Jim Henson, PBS, Lucasfilm, and more.
Saturday, February 11-March 25, 10:30-11:45 am, The Scoundrel & Scamp Theatre, 738 N. Fifth Avenue, Suite 131 scoundrelandscamp.org$180 plus $15 materials fee

MOCA and Southern Arizona Senior Pride are offering free tours of the museum’s new exhibit, Cecilia Vicuña: Sonoran Kip. The exhibition features an abstract interpretation of 3D space that defies lines by interacting with the frayed edges of the fabric. This tour also includes the popular ongoing exhibitions ‘Kenneth Tam: Silent Spike’ and ‘Plain Air’. MOCA Education Manager Harrison Orr will guide you.
Sunday, February 5, 2:00-3:30 pm, Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), 265 S. Church Avenue, moca-tucson.orgfree, registration required

reggae sundays

After a four-year hiatus, Tucson’s only Jamaican reggae night returns on Sunday with music by DJ Jahmar and special guests. Start dancing and make new friends. You don’t want to get sick for the Steel Pulse concert at the Rialto Theater on Sunday, February 19th.
5th Feb to 9pm Sunday, DLux Lounge, 1901 S. Fourth Avenue, Free Admission, Weekly Drink Specials

“Colored warrior dance”

Hosted by Amerindo of Tucson, members of the Duncan family will be attending this special event. Dancer and flutist Tony Duncan shares the traditions of his three related tribes in San Carlos, North Dakota, his Apache and Fort his Berthold Reservations. Violet Duncan is Plains Cree and Taino of Kehewin Cree Nation. A former “Miss Indian World,” she writes children’s books that represent native children. Published by Penguin. Champion Hoops his dancer Tony Duncan has performed at the National American Museum of the Indian, The White House and The Tonight Show. Family performances tell stories of indigenous warriors through both traditional and contemporary sets set to a wide range of music.
Sunday, February 5, 2:00 pm, Fox Tucson Theater, 17 W. Congress Street, foxtucson.com$35

FST Live! Return of Female* Storytellers (FST)

“Swipe Left” is the theme and the inspiration for FST’s return to performing live at a new location, The Rock, is Valentine’s Day (has it gone bad?). Proceeds from this month’s event will be donated to the Women’s Foundation. Since 2012, FST has provided a way for women and female-identifying storytellers to share their voices. A new prompt is selected each month, and the storyteller submits her 10- to 15-minute monologue two weeks in advance of her. Find the guidelines on the “If Only . . ” website for March prompts.
Tuesday, February 7, at 7:00 p.m., The Rock, 136 N. Park Avenue, fstorytellers.com$10, 21+