9 cool things to do in Tucson this weekend (Jan. 11-14)

Just as it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a lot of different jazz flavors to create a satisfying festival. You can ask Yvonne Ervin, the founder, chief cook and bottle washer for the HSL Properties Tucson Jazz Festival, introducing its fourth annual frolic on Jan.11 with the Chicago-based septet Hypnotic Brass pumping up the Rialto Theatre as the “Bad Boys of Jazz.’

“They’re kind of like your Dirty Dozen Brass Band, but funkier,” said Ervin.

Additional jazz flavors at this 11-day event staged mostly in downtown Tucson are provided by Latin percussionist and singer Sheila E (Jan. 14), the daughter of Latin drumming legend Pete Escovedo; the Mingus Dynasty (Jan. 19), continuing the importance of bassist Charles Mingus’ compositions by performing music from his seminal work “Tijuana Moods,” and Spyro Gyra (Jan.20), a contemporary jazz group that has stayed evergreen since their recording “Morning Dance” hit the charts in 1979.

The most popular TJF tradition is the full day Downtown Jazz Fiesta on Monday, Jan. 15, where admission is free to see 11 local bands fill four stages with the city’s own players getting their own showcase from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

— Chuck Graham

If You Go

What: HSL Properties Tucson Jazz Festival

When: Jan.11-21

Where: Various locations

Tickets: Various prices

Details and reservations here. 

Think you know your "Close Encounters" from your "Last Crusade"?

Head to Crooked Tooth Brewing, 228 E. Sixth St., Thursday evening for a night of Spielberg trivia. 

The winning team gets a $40 gift certificate to Crooked Tooth and the runner-up receives a $20 gift certificate. 

A full list of movies being covered can be found here. 

Don Pedro's Peruvian Bistro food truck recently added a second vehicle to its blossoming fleet, allowing management to place its first truck at a permanent location on Tucson's south side, 4101 S. 12th Ave. 

Once a brick-and-mortar location at Southgate Shopping Center, Don Pedro's has been mobile for well over a year, spreading tasty Peruvian cuisine throughout the valley. 

The food truck will hold a grand opening on South 12th from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. this Friday. 

A meditation on Jacqueline Susann’s “Valley of the Dolls.”

Mind readers and magic.

A comedy about science and math.

These are just tastes of what plays in the upcoming Tucson Fringe Theater Festival are about.

This year’s Fringe Fest — the city’s seventh annual one — features 20 new plays spread over six venues and three days.

The playwrights hail from Tucson, Utah, Washington state — they come from around the country.

Here’s the thing about fringe festivals, which pop up all over the world: They are totally uncurated — scripts are not read before being accepted; rather, entrants’ names are thrown into a hat and pulled out at random. These are new works, many untested.

This year, there were 42 submissions, says Maryann Green, the event’s executive director. That’s up from 39 in 2017, and about 32 the year before that. The Tucson festival is gaining traction and notice internationally — submissions have come from around the world.

- Kathleen Allen

If you go

What: Tucson Fringe Theater Festival

Cost: $10 per show,; $15 for a two-show pass; and $75 for all festival events. Playwrights receive all proceeds frs from ticket sales of their shows; a $3 Fringe button goes to support the festival.

Running time: Most plays run about one hour.

Information: tucsonfringe.org

Et cetera: Check out the fringe facebook page, where reviewers will be posting mini-reviews throughout the event.

Two breweries and a wine bar are set to celebrate anniversaries in Tucson this weekend.

Dillinger Brewing, 3895 N. Oracle Road, and Revel wine bar, 416 E. Ninth Street, have both reached one year, while Sentinel Peak Brewing at 4746 E. Grant Road will be hitting the 4-year mark. 

Dillinger has two days of celebrations planned, both Friday and Saturday, with three barrel-aged beers ready for release. Offerings include Dillinger’s Public Enemy Imperial Stout aged 8 months in a Whiskey Del Bac barrel, a Public Enemy aged 8 months in a Hops and Vines ruby port barrel and the Cherry Sugar Mama, an English strong aged in a Whiskey Del Bac barrel, sitting on a bed of cherries. 

Fat Noodle will serve the eats from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday. Green Fairy Pastries will be there from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday. 

Sentinel Peak’s big event will run all day Saturday (11 a.m.-10:30 p.m.) and will include the return of its Anniversary Strong Ale, as well as carne asada, chicken and pork tacos, and Sonoran hot dogs to eat. 

Sentinel's 4-year anniversary comes on the heels of the brewery announcing that it will be upgrading from a 6-barrel system to a commanding 15-barrel system and relocating production of its beer to a warehouse just south of downtown. Its midtown brewpub will remain open. 

Revel, which sits just off of the south end of North Fourth Avenue, will have complimentary wine tastings from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday. There will be wine and beer specials throughout the evening and a champagne toast at 10 p.m. 

Velvet Panthr will provide the music from 10 to midnight. 

Satisfy your need for vintage Americana at the new Vitnage, located in The Owls Club Garage, 236 S. Scott Ave., downtown. 

The shop,  which will hold a grand opening from 4 to 8 p.m. this Saturday, boasts an array of hard-to-find items, including vintage cowboy boots, Native American silver, tooled leather and photographs. 

Vitnage's regular hours are 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Thursday-Saturday. 

The Yume Japanese Gardens of Tucson, 2130 N. Alvernon Way, has a full day of activities planned to celebrate its fifth anniversary. 

Among the options offered: Morning demonstrations of traditional Japanese flower arranging, origami, taiko drumming and bamboo flute performances, from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Admission is $15 for adults and $7 for students and children 15 and younger. 

Japanese food will be available for purchase. 

Get active with your friends and neighbors at Beyond this Saturday, a day of outdoor activities being held throughout the city. 

Beyond is the annual event created as a way to connect with the community while remembering those who were killed in the Jan. 8, 2011, mass shooting that took place in Tucson.  

The activities include hikes, bike rides, an ultimate frisbee tournament and the Together We Move Beyond main event, happening downtown at Mercado San Agustín, 100 S. Avenida del Convento. 

Get a full rundown of the events on the Beyond website. 

Martin Luther King Jr. will be honored through dance, music and words at “Beyond Tucson: A Time to Break Silence” this Sunday at Centennial Hall, 1020 E. University Blvd. 

The event, meant to coincide with Martin Luther King Day on Monday, will feature collaborative performances from an array of local arts groups, including Artifact Dance Company, UA Dance and the Fred Fox School of Music.  

"A Time to Break Silence" begins at 3 p.m. and is free and open to the public.