Throw on your Bel-Air Prep basketball jersey, your JNCO jeans and cheap sun glasses and grab a spare backpack or calculator, because Arte Bella on 4th Ave is throwing a back-to-school 90s party and school supply drive all day Saturday, July 30.
"We want to celebrate and keep it all Tucson," said Arte Bella owner and operator Jen Christiansen. "That's the biggest part of it, is keeping it in Tucson. We just want to keep everything local."
Christiansen is teaming up with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Tucson to help bring in school supplies for children in need.
Anyone who brings in a backpack, binder, notepads, pens/pencils, calculators, etc. — will earn raffle tickets toward a heap of giveaways and goodies that Christiansen said were donated.
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"Raffles are every hour starting at 1:00 p.m. and we have good prizes," she said. "Like we're gonna have a basket from Prime Leaf, we have Ermano's gift cards, gift cards from us, Fourth Avenue Flower Shop, Downtown Dispensary."
Christiansen confirmed she is still accepting donations from local businesses or non-profits would like to get their name out there with a community that's been overlooked, even since the passage of Prop. 207, which made adult-use marijuana legal in Arizona.
"We want the community to be involved in getting as many donations as humanly possible," she said.
On the vendor side, expect to see Tucson brands very well represented, with Desert Garden Collective/Burr's Best — a pair of local brands run by Tucsonan James Burr — there and offering free pre-rolls to anyone who brings school supplies.
On top of a potential free pre-roll, Christiansen confirmed there will also be a free dab bar with local concentrates up for sample for anyone who would like try. The vendor fair is free and runs from 12 noon until 6 p.m.
There's also some 90s-themed food and drink items available at the bar.
It's a party to help ward away that end of summer feeling by celebrating what's great about Tucson's cannabis scene, all while lending a helping hand.
"This is what we're all about," Christiansen said. "That's what it's been about doing these every other weekend, keeping it local and giving brands a spotlight."
