¡Feliz cumpleaños, Tucsón!
Tucson’s Birthday Ambassadors are seeking volunteers to help promote the Old Pueblo’s founding 235 years ago. An orientation meeting runs from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Martha Cooper Branch Library, 1377 N. Catalina Ave. Refreshments will be served.
Tucson fashionista Cele Peterson, who died May 6 at age 101, started the month of special events five years ago to celebrate the Old Pueblo’s unique history, cultural diversity and natural wonders.
This year the Ambassadors will attend special events throughout August and text, Twitter, Facebook, photograph, videotape and blog about their experiences while promoting upcoming events, said spokeswoman Linda Ray.
“Their whole job is to go to an event and say, ‘Hey, did you know all this other stuff is going on?’ ” she said. “We really need to get out to all of the events and promote the website so there is a way for everyone to find the one event — or six events — that would be fun for them.”
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Reservations are required to attend the orientation. E-mail tucsonsbirthday@gmail.com to reserve a space. Go to www.tucsonsbirthday.org for more information about the nonprofit Birthday Ambassadors.
Contact reporter Kimberly Matas at kmatas@azstarnet.com or at 573-4191.
History highlights
• 4,100 years ago — Maize arrived from Mexico, and farmers settled in pit house villages along the Santa Cruz River.
• A.D. 800-1450 — Hohokam built ball courts and platform mounds, and made painted pottery and carved shell jewelry.
• 1694 — Tohono O’odham’s first known European contact when Father Eusebio Francisco Kino arrived.
• 1761 — Faction within the O'odham rebelled against Spanish control and killed more than 100 Spanish settlers during the Pima Revolt. In response, the Presidio San Ignacio de Tubac, a Spanish fort, was established in 1762.
• 1797 — Construction of Mission San Xavier del Bac was mostly completed.
• 1854 — Gadsden Treaty made Tucson part of the United States instead of Mexico.
• 1862 — Tucson briefly occupied by a Confederate army unit until Union army soldiers marched in from California to retake the community.
• 1863 — Arizona became a separate territory from New Mexico.
• 1867 — Tucson became the territorial capital.
• 1880 — The Southern Pacific railroad arrived, bringing a flood of new people and consumer goods to the community.
SOURCE: www.tucsonsbirthday.org
Did you know
Tucson is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in North America.
Next month, the Old Pueblo will celebrate its 235th birthday. It was founded on Aug. 20, 1775, by Spanish Capt. Hugo O’Conor, who selected the site for the Presidio San Agustin del Tucson in what is now downtown Tucson.
SOURCES: Metropolitan Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau and www.tucsonsbirthday.org
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