For Immediate Release June 24, 2019
Contact: Nancy Valentine
Program Coordinator
Lowe House Project Artist Residency
Along the Santa Cruz River…We Live Here! Festival Coordinator
[email protected] 520-398-9571
Tubac Village-Wide Festival to Celebrate the Santa Cruz River Nov 9
A Day of Experiencing the Cultural and Environmental Heritage
of a Bi-national River that Crosses the US/Mexico Border Twice
A Cultural and Environmental Treasure in the Heart of the
Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area
Along the Santa Cruz River – We Live Here! is a day-long, village-wide free, family friendly festival with an array of discovery happenings in celebration of the bi-national Santa Cruz River in Tubac, Arizona, to be held on Saturday, November 9, 2019, from 10:00AM to 4:00PM.
Situated in the heart of the newly designated Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area, Tubac’s continuous habitation dating back thousands of years can be attributed to the reliable water resource of the Santa Cruz River—a bi-national river that crosses the Mexican Border twice and has been the lifeblood of communities large and small, including Tucson, along its 185-mile route.
Along the Santa Cruz River – We Live Here! activities are complementary to and in support of the Smithsonian Institution’s national traveling WaterWays exhibit hosted by the Tubac Presidio State Historic Park and Museum. Along the Santa Cruz River – We Live Here! is a village-wide collaboration intended to bring the message of the significance of this Santa Cruz Valley waterway “home” through discovery experiences on, about, and along Tubac’s stretch of the Santa Cruz River.
The free, family-friendly line up of events includes a concert, films, art exhibits, talks, and special children’s’ events and activities, open houses, tours, and informational booths all about the Santa Cruz River. These events will radiate from the Smithsonian Institution’s WaterWays exhibit at Tubac Presidio Park and Museum in the heart of Old Town Tubac’s National Historic District to indoor and outdoor venues along the Santa Cruz River and throughout the village proper. All the event locations are within walking distance and easily accessible by vehicle as well.
Guided walk/talks and bird watching will follow the ancient historic route along the Santa Cruz River on the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail. The walk/talks and bird watching will be conducted by knowledgeable members of the Tubac Nature Center, Friends of the Santa Cruz River, and Tubac hiking groups, and will afford hands-on and interactive experiences and discoveries of the riparian habitat and cottonwood/willow forest.
Costumed living history docents will provide guided tours inside historic adobe buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Tubac’s National Historic District. Docents will tell of the lives and times of these rare adobe treasures, some dating back to the mid-1700s. Had it not been for the reliable water source of the Santa Cruz River just down the road, these historical treasures would not have been built and cherished for hundreds of years to this day.
A scavenger hunt with clues relating to the Santa Cruz River, mural painting, and birdhouse making are some of the family-fun activities.
Special guest performers will include Beyond Walls Puppeteers and Teodoro “Ted” Ramirez—Arizona’s Troubador—in concert performing newly composed and traditional story songs about the Santa Cruz River along with southern Arizona musicians and performers.
The Lowe House Project’s Rio Compartido/Shared River exhibit of visual, literary, and performing arts will stimulate understanding and appreciation of the bi-national Santa Cruz River through the arts and humanities. Curators and creatives from Mexico and the United States involved with the Rio Compartido/Shared River exhibit will be on hand to share how their work gives voice to the River through paintings, sculpture, film, and mixed media work. Two-and three dimensional artwork created by Santa Cruz County school children over several years representing River themes will be on display.
During open houses, talks, demonstrations, and exhibits, members of the Friends of the Santa Cruz River, Tubac Historical Society, Tubac Center of the Arts, Anza Trail Coalition, Tubac Village Artists Association and other non-profit organizations within the Upper Santa Cruz River watershed will highlight the rich cultural and environmental heritage of this bi-national waterway shared with Mexico.
A map and schedule of events will be available at the Tubac Presidio State Historic Park, Tubac Center of the Arts, Lowe House Project Artist Residency, Tubac Community Center and participating merchants.
Along the Santa Cruz River -We Live Here is a celebration with a purpose: to educate people reliant on this waterway’s resources of their shared responsibility to ensure the future of the cultural and environmental life sustaining gifts the Santa Cruz River provides.
Along the Santa Cruz River -We Live Here! is be made possible with assistance form AZ Humanities, Tubac non-profit service and community organizations, and generous donations.
For more information and updates, contact Nancy Valentine, Lowe House Project Program Coordinator at [email protected].
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