Hola! So many moments to celebrate this July, including your new environment reporter, who loves Tucson and has longtime roots, starting mid-month. Stay tuned for more cool news and good energy. It’s World Cup time. ¡GOOOOL! Our superestrella intern Summer Williams is a fútbol fan and reporting a local story. For now, please read our latest coverage — grief that birthed art, renovating a historic park and our neighbors who came to the U.S. as migrants, gave back and won’t give up on the next generation of migrant familias.
Gracias for making Arizona Luminaria part of your week. We are always grateful to hear from you. We appreciate your support as we temporarily send one newsletter a week so our teammates can take some time off during the desert summer months.
In today’s newsletter:
🎓Carolina Silva built a career helping undocumented students in Tucson access college. Now she’s navigating the most aggressive federal enforcement she’s seen. Learn more about how she’s taking action. | Read en español.
🎉Families gathered at historic Armory Park to enjoy festivities and new facilities, including a plaza, pavilion and dog park. Proposition 407, a $225 million bond package for community capital improvements approved by voters in 2018, funded the renovation. Read more about the celebration.
❤️🩹Después de una experiencia traumática en México, este artista binacional transformó el duelo en las exposiciones Collided Emotions 2025 y Curated Experience 2026 presentadas en Arizona. Lee más. | After a traumatic experience in México, this binational artist transformed grief into the Arizona exhibitions Collided Emotions 2025 and Curated Experience 2026. Read more.
Featured stories
Once undocumented herself, Scholarships A-Z director guides DACA holders through uncertain moment
When Carolina Silva became the first-ever full-time staff member at the Arizona nonprofit Scholarships A-Z in 2020, the energy was high on community efforts to support undocumented youth in Arizona […]
Antes indocumentada, directora de Scholarships A-Z guía a beneficiarios de DACA en tiempo de incertidumbre
Cuando Carolina Silva se convirtió en la primera empleada de tiempo completo de la organización sin fines de lucro Scholarships A-Z, con sede en Arizona, en 2020, había un gran […]
Tucson celebrates $1.7 million renovation and reopening of historic Armory Park
As the sun goes down and the lamp lights turn on Thursday evening, people are wandering in and gathering at the reopening celebration of Armory Park. Families and small groups […]
“El arte no tiene por qué ser hermoso”: La pintura de Esteban Barrón tras la violencia
La pintura de Esteban Barrón cambió con el tiempo. Pasó de los bouquets florales y los paisajes cálidos a formas geométricas influenciadas por la arquitectura. Luego, llegó otro lenguaje: el […]
“Art doesn’t have to be beautiful”: Esteban Barrón’s painting after violence
Esteban Barrón’s painting changed over time. He moved from bouquets of flowers and warm landscapes to geometric forms influenced by architecture. Then came another language: pain. A language built from […]
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Tucson is hosting its 29th annual fireworks show from “A” Mountain/Sentinel Peak Park on Saturday, July 4. Community members can gather for a free viewing of the show at the Tucson Convention Center Parking Lot B starting at 5 p.m. The fireworks will begin at 9 p.m. and will be the city’s last fireworks show at the mountain as it plans to move to drone shows in the future.
Giving back on Independence Day with fireworks, baseball and fun at Pima County’s Diamonds in the Sky Celebration at Kino Sports Park to benefit the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona. The July 4 event begins at 5:30 p.m. and includes games and prizes, facepainting and jumping castles, followed by baseball with Sun Belt College League teams at 6:30 p.m. Postgame fireworks wrap up the evening. Admission is one non-perishable food item or a $1 donation per person. Parking is free and a clear bag policy is in effect.
As the downtown library is relocated from the Joel D. Valdez building to the Wells Fargo Bank building at 150 N. Stone Ave, the library wants to hear what readers want in the new building. Weigh in on spaces, services and programs to help shape your next library space. The survey is available in English and Spanish.
The Children’s Museum Tucson will celebrate its 40th anniversary with a free, family-friendly 1980s-themed birthday party on July 18 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. The after-hours event will feature live music by Dmitri and the Bug Club, dancing, face painting, food trucks and nostalgic activities including Shrinky Dinks, Spirograph, paper airplanes and a tie-dye station (bring your own shirt or purchase one at the event). The celebration is free and open to families, though adults must be accompanied by children. The event will take place at the museum, 200 S. Sixth Ave. More information is available by calling 520-547-0033 or visiting Children’s Museum Tucson.
Take a closer look at Arizona’s housing crisis with the Arizona Faith Network and the Safe Communities Coalition. The organizations are holding Zoom meetings to equip faith leaders, nonprofit professionals, volunteers and community organizations with the tools to understand the issue. That includes talking through the reality that congregations and community organizations increasingly find themselves responding to complex situations with little training or clear organizational policies. The first meeting is July 21st from noon to 1:15 p.m. MST, and the second is July 28th, noon to 1:15 p.m. MST. Register here.
The League of Women Voters of Greater Tucson will host a series of candidate forums for town council races. The events also will be streamed live on Facebook, with recordings available afterward.
- The Marana forum is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, July 9, at the Wheeler Taft Abbett Sr. Library, 7800 N. Schisler Drive.
- The Sahuarita forum is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Saturday, July 11, at the Sahuarita Library, 670 W. Sahuarita Road.
The Sabino Canyon Crawler will resume its Saturday night tours beginning July 4, offering evening rides through the canyon every Saturday through Oct. 31. As Tucson settles into the kind of summer heat that makes the sun seem personally invested in your discomfort, the after-dark tours provide a cooler way to experience the canyon aboard the emission-free electric shuttle, with tickets available online.
Volunteer for the “Experience Our World” simulation event Aug. 12 at Tucson Medical Center, where participants will help demonstrate communication barriers faced by deaf, hard of hearing and deaf and blind patients in healthcare settings. Volunteers must attend a mandatory virtual training session July 22, provide their own transportation and register by July 8.
Lerner & Rowe Gives Back will host free back-to-school backpack giveaways in Yuma and Tucson as part of a multi-city tour that will distribute more than 5,000 backpacks across Arizona. The Yuma event is scheduled for 2 p.m. July 11 at the Yuma County Fairgrounds and the Tucson giveaway begins at 4 p.m. July 13 at the Tucson Convention Center, where 750 backpacks will be available while supplies last and the first 550 children in line also will receive a free pair of shoes, including brands such as Nike, Converse and Vans.
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