THEATER

Friday to Saturday, Sept. 10-Oct. 2

• Enjoy the Arizona Theatre Company's production of Backwards in High Heels, the life story of movie legend Ginger Rogers, who danced with Fred Astaire. Details: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 & 7 p.m. Sunday; Temple of Music and Art, 330 S. Scott Ave.; $36-59; 622-2823.

Wednesday to Sunday, Sept. 15-Oct. 3

• Catch a performance of Moonlight and Magnolias, a funny and engaging tale illuminating the behind-the scenes business of movie-making during the golden age of Hollywood. Details: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 3 p.m. Sunday; Invisible Theatre, 1400 N. First Ave.; $25; 882-9721.

Through Sunday, Sept. 19

• Enjoy the Winding Road Theater Ensemble presentation of the family drama Armor, about a budding cellist trying to make sense of a political battle over body armor for our troops in the Middle East and Afghanistan. Details: 7:30 p.m.; 3 p.m. Sunday; Zuzi's Theater, 738 N. Fifth Ave.; $15-18; 401-3626.

MUSIC

Thursday, Sept. 9

• Listen to the sounds of the Plan B Blues Band . Details: 6 p.m.; Park Place Mall, 5870 E. Broadway Blvd.; free; 797-3959.

Friday, Sept. 10

• Kick up your heels at the Tucson Latin Jazz Festival: Salsa Dance Party featuring local band Tito y su Nuevo Son. Details: 7:30-11:30 p.m.; La Placita Village, 100 S. Church Ave.; free; 903-1265.

Saturday, Sept. 11

• Bring a lawn chair or blanket and listen to A Concert in Your Backyard featuring the oldies, gospel and contemporary music of Good Question presented by the Southern Arizona Arts & Cultural Alliance. Details: 7 p.m.; Crossroads at Silverbell District Park, 7548 N. Silverbell Road; free; 797-3959.

• Bring a lawn chair or a blanket to Music in the Park and listen to the Arizona Symphonic Winds under the direction of Laszlo Veres. Details: 7-9 p.m.; Udall Park, 7200 E. Tanque Verde Rd.; free; 721-2068.

• Listen to the Afro-Cuban salsa music of jazz legend Larry Harlow presented by the Tucson Jazz Society. Details: 8 p.m.; Leo Rich Theatre, Tucson Convention Center, 260 S. Church Ave.; $30, $25 in advance; 800-745-3000.

Sunday, Sept. 12

• See Ronnie Milsap in concert at the Diamond Center. Details: 7 p.m.; Desert Diamond Casino, I-19 & Pima Mine Rd.; $30-55, $25-50 in advance; 800-745-3000.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Saturday, Sept. 11

• Bring the whole family to the End of Summer Bash for crafts, games, a scavenger hunt, music skits, videos, refreshments, origami, a balloon artist and more. Details: 9 a.m.-12 p.m.; Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church, 7570 N. Thornydale Rd.; admission is one food item for Interfaith Community Services food banks.

• Take the Tenth Annual Bisbee Bloomer's Garden Tour and visit nine private gardens. Details: 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; $10; 866-244-7233 or discoverbisbee.com.

• Enjoy games, rides, contests, and fun for the whole family at Chuy's Family Fun & Freedom Fest with a portion of the proceeds benefiting local needy families through the Casas Adobes Optimist Club. Details: 11 a.m.-4 p.m.; 4185 W. Ina Rd.; free, but donations welcome.

• Enjoy an urban block party with arts and entertainment, live music, street performers, vendors, multimedia visuals, gallery openings, and more. Details: 5:30-10:30 p.m.; Congress St. & Sixth Ave.; free.

• Enjoy Of Thee I Sing, A Musical Tribute to Local Heroes and honor 10 individuals who have provided outstanding service in the greater Tucson community. Details: 6:30 p.m. social hour, 7:30 event; St. Francis Theater, 4625 E. River Rd.; $20, $15 students/seniors; 647-4921.

• Come out for a 1920s themed Casino Night and silent auction to benefit the non-profit organization Associa Cares, which helps people who have had their homes damaged or destroyed by natural disasters or fire. Details: 7-11 p.m.; Windmill Suites, 4250 N. Campbell Ave.; $50, $35 in advance; 742-5674.

Wednesday, Sept. 15

• Celebrate the Mexican Independence Bicentennial with the Consulate of Mexico featuring mariachi, regional music and folkloric dances. Details: 4 p.m.; Hi Corbett Field, 3400 E. Camino Campestre; free.

Thursdays through Sept. 30

• Enjoy summer evenings in the Tucson Botanical Gardens at Twilight Thursdays . Details: 5-9 p.m.; 2150 N. Alvernon Way; $7, members free; 326-9686.

CLASSES & PROGRAMS

Thursday, Sept. 9

• Take a docent-led Rainwater Harvesting Demonstration Site Tour, illustrating the beneficial effects of designing with nature and making use of rainwater runoff and reducing soil erosion for residential and commercial properties. Details: 8-9 a.m.; The Nature Conservancy, 1510 E. Fort Lowell Rd.; free; 622-3861.

• Learn about Living with Urban Wildlife and ways to discourage wildlife that may become a nuisance. Details: 6:30-8 p.m.; Saguaro National Park East Visitor Center, 3693 S. Old Spanish Trail; free; 733-5158.

Friday, Sept. 10

• Take a Special Behind-the-Scenes Tour of the Arizona State Museum for customers of the Western National Parks Association. Details: 9:15 a.m.-1:45 p.m.; depart from 12880 N. Vistoso Village Dr.; $35 (includes lunch); 626-8381.

• Gain an understanding of the human journey toward happiness, success and spiritual awakening at Inspired Living: From Stressed and Stuck to Happy and Healthy presented by author and Canyon Ranch Resort spiritual director Jonathan Ellerby, PhD., and the Institute of Noetic Sciences. Details: 6:30-8:30 p.m.; Unity of Tucson, 3617 N. Camino Blanco; $5; 399-8285.

Saturday, Sept. 11

• Learn proper harvesting and processing methods for prickly pear fruit to use in a variety of recipes at ethnobotanist Martha Burgess' Prickly Pear Workshop. Details: 9 a.m-12 p.m.; Brandi Fenton Park Visitor Center, 3482 E. River Rd.; $20; 615-7855.

• Learn about Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Thornton Wilder's 1962 Arizona sojourn and its importance in his literary life and in America's literature at his Arizona Days Lecture. Details: 10-11:30 a.m.; Arizona History Museum, 949 E. Second St.; $15, $12 members; 617-1153.

• Learn about our resident wildlife, their habitat needs, and why they may be attracted to your backyard along with a short talk on preventing resource crimes at Environmental Educator Bill Kaufman's presentation Living with Urban Wildlife & Park Neighbor Program. Details: 10-11:30 a.m.; Wheeler-Taft Abbett Sr. Library, 7800 N. Schisler Dr.; free; 594-5200.

• Learn about the History and Development of Our American Legal System as historian and retired prosecutor, defense attorney, and military judge Jack Lasseter shares his insights and experiences. Details: 12 & 2 p.m.; Western National Parks Association, 12880 N. Vistoso Village Dr.; reservations and one can of food for donation to the Catalina Community Services Food Bank required; 622-6014.

• Enhance your graphic art skills through a series of Fantasy in Word and Image Art Workshops for teens and adults presented by artist Adriana McGrew. Details: 1-3 p.m.; Wheeler Taft Abbett Sr. Branch Library, 7800 N. Schisler Dr.; 594-5200.

• Learn about a multitude of topics from horticulture to ethnobotany to interpretation skills at Tucson Botanical Gardens' 9-week Docent Training. Details: 2150 N. Alvernon Way; 326-9686 ext. 39.

• Learn about the Civilian Conservation Corps and its Impact on Saguaro National Park. Details: 2:15 p.m.; Saguaro National Park West, 2700 N. Kinney Rd.; free with $10/vehicle park entrance fee; 733-5158.

Tuesday, Sept. 14

• Explore the history, art and architecture of San Xavier Mission, the White Dove of the Desert at the ARTiculations Lecture Series. Details: 11 a.m.-12 p.m. or 6:30-7:30 p.m.; CRIZMAC Art & Cultural Marketplace, 1642 N. Alvernon Way; free; 323-8555.

Wednesday, Sept. 15

• Attend volunteer docent training for the Memories in the Making project at the Tucson Museum of Art. Details: 9 a.m.; 140 N. Main Ave.; free; 624-2333.

• Hear about the fascinating history of the White Dove of the Desert: San Xavier Mission and the efforts to preserve its artistic legacy from CRIZMAC's Stevie Mack. Details: 12 & 2 p.m.; Western National Parks Association, 12880 N. Vistoso Village Dr.; free but reservations required; 622-6014.

OUTDOORS

Friday, Sept. 10

• Take an easy two-hour naturalist led Night Walk to explore and experience the Sonoran Desert. Details: 7-9 p.m.; Saguaro National Park East, 3693 S. Old Spanish Trail; free with $10/vehicle park fee; 733-5153.

Friday to Saturday, Sept. 10-11

• Go Batty in Tucson and Nogales and watch nectar-eating bats gorge at hummingbird feeders using infrared imaging. Details: Tucson Audubon; $65; $30 members; 629-0510 x7012.

Saturday, Sept. 11

• Take a Honeybee Canyon Park Birding Walk to spot Gambel's quail, verdins, gnatcatchers and other birds of the southwest desert with birding expert Marjorie Flory. Details: 7-9 a.m.; Honeybee Canyon Park, 13880 N. Rancho Vistoso Blvd.; free; 615-7855.

• Bring a flashlight and a blanket and watch thousands of bats fly out from underneath the bridge to forage for food at the Rillito River Project's Bat Night, a collaboration between Tucson Audubon and the University of Arizona. Details: 5:30 p.m.; Rillito riverbed, east of Campbell Avenue Bridge; www.rillitoriverproject.org/bat-night-2010.html.

CHILDREN

Saturday, Sept. 11

• Bring the whole family to the End of Summer Bash for crafts, games, a scavenger hunt, music skits, videos, refreshments, origami, a balloon artist and more. Details: 9 a.m.-12 p.m.; Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church, 7570 N. Thornydale Rd.; admission is one food item for Interfaith Community Services food banks.

• Celebrate The Mini-Time Machine's first anniversary and create a mini birthday cake at the Kids Create Family Fun Program. Details: 1-4 p.m.; Mini-Time Machine Museum, 4455 E. Camp Lowell; $7, $5 youth ages 4-17; 881-0606.

• Launch seltzer rockets with museum mad scientists, visit the rocket launch control room, sample space food, take astronaut tests and more at Titan Moonlight Madness. Details: 5-9 p.m.; Titan Missile Museum, 1580 W. Duval Mine Rd.; $7, under 12 free; 625-7736.

VISUAL ARTS

Thursday to Monday, Sept. 9-Dec. 20

• View the newest University Libraries Special Collections exhibit Stories & Music of the Revolution: A Commemorative Exhibit on the Centennial of Mexico's Revolution with unofficial correspondence among citizens, reminiscences written years after the incidents, photographs, broadsides, sound recordings, government circulars and wood-block engravings illustrating experiences along the border during the turbulent years 1910-1920. Details: 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; 1510 E. University Blvd.; free; www.arizona.edu/libraries.

Sundays, Sept. 12-Oct. 23

• View the encaustics of Pam Ross at the Kaleidoscope Gallery. Details: 10:30 a.m.; Unitarian Universalist Congregation of NW Tucson, 3601 W. Cromwell Dr.; free; 269-3414.

Through Thursday, Sept. 30

• View the Tucson Fire Foundation's Inaugural Photo Exhibit of dramatic photographs honoring Tucson fire fighters. Details: 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday; ART Gallery, 1122 N. Stone Ave.; donations welcome; 405-5800. Public reception Sunday, Sept. 12, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

FILM

Wednesday, Sept. 15

• View films highlighting environmental concerns and solutions and be inspired to get involved in conservation at the Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival presented by the Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection. Details: 6:30-9:30 p.m.; the Loft Cinema, 3233 E. Speedway Blvd.; $10; 388-9925.

HEALTH

Saturday, Sept. 11, Oct. 16, Nov. 20 & Dec. 18

• Explore an ancient healing system of self-care at the Workshop Series: Qigong Fundamentals with gentle movement, natural breath, and postural alignment. Details: 10 a.m.-12 p.m.; Northwest Medical Center Campus, 6060 N. Fountain Plaza Dr., Event Center, Suite 130; $15.00/session, $55.00/series; www.moveintowellbeing.com.