Arizona Illustrated

Happy Tuesday! More than likely, you’ve crossed paths with the Tuesday Night Ride, a mass of cyclists upwards of two hundred in number, who take over the streets in and around downtown Tucson. Collectively riding for about 15 years, the group meets weekly at the same time, same place without fail, rain or shine. Learn why this weekly meetup is so important to this community why they have sustained it for so long. Desert Plants: Mexican Sunflower Tree The Mexican Sunflower Tree (Tithonia Fruticosa) is a giant in this family, that can get to several feet tall and wide. It attracts birds, bees and other wildlife to your Sonoran Desert landscape but can by nipped by very cold temperatures. Dolan Ellis: Arizona’s State Balladeer There’s probably no person alive who knows the songs, history, and myths of Arizona better than Dolan Ellis – because in all likelihood, he’s the one that wrote them. Ellis has been serving as Arizona’s first and only Official State Balladeer, a unique governor-appointed position, since 1966. He has dedicated his life to traveling around the state, writing and collecting stories and songs about Arizona’s most colorful characters, landmarks, and legends. In 1996, Dolan founded the Arizona Folklore Preserve in Ramsey Canyon, a charming venue that continues Dolan’s dream of celebrating the folk songs and cowboy legacies of our state. The theater there still hosts weekly performances by visiting artists. Eric Avery – Life Before Art Avery is a physician, psychiatrist, and printmaker. His social content prints explore issues such as human rights and social responses to disease, death, sexuality, and the body. He transmutes suffering into art. Eric’s motto is “life before art” as he plunges into healing the victims of society wherever he finds them.