Tucson will be hosting “”The Water Project: Tucson’s Synergistic Water Festival,”” a weekend of films, live performances and panels to promote water conservation and education as a part of World Water Week.
The festival begins on Friday at The Screening Room. A series of nine water-themed short films made by local filmmakers will be screened at 6 p.m. Following the shorts, the feature documentary “”Blue Gold: World Water Wars”” will be screened at 8 p.m. Admission for the events is $5.
On Saturday the festivities will move to Himmel Park in the form of Solar Rock, a totally solar-powered day of music and speakers. Vice mayor Rodney Glassman will introduce the first performers at noon, and throughout the day local policymakers, researchers and musicians will fill the stage. The lineup includes Spirit Familia, the Mitzi Cowell Band, children’s singer-songwriter Bruce Phillips, and 2010’s Arizona Daily Star Battle of the Band winners Soñar. Food, vendors and children’s activities will be available through 6 p.m. The full lineup is available at http://solarrock.wordpress.com/speeches/.
Sunday’s events begin at Sabino Canyon at 10 a.m. where visitors will gather at the picnic area to engage in inter-faith song, prayer and reflection. At 11 a.m. buses begin loading for downtown and the next phase of the festival.
An “”Enviro-Vendor Fair”” will be held from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Armory Park Center. Water-themed exercises and merchandise will be displayed, and public discussions on water sustainability will be held throughout the day. Blake Gentry of the United Nations Association of Southern Arizona will moderate a policy panel and Q&A session with Arizona water officials at 2:30. At 4:30 a panel of researchers and scientists will deliver sustainability presentations. All events of the day are free, with the exception of the 6 p.m. after party, which will feature more live music and speakers and a catered buffet. Admission costs $10.
The festival will continue into the night at People’s Imports, 276 So. Park Ave., celebrating the full moon with music and dancing from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Entry is $5.
The Water Project is an initiative of the Conscious Collective, a community visual and performance arts group that aims to spread environmental awareness as part of the Tucson Arts Brigade. The Tucson Arts Brigade is a nonprofit organization that has been supporting community arts since 1996. One of its most visible contributions to the city is the “”Share the Bounty”” mural at Fourth Avenue’s Winsett Park, near Bison Witches Bar & Deli.
As denizens of the desert, and the world, for that matter, we owe it to ourselves to explore and endorse sustainability. If you can’t stand the heat, tax-deductible donations to the Tucson Arts Brigade can be made at the festival Web site: www.waterprojectfestival.org/.
