May 2024
Upcoming Events & Tours
May 2, 6pm, “Borderlands Forum with Atascosa Borderlands”. Atascosa Borderlands is a long-term visual storytelling project by Luke Swenson (Documentary Photographer) and Jack Dash (Naturalist and Writer). Since 2017, they have been working to better understand the Arizona-Sonora Borderlands alongside ecologists, cattle ranchers, humanitarian aid workers, migrants, hunters, ex-border patrol agents, and indigenous community members. This project will ultimately bring together hundreds of original film photographs, oral history interviews, botanical specimens, historical images, and found objects; creating a living archive dedicated to this remote 42-mile section of the US-Mexico border. During this presentation, Luke & Jack will share the photographs and some of the stories they’ve collected so far in this project. Location: BCA Office, 8 Burruel Street, Tubac. Free event - donations welcome. Sponsored in part by a grant from the Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area.
May 3, 8:30am-2pm, “Humanitarian Aid in the Borderlands: A Tour of the Arivaca community’s response”. We’ll meet at BCA’s office in Tubac at 8:30am and hop in a van for a drive to the community of Arivaca. We’ll visit the humanitarian aid office there and hear a presentation from aid workers. We’ll then head to site of a Humane Borders water tank and witness some of the crosses planted as markers to those who have died while migrating. The tour will conclude with lunch at La Gitana Cantina in Arivaca. Tour fee: $45 members; $55 non-members. Includes van transportation, tour guides and lunch. Location: Meet at the BCA Office, 8 Burruel Street at 8:30am. THIS TOUR IS FULL - THERE IS A WAITLIST. Sponsored in part by a grant from the Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area.
May 8, 10-11:30am, Borderlands Literature & Film Circle event: “Mountain Time: A Field Guide to Astonishment” by Renata Golden. Interview & discussion with the author about her new book which interweaves stories from her own life with stories of the ever evolving systems of the Southwest, particularly the Chiricuhua Mountains in southeast Arizona, and by extension all the borderlands sky islands, riparian areas and desert spaces. Event is on Zoom. Free event - Suggested donation of $10. Sponsored in part by a grant from the Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area.
May 14, 9am-1pm, “The Renaissance of Nogales, AZ Tour”. if you haven’t been to downtown Nogales, AZ lately, you’ll be amazed at the beautiful murals and galleries that are popping up. We’ll begin at the old Courthouse on Morley Avenue. This is a walking tour that will take us to the Wittner Museum and La Linea Gallery where Nogales native and historian, Evan Kory, will tell us about efforts to revive the arts culture in Nogales. We’ll walk down Morley and look at the new murals all around and near the border wall. We’ll end with a guided tour of the Pimeria Alta Historical Society Museum. We encourage you to treat yourself to lunch at any of the many great eateries in Nogales, and further explore. Tour fee: $15. Sponsored in part by a grant from the Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area.
May 16, 5:30pm, Borderlands Forum: “Ceremonial & Sacred Plants of Border Cultures”. Join us for a forum with Gary Paul Nabhan, internationally recognized nature writer, agrarian activist, and ethnobiologist. This forum will focus on borderlands plants used for food and medicinal purposes, as well as sacred and ceremonial purposes by various borderlands cultures for millennia. The forum will highlight the work of a new collaboration of tribal spiritual leaders, faith-based nonprofits, scientific organizations and habitat restoration institututes, who are working to restore these important plants and restore their natural habitats. Free event - Suggestion donation of $15. Location: Tin Shed Theater, Patagonia. Sponsored in part by a grant from the Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area.
May 23, 10am, “Hummingbirds of the Borderlands" with Jeff Babson. During this session will hear about the fascinating world of hummingbirds, which are found only in the Americas, from above the Arctic Circle to the southern tip of South America. Jeff owns Sky Island Tours, an environmental education and eco-tour company. Jeff is also the Wildlife Viewing Program Specialist for the Pima County Department of Natural Resources, Parks, and Recreation, where he offers a range of walks and programs on a wide range of topics on the natural world. Free Event, $10 Suggested Donation. On Zoom. Sponsored in part by a grant from the Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area.
To register for events go to www.BorderCommunityAlliance.org
or call (520) 398-3229.
