Sales & Special Events
Tohono Chul offers a diverse array of special events, classes/workshops, daily tours and eco-stations, children’s events, and Ed-Ventures year-round. From the beloved Holiday Nights to the iconic Bloom Night, there is always something going on. Check out what’s happening now as well as upcoming art exhibitions, sales, and events.
Click here to see the full calendar of events.
SUMMER PLANT SALE – THIS FRIDAY & SATURDAY
MONSOON MADNESS | Summer Plant Sale
Friday, July 26 | 3 – 8 PM
Saturday, July 27 | 9 AM – 1 PM
Free Admission During the Sale!
Discover weird and wonderful desert-friendly plants from local plant vendors at Tohono Chul’s annual Monsoon Madness summer plant sale! Find unique succulents, vibrant cacti, and other hardy flora perfect for thriving in arid environments.
Whether you’re a seasoned gardener or just starting your plant journey, you’ll find an impressive selection of rare species, native plants, and expert advice to help your garden flourish at the Monsoon Madness Summer Plant Sale at Tohono Chul!
SUMMER NIGHTS AT TOHONO CHUL
Chillin at the Chul | Live Music, Food, Drinks, & Family Fun
Fridays & Saturdays
6 – 9 PM
May 24th – August 31st
FREE ADMISSION
We are excited to announce the return of our hit summer series, Chillin at the Chul! Join us on Friday and Saturday evenings from 6 to 9 pm for music, refreshing spirits, family-friendly fun, and light bites!
You can literally chill down in the gardens in the shade of mature trees that contribute to a cooling 10° difference in temperature. Saturdays are family-friendly as we’ve partnered with the Children’s Museum Oro Valley to provide nature-based play to keep kids entertained! Admission to Chillin at the Chul is FREE.
Chillin at the Chul is the perfect way to unwind after a long week. Check out the musical acts and menu from the Garden Bistro at the link below!
GET YOUR ZEN ON
Yoga in the Garden with Katie Innes
Thursday Mornings
7:15 – 8:15 AM
*Performance Garden
General Public | $10 + Admission
Members | $10
*DUE TO STORM DAMAGE – THIS THURSDAY’S YOGA IN THE GARDEN WILL TAKE PLACE IN THE CHILDREN’S RAMADA.
Enjoy summer mornings at Tohono Chul with certified Yoga Teacher Katie Innes. Embrace the connection of mind, body, and breath in an inclusive Yoga Flow suitable for all bodies and skill levels. This adaptable practice allows everyone to release and renew. Please bring your mat, water, and any other items to enhance your comfort. Afterwards, take a stroll through the gardens, explore the Exhibit House Galleries, shop locally at our Museum Shops, or savor a bite at the Garden Bistro.
Please pay class fee directly to the instructor – cash is preferred. Thank you!
JUST FOR KIDS
Desert Discovery Mondays – Explore, Play, & Learn!
Monday Mornings
8:30 – 11 AM
June 3 – July 29
Free with Admission
Kids under 5 get in free!
Join us this summer as we get in touch with nature and make some desert discoveries! Each week will focus on a different desert theme – from cactus to clouds. Come gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for the desert we call home. There is something for everyone this summer at Desert Discovery Days! All ages are welcome. Don’t forget to bring a hat and water bottle!
EXHIBITS | ENTRY GALLERY
Queen of the Night
Open through July 28, 2024
Entry Gallery
For one night each year, this fragrant and stunning flower reveals itself to anyone lucky enough to greet it. To celebrate the treasured Peniocereus greggii or night-blooming cereus, in 2024 an exhibition in the Entry Gallery will feature the Queen of the Night in all her glory.
Image: clockwise from upper left (details): Jennifer Phillips, Kelly Houle, Rachel Slick, Steven Derks
FREE LECTURE SERIES
CURIOSITY TALKS | Beyond the Kitsch – The Pervasive Spirit of our Indigenous Creative Community
Thursday, August 1
5:30 -7:30 PM
Wilson Room
Free Event (registration required)
Throughout the Southwest, tourists and locals encounter a range of Indigenous art, from manufactured and imported cultural appropriations to fine art in galleries and museums. The state’s creative Indigenous communities are sometimes lost in what is popularly featured as Native American Art.
In this presentation, Diné jeweler Nanibaa Beck will highlight contemporary Native American Art, focusing on eclectic Indigenous creatives throughout Arizona and beyond. Beck draws examples from her friends, family, and extended kin to demonstrate the diversity of artistic talents, mediums, and philosophical approaches of Indigenous artists. The presentation will leave participants with a better appreciation for the range of Native American creativity the state has to offer.
Stick around after the presentation for drinks and conversation with fellow attendees!
This free program is made possible by Arizona Humanities.
EXHIBITS | MAIN GALLERY
THE EXOTIC SUBLIME | treading softly
Open through August 5, 2024
Main Gallery
THE EXOTIC SUBLIME: treading softly will present a contemporary bestiary focused on the many creatures that walk above or live below the earth in the Sonoran Desert. In plain sight or elusive, real and imagined creatures are ever-present, existing, threatened, mysterious, endangered, mystical, and magical. Or extinct. Mammalian, reptilian, amphibian, aquatic, and arthropodous worlds walk, hop, slither, swim, crawl, creep, and bound around us; resilient lifecycles adaptably ever-changing. Or not. We witness – in macrocosm or microcosm – the effects of time in slow dissolution or methodical accretion; cautionary and symbiotic tales combine what this place used to be with what this place will become. The voice in between, the creative and artistic resolve, is a visionary current toward the odd and wondrous grandeur of The Exotic Sublime.
Image: clockwise from upper left (details): Craig Cully, Dana Smith, Cyndy Padilla, and Bruce Fulton
EXHIBITS | WELCOME GALLERY
Selections from the Roy J. Kurtz Collection of American Indian Art
Open through August 5, 2024
Welcome Gallery
The Roy J. Kurtz Collection of American Indian Art highlights the wide range of basketry that is created in the Desert Southwest, the core of the collection Roy J. Kurtz started when he arrived in Tucson in 1972. The baskets on view (a small fraction of the baskets in the Kurtz Collection) focus on the traditions of Tohono O’odham, Akimel O’odham, and Western Apache artists. The Roy J. Kurtz donation is a gift in progress. His vast collection will provide endless possibilities for Tohono Chul’s Education and Exhibits programs for years to come. Apart from Tohono Chul founders, Dick and Jean Wilson’s original gift, no gift has been as significant in representing the arts and traditions of our region as Roy’s donation.
Image: (clockwise from upper left): Roy J. Kurtz with his collection, Tohono O’odham Man in the Maze Tray, Western Apache polychrome tray, Akimel O’odham olla
VINE & DINE AT THE BISTRO
VINE & DINE | SPIRITS OF MEXICO
Five Course Dinner with Mexican Spirits & Wine Pairings
Thursday, August 15
5:30 – 8:30 PM
Garden Bistro
$125 per seat
Join us at the gorgeous Garden Bistro for an unforgettable five-course culinary experience with local beverage experts!
This August, enjoy locally sourced fare expertly paired with the tasty offerings of Compa Spirits y Vino, a family-owned boutique importer and distributor of Mexican spirits and wine. Each course is carefully crafted by beverage experts and Bistro chefs to create a perfectly balanced dining experience.
The cost of this event is $125 per person which includes a five-course dinner paired with specialty spirits/cocktails, tax and service.
DAILY TOURS
Daily Tours
Available year-round
Butterflies and Their Flowers, Reptile Rample, and Birds of Prey are just some of the seasonal daily tours you can attend to learn more about the nature and wildlife of the Sonoran Desert! Visit our daily tours page for more information.