Tohono Chul offers a diverse array of special events 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 exhibitions, sales, and events.
HAPPENING NOW!
Glowing Pumpkins: A Jack-O-Lantern Adventure
September 21 – October 31
6:30 PM – 10 PM
Tickets available now!
Glowing Pumpkins: A Jack-O-Lantern Adventure, is an outdoor Halloween event featuring over 5,000+ hand-carved pumpkins! This one-of-a-kind walk-through experience is a must-see event of the fall season.
Explore magical pathways of lit pumpkin sculptures and displays, with music, sounds, and special effects. With classic Halloween characters, dinosaurs, superheroes, and movie and pop culture icons, this family-friendly event has something for everyone! Make Glowing Pumpkins, A Jack-O-Lantern Adventure, your new annual family tradition.
Tohono Chul members receive a 25% discount on tickets (VIP tickets excluded) during the first week of Glowing Pumpkins: Thurs, Sept. 21 – Sunday, Sept. 24. Use the code GPTOHONO to take advantage of these savings! (Limit: 4 tickets)
CONCERT SERIES
Sundays in the Garden
Sundays from 1:30 – 3 PM
October 1 – November 26
*No concert on October 15th due to the Fall Plant Sale
Sundays in the Garden is back this Fall! Join us on Sunday afternoons (starting October 1) from 1:30 – 3 pm for an afternoon of sipping wine, listening to live music, and enjoying the beauty of the Gardens. This concert series is FREE with the price of admission and as always, completely FREE for members! Musicians for Sundays in the Garden are brought to you in collaboration with the Tucson Guitar Society. Please note that there will be no concert on Sunday, October 15th due to the Fall Plant Sale.
CONCERT SCHEDULE
• October 1 | Misael Barraza (Flamenco)
• October 8 | Facundo Martinez & Jonathan Rodriguez (Classical Guitar)
• October 15 | no concert
• October 22 | Las Azaleas (Mariachi)
• October 29 | Pima Jazz Band (Jazz)
• November 5 | Tradiciones (Peruvian)
• November 12 | TJI Ellington Big Band (Jazz)
• November 19 | Diana Schaible & Sierra Norris (Classical Guitar/Flute)
• November 26 | Ignacio Mondaca & Dante Olita (Classical Guitar)
JUST FOR KIDS
Fall Children’s Book Signing – Meet Local Authors!
Sunday, October 8
9 AM – 1 PM
Education Center (right next to Children’s Museum Oro Valley)
Free with admission
Calling all young readers! Dive into the world of reading at Tohono Chul’s Fall Children’s Book Signing. Meet the local authors behind your favorite children’s books, discover new stories, and afterward let your littles run free at the Children’s Museum!
PLANT SALE
Fall Plant Sale
MEMBER’S SALE
Wednesday, October 11
9 AM – 3 PM
PUBLIC SALE
Saturday, October 14
& Sunday, October 15
9 AM – 3 PM
Fall is the perfect time to get the goods to transform your backyard into a desert oasis of your dreams thanks to the annual Fall Plant Sale! We will have a wide selection of native, arid-adapted, and landscape-ready plants including unique, hard-to-find specimens. Whether you’re planting them in the ground or in pretty pots, you can rest assured that the plants available are hardy and desert-ready.
FAMILY FUN
Sonoran Cinema Presents The Nightmare Before Christmas
Tuesday, October 24
Gates open | 6:30 PM
Film begins | 7 PM
Tickets available now!
Join us in the Garden Pavilion for family movie night, Tohono Chul style! Enjoy tasty snacks, good company, glowing chairs, and so much more. October’s screening of Sonoran Cinema features Tim Burton’s cult-classic, The Nightmare Before Christmas. Come dressed in your Halloween costume and be entered into a raffle to win 4 tickets to our Holiday Nights event in December! It’s an evening of cinematic wonder and a dash of holiday magic you won’t want to miss.
SPECIAL EVENT
Chiles, Chocolates, & Day of the Dead Festival
Friday, October 27
& Saturday, October 28
9 AM – 4 PM
Tickets available now!
Treat yourself to a delectable fusion of flavors and traditions at Tohono Chul’s biannual Chiles, Chocolates, & Day of the Dead Festival!
Experience the vibrant energy of the Fall season with dozens of food vendors, local craftspeople, and entertainers who fill the gardens with delicious bites, handmade delights, and lively melodies.
Immerse yourself in the artistry of personal ofrendas (altars) crafted by local artists and students, paying homage to the enduring borderland traditions of Día de los Muertos. And don’t miss our community altar, where you can leave recuerdos (remembrances) for your lost loved ones.
CRAFT SALE
Guatemalan Craft Sale
Friday, November 10th
& Saturday, November 11th
10 AM – 3 PM
Garden Pavilion
FREE ADMISSION DURING THE SALE
Now’s your chance to bring a kaleidoscope of color into your home with Tohono Chul’s annual Guatemalan Crafts Sale. For almost a decade Tohono Chul has hosted this trunk sale featuring an array of brilliant beaded jewelry, colorful shawls, handwoven textiles, contemporary purses, vests, table runners and embroidered square-cut blouses also known as traditional huipiles. Each year the items make their trek from small cottage villages in Guatemala to Tucson, bringing along with their vibrancy and a rich history.
EXHIBITS
Amber Vanhatala Stene | Survival in the Sonoran Desert
Through October 22, 2023
Exhibit House Entry Gallery
ARTIST STATEMENT: Taken by the beauty of the succulents of the Sonoran Desert and struck by the desperate conditions under which they survive, I am driven to create works that embrace this ecological anomaly. I start each botanical watercolor work as an abstract pouring that expresses the environmental conditions. Then I integrate the succulent into the pouring, allowing the botanical subject and abstract element to coexist – celebrating the symbiotic relationship between these unique plants and the harsh Sonoran Desert. In these works, I’m creating an aesthetic that embodies the real, the abstract, and the conceptual.
DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS
Through November 5
Exhibit House Main Gallery
The celebration of El Día de los Muertos is a joyful occasion of remembrance, involving feasts and festivities through which death is recognized as a part of the natural process of living. Contemporary celebrations of this holiday bear both ancient traditions and a modern flair and have become a rich part of Tucson’s cultural heritage. Tohono Chul’s biennial exhibition celebrates the creative ways artists honor and enliven this deeply meaningful holiday through artistic expressions of personal and universal significance.
Día de los Muertos will be curated by Tohono Chul Exhibits Staff and Guest Curator, Sandy Villegas.
Image: clockwise from upper left (details): Elisa Salgado, Kristin Harvey, Chuck LaVoie, Karen Wright
EXHIBITS
Betsy Babb | Full Circle
Through November 5
Exhibit House Welcome Gallery
A small selection of drawings from an ongoing series Tucson artist, Betsy Babb, created during the Covid-19 shutdown. Babb’s compositions are built upon the interplay of overlapping primary shapes and colors within a shallow space. Concentrating on the dynamics of variation and sequence, the artist imparts form and movement across each composition, allowing elements to slowly shift into a deeper space. The intensity Babb brings to each surface moves toward the spiritual.
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.