A friend Chuck and I drove south from Tucson on I-19 to Tubac for the 53rd Annual Tubac Festival of Arts last week. Tubac is a fun artsy sort of place to visit anytime. During the festival, 175 juried artisans and crafters set up their booths along the streets. Parking is also $6 no matter which way you enter Tubac during the festival (free otherwise). The place is packed during festival week.
New to Chuck and I was Tohono Village, a fairly new structure built by Tohono O'odham tribe. It has room for performances, an oven for baking bread, a saguaro cactus fountain and a shop that sells items made by Native Americans from several tribes. Aztec dancers were going to perform in the small plaza after lunch.
Tubac stores have lots of color. This fountain shop had whimsical metal flowers to decorate your yard. They are a tad large to haul around in an RV, but for the right house or year-round RV lot, would be fun. Another store used the outside of their building to display the many geckos, frogs, lizards and other creatures and designs that could decorate a wall.
A yard of metal horses and some other animals was fun. The wire ones looked ready to take off, while the parts of the blue horse and other creatures like it, would bob up and down or swing when pushed.
There were lots of items for sale that were RV-size or good for gifts. Arts and crafts festivals have unique items, making them a nice place to shop, if the price is right.
I did find a different sort of egg poacher in the kitchen store in Tubac - RV size. Rather than buy a big poaching pan, these cups float in water. You put the raw egg in the cup, which floats in the boiling water until cooked. The first time I used a small frying pan and didn't have enough water. The very top part did not get cooked. The second time I put quite a bit of water in a large pot. Turns out it was too much. One cup spontaneously sunk- drenching the egg! Then, when I tried to pick the other cup up with tongs, it tipped over, letting water in that one. argh.... Next time, I'm going to make sure the depth of the water is such that it cannot go into the cup even if it is resting on the bottom. Maybe tomorrow morning.
While cars were parked in rows, I believe there would be places to park RVs for the festival. There are plenty of places to park RVs during non-festival days. It would be easier to take your tow or toad instead of your RV, if possible. The real question is can you resist buying something else for your RV that you don't really need. It is fun, however, to see how creative these artisans can be. I do suggest getting there early. We parked just a few minutes after it opened so could easily see items in the booths. As it got towards noon, though, the streets got more crowded and it was difficult to see what was being sold. Chuck and I were peopled out by about noon, having had our fill of admiring all the attractive artwork. We headed south for lunch and spices. More next time. Jaimie Hall Bruzenak
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