#FATW5 – Week 15 also has a very “Southwestern” look, complimenting last week’s square – ALBUQUERQUE (which completely reminded me of the New Mexico Flag / Zia Sun Symbol) ….. as we move on to TUCSON as this week’s square by Jessica Wifall.

Tucson is known as “America’s biggest small town” and is the second largest city in Arizona, with only Phoenix beating it for size, and was the capital city of Arizona from 1867 to 1877, situated only 60 mi (97 km) north of the US/Mexico border.

Tucson is well known for its love of the arts.….. ALLLLLLL of the arts.

• The Tucson Gem & Mineral Show is one of the largest gem and mineral shows in the entire world and has been held for more then 50 years.
• The Tucson Festival of Books is the 4th largest book festival in the United States, having an astounding 450 authors and 80,000 attendees and still growing!
• For the past 33 years, the Tucson Folk Festival has taken place and highlights 100+ local and regional musicians on multiple stages and is one of the largest free festivals in the country. 
• The Fourth Avenue Street Fair is held twice per year since 1970 and features arts and crafts booths, food vendors and street performers while hosting mostly craftsmen/women selling various arts to include pottery, paintings, wood working, metal decorations, candles, and many more handmade items.
• The Tucson Rodeo, or Fiesta de los Vaqueros, happens in February and marks the beginning of the rodeo season in the United States. It  includes what is known as “the world’s largest non-mechanized parade”.
• Tucson Meet Yourself festival has celebrated the city‘s ethnic groups with dancing, singing, artwork, and food from more than 30 different ethnicities that are featured in the downtown area. All performers are from Tucson and the surrounding area and have been for the past 30+ years.
• Tucson Modernism Week has been hosted every October since 2012 by the Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation.

• The All Souls Procession which is held yearly in November, is one of the largest festivals in Tucson. It combines aspects of many different cultural traditions that have been created to celebrate the Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead).

• The Tucson Fringe Festival which held in various local venues around Downtown Tucson offers non-traditional artistic performances at low cost to the public every January.

Tucson is home to numerous cultural attractions and museums, supports Literary Arts as it is home to hundreds of authors and several Publishing Houses, and Performing Arts as it even boasts the Desert View Performing Arts Center (DVPAC), a State of the Art Theater. Music is a huge part of the Tucson culture ranging from Mariachi to symphony to choirs and even some hip-hop labels.

Tucson is world famous for its Sonoran-style Mexican food. The Sonoran hot dog is extremely popular in Tucson. A hot dog wrapped in bacon and grilled, served on a bolillo-style hot dog bun, and smothered with pinto beans, onions, tomatoes, and an assortment of condiments often also including mayonnaise, mustard, and jalapeño salsa is one of the areas “favorites“.

It is simply no wonder that Tucson is one of Jessica’s favorite places….. and her hometown…… definitely worth a “stop” if one is able to, while supporting all sorts of creative avenues, one is simply bound to find crochet among the vendors while being inspired to create their own amazing works!!!

And now on to the important part…..

PATTERN LINK:

• Tucson Ravelry Link

VIDEO LINKS:

• Right Handed Video Link
• Left Handed Video Link

And Social Media links are a *must* of course…. Jessica can be found on the following platforms:

Ravelry Store: HERE

Instagram: HERE

And of course if you haven’t already….. be sure to check out Jessica’s collaborative pattern: Baby Henry’s Designer Heirloom CAL as it is truly one of the most gorgeous blankets i have ever worked…… and #SnowfallCAL2019 because I know I could certainly use some cooling off right now with this heat wave, and what better way to make that happen then with SNOW and a CROCHET HOOK?!?!?

Until next time….. I think I may have to make some Hatch Chili Salsa and homemade tortilla chips this afternoon to add to my Carné Asada that’s been marinating all week….. because I just need to continue on with my Southwestern vibe from these amazing weeks of designs by Jessica Wifall, and I hope you catch the same creative “bug”!

Happy Crocheting,

Jo💗