Family Fun

Friday through Sunday, February 12-14
Cochise Cowboy Poetry and Music Gathering
presents Cowboys and Sweethearts
Headline stage performances by leading Western poets and musicians are presented Friday and Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon in the comfortable modern auditorium of the Buena Performing Arts Center in Sierra Vista. Free informal sessions are held all day Saturday. General admission is $18, military and senior, $16, children $6. Tickets are available online at www.cowboypoets.com

Saturday, March 13
Classic Cartoon Melodies
Video clips and the classical music that made Saturday matinee cartoons fun will be combined in this concert theme for kids of all ages. All concerts are presented at the Buena Performing Arts Center in Sierra Vista beginning at 7:30 p.m. Concert ticket prices are: $30, preferred seating; $25 general admission seating; $30 family (with children).

March 20
12th Annual Mariachi Festival
Five bands and a group of dancers take part in this year's Mariachi Festival at Patagonia Lake State Park. A wide variety of Southern Arizona Mariachi bands will appear on stage. 10 am: Mariachi Reyes Band, 11 am: Sunnyside High School Band, Noon: Baile Folklorico Tapatio Dancers, 1 pm: Mariachi Juvenil Batiz Band, 2 pm: Pueblo High School Band, 3 pm: Mariachi Plata Band. Schedule subject to change. In addition, Patagonia State Park offers picnicking, birding and nature walks.

Ongoing:

Tombstone Covered Wagon and Stagecoach tours
With some of the driver/guides the narration of this tour tends to wander somewhat into the land of legend, but the huge, slow-paced horses are wonderful and the stagecoach has been richly re-upholstered in keeping with its original style. There is also a covered wagon option which provides less comfortable seating but a much better view. If you have a small child or grandchild you won't get out of town without taking this ride---every time. We tend to alternate between the covered wagon one visit and the stagecoach the next, just for variety. Kids love it.

Cost: Adults $10.00, Children $5.00. Children four-years-old and under, free. (When we rode, a sign in the wagon notified riders that the driver giving the narration works for tips and since we were the only riders we felt compelled to make a considerable outlay to him as well, but it was worth it. ;>)

BookCloseouts.com offers 5 million NEW books at blowout prices, many under $5.00 with a 100% satisfaction guarantee. Go to bookcloseouts.com and sign up to start saving now.