Promotional material designed by Marty Taylor, University of Arizona Libraries
“Join us for the opening lecture of Special Collections newest exhibition “40 Years of Tucson Meet Yourself” on Sept. 12 from 6 p.m.-8:30 p.m. The evening includes a discussion about the early days of Tucson Meet Yourself featuring Dr. Jim Griffith, retired UA professor, former director of the Southwest Center and founder and former director of Tucson Meet Yourself.
A panel of notable festival volunteers and friends, including Dan Madden, Loma Griffith, Debbie Friesen, Fred Klein, Richard Morales and Gary Tenen, will also share stories and reminiscences of Tucson Meet Yourself from its earliest days and how it evolved into the largest folk life festival in the Southwest.
This lecture will be at Special Collections. It is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served. For more information, contact Bob Diaz at diazj@u.library.arizona.edu.”
Listen to the program audio here:
A panel discussion with Tucson Meet Yourself volunteers, including Jim and Loma Griffith
Promotional material by Marty Taylor, University of Arizona Libraries
In the mid-2000s I was a board member of Tucson Meet Yourself. Knowing that the 40th anniversary of the event was coming up, I decided to curate an exhibit on the event. Special Collections is home to the archives of the Southwest Folkore Center, which sponsored Tucson Meet Yourself. There was a wealth of materials to choose from, and it was great fun putting this exhibition together.
From the UA News Service: In celebration of the 40th anniversary of Tucson Meet Yourself, the UA Special Collections is hosting “40 Years of Tucson Meet Yourself” through Jan. 10. The special exhibition, curated by Bob Diaz, offers a retrospective review of the origins, traditions and celebrations that define Tucson Meet Yourself.
A view of the exhibition gallery
A display of Tucson Meet Yourself t-shirts
On display at Special Collections, 1510 E. University Blvd., the exhibition includes decades of posters, newspaper articles, programs, photographs and original documents, such as meeting notes. Also included is a music kiosk and a history of the festival’s annual corrido contest as well as a special profile of Griffith, the festival’s founder who is now retired from the UA.
Curated from the Tucson Meet Yourself Archive in Special Collections, which documents the festival from its first year through 1995, the exhibit also includes select items borrowed from the festival headquarters that were recently relocated to the UA Downtown campus in the Roy Place building.
A display of recordings by Lydia Mendoza and Lalo Guerrero, two regional musicians who performed at Tucson Meet Yourself
For more information about the 40th anniversary of Tucson Meet Yourself and the exhibition, see the Zocalo article, “Ephemera and Eccentricities”, by Monica Surfaro Spigelman.
