Arizona Spotlight

Trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis has always been an ambassador of the purest form of New Orleans jazz. Delfeayo will be performing in the Tucson Jazz Festival at the Rialto Theatre. Also: Three emerging local jazz musicians; and storyteller Jess Losoya shares a story about freedom.

Jazz singer Dominique Eade, rocker Dweezil Zappa, and comedy legend Vicki Lawrence all bring their talents to The Old Pueblo.

We'll take you behind the scenes of the annual “LightsUp!” festival of illumination at Tucson Botanical Gardens. The documentary "Growing Tradition" provides details about this dazzling display that requires more than a million sparkling lights and other decorations. Also: Meet Glenda Bonin a storyteller, magician and puppeteer who shares her "Sleigh Bells" story.

ArtWorks is an all-day program for adults with developmental disabilities. Their art is being displayed at the Joseph Gross Gallery in an exhibit called “Won't You Be My Neighbor”, featuring a series of original house designs that combine imagination with the most important aspects of what makes a house a home. Also: How the Tucson Bird Alliance will be making a difference in 2025; and actor and history buff Fred Pitts brings his one-man show "Aren't You..?" to Tucson.

Learn about an annual art auction event held by BICAS in Tucson - where food and music are also a part of the mix. BICAS is a non-profit bicycle recycling center that helps improve accessibility and independence in our community by making affordable two-wheeled transportation available to everyone. Also: How Ittai Sopher, a former Arizona Spotlight producer, became a "Jeopardy" champion; Marquez Price on the value of doing a digital detox; and "Stories that Soar!

Meet the father and son founders of Spotlight Community Theater. It's a place where curious student-age children can learn about all aspects of the performing arts, with no experience required. Spotlight Community Theater is holding performances of “Cinderella” in December to raise money for charity. Also: A tale of true love that started in Tucson in 1943 that continues today; and historian David Leighton shares the history of the Reid Park Zoo.

“Children of the Holocaust” is a living-history project launched by AZPM. Project producer Laura Markowitz interviewed 20 survivors who were children during the Holocaust, and later settled in Southern Arizona. This week, hear the story of Paula Bronstein, a survivor who escaped the Nazis by hiding in Holland. It saved her life, but cost her her childhood. Bronstein passed away earlier this month, at age 87. Also: Beth Colburn Orozco shares the story of her search for the daughter she never knew.

Also on Arizona Spotlight: Lyse Doucet, chief international correspondent for the BBC, receives the 2024 Zenger Award for Press Freedom from the UA School of Journalism; and Richard Cachor Taylor's talks about his book "Birds of Arizona".

Also on Arizona Spotlight: Voices from the Tucson Pride Festival; emerging UA filmmakers take the stage at San Diego Comic-Con; and historian David Leighton shares the star-studded story of Nick C. Hall.

Featuring: The stars of Live Theatre Workshop's "Misery"; Broadway designer David Korins' creations from "Beetlejuice"; a ghost story from "Stories That Soar!"; and the supernatural invades suburbia in the Ten-Minute Drama "The Jack-O-Lantern".