Updated May 2025. Originally posted November 2017.
Over 30 Arizona museums and attractions offer free passes to local library card holders through the Culture Pass program!
“G’s Horn” sculpture of bronze and living plants by Robert Wick at Tucson Botanical Gardens.
What is a Culture Pass?
Culture Passes are a limited number of free admissions to cultural, historic, and other educational sites in Arizona that libraries make available to patrons. It was created by Act One, a 501(c)3 charitable organization.
Culture Passes from 2017 (old design)
Libraries that offer Culture Passes have a certain number available for each museum, etc. Different libraries have a different selection and number of Culture Passes that they offer.
Great Reading Room at Burton Barr Central Library in Phoenix
About 175 libraries statewide and the library districts for 11 out of Arizona’s 15 counties participate in this program.
Desert Botanical Garden pathway
Who Can Check Out a Culture Pass?
To check out a culture pass you must…
Be a current cardholder for a participating library.
Live in the district (or be a member of the community) that library serves.
Be 18 or over.
“Measures of Separation” sculptures by Nazafarin Lotfi at Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson
How to Use a Culture Pass
Each pass is good for free general admission for two people on one visit.
We’re right smack dab in the middle of Sonoran Restaurant Week, when around 100 (!) restaurants in Tucson and surrounding cities offer special prix fixe menus for $25, $35, or $45 (plus tax and tip). The price often includes several courses that would regularly cost more.
The idea is to encourage diners to try restaurants they haven’t been to, as well as revisiting old favorites. You many need to ask for the Sonoran Restaurant Week menu if you’re at a participating place and don’t see one. Find participating restaurants and menus on TucsonFoodie.com.
View of the city from inside the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tucson.
The University of Arizona Museum of Art (UAMA) wasn’t even open yet the morning after Thanksgiving 1985, when an employee arrived to find a man and a woman already waiting outside. The gregarious couple managed to talk their way in, following the employee into the building.
University of Arizona Museum of Art in 1982 via Gannett.
The woman, wearing a red jacket and a scarf in her hair, chatted up a security guard, while her mustachioed partner went upstairs toward one of the museum’s most important works.
Woman-Ochre had been in the museum’s collection since 1958. It was unceremoniously taken off exhibit when this Black Friday visitor hacked the canvas out of its frame, rolled it up, stuffed it under his jacket (or somewhere), and made a hasty exit with his accomplice.
The empty frame of the missing de Kooning painting via UANews.
The two were peeling out of the parking lot with the painting before anyone at the museum realized what had just occurred. Back then, the UAMA didn’t have security cameras, and there were no leads. All they had was testimony from the few eyewitnesses, police composite sketches, and an empty frame.
Composite police sketches of the thieves, along with the empty frame they left behind. On display at UAMA’s Restored exhibition.
UAMA put the theft insurance money they received from the state into getting surveillance cameras and otherwise tightening up their security.
Possibly unrelated, but the university has also renovated the area, so you can no longer pull a car right up to the front of the museum.
UAMA today – with security cameras.
Periodically, UAMA would remind the public of the missing painting. Staff held out hope for its return, but they really didn’t know if they’d ever see it again.
And, for over 30 years, they didn’t.
Willem de Kooning with Woman I peering over his shoulder, c. 1952. By Kay Bell Reynal, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The Origin: New York 1955
“Beauty becomes petulant to me. I like the grotesque. It’s more joyous.”
The painting they had stolen was Woman-Ochre by Willem de Kooning, who is considered to be one of “the twentieth century’s most influential artists.” He was a contemporary of New York abstract expressionists like Arshile Gorky, Franz Kline, Jackson Pollock, Ad Reinhardt, and Mark Rothko.
Jackson Pollock, Number 20 (from 1950), painted on the back of a game board.
Woman-Ochre is part of the controversial series of Women paintings de Kooning did in the early 1950s. Described by some as “aggressive” or “violent,” they were too abstract to be considered portraits, but the recognizable human forms meant they weren’t abstract enough for de Kooning’s avant-garde friends.
Woman-Ochre by Willem de Kooning, 1955.
Perhaps his refusal to fit neatly into categories is part of what has kept people intrigued by de Kooning’s art over the years. His works are “among the most marketable in the world.” In 2016, his piece Interchange sold for $300 million, making it the world’s most expensive painting at the time. The University of Arizona (UA) estimated Woman-Ochre itself to be worth $160 million in 2005.
The Alters’ home in Cliff, New Mexico. By Cheryl Evans/The Republic.
The Discovery: New Mexico 2017
“…if the thief has kept the painting, he or she eventually dies, and the surviving family finds the painting and tries to sell it. The painting is returned — but the process can take decades.”
–UANews article written in 2015, when Woman-Ochre’s whereabouts were still unknown
In 2017, a retired public school speech therapist named Rita Alter passed away in Cliff, New Mexico, a town of under 300 people. Her husband, Jerry had passed a few years before, so their nephew was left in charge of dealing with the house and eclectic estate.
A tile-covered pyramid, one of the random assortment of possessions the Alters left behind. Image Courtesy of David Farley via Arizona Republic.
Most of the furniture and some other household items were sold as a lot to Manzanita Ridge Furniture + Antiques in nearby Silver City for $2000.
Manzanita Ridge Furniture and Antiques via their Facebook page.
That included an intriguing mid-century painting that was found awkwardly hanging behind the Alters’ bedroom door. Once it was on display in the store, people started asking if it was authentic and offering huge amounts of money for it.
Woman-Ochre hung behind the Alters’ bedroom door. Photo on display at UAMA’s Restored exhibition.
Puzzled, store co-owner David Van Auker removed it from the floor and began researching the painting. The search turned up articles from the 30th anniversary of Woman-Ochre’s theft, which UA publicized to keep the missing work in the public eye.
One UANews article from that time basically called it: “Usually, a stolen painting gets returned to a collection in one of two ways. The thief may try to sell the piece shortly after the heist and get caught. This often takes only a few years. But if the thief has kept the painting, he or she eventually dies, and the surviving family finds the painting and tries to sell it. The painting is returned — but the process can take decades.”
David picked up the phone and called UAMA. “I think I have a piece of art that was stolen from you guys….”
The Co-Owners of Manzanita Ridge Furniture + Antiques. Photo on display in UAMA’s Restored exhibition.
A few days later, museum staff made the 3-hour drive from Tucson to Silver City to authenticate the painting. They were moved to tears when they realized it truly was the piece that had been missing for so long.
“The thieves actually committed two crimes that day. First, they stole an important signature painting from the University’s museum collection. They also stole more than 30 years of access from the public and scholars across the world, depriving them of the opportunity to appreciate, learn from and be inspired by a significant artist.”
How did it get there in the first place? There’s evidence to suggest that the couple who owned the New Mexico home where the de Kooning was found were the ones who had made off with it all those years before. Since they’re both deceased, they won’t get a jury trial. However, we know the pair was in Tucson the day before the heist, celebrating Thanksgiving with family. And they do bear a resemblance to the police sketches made shortly afterwards.
Via ArtNet: “A police sketch of the suspects in the 1985 de Kooning heist released shortly after the crime took place, and a photograph of Jerry and Rita Alter at Thanksgiving dinner in Tucson the day before the robbery. Image courtesy of the police department and Ron Roseman.”
UAMA offered to purchase the painting from Manzanita Ridge, but they refused to accept any money for it.
Aerial view of the Getty Research Institute. Via the Getty blog.
The Restoration: Los Angeles 2019-2022
They didn’t steal [Woman-Ochre] from the museum, they stole it from all of us. From everyone.”
–David Van Auker, the antique store co-owner who found Woman-Ochre
It turns out that violently wrenching an oil painting from its canvas, rolling it up, and then stuffing it under your clothing are not recommended art preservation techniques.
Woman-Ochre close-ups sent to UAMA after its rediscovery in New Mexico.
When Woman-Ochre was finally found, it was a mess. The paint was cracked and flaking off. Damage caused by the theft was made worse by amateur attempts to repair it and the haphazard way it was stapled and screwed into a new frame. (Also not recommended.)
Laura Rivers, Getty paintings conservator, working on the restoration of Woman-Ochre. Via the Getty blog.
The painting was taken to the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, where their team of experts painstakingly assessed and repaired the damage. They were able to use infrared photography and X-radiography to find out exactly what type of materials de Kooning had used to create his painting, so they could treat it appropriately.
Woman-Ochre before restoration: under raking light (left), XRF (Macro X-Ray Fluorescence) scan (middle), close-up of cracked paint (right, top), and microscopic paint cross-section (right, bottom) on display in UAMA’s Restored exhibition.
Conservator Laura Rivers spent months cleaning it and using a microscope and small dental tools to reattach tiny paint fragments piece by piece.
Work restoring the painting went on for about 2.5 years before it was ready to be back on exhibit.
Woman-Ochre on display in UAMA’s Restored exhibition.
The Exhibition: Tucson 2022-2023
“I believe art should be where everyone can see it.”
After an exhibition at the Getty, Woman-Ochre returned to its Tucson home.
Mark Rothko’s Green on Blue (left) and other mid-century works on display in UAMA’s Abstract Perspectives in Mid-Century Art exhibition. You can also see Woman-Ochre (centerpiece of the Restored exhibition) through the doorway on the right side of the photo.
Phillip and I got to see the Restored: The Return of Woman-Ochre exhibition, as well as Abstract Perspectives in Mid-Century Art, which displayed art from de Kooning’s contemporaries, showing the context of his work.
Phillip walks by “Number IV” by Morris Louis, 1957, at UAMA.
Restored wrapped up today, but the Woman-Ochre painting itself will remain on display at UAMA. It will return to museum’s second floor in a gallery that has been renamed the Manzanita Ridge Gallery in honor of the antique store owners who were crucial in its journey home.
Via Manzanita Ridge Antiques on Facebook.
More to Watch + Listen to about Woman-Ochre…
The Thief Collector: Documentary about Woman-Ochre’s theft and the secret lives of the crime’s main suspects. I got to see a screening with my friend Laurel at UA in October. I’ve wanted to recommend it, but there wasn’t really anywhere you could see it. Now it’s finally available to rent or buy on Amazon! (Not endorsing Amazon but glad this gripping yet thoroughly entertaining doc is getting out there!)
The Recovery: 10-minute video by the Arizona Republic.
When the Tucson Rodeo Parade Committee realized they’d have to cancel the 2021 parade, they came up with a creative alternative to the usual crowded streets and packed grandstands – they’d turn the parade inside out!
Wagons and buggies would be pulled out of the Rodeo Parade Musuem and set up along a winding route through the rodeo grounds in South Tucson. For one day, you could drive through it, passing by the floats and entertainment that would normally be passing you by.
In lieu of charging admission, they’d accept donations for Casa de los Niños, a local organization that promotes children’s wellbeing by supporting families. You could drop off school supplies for them in a rodeo bucking chute set up in the Museum parking lot.
We tied a bandanna on Quijote and headed to the rodeo grounds to check it out.
When we arrived, cars were backed up from the entrance, up one side of the street, curled around the dead end, and down the other side. We inched forward, idling in front of a tortilla factory.
Once we were through the front gate, we caught a glimpse of 5 beautiful black draft horses taking a snack break. Apparently, these are Shire horses, a breed that’s supposed to be from Britain, but I suspect may have actually originated in Middle Earth.
Some of the horse-drawn wagons along our route were decorated by local businesses who were sponsoring the event.
Others had been used by early Tucson firefighters and police, and still others were used for ranching, mining, or making deliveries. We even passed a replica of a steam calliope and an old circus wagon with rodeo scenes painted on the side.
We continued on to see the Modelos y Charros de Arizona, a non-profit group dedicated to preserving their Mexican heritage.
The Modelos (models) were wearing super-sized versions of their trademark Mexican folklorico dresses. Since this would probably be the one year they wouldn’t need to be able to actually walk in their embellished hoop skirts, they could really go next level.
They were interspersed with Charros (distinctively-dressed riders of Mexican rodeo – or charrería) demonstrating trick roping.
Also showing off their roping skills were members of the Tucson Arizona Boys Chorus, who swung lassos while recordings played from past choir performances.
High school folklorico dancers performed in front of closed ticket windows.
We drove through a section of wagons from movies and television.
A lot of classic westerns were filmed at Old Tucson Studios and on location in Southern Arizona. The Rodeo Parade Museum often provided antique vehicles for their shoots, like fringe-topped surreys (carriages) for the movie Oklahoma. Or the simple buckboard wagon that retired from working on a farm and went on to appear in the TV series High Chaparral and the film McLintock!
Farther down, the band Gertie and the T.O.Boyz played their signature Waila (old time dance music) tunes.
The final section was devoted to wagons made by F. Ronstadt Wagon Works, founded by Linda Ronstadt’s grandfather.
After that, we exited the west gate and went to get lunch. The band kept playing, the draft horses’ tails flicked away flies. But, like those antique wagons, we were history.
For more on charreada, “Mexico’s original rodeo,” check out this Q+A with painter Edgar Sotelo. (He also explains the difference between a charro and a vaquero.)
Wild Ride: The History and Lore of Rodeo by Joel H. Bernstein: Book they gave away copies of at the drive-through event and a great resource about rodeo history!
Visit the Rodeo Parade Musuem at 4823 S. 6th Avenue, Tucson. It’s open Thursdays through Saturdays. Admission is $10/adults, $2/children.
Alejandro’s Tortilla Factory storefront is located at 5330 S. 12th Avenue, Tucson. You can buy freshly made tortillas and chips and/or order breakfast or lunch from La Cocina Lorena (menu).
You’ll be in the heart of the Best 23 Miles of Mexican Food (north of the border, of course). Nearby 12th Avenue is full of places to get Sonoran hot dogs, tacos, birria, and all kinds of deliciousness!
We picked up food at BK Carne Asada + Hot Dogs after the Rodeo Parade Drive-through. Both the carne asada and the Sonoran dog were excellent!
South Tucson is also known for its abundant murals and mosaics, so keep your eyes open!
The San Xavier Co-op Farm is a cooperative of Tohono O’odham landowners growing traditional crops. They sell honey, dried beans, mesquite flour, and other products in their farm store at 8100 Oidak Wog, Tucson. It’s closed Sundays and Mondays.
The phrase made me pause the first time I heard it, as I tried to make sense of those words together as a unit. I wasn’t aware that rodeos had parades or that parades had museums – until I moved to Tucson.
Rodeo
Officially known as “La Fiesta de los Vaqueros,” Tucson’s Rodeo takes place for nine days in late February. It’s a big enough deal that schools take off the Thursday and Friday of Rodeo Week. There are roping and riding competitions, a large parade, kids’ events, barn dances, a rodeo clinic that’s also a fundraiser for local breast cancer patients, and something called “cowboy church.”
La Fiesta de los Vaqueros was first held in 1925, as a way to preserve Tucson’s cowboy-era culture, while also bringing in tourist dollars.
The idea came from winter visitor and Arizona Polo Associaton president Frederick Leighton Kramer. He met with local business owners, cattlemen, and probably some of his polo buddies to organize the inaugural Tucson Rodeo, which they held at a polo field near his house.
Parade
Before the competitions began, however, there was a 300-person parade down Congress Street. Among the participants were ranchers, U.S. Army bands from the Buffalo Soldier 10th Cavalry and 25th Infantry Regiments, Leighton Kramer’s polo players, and artist/cowboy/part-time Tucson resident Lone Wolf in the impressive regalia of his Blackfeet tribe.
Now considered the longest non-motorized parade in the U.S. (possibly the world), the 2.5-mile long procession of horses, carriages, bands, folk dancers, and decorated wagons continues to be a part of La Fiesta de los Vaqueros tradition. In past years, it has attracted around 200,000 spectators.
Museum
When the historic vehicles are not on parade, they reside in the Tucson Rodeo Parade Musuem on the west side of the current rodeo grounds in South Tucson. Specifically, they’re exhibited in a couple barns and a hangar that’s a holdover from the property’s previous days as an early municipal airport.
After the first Tucson Rodeo Parade, the museum started collecting horse-drawn vehicles and restoring them. In some cases, families donated carriages that they no longer used after switching to automobiles.
In 2021, many of these wagons and buggies were put on display outside of the museum for a special event (which is where most of these photos were taken), but that is a story for another day…
As far as I can tell, “Rodeo Week” in Tucson refers to the 5-day workweek in the middle of the festival. The Rodeo also includes the weekend before and after that, making the whole thing 9 days.
La Fiesta de los Vaqueros is one of the top 25 professional rodeos in the U.S.
Professional rodeos are the ones where the competitors do rodeo full-time (like professional ball players). There are also regional amateur rodeo circuits for people who just want to compete on weekends.
I learned about Tucson schools observing “Rodeo Break” or “Rodeo Vacation” from a friend who grew up here. He always had those days off – and he never went to the rodeo.
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