What's New In Tucson, Arizona: Winter 2021
Boasting more than 350 days of sunshine per year, Tucson, the first UNESCO City of Gastronomy in the U.S, has a “bright” outlook for 2021 with the introduction of new hotels and restaurants, cultural events and art exhibitions, and inspiring alliances that offer a glimpse into Tucson’s collaborative creative community. While Tucson’s natural wonders and wide-open spaces offer solace to relax and recharge, the city’s rich culture driven by artists, makers, gourmands, and entrepreneurs offers another side worth exploring to the Old Pueblo City.
Hotel + Restaurant Happenings
- Hotel McCoy Offers Tucson Entrepreneurs Rent-Free Business Space
The retro-modern art hub, Hotel McCoy, has launched a community support program to transition select guest rooms into rent-free storefronts, offering budding local businesses an opportunity to dream big. The hotel’s first tenant, Latinx-owned Barrio Books, opens its first brick and mortar location this January featuring new and used books by Latinx authors with at least 15% shelf space held for BIPOC and local authors.
- Barrio Charro Opens in January- Barrio Charro brings together two of Tucson’s iconic food personalities: baking legend Don Guerra of Barrio Bread and Chef Carlotta Flores of Si Charro! Restaurant group. Standouts on Barrio Charro’s menu are the signature ¡tortamano!™ sandwich with house-baked Azteca bread made daily from Barrio Grains’ White Sonoran wheat and non-GMO corn flour and the Tucson tlayudas™, shareable Mexican street tostadas with black beans, tres quesos, crema, cilantro, roasted corn & pink onion.
- DoubleTree by Hilton Opens at Tucson Convention Center- Now accepting reservations for March and beyond, the 75-room hotel, directly connected to the Tucson Convention Center, is the perfect business hub as events ramp up with 4,000 square feet of meeting and event space, a mesquite-themed restaurant, and two bars.
- Hacienda Del Sol Guest Ranch Resort Unveils Dramatic Expansion for April
Set in the Catalina Foothills District, Hacienda Del Sol announces forty new guestrooms facing the Santa Catalina and Rincon Mountains, a new pool terrace with two pools, a destination spa, expansive sun deck, fitness facility, local art and firepits. Designed to reflect the natural beauty of the Sonoran Desert, the historic guest ranch has been a relaxing refuge since 1929, offering elegant Southwestern rooms, suites, casitas and two fine dining restaurants.
- Hampton Inn and Home2 Suites by Hilton at Cathedral Square Opens July - With a convenient location in downtown Tucson nearby the Museum of Contemporary Art and Children’s Museum Tucson, the city’s first dual-branded Hilton will feature 200 guestrooms and a common porte-cochere, lobby, and breakfast area, pool and exercise center.
- The Citizen Hotel Opens Fall 2021 - The historic Tucson Citizen building, once home to the city’s oldest newspaper, will soon reopen as a 10-room, wine-centric boutique hotel and tasting room following a $2.5M renovation. The hotel will feature regular wine tastings, barreling onsite, and offer excursions to nearby wine country from local vineyard, Sand-Reckoner Vineyards.
Events + Attractions
- The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures Debuts Pin-Sized Micro Sculptures- On display from February 23 – June 27 2021, “In the Eye of a Needle: Micro Miniatures by Flor Carvajal,” features micro-miniature sculptures so small that they fit on the head of a pin. The U.S. debut for the Columbian artist, Flor Carvajal creates masterpieces with good lighting, a magnifying glass, needles, and synthetic resin. The exhibit, currently open via the museums’ timed-entry ticketing system, features religious and secular pieces.
- Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Embraces Families- Now featuring both virtual and in-person nature exploration programs, the Coati Kids Club is the Desert Museum’s family membership program designed for adventurous kids ages 6 – 12. Club members receive free entry to the museum and exclusive access to themed workshops throughout the year including animal encounters and interactive experiments.
- Tucson Throws A Festival For Books: Everyone is Invited- Hosted from March 6-7, 2021, the annual Tucson Festival of Books is going digital. Live events, hosted at iconic Tucson venues including the Pima County Public Library and the Western National Parks and Science stage, will include author presentations and readings from all genres.
- "Picturing 2020: A Community Reflects”- Featuring works by 150 artists from across Southern Arizona, this online art exhibition is illustrative of the community’s various experiences with the destabilizing events of 2020. While each piece differs in medium and style, spectators will experience themes like resilience, hope, resistance and isolation. The show runs through March 21.
