January 6, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
C.J. Karamargin
Vice Chancellor for Public Information and Government Relations
(520) 206-4850
ckaramargin@pima.edu

Pima CC’s Constitution Corner Inspired by Rep. Giffords’ Congress on Your Corner

Saturday event at West Campus part of community-wide commemoration

Tucson, AZ – On Jan. 8, 2011, a group of Tucsonans went to a Northwest Side supermarket for a Congress on Your Corner event held by U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. They gathered to exercise fundamental American rights to assemble, to petition their representatives, and to speak freely.

Tomorrow, Jan. 7, 2012, another group of Tucsonans will gather at Pima Community College’s West Campus for Constitution Corner, which celebrates the unique strengths of our representative form of government embodied in Congresswoman Giffords’ meeting with her constituents.

Beginning at 8:45 a.m., members of the Tucson community will read from the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and other historic documents. The event is informed by Rep. Giffords’ reading of part of the Constitution after she was sworn in for her third term in January 2010. Among the readers will be PCC employee Ross Zimmerman, whose son Gabe was among the victims on Jan. 8, and other Tucsonans with intimate connections to the tragedy.

Constitution Corner is the centerpiece of Pima’s Festival of Democracy, a morning of free activities for the family at West Campus, 2202 W. Anklam Road.

The Festival begins at 8 a.m. with a 5-kilometer run/walk and includes a health fair, yoga and tai chi activities, presentations by public safety and emergency services personnel, a paint-a-tile public art activity, a concert by the 62^nd Army Band from Fort Huachuca, and a mass sing-along of patriotic songs.

The Festival is of many events being held under the auspices of BEYOND, an umbrella organization dedicated to building a stronger community in the aftermath of Jan. 8.  To learn about BEYOND and the other events, visit www.beyond-tucson.org.

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Founded in 1969, Pima Community College (PCC) serves more than 75,000 students annually and is the eighth largest community college in the United States. PCC offers degrees and certificates in more than 100 transfer and occupational programs on six conveniently located campuses and more than 180 teaching sites throughout Pima County. The College provides flexible course options, affordable tuition, and a wide array of support services. To learn more, visit www.pima.edu or call (520) 206-4500.

The day will be filled with special activities including the Path of the Ancestors Archeology Tour, letter boxing, nature journaling and more to demonstrate our
commitment to peace and healing in Tucson and BEYOND.

Trail Hikes and tour: 9am, 11am, 1pm and 3pm
Singing Bowl concerts: 11am, 1pm and 3pm
For more information contact Colossal Cave Mountain Park at
520.647.7275 ~ 16721 E. Old Spanish Trail, 85641
www.colossalcave.com
(park use fee is waived, thanks to a gift from Ace Hardware)

Read more: http://azstarnet.com/news/opinion/beyond-events-to-commemorate-spirit-of-gabe-zimmerman-on-saturday/article_f93adb08-bc81-50e6-8cf1-8ffbe97b153c.html#ixzz1iXC3MArp

Click here to watch the interview.

January 4, 2011

Contact: Michelle Crow, press@beyond-tucson.org

Local Artists to Showcase Special Projects at BEYOND Outdoor Events on January 7^th, 2012

Tucson, AZ— Artists from across Southern Arizona will be taking part in the BEYOND:  Commemorate * Celebrate * Commit, a community-wide celebration of health, diversity and goodwill, to take place from sun up to sun down across Pima County on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2012.   

This is a unique and special opportunity to create art with and in the Tucson community. BEYOND will bring the people of Tucson together in a day of outdoor activities, arts, and community building. There will be opportunities to be artistic, at several sites throughout the day. Some of the art events include:

• Community Garden of Metal Flowers, Oro Valley Family Fun Day, 23 W. Calle Concordia, 12:00pm-3:00pm.  A collaborative sculpture project to create a commemorative garden of metal flowers, to nurture and heal our community. Shapes were designed by several of the victims of the Safeway shooting and their family members.  Tidhar “Tidi” Ozeri will guide participants in shaping and welding the metal together into a community garden of metal flowers at Kreigh park where the Angel of Steadfast Love made from 9-11 metal was dedicated to Christina Taylor Green.  Contact Tidi Ozeri at 520-481-8073 or tidhar_ozeri@yahoo.com
• Together We Thrive Mural Project, Winsett Park, 316 N 4th Ave, 1:00p.m.-4:00p.m.  Tucson Arts Brigade invites the public to review and comment on the “Together we Thrive” mural design, help repair the mural wall, and draw their ideas and write reflections.  Jan 7^th kickoffs the community design review process, after having gathered ideas through dialogue sessions last fall with students at Howenstine Service Learning Magnet High School. Themes discussed were bullying, violence, the future, stewardship and people working together build a more compassionate world.  Contact Micheal Schwartz 520-791-9359 or 267-266-6822, info@tucsonartsbrigade.org.
• Hike With a Jaguar at “A” Mountain – Sentinel Peak Park (“A” Mountain), 1000 S. Sentinel Peak Road, 8:00am.  Join fellow wild-cat-loving Tucsonans on A-Mountain as we bring our 200 foot hand-made jaguar panels together and display them in front of the “A” for the day.  “Sewing Spots Together” is an interactive sewing art project that shows the inherent beauty of the wild cat and need for biodiversity. Contact Stephanie Bowman at 520-904-2464 or stephanie@bowmansart.com.
• Stories That Soar!, Reid Park, 10:00am-2:00pm. Geared towards children of all ages who have story to share about their experience or reflections of the Jan. 8th tragedy.  Stories are placed in the “Magic Box“ that eats stories and selects some to bring to life through the skills of the multi-talented Stories that Soar actors that will share a selection of the stories back to the community in a live performance in the spring of 2012. Contact Sharon O’Brien at 520-975-9970 or sharon@storiesthatsoar.org.
• Odyssey Story Cart, Reid Park, 10:00am -2:00pm.  Odyssey Storytelling Cart will be waiting for your stories at Reid Park. Come tell us about your experience on January 8 and your memories of that day. Let us know how you think Tucson responded-the good and the not so good, and what we can do to make it better.  Contact Penelope Starr at 520- 730-4112  or penelope@odysseystorytelling.com
• Plein Air Painting with Linda M. Feltner at Saguaro National Park (west), 2700 N. Kinney Road, 8:00am-10:00am.  A professional artist and teacher, and instructor with the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum Art Institute, Linda will be onsite throughout the day, painting the natural beauties of the Sonoran Desert. She will be available to answer questions, demonstrate techniques and most of all encourage those who want to join her and enjoy the plethora of inspirational subjects in the Tucson area. Contact Linda at Linda@lindafletner.com or 520-803-0538.
• The Uzo Method, Tucson Medical Center, 7:00am-10:00am and Reid Park, 10:00am-2:00pm.   The Uzo Method is a local organization that uses dance, music and movement to educate the community about the positive effects of dance on one’s physical and emotional well being as well as illness prevention.  Contact Uzo Nwankpa at 520-229-4712 or nwankpa@gmail.com.
• Community Tree mural project at Sam Lena park: will engage children and their families attending the Native American ReActivate Your Health and Family event.  Participants will be asked to contribute a small message, images, and photos to a tile. The tiles will then be assembled with more than 200 other tiles to reveal a community tree that symbolizes how small efforts of caring individuals can contribute to a large outcome that promotes healing, wellness and unity in our community.  Contact Miriam Zmiewski-Angelova  at 520-903-3980 or mzmiewski-angelova@unitedwaytucson.org. 

• Storytelling with Roni Ashford, Christina-Taylor Green Memorial River Park, 8:30am-11:00am and Oro Valley Family Fun Day, 23 W. Calle Concordia, 12:00pm-3:00pm. Author of My Nana’s Remedies/Los Remedios de mi Nana and Hip, Hip, Hooray, Its Monsoon Day/ Agua, Ya Llego el Chubasco! will read from her stories and help children write and share their own.  Families are also invited to create fresh mini herb bouquets using satin ribbon, fresh mint, fresh rosemary and cinnamon sticks.  Contact Roni Ashford at  trnsl8tr@hotmail.comor  520-982-8054. 
• Beads of Courage.  BoC will have a booth at nearly every BEYOND event where you can pick up information and three very special beads to symbolize Tucson’s STRENGTH, RESILIANCE, and COURAGE.  Two of the beads you will keep and carry with you throughout the day while you work on your particular project(s). One will be an exclusive “BEYOND Tucson” Bead of Courage, and one will be a beautiful red glass bead with leaf designs to show our community’s heart and growth during the past year. Contact Jacob Carter at 520-576-0066 jcarter@beadsofcourage.orgfor more information. 
• University of Arizona Medical Center – South Campus, Behavioral Health Pavilion lobby, 2800 E. Ajo Way,12:00pm-4:00pm.  There will be three activity stations and one workshop supervised by the BHS Expressive Arts Department.  The three stations will consist of the following: an origami making section where participants will be led through the story/mythology and actual hands on fabrication of Japanese Paper Cranes for Peace; a therapeutic poetry section where a certified poetry therapist will instruct in cluster poems, group poems and individual poetry – all based in the healing theme of the Beyond Tucson event and a Group banner/ Flag project where participants will add images, symbols and thoughts of and healing to the surface. There will also be a 30 minute Expressive Arts Introductory Workshop that will include the live music of the violinist Michael Sigler where participants will be led through a guided relaxation technique through voice and music – and then move into creative process to ground the experience.   Contact Catherine Firpo at 520-874-2857 or Catherine.Firpo@uahealth.com.        

In the months after the Jan. 8 tragedy, members of Gabe Zimmerman’s family and a diverse coalition of community partners from local nonprofits to local government and federal land management agencies, came together and formed the Tucson Trails Tribute (TTT), whose mission is to promote physical and mental health by getting people out and about, engaging their bodies and brains in our extraordinary public spaces. TTT’s inaugural project is BEYOND:  Commemorate * Celebrate * Commit.

More information, http://www.beyond-tucson.org.  Full list of art projects, http://www.beyond-tucson.org/beyond-art/

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Location: Behavioral Health Pavilion lobby, South Campus

University of Arizona Medical Center – South Campus – Behavioral Health Pavilion (located behind the Main Hospital)
2800 East Ajo Way
Tucson Az 85713

Event Description:  There will be 3 activity stations and one workshop which will be supervised by the  Department for the January 7^th Beyond Tucson event.  Each of these stations is appropriate for all age groups and populations.

The three stations will consist of the following:

1.  An origami making section in which participants will be led through the story/mythology and actual hands on fabrication of Japanese Paper Cranes for Peace.

2.  A poetry section – in which participants will be invited into the realm of therapeutic poetry making. A certified poetry therapist will instruct in cluster poems, group poems and individual poetry – all based in the healing theme of the Beyond Tucson event.

3.  Group banner/ Flag project - participant will receive a demonstration of the art mediums and participate in two group projects – one a large paper banner with chalk pastels and oil (water based) pastels – and the second – (which will take place at the same location) the painting of the four large colored fabric flags in which participants may add images, symbols and thoughts of and healing to the surface. As a starting point each flag will have a word already painted onto the surface to assist with proving a container for the context of the project – as we discussed it the meeting and again in keeping with the theme – the words Commemorate, Celebrate, Commit and Healing will be present.

In one of the BHP conference rooms a 30 minute Expressive Arts Introductory Workshop will be held which will include the live music of the violinist Michael Sigler. In this workshop participants will be led through a guided relaxation technique through voice and music – and then move into creative process to ground the experience. A demonstration of the materials will take place at the beginning of the session. Individual art supplies, i.e. chalk, oil pastels, markers and paper will be provided for this session.

TUCSON, AZ (AP) -

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, other survivors of the Tucson shooting rampage and countless others will come together this Jan. 8 to observe the one-year mark of that tragic day and remember the six people who died.

A number of events are planned that Sunday, although it’s unclear which Giffords will attend or whether she will make any public statements.

Some survivors plan on going to every event that they can. Others plan on staying home with loved ones.

The events include a community-wide ringing of bells at churches and throughout the community and an interfaith service where people of all religions are invited to pray and reflect.

Also planned is a candlelight vigil at the University of Arizona and a series of talks.

BEYOND: Commemorate, Celebrate, Commit, a community-wide celebration of health, diversity and goodwill, will take place from sun up to sun down across Pima County on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2012 by Amanda Shauger Tucson, Arizona In the months after last year’s tragic January 8th shootings, members of Gabe Zimmerman’s family formed the Tucson Trails Tribute with a goal to encourage community members to come out into our public lands in the Tucson area to strengthen our sense of community, to take advantage of the natural beauty that makes Tucson so special, with the full awareness that getting out and active with others promotes physical and mental health. Gabe Zimmerman was a Gabrielle Giffords staffer who was shot and killed on January 8th.

BEYOND: Commemorate, Celebrate, Commit, a community-wide celebration of health, diversity and goodwill, will take place from sun up to sun down across Pima County on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2012. There will be opportunities to walk, hike, run, stroll, be artistic, learn new skills and generally come together as a community at more than 30 sites across the region.

BEYOND’s Main Event will take place at Reid Park 10 a.m.-2 p.m., with opening ceremonies at TMC from 7-10 a.m. and closing ceremonies at Kino Stadium 4-6 p.m., but other events will be held at over 30 locations in Pima County from Oro Valley and Marana to Vail to Sahuarita and Green Valley. The public is asked to register on-line for the event(s) in which they want to participate.

The December 28th, 2011 press conference begins with Chief Medical Officer of Tucson Medical Center Dr. Jason Krupp. Nina Trasoff was the Master of Ceremonies. Additional speakers include Gabe Zimmerman’s father Ross Zimmerman of Tucson Trails Tribute; Superintendent of Saguaro National Park Darla Sidles; CEO of Community Partnership of Southern Arizona Neal Cash; Pima County Community College Vice Chancellor for Public Information and Government Relations- and former Giffords staffer -C.J. Karamargin.

Southern Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords epitomizes the spirit of giving—seasonal and year-round—and now, one year after she was shot while conducting a Congress on Your Corner gathering in Tucson, the community is giving back to her.  Dozens of commemorative events are scheduled from January 6-8 to honor her heroic rehabilitation efforts and to help the community heal itself.

President Obama called the shooting “an unspeakable tragedy.”  House Speaker John Boehner noted: “This is a sad day for our country.”  In one of the very rare acts of bi-partisan agreement seen this year on Capitol Hill, both were right.

The President traveled to Tucson to attend a memorial ceremony for the victims of the attack in which 19 were shot and 6 died.  Obama extolled Giffords as “an extraordinary public servant who listened to the hopes and concerns of her constituents.”  She also listened to concerns of those who were not  constituents, but her neighbors – like the two Native American nations whose sovereign lands are in proximity to her own congressional district.

Although only 2.1 percent of the Congresswoman’s district is made up of American Indians, there is a mutual respect on and off the reservations that was shown following the shooting when young Tohono O’odham youth showed up in brightly-colored traditional robes and sang a blessing outside her hospital.

Tradition continued when a member of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, Dr. Carlos Gonzales, offered the memorial service prayer by honoring Father Sky, Mother Earth, and the four doors, and then urged: “Let us work towards harmony, wholeness, and balance.”

It’s been one full year since that act of violence took place and in preparing myriad commemoration events, sponsors noted: “January 8^th was a horrible day that shook our community and affected each of us deeply.  Our community came together like it had never done before.  The sense of togetherness was tangible.  We supported each other, leaned on each other, and looked out for one another.  To celebrate that spirit of togetherness, we re-commit ourselves to work together to build a stronger community.  BEYOND * Commemorate * Celebrate * Commit * will help assure that Tucson is remembered for its response to the tragedy and not the singular event itself.”

A lengthy list of events is planned, beginning with an open house at the Gabrielle Gifford’s Family Assistance Center at the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona – just another example of Gabby’s direct involvement with the concept of sharing.

Hundreds of bell chimes will be randomly distributed throughout Tucson “in memory of those lost in the shooting and in gratitude for a supportive community.”  At 10:11 a.m. on January 8– one year to the minute – there will be a community-wide ringing of bells symbolizing Hurting – Healing – Hope.  Interfaith services with a theme of “We Remember, We Celebrate, We Believe” will be on-going throughout the day including speeches, reflective moments, and a candlelight vigil that evening.

The Congresswoman’s Senior Press Advisor, Mark Kimble, says Giffords will be in Tucson during the commemorative events, but any planned participation on her part would be up to her.

Because Gabby is a recognized friend of Indians, her Indian friends will also take part in the commemorative activities. There will be Native American participation in the form of a Reactivate Your Health and Family event, collaboratively sponsored by the Tucson Indian Center, the County Health Department, United Way of Southern Arizona and Reactivate Sportswear.

“We were invited to participate and we decided to present an event for Native families that will celebrate life, fitness, nature, well-being, and unity, encouraging families, youth, and elders to maintain and improve their overall well-being,” said Terilene Glasses, Tucson Indian Center Diabetes Prevention Specialist.  “Our intent coincides with the aim of the Beyond sponsors and that is to focus on the family and the community coming together, reuniting to make stronger connections with each other through active living and active giving.”

The Reactivate event will feature a family fun-run-walk and bike run over a course marked by flags designed and decorated by tribal youth and elders.  There will be plenty of opportunities for physical expression, ranging from rock climbing walls and pedal carts to obstacle courses and scavenger hunts.  Organizations and programs that provide services to the Tucson Native American community will hold a health fair.  Vendors will present Native American cultural demonstrations and entertainment will be provided through drumming groups and singers.

“This is a bittersweet series of events,” according to Beyond organizers.  “We hope our efforts will motivate people from all walks of life to come together to embrace the goodness and decency of our community, creating something good and lasting out of tragedy.”

Read more: http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/01/02/the-tucson-tragedy-%e2%80%93-gabrielle-giffords-one-year-later-69659#ixzz1iPvBQFCm