Ironwood Festival

Mason Audubon Center
3835 W. Hardy St., Tucson
520/744-0004
www.tucsonaudubon.org [1]

In early May, just when the sun starts in with the attitude, Tucson [2]’s self-admitted tree huggers gather at the Audubon Society’s Mason Center (near Arthur Pack Regional Park) northwest of town to celebrate the long-lived ironwood tree (protected at nearby Ironwood National Monument), and the key role it plays in the desert’s astonishingly diverse ecosystem.

The Ironwood Festival features fun and educational activities like guided bird walks, natural history displays and lectures, and, once the sun dips away a bit, a lineup of folk-rock bands.