The first signs of spring time in the Sonoran Desert

Courtesy of Tom Farris

Featured on the March 2nd, 2026 edition of ARIZONA SPOTLIGHT with host Mark McLemore:

• Best-selling novelist Jeanine Cummins talks to Sarah Arellano about her newest book, “Speak to Me of Home." Jeanine Cummins and many more authors will be guests of the Tucson Chapter of the Brandeis National Committee for their annual Book and Author Luncheon at the Hilton East Ballroom.

Courtesy of the Tucson Chapter the Brandeis National Committee

Courtesy of the Tucson Chapter the Brandeis National Committee

• Meet Tom Farris, an artist who lets his creativity guide him from ancient traditions to unvisited horizons. Farris will be in Tucson soon, for a printmaking workshop on March 13 at the University, where he will also be presenting an Arizona State Museum Exhibit Tricksters & Truthtellers: Different Ways of Seeing at the Tucson Festival of Books.

Courtesy of Tom Farris

Courtesy of Tom Farris

Courtesy of Tom Farris

• An essay from nature writer Rebekah Doyle about hunting for the first signs of spring in some of Arizona’s harshest terrain.

Rebekah Doyle

Courtesy of Friends of PACC

• And — you and your pet are invited to join a parade. The 5th Annual Pets of Pima Parade, hosted by the Friends of PACC, will be taking place on Sat., March 8.

Courtesy of Friends of PACC

Courtesy of Friends of PACC

Webpage by Sarah Arellano.

Arizona Spotlight airs every Thursday at 8:30 am and 6:00 pm and every Friday at 8:00 pm on NPR 89.1 FM / 1550 AM. You can subscribe to our podcast on Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, or the NPR App. See more from Arizona Spotlight.