This weekend at Bookmans we're kicking off our celebration of National Crafts Month with some really awesome in-store events. We've got comics showing off their talents with live demonstrations, the M7 Street Fair in Phoenix, author signings, and we'll welcome the wonderful Kino School musicians to our Ina store... just to name a few! Check out what's happening at the Bookmans nearest you:

The M7 Street Fair at Melrose Curve (7th Avenue and Indian School) will be the happening spot to be in Phoenix all day on Saturday! A Best of Phoenix Winner, the annual M7 Street Fair just gets bigger and bigger each year. Join Bookmans and other local businesses for a fun filled day of shopping, crafts, live music, and community! Find the Bookmans booth and decorate your own Bookmans tote bag for free! The best part is that you'll be supporting an amazing cause: the Seventh Avenue Merchants Association. It has become the model that other associations strive to be. For the last eight years, SAMA has worked diligently to improve the overall revitalization of the Melrose District, which includes, among other things, hosting the annual M7 Street Fair. It is the prime goal of the association to provide a fun, safe, community-based event that showcases the good on Seventh Avenue and encourages the city as a whole to view the Melrose District as a safe place to live, shop and play. This year, as an added goal, SAMA is committed to “bring your business to the street” and to promote not only the Melrose Curve but the importance of shopping locally.

In Tucson, check out a little piece of history at the History in the Headlines lecture series. This week is the Miners' Story Project: Oral History from Underground. From 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, join the Arizona Historical Society for a continental breakfast followed by presentations about Arizona's headline stories at the Arizona History Museum, 949 E. 2nd St., Tucson, AZ 85719. Free parking is available in the garage at the northeast corner of N. Euclid Ave. and E. 2nd St. - use E. 2nd St. entrance. The cost is $15, or $12 for AHS members. Shipherd Reed, filmmaker and producer, shares the stories of miners and mining communities documented through the Miners’ Story Project. The Miners’ Story Project preserves the Southwest’s rich mining history and heritage by collecting oral histories. For more information or to register, please contact Emily Spargo-Guererro at (520) 617-1153 or esg@azhs.gov or visit them online at www.arizonahistoricalsociety.org

At our Grant store from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., we'll welcome poet Marlene Tova Fineberg for an in-store signing. Fineberg calls it like she sees it in her newest book, “Elephants, Alligators, Umbrellas.” This lengthy and diverse book includes poems candidly discussing famous people like Hilary Clinton, Martha Stewart and even Oprah. In a more personal style, she also bravely opens up to the reader about her own intensely personal and private heartache and disappointments.

Also on Saturday, at our Grant store, join us for our first Comic Create event this month from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.! It will be a live art experience in honor of Arts & Crafts Month and the upcoming Phoenix Comic Con!! Local Tucson artists, including Greg Mannino, Jonnie Allan and other fabulous comic artists, will be in the store offering live demonstrations of the artistic process for comic art. Greg Mannino is a Tucson native and proficient comic book artist. He currently works as a graphic designer at Tucson Newspapers, Inc. Greg created the comic book series Dorothy, a dark retelling of the classic Wizard of Oz. Through his vision and experience, Greg created 6 issues of Dorothy using live action photography and Photoshop skills to create the artwork. He was also recently commissioned to do a print adaptation of the film Jessika Rabid. He created the DVD cover art as well as a short comic insert. Greg is a passionate and dedicated artist. He is constantly working on creature drawings and concepts for upcoming comic book projects. Don't miss this opportunity to experience the magic of comic art up close and personal! Independent Comics creator and self-taught artist Jonnie Allan founded a.k.a Comics as a vehicle to introduce his all-ages comic book creation The Miscellaneous Adventures of STYKMAN™to the comic book world. In February 2006, a.k.a. Comics began distributing The Miscellaneous Adventures of STYKMAN™ direct to fans and retailers selling out at almost every convention appearance. Through a "grass-roots" approach to marketing Jonnie was able to catch the attention of Diamond Comics Distributors, Inc. by gaining critical acclaim from Industry Giants like Wizard Magazine, Comic Buyer's Guide, Comic World News and Broken Frontier as well as a legion of devoted fans of his wildly popular, Laugh-out-loud-series. Jonnie has contributed articles for Wizard Magazine and often provides workshops for aspiring comic creators teaching them how create, develop and market their creativity.

At our Ina store, the amazing music students of teacher Lisa Otey from the Kino School here in Tucson will be performing pop and rock classics and standards for our customers from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. The students have been working hard all year to get these songs ready for your listening pleasure. They will be showcasing songs from the likes of Bob Dylan to U2. So come in and support these budding musicians who have worked diligently to bring a great show to our store!

The Tucson Children's Museum will be hosting their Seuss-a-thon this weekend to celebrate the late, great author's birthday. For just $2, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., put on your listening ears and come hear an array of stories from the Museum’s Dr. Seuss library.  Activities will follow each reading.   Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium will be facilitating the portable planetarium show “There’s no Place like Space:  All about our Solar System.”  Children will learn about the planets, the sun, the moon and the mysterious place we call space… all set to the rhymes of Dr. Seuss. The first 50 kids at the event will get a $5 Kids Certificate from Bookmans!

For a truly astronomical experience, check out Bookmans Phoenix from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. on Sunday afternoon! The Phoenix Astronomical Society www.pasaz.org is hosting a FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC Telescope Training Workshop. Bring your scope & accessories to Bookmans' backroom for "In Daylight" training on how to work your telescope. Then, look at the PAS Calendar online & find a public star party to try out what you learned with our assistance at night. Informational handouts & club info will be provided. An RSVP is required with Terri, so call 602-561-5398 to get your spot!

For more information on these events, plus more happening in the community and at Bookmans this weekend (and beyond!) check out our events calendar.