Ever wonder what a child's story coming to life would look like? Well wonder no further because the lovers of children's books and imagination from Stories That Soar do just that. All kids have a chance to apply to have their stories turned from the second to third dimension using props and professional performers on stage before their very own eyes. This event celebrates the best of 2012-2013 at the either the 4 or 6:30 p.m. showings on Sunday, May 19 at the Temple of Music and Art. Inspiration is powerful and especially for this program, which started out as an event at a single school and turned into a eight-plus year program traveling to over 14 schools and performing over 350 original stories last year alone. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12 and can be purchased online or at the door.

Primus has created some of the most original and inventive music in existence and has collaborated with everyone from Tom Waits to Tom Morello in the process. However nothing could properly prepare listeners for Green Naugahyde featuring the line-up of bassist/singer Les Claypool, guitarist Larry LaLonde and drummer Jay Lane. If you think you are prepared, Bookmans and The Rialto want you to see them live for their George Lucas-inspired new 3D-enhanced tour, the first of its kind (see embeded video), at 8 p.m. on Saturday, May 18 at The Rialto in Tucson.

We're proud to host two of our own in a one-time-only performance. Michael Cejka and Robert Sharpe perform for us at 6 p.m. tonight in the Bookmans Flagstaff Cafe. "Desert and Space" is a greatly anticipated evening of ambient and experimental music with songs composed for instruments most of us don't hear every day such as djembe and tabla drums and the berimbau, accompanied by guitar and bass. Please join our Bookmans family for this exciting night!

Every bookstore should secure Stephen Chbosky for a signing. Not only is he a super nice guy but also Chbosky fandom runs deep, especially in Tucson where Bookmans Grant played host to over a hundred people, some arriving hours before the event. Chbosky noticed saying, "I'm blown away there are so many people here. It's amazing." We were lucky enough to have the Perks of Being a Wallflower author and director visit our store and sign copies of his book and movie, but he took it one step further giving us the opportunity to pick his brain about character development, advice for aspiring authors and his search for the film's quintessential music.

That's right ya'll, we're giving away a pair of full event passes (a $100 value) to Phoenix Comicon for Memorial Day weekend. We recevied these passes from some powerful Jedis at the May the 4th Be With You party in Tucson. We want you to have them ASAP so you have plenty of time to get your costume ready for a weekend of celebrity sightings, parties, contests, panels and more. The lucky winner will have to stop by our mega-booth for a chance to win specially designed top secret Bookmans swag, including our signature T-shirt.

Bookmans officially geeks out this May and we have plenty to geek out about at Bookmans Speedway. Join us all month-long for geeky activities. Our celebrations begin with a May the Fourth Be with You extravaganza as Bookmans joins Hotel Congress in hosting this Star Wars celebration and continues throughout the month in our store.

 

Join or fight the dark side at Tucson's first May the 4th Be With You Force-tival with Bookmans, Hotel Congress, Pima County Public Library and Cinema La Placita. Members of the Empire and Rebel Alliance are encouraged to come in costume to an event of Wookie-sized proportions. Fans of all levels are welcome to party their spacesuits off at either the family-friendly event from 1 to 5 p.m. or from 8 p.m. to midnight for the 21+ crowd on Saturday, May 4 at Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress St.

The kids are almost out of school so hurry up and get some prizes before they do. We're giving you the chance collect some treasure before you sweat your pants off. This month we dish up a prize package worth $50 but as always there is work involved. Get ready to crank those gears but be aware that only an adventurous attitude and local know-how will land you this grand treasure.

We do our best to be green all year around and not just by giving new life to items that would otherwise have made it to the landfill. We've installed electric vehicle chargers at our stores, we have energy management systems for our HVAC that ensure we maintain equipment for maximum efficiency and use as many environmentally-friendly cleaning products as we can. Bookmans Sports Exchange has given us a chance to open a new store that is as in-line with our core value on the environment as possible.

Beyond An Inconvenient Truth and Forks Over Knives, we take a look at 15 fun and lesser-known enviro-docs. Read on to see if we've hit on one of your favorite edutainment flicks.

There's no need to drink the vial labeled "Drink Me" to gain entrance to the The Mini-Time Machine Museum of Miniatures. Since its inception in 2009 the unconventional museum has hosted over 134,000 visitors including 42,000 children. Even though the foundation was created in 2006 by Pat and Walter Arnell as a way to display over 260 miniature houses and roomboxes, the 15,560 square-foot building is comprised of three different galleries built to make a Chihuahua feel like a giant.

Bookmans Phoenix partners with the Phoenix Conservatory of Music (PCM) to bring free Ukulele Lessons to one and all. Lessons take place from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. beginning Tuesday, April 23 in the new Community Space at Bookmans Phoenix. Instructor Laura Meador is our resident ukulele artist for the first round of lessons, which will last six weeks. Guests are welcome to bring a uke from home or buy one in our Musical Instrument Department.

The ukuleles at Bookmans Phoenix are just waiting to rock and roll.

Stephen Chbosky's novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower hit big with teen readers immediately upon its 1999 release and hit big again when the movie opened in theaters in 2012. Chbosky, who also directed the movie, will appear from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Friday, April 26 at Bookmans Grant. The event is free and open to the public.

"My hope is that if kids feel alone in the world, they can go to this movie and realize that so many emotions that they're feeling, other people have them, too," Chbosky says. "They're not as alone, they're not as different as they think."

If you or your organization needs to run on a small IT budget, join Flag Tech Talk this month to discuss resources to keep your IT costs down. Is it worth it to buy Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop and other major pieces of software? Do you need the latest desktop, laptop or tablet? Are there lower cost or free alternatives? Find out at April's Flag Tech Talk.