Thursday, June 25
6:30 to 8:00 pm
Sonoran Sunset Welcome Reception at the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort
Congratulations! You've made it to Tucson! After checking in and wandering around the beautiful JW Marriott, head down to the Ania Terrace. That's where you'll find all your AAN compadres. Chat up old friends and make new ones over a drink and light hors d'oeuvres as you enjoy the view of the city of Tucson below -- all while surrounded by the beauty of the Sonoran Desert. Enjoy entertainment by the G&K Electric Quartet (offering an acoustic blend of urban/country blues and roots rock). Sponsored by Google.

Friday, June 26
1:00 to 3:00 pm
Altweekly Awards Lunch
Hosted by Dan Savage
(Optional event; $40 advance registration required.)

7:00 to 9:00 pm
International Night on Geronimo Plaza
Just off of the University of Arizona, the beautiful Geronimo Plaza is part of Main Gate Square; on any given day, it's packed with college students eating, drinking, flirting and doing god-knows-what-else -- and AAN's going to be crashing the party. The evening will have a distinctively international flair, with food, drinks and door prizes, thanks to the Marshall Foundation, the nonprofit agency that operates Main Gate Square. After the party, feel free to hop on the bus and head back to the hotel, or hang around Main Gate Square where bars, clubs, restaurants and more Southwestern nightlife abounds. (Be prepared to take a cab back to the hotel if you hang around Fourth Avenue.)

9:30 pm to ??
Dive Bar Tour
(Optional event; extra $25 fee)
The Tucson Weekly believes that our city has some of the best dive bars anywhere -- and we'll prove it to you with this tour. The bus will leave from Geronimo Plaza as the International Night party is wrapping up; it will then transport you to Tucson's best (or worst, in a good way) dive bars. After the drunken revelry, the bus will take you back to the JW Marriott Starr Pass. (Note: Limited seats are available. Also, the tour may be cancelled if enough people don’t sign up. Times are tight, y'know!)

Saturday, June 27
1:00 to 3:00 pm
First Amendment Lunch
Guest Speaker: Lucy Dalglish, Executive Director, The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

7:00 to 9:00 pm
DesertNet’s Downtown Celebration
Eat, drink, enjoy the shade and watch the trains go by at Maynards Market and Kitchen, at Historic Train Depot in downtown Tucson. The folks at Maynards have developed a cocktail just for AAN conventioneers: the Dead Man's Handle (tequila, kafir lime leaves, white cranberry juice and Citronge orange liqueur). Use the cocktail to wash down delicious hors d'oeuvres, compliments of the good folks at DesertNet, and enjoy live entertainment as the convention comes to a close.

9:15 to 11:45 p.m.
AAN Afterparty: Sergio y la Orkesta at the Rialto Theatre
Take a 1940s Big Band, and add in traditional Cuban rhythms and a dash of American jazz swing, and you’ll get an idea of what to expect from Sergio y la Orkesta. Influenced by the mambo sounds of Perez Prado, the 12-plus-member Sergio y la Orkesta often shares the stage with Calexico. According to the band’s MySpace page, "Sergio Mendoza masters the fevered complexities of mambo to infuse it with the jangly funkiness of modern rock. The result is thick, luscious arrangements that are killer on the dance floor because of their fire-cracking crisp beats and unconventional guitar work." All AAN Convention attendees get free admission, and the good folks at the Rialto are reserving the balcony just for us! For more information, visit the band’s MySpace page, or see them in action.

Please note: the above schedule is subject to change.