The streets of Tucson will be filled with hullabaloo this Saturday.

The Tucson Hullabaloo is a weekend-long party that celebrates a lot more than music. The hullabaloo started with six friends in Flagstaff, Ariz., who wanted to throw a party the entire town could attend. Now their dream has become a reality in Tucson, too.
Arizona Daily Sun readers from Northern Arizona voted the Flagstaff Hullabaloo the Best Annual Event or Festival for the past four years in a row. Tucson will have its own version of the festival beginning this year.

To ensure that it is truly an event for everyone, the planners invited a variety of performers, including giant puppets, live artists and circus performers. The party’s founders decided on a cover of $5.

Other events include a bike parade and a costume contest. The festival is geared toward Tucsonans with local live music, food, fare and wares. It becomes easy to see why Matt Ziegler, one of the event’s organizers, calls the event not only a hullabaloo, but also a community festival.

Ziegler said because Tucson is a unique town, he was able to reach out to many diverse groups so that the event will have something for everyone.

“It’s really the people who come out that make the event what it is,” Ziegler said.

In Flagstaff, the planners discovered that because the event was so diverse and the performers so varied, no matter the musical lineup, people turned out in droves and had a blast. Ziegler said that was not only because of the low cover price, but also the diversity that has been built into the event from the beginning.

Ziegler added that concerts can be tricky to plan because of changes in the way people find and listen to music today. Just because some band names aren’t as well-known doesn’t mean they aren’t a solid act, but the unknown can tend to keep people away if the ticket price is costly.

Jacob Devaney from Living Folklore in Prescott, Ariz., makes imaginative giant puppets that have graced past Flagstaff Hullabaloos. Devaney has been working on a puppet especially for the Tucson Hullabaloo that honors the region’s pollinators. The Queen Bee puppet will be one of the company’s many creations at the event.

“This event isn’t driven by the lineup, but by the fun,” Ziegler said. “There’s something for everyone and for $5, I think you’ll get your money’s worth in the first five minutes you’re there.”