Downtown Tucsonan - May 2008 - (Page 23)

Tu c s o n Th u n d e r a n d H O G R a l ly t o D r aw T h o u s a n d s D o w n t o w n By Tom Whittingslow t’s going to be one of downtown’s biggest weekends (May 1-3), when thousands of Harley davidson riders, fans, and friends converge from around the state and from more distant origins to the 2008 arizona state HoG Rally. tucson thunder is downtown tucson’s response to the rally, with music and motorcycles the themes of a 3-day party. “these are guys playing with $30,000 or $40,000 toys; they’re not afraid to spend $100 on a meal or have a good time,” says John Kohnke, coordinator for the arizona state HoG Rally and service Manager for Harley davidson of tucson. the HoG Rally brings in thousands of riders and guests, completely booking up the Hotel arizona, most of the Inn suites, the Riverpark Inn and other area hotels. For the uninitiated, HoG stands for Harley owners Group. Eleven chapters from all over arizona will be participating in this year’s rally. the event is so popular it has also attracted bikers from california, nevada, and new York. It’s pretty much open to everyone,” says Kohnke. “we had over 2,000 attending the rally last year; this time we expect even more. there are a lot of motorcycle riders in tucson who are not Harley members, and they will be coming out in force. non-Harley bikers, even Honda riders, are also welcome. we could easily have 3,000 people show up.” HoG-rider hosts go out of their way to make everyone feel comfortable. while some of the Rally events, including guided rides to southern arizona destinations, are only open to registered Rally participants, all of the events that are part of tucson thunder are open to the general public and have free admission. Rally participants and the general biker and non-biker public are welcome to attend tucson thunder, which is highlighted by two days and nights of live music, from Blues to Rock and Roll. twenty-two (22) local bands are slated to perform at two stages, one on 5th avenue just north of Broadway, and one at the congress street entrance to the Ronstadt center. the 5th avenue stage will feature live blues from noon to midnight both Friday and saturday, while the congress street stage will have classic Rock bands from 5:00pm until 1:00am on saturday night. dozens of vendors offering motorcycle clothes, accessories, and paraphernalia will set up on 5th avenue and an adjacent parking lot, all within a fenced area with the music and food beverages. It’s a great opportunity to pick up Harley shirts, leathers, and other accessories. due to the alcohol sales, the venue is open to those 21 and over. the downtown tucson Partnership is the presenter and producer of I continued on page 25 Dow n tow n ’s O l d e st J ew e l e r Th r i v e s Despite Economic Slowdown By Tom Whittingslow erri Jewelers opened in the lobby of the old Lyric theatre more than 50 years ago. while the Lyric theatre is gone, Perri Jewelers continues to thrive, even during the current economic slump. deanna chevas was hired by Perri Jewelers soon after graduating from high school. she knows the current state of the Perri Family–owned business as well as anyone. Besides selling and keeping track of inventory, chevas also does some of the repair work. “when Mr. Perri (senior) comes in the shop, he knows exactly where everything should be. we have to be prepared.” Perri is still the kind of traditional place where employees still refer to their owner as “Mr.” “that will never change,” says chevas, who uses the same 1927 cash register that stephen Perri’s father used when he started the business. now 81, simon Perri still comes into the shop to make sure everything is up to snuff. He is one of the last hand engravers remaining in tucson and something of a local icon. stephen, the current “Mr. Perri,” is a teacher at salpointe catholic High school. He never intended to make a career out of the jewelry business; when his father had a stroke, stephen planned to close the business and liquidate the inventory. the former location needed considerable repairs and stephen took a semester off from his teaching to work in the family business. He and his sisters had been working for Perri Jewelers since they were teenagers. after P meeting so many loyal customers who had been part of his family’s business, stephen decided to keep Perri Jewelers open and moved to its current location on stone avenue. “If we were not going to stay downtown, we would not have stayed in the business,” stephen said in an interview with another publication. unlike discretionary spending on elaborate trufflestrewn dinners or Louis Roederer champagne, Perri Jewelers is doing great in the current economic slowdown. “when there’s not so much money to spend, customers tend to make more repairs rather than buy new. Besides, weddings and engagements go on, regardless of the economy,” chevas says. “Perri Jewelers has provided wedding rings for three generations of tucsonans. People come in all the time and tell me that their mother’s wedding ring came from Perri and they would like to do the same.” the tiny shop at 13 north stone does minor repairs on a daily basis. chevas and her associate, Peggy savio, replace watch batteries and crystals and other minor repairs. savio does some of the service on crystal watches, but most of the repairs and cleaning of mechanical watches is done offsite by Perri’s professional watchmaker. Perri also does fullservice jewelry repair in the shop, including sizing rings and soldering chains and bracelets. despite its small size, Perri offers a considerable line of fine gold and silver jewelry. It buys only the highest quality of loose and mounted diamonds. It also carries handsome men’s university of arizona watches and pendant charms; wedding and engagement rings; gold and silver neck chains; and rings of precious and semi-precious stones. chevas filled us in on the store’s history. Mr. Perri’s father, simon, and his brother opened the first Perri Jewelers in the lobby of the Lyric theatre in 1945. His uncle Peter was a watchmaker and his father was a hand engraver. the family had moved from Missouri to tucson for the dry climate because Peter had respiratory problems and could not take strenuous physical work. He was taught the watchmaker’s trade as a source of earning money, and his reputation as a skilled watchmaker spread throughout southern arizona. simon Perri bought the business from his brother in 1957 and continued as the sole owner and operator. He later moved the business to 37 w. congress. at one time, there were several jewelry stores in downtown tucson; today there is only one. “we have relationships with our customers because we’ve been around for so long,” says chevas. we get an awful lot of people who say, ‘My mother’s ring came from you guys fifty years ago.’ It’s hard to close the business when you have these kind of family ties.” Most of the store’s clientele consists of people who either work downtown or are the children of former Perri customers. Perri Jewelers is located at 13 N. Stone Ave. and can be reached at 520-624-4311. may.08. downtown tucsonan 23

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Downtown Tucsonan - May 2008 Contents From the Editor Downtown Lowdown Vital Signs Downtown Live Arts Galleries Performances Vital Signs Continued Events Film Museums Billboard Classifieds

Downtown Tucsonan - May 2008

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