Seltzer in the Desert – SeltzertopiaLive! in Tuscon, AZ

This month took SeltzertopiaLive! and I down to the desert city of Tuscon, Arizona, just an hour or so drive from the Mexican border. It was a first for me for so many reasons. First time talking in the desert. First time taking SeltzertopiaLive! this far south, or this far west. My first time doing TWO talks in the same day. And my first time doing a talk to college students… or an audience where more than a handful were under 50.

The event was organized by The J – the city’s JCC that seems to be a home to so many, and not just the dozen or so congregations in town – as part of their film festival. I followed three film shorts, one on egg creams, to led the crowd in an egg cream making event. What an operation! And it was run with such precision (all credit to The J).

Before the event began, the tables were set: u-bets chocolate syrup, a paper straw, and a cup waiting for milk and seltzer (plus a mini black and white cookie).

Below is a video of the event – watch it and don’t listen to me but watch the staff supporting the 170 people in the audience to have an amazing egg cream experience.

I asked everyone to raise their glass to show off their egg cream in a SeltzertopiaSelfie. It turned out, since I set up my phone to film the event from the back of the room, that I ended up instead with this awesome “Egg Cream Toast to Seltzertopia” shot:

Egg cream toast — Guinness Book of World Records – where are you when I need you? A 170 egg cream toast.

After the egg cream party I gave an abridged version of SeltzertopiaLive! along with my seltzer rap. Here’s a few seconds of the rap:

Before the event I had great fun taking a walk along the “river”. Well, the signs all said “river”, but it was just a strip of sand, with a walk on either side, filled with cacti. In any case, it was a lovely opportunity to introduce at least the idea of carbonated water into the parched environment.

Earlier in the day, The J arranged for me to speak at the University of Arizona’s bookstore.

Since I didn’t know what to expect from the audience, I planned for a book reading, and I asked the audience to choose which sections they wanted to hear. Little surprise, but this college crowd started off with the section on LaCroix and then we were off and running.