The University of Arizona Press
Date: Saturday, April 26, 2025
Time: 11 a.m. – 12 p.m., MST
Where: Hotel Valley Ho, 6850 E. Main St., Scottsdale, AZ
William L. Bird, author of In the Arms of Saguaros: Iconography of the Giant Cactus, will give an illustrated talk at the 2025 Arizona Tiki Oasis event held at Hotel Valley Ho. Arizona Tiki Oasis is a celebration of Tiki, Mid-Century design, and the restoration and preservation of American Pop Culture. In his illustrated talk, Bird will explore the history of the saguaro cactus and how it became an icon of the American west. Tickets for this event are $20 and are available here.
About the book:
In the Arms of the Saguaros shows how, from the botanical explorers of the nineteenth century to the tourism boosters in our own time, saguaros and their images have fulfilled attention-getting needs and expectations. Through text and lavish images, this work explores the saguaro’s growth into a western icon from the early days of the American railroad to the years bracketing World War II, when Sun Belt boosterism hit its zenith and proponents of tourism succeed in moving the saguaro to the center of the promotional frame.
This book explores how the growth of tourism brought the saguaro to ever-larger audiences through the proliferation of western-themed imagery on the American roadside. The history of the saguaro’s popular and highly imaginative range points to the current moment in which the saguaro touches us as a global icon in art, fashion, and entertainment.
