Night & Day

thursday
july 30
One of the more lighthearted and pleasingly unpretentious of the area galleries, Wilde-Meyer wraps up its summer show "Fun With Flora, Fauna and Fruit," which includes works by such faves as CarterHolman, Jacqueline Rochester, Brian Cook, Chuck Davison, Dyanna Hesson, L.A. Hecht and Rudi van Brussel. Also featured are the peculiarly endearing animal caricatures of Ron Burns. The show continues through Wednesday, August 5. Hours: 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. weekdays (to 9 p.m. Thursdays), 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays, noon to 4 p.m. Sundays. 4142 North Marshall Way in Scottsdale. 945-2323.

friday
july 31
The relatively new premise that an HIV-positive diagnosis doesn't mean your life's over is the guiding theme of the 1998 POZ Life Expo. The free event, held from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, July 31, at Embassy Suites Phoenix North, 2577 West Greenway Road, features such activities as massages, health screenings, more than a dozen workshops led by members of the Valley HIV community, and temporary tattooing by Rebekka Armstrong, an HIV-positive Playboy Playmate. The Playboy Foundation is among the sponsors, as are a variety of pharmaceutical companies and local AIDS service organizations, and POZ magazine, on the cover of which Armstrong appears this month. 375-1777.

The most intimate--and perhaps most heartbreaking--of Shakespeare's great tragedies is Othello, his harrowing police-blotter tale of jealousy and interracial love. New Valley Troupe SunFire Theatre performs the masterpiece at 8 p.m. Friday, July 31, and the same time Saturday, August 1, at PlayWright's Theatre, 1121 North First Street. Jerry Ferracio directs a cast including, in the title role, Ken Love, Martha Brooks as the hapless Desdemona, Bruce Laks as the ratfink Iago, and Athena Reiss as his courageous wife, Emilia. Tickets are $10. 898-4805.

It has a WinterFest, so why shouldn't Flagstaff have a SummerFest as well? The three-day event features nonstop live music and other entertainment, a juried art exhibition, hands-on arts and crafts activities--including a "Mini-Monet" area for the child prodigies--bountiful food and drink and more. Hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, July 31; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, August 1; and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, August 2, at Coconino County Fairgrounds (a.k.a. Fort Tuthill County Park), located three miles south of Flag at I-17 exit 337. Admission is $5, free for kids 12 and under. 1-888-278-3378, 1-520-774-5139.

Local artists Todd West and Daniel Oldejans display their own works at Gallery 1023, the new space they have opened together. The gallery opens with a reception from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, July 31, at 1023 Grand Avenue; viewings are by appointment throughout August. 593-3238.

saturday
august 1
"Basket-weaving" has become a contemptuous term for a course of study with little practical, "real-world" application. But once upon a time, basket-weaving was a proud and an essential art and craft, as "Fibers and Forms: Native American Basketry of the West" demonstrates. The exhibition, part of "The Vision Persists: Native Folk Art of the West"--a traveling show from the San Diego Museum of Man--features examples of basketry from the late 1800s through the 1930s, with an emphasis on how nonindigenous commercial culture both kept basketry alive and influenced its practitioners. The show opens Saturday, August 1, at Mesa Southwest Museum, 53 North Macdonald, and continues through Sunday, September 27. Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and noon to 6 p.m. Sundays. Admission is $4, $3.50 for students and seniors, $2 for kids ages 3 to 12, free for those younger. 644-2230.

Valley native Nate Goldwater, a UofA student who suffers from a horrible-sounding progressive disease called Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis, is on the Mayo Clinic's list for a new liver. Though he's insured, he and his family need around $125,000 to cover the cost of surgery and immunosupportive drugs for the first year. Gee, aren't you glad Congress worked so diligently to kill National Health Care? Anyway, if you've got a good arm, you can help out by participating in the "Friends of Nate" Bowling Benefit. Join a variety of local celebs--scheduled among them are wacky radio duo Tim and Mark, Diamondbacks pitcher Joel Adamson and members of the Phoenix Mercury Hip-Hop Squad--in knocking down some pins in a good cause from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, August 1, at Squaw Peak Fair Lanes, 3049 East Indian School. Pledges must be raised to participate; if you're a guttersnipe, you can still help by bidding on goodies at the Silent Auction, or simply by writing a check to COTA for Nate at any Wells Fargo bank. 929-7833.

sunday
august 2
The Jazz Society of Prescott's Cannon Academy of Performing Art presents a scholarship benefit, a three-day Jazz-Fest, beginning at 1 p.m. Sunday, August 2, and the same time Monday, August 3, and Tuesday, August 4, at the Sam Hill Warehouse, 300 North Granite Street in Prescott. Featured artists are vocalist Sherry Roberson, saxophonist Keith Oxman, Milt Cannon and the Arizona Rhythm Section, "MilkBone" (Milt Cannon with Mudbone), Dave Cook and Intensity, The Third Degree saxophone Summit and an 18-piece jazz ensemble from the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. Tickets are $10 for one day, $21 for all three. For reservations and information, call 1-520-445-0000.

On the claim that she can chat with angels, and teach you to do the same, author Doreen Virtue has written about a dozen books, including Angel Therapy, and has also turned up on Oprah and Good Morning America. She offers a half-day seminar from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, August 2, at the Radisson Resort Scottsdale, 7171 North Scottsdale Road. The fee is $45; for reservations, call Mishka Productions at 970-8543.