Night & Day

thursday
november 19
The 10th annual cultural shindig celebrating Phoenix's relationship with its sister city of Grenoble, France, French Week '98, continues Thursday, November 19; Friday, November 20; Saturday, November 21; and Sunday, November 22, at various locations. This week's highlights include the dinner-theater event An Evening With Nostradamus, at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, at the Arizona Biltmore ($75 per person); a cooking class by Chef Vincent Guerithault at 10 a.m. Friday, at Vincent's restaurant ($25 per person; lunch included); and the sixth annual "Beaujolais Nouveau Festival," scheduled for 6:30 to 9 p.m. Saturday, at the Phoenix Civic Plaza, Symphony Hall Terrace. Call for a complete schedule. 534-2664.

New works by sculptor Kim Cridler--who creates enormous metal shapes that recall, in skeletal and "monumental" form, the homespun forms of utilitarian craftware in her rural Michigan upbringing--are exhibited, opening with a reception from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, November 19; and continuing through Saturday, January 2, 1999, at Lisa Sette Gallery. Regular hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays (and 7 to 9 p.m. Thursdays), noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays. 4142 North Marshall Way in Scottsdale. 990-7342.

Southwest Autism Research Center is the beneficiary of the proceeds from the inaugural "Artists for Autism" fund raiser, which features music by Raun Alosi and the Reason, along with a hair show by Street Talk Salon, an art show and auction, a silent auction, raffles, prizes and other fun, starting at 7 p.m. Thursday, November 19, at the Cajun House, 7117 East Third Avenue in Scottsdale. Tickets, available in advance or at the door, are $20; $30 gets you a VIP dinner. 340-8717.

friday
november 20
Carl Orff's 1937 oratorio Carmina Burana--adapted from Latin secular songs of the 13th century--is performed in a multimedia concert presented by the Maricopa Institute of Art and Entertainment at 8 p.m. Friday, November 20; and the same time Saturday, November 21, in the Performing Arts Center of Scottsdale Community College, 9000 East Chaparral. The complete ensemble runs to more than 250 singers and dancers; participating groups include Arizona Mormon Choir, SCC Moving Company, SCC A Cappella Choir, Scottsdale Symphony Chorus, and Semaphore Danceworks. Admission is $4. 423-6152.

For classical sounds on a less extravagant level, Phoenix Chamber Music Society continues its 39th season with a concert by The Moscow Chamber Orchestra. The acclaimed ensemble plays a program including works by Grieg, Prokofiev, Bach, Shostakovich and Mozart. Showtime is 8 p.m. Friday, November 20, at Scottsdale Center for the Arts, 7380 East Second Street. Tickets are $20. 252-0095, 994-2787.

Mississippi-by-way-of-L.A. bluesman Smokey Wilson comes to the Valley, in support of his most recent Bullseye Blues disc The Man From Mars, to dish up a rich helping of his unadorned, no-nonsense Deep South sounds. The guitarist performs at 9 p.m. Friday, November 20, at the Rhythm Room, 1019 East Indian School. The cover is $5. 265-4842.

saturday
november 21
Homeless horses are the beneficiaries of the second annual Wildhorse Ranch Art Show and Sale, which features original works, not necessarily horse- or Western-related, by area artists, as well as food and refreshments. It's held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, November 21, at 11811 South Lindsay in Gilbert. 926-8007.

For the fifth year in a row, Scottsdale Civic Center Plaza hosts ArtFest of Scottsdale, featuring works by hundreds of artists, many of whom--including Belgian "living canvas" painter Jean François Detaille--will be present at their booths, along with a wide variety of live music and street performances, as well as food and drink, a hands-on "Mini Monet" area for kids, and more, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, November 21; and the same hours Sunday, November 22, at Scottsdale Civic Center Plaza, 7380 East Second Street. Part of the proceeds will go to Arizona Cancer Society's Arizona Camp Sunrise. 1-888-278-3378.

Also in Scottsdale, the East Valley Tellers of Tales hosts Telebration! A Night of Storytelling for Adults, a "concert" of yarn spinning at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, November 21, at Scottsdale Civic Center Library, 3839 North Civic Center Boulevard. Admission to the event is free, although donations are welcomed. 966-5024, 833-3013.

sunday
november 22
For jazz buffs feeling some spiritual as well as aural hunger on a Sunday afternoon, the music support organization Jazz in Arizona kicks off a new concert series titled "Feel the Spirit," in which jazz acts play in a church setting. The first show, which features Sid Rice and the Jazz Outlet, is scheduled from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday, November 22, at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 4027 East Lincoln Drive in Paradise Valley. Admission is $10. 942-8348.

And after church, what could be more traditional than relaxing on the back porch? Hence the Phoenix Blues Society's Back Porch Blues, a concert featuring famed '50s-era Chicago sideman Dave Myers, along with such local talent as Hans Olson, Chico Chism, Rena Haus, Bob Bingham, Scotty Spenner, The Root Doctor, and Uvon & Mike Simpson, all of whom are slated to jam from 7 p.m. to midnight Sunday, November 22, at the Rhythm Room, 1019 East Indian School. Tickets are $7; a can of nonperishable food for St. Mary's Food Bank gets you a buck off that price. 252-0599, 265-4842.

monday
november 23
The third annual "Sun Orchard Corks and Cups" tasting, a benefit for the Leukemia Society of America featuring wine, coffee and gourmet eats, is slated from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Monday, November 23. Silent and live auctions are also scheduled. Tickets are $25. The Arizona Club, 201 North Central, Suite 3700. 788-8622.