Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, step right up to the main attraction on the midway, the 30th Annual Best of Phoenix®!

Feast your eyes on 535 of our favorite things — all the best this fair city has to offer. In your hands you hold admission to everything from the freaky (body modifications, anyone?) to the geeky (looking for a typewriter?) with a delectable assortment of refreshments (corn dog, candy apple, snow cone?) thrown in to keep up your energy.

And you will need some stamina to make it through this issue. We may be 30, but we refuse to grow up; so we're throwing a carnival to celebrate everything about our city that's wonderful, wacky, and whimsical. Trust us, that's a lot. In this year's "Best Of," you'll step back in time to revisit old favorites like long-gone amusement park Legend City (and did you know there was once a Valley restaurant that housed circus animals?!) and encounter new traditions like Noca, the super-swank new foodie destination that serves cotton candy with dessert.

Please, dear visitors, don't forget to visit our Sideshow. We've got a high-flying acrobat, a juggling restaurateur, the king of kitsch, and other frenetic Phoenicians here for your delight and amusement.

Welcome to Thrill City. Hold on tight for the ride of the year.

SIDESHOW: