Phoenix BEST PLACE TO WEAR YOUR ARTY HAT - Scottsdale Arts Festival - Best Of Phoenix

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Scottsdale Arts Festival

http://www.scottsdaleartsfestival.org

We love the Scottsdale Arts Festival because, unlike other outdoor art shows (which have proliferated with alarming frequency in the 37 years since Scottsdale started their own), this is a quality act. More than 200 artists are featured each year, and while you may find a stray ceramic tissue-box holder or something that looks like your third-grader's art project, for the most part the art is amazing, stuff you'd actually put in your home — if you could afford it.

Okay, so this is window-shopping turf for most of us, but it's still one of our favorite weekends of the year, and one of our favorite spots at the festival is Imagination Nation, the kid craft area, usually located on the north side of City Hall. You don't have to be a kid to make yourself a wide-brimmed brown paper bag hat, although you might want to bring along a third-grader to decorate it for you, for that authentic touch. Last year, our kid ditched the hat almost immediately after making it, and, with no free hands (we recommend the festival food!), we stuck it on our own head. We were grateful at the end of the day, when we noticed a lot of other sunburned faces. And we got a lot of compliments!

The 38th annual festival is March 7, 8 and 9, 2008, and it'll feature art, food and live entertainment. See you at the hat-making table.

BEST REASON TO WALK THE STREETS OF SCOTTSDALE IN THE DEAD OF SUMMER >> << BEST TREASURE HUNT