With Wall Street watching, there'd better be one hell of a good reason IBM and Microsoft are spending $2,500 each on a sinking ship, er, boat. And, of course, there is. On Saturday, October 16, the aforementioned join more than 30 Valley-based companies on the high seas of Tempe Town Lake for the second annual "Milk Carton Boat Derby," which benefits Child Abuse Prevention Arizona. The boats are mostly constructed of half-gallon milk cartons, which, as a rule, must be exposed to the water, says CAPA executive director Mark Stanley. "Immediately the boats start taking on water," Stanley says. "They all just start to slowly go down." What's that sound? Ah yes, it's big business' small change jingling in the CAPA coffers. The race starts at 9 a.m., just east of the Mill Avenue bridge crossing. Call 480-635-8452. -- Joe Watson
Pole-ing Place
Fish fry!
Sat 10/16
With the summer heat behind us, the fish are no longer frying in Valley-area parks and lakes. But such a fate awaits them, nevertheless, on Saturday, October 16, when we'll have our hooks, lines, sinkers and fry batter at the ready at Encanto Park, 15th Avenue and Encanto Boulevard, from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m.,for the park's "EncantoFish Day." Phoenix Parks and Rec promises a "freshly stocked" lake of catfish and sunfish surrounding Amp Island, and Arizona Game and Fish will waive the urban fishing license during the event. The free event also includes fishing instruction and children's activities. Call 602-261-8993. -- Joe Watson
Vicious Cycle
Flex some tire iron
Sun 10/17
A thousand cyclists put the pedal to the mettle Sunday, October 17, in the first-ever Tour de Scottsdale. Participants are pumped about the 67-mile ride, and about the chancetoraise money for the McDowell Sonoran Land Trust and Rebuilding Together. Though USA Cycling sanctions the event as non-competitive, everybody wins: Speed racers garner prizes and awards, and non-pedalers get to patronize peddlers' "music, food, merchandise and fun" from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Expo Marketplace adjacent to the starting line on Market Street at the southeast corner of Pima Road and Thompson Peak Parkway. Entry fees are $100 per rider in the distance race and $40 per person in the 2.5-mile Family Fun Ride. Call 480-460-5052. --Kim Toms
