10 Best Things to Do in Metro Phoenix This Weekend

New Times picks the best things to do in metro Phoenix from Friday, June 17, through Sunday, June 19. For more events, see our curated calendar. 

"Land Tracings"
A trio of 55-gallon drum lids hang on a gallery wall, each featuring tintype photographs by David Emitt Adams, one of five Arizona artists with works in the free “Land Tracings” exhibition presented by Arizona Commission on the Arts. More photographs, made on rusted tin cans, sit nearby.

Explore works by Adams, Alex! Jimenez, Lauren Strohacker and Kendra Sollars, and P. Nosa from 6 to 10 p.m. on Friday, June 17, at Chartreuse, 1301 Grand Avenue.

Through typography, videography, and other media, these artists address contemporary issues including energy consumption, wildlife extinction, and the intersection of geography with culture.

Show up after 7 p.m. to see Nosa using his solar-powered sewing machine to make patches inspired by gallery-goer input. Visit www.chartreuseart.com. Lynn Trimble

The Scenario
Here we go, yo. Here we go, yo. So here’s, so here’s, so here’s The Scenario: Each month, this DJ-driven showcase of 1990s hip-hop powers into The Grid, Mesa’s best and only video-game lounge slash live-music venue slash craft-beer bar. Zubaz pants are encouraged but not required. The only thing you’ll need to bring is a deep love for the sweet sounds of DJ Jazzy Jeff, Warren G., and a certain tribe that goes by the name of Quest. Oh, and quarters for the arcade games.

Kick it at The Scenario starting at 9 p.m. on Friday, June 17, at The Grid, 525 South Gilbert Road in Mesa. The event is 21-and-up but totes free. Call 480-621-8088 or visit thegridgg.wix.com for more. Zach Fowle

After Hours at Rosie's Pub
Theater people can be fun socially, but it’s a crap shoot. You’ll frequently find them reciting Shakespeare in a hot tub or warbling unaccompanied show tunes in your living room. For fucking hours. We prefer the characters (and the actors, if Brelby Theatre Company’s blog is accurate) in After Hours at Rosie’s Pub, a new play the ensemble created collaboratively.

Our squad includes Maya Angelou, Monica Lewinsky, the goddess Hera, Frida Kahlo, Sally Ride, Billie Jean King, and the bar’s proprietress, Rosie the Riveter. When the ordinary folks have gone home, this spirited group convenes for adult beverages and a wild-ass open mic.

The production continues through June 25 at 6835 North 58th Avenue in Glendale. (The company’s moving down the block and around the corner to Catlin Court after this one.) Tickets are $12 at www.brelby.com or 623-282-2781. Showtime on Friday, June 17, is 7:30 p.m. Julie Peterson

Cheesy Tie Weekend: Father's Day Comedy Shows
There are things Dad does not need more of. Chief among them are shaving kits, barbecue accoutrements, and, really, anything expressly classifed as a “Father’s Day” gift. What could Pops use? A laugh — and we don’t mean at one of his terrible jokes. Instead, take him out for an evening of comedy performed by the improv pros at National Comedy Theatre, 1111 South Longmore Street in Mesa.

At 7:30 and 9:45 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, June 17 and 18, NCT hosts Cheesy Tie Weekend, when fathers get in for $5 and and those who sport hideous neckwear get $2 off the cover. Ah yes, and speaking of ridiculous ascots, bolos, cravats, and assorted what-have-yous: At each show, whoever arrives wearing the absolute tackiest tie wins a prize pack. Even if dear old Dad doesn’t win, he still gets to spend time with you, which is the cheesiest, best gift of all. Right? Find tickets, details, and discount codes at www.nctphoenix.com. Becky Bartkowski

Arizona Rattlers vs. Philadelphia Soul
By the time you read this, the finals of both the NBA and NHL will likely be over and we’ll be stuck in the fattest portion of what we at New Times refer to as “The Phantom Zone,” that terrible time of year when the major sports go dormant and the only plays being shown on SportsCenter’s nightly top 10 are — shudder — baseball highlights. You’ll need at least a little football to sustain you until the September 8 NFL season opener, so drop in on the Arizona Rattlers (undefeated at home as of this writing) for an arena football matchup against the Philadelphia Soul. Do it and you just may escape the Phantom Zone with your sanity intact.

Kickoff is at 7 p.m. on Friday, June 17, at Talking Stick Resort Arena, 201 East Jefferson Street. Tickets start at $10. Call 602-514-8383 or visit www.azrattlers.com for more. Zach Fowle

Rule of Thirds
Who says you can’t have it all? That’s what the folks behind the café, bar, coffee shop, gallery, and event venue that is ThirdSpace, 1028 Grand Avenue, must have been thinking.

They’re bringing the same mentality to Rule of Thirds on Saturday, June 18, for $5. The event will feature live painting, visual art by Chad Knapp and more, and photographers Melissa Fossum and Rhondi Reardon. There will also be performances by Man Hands and Sturdy Ladies, and DJs like Tom Reardon (a New Times contributor).

The first DJ goes on at 7, first band at 8:30 p.m. If you’re younger than 21, you can attend with a guardian until 10 p.m. And if you can’t make it, all the art will be displayed until June 29.

For more information, call 602-258-1536, or see www.facebook.com/events/1742440475970571. Lauren Cusimano

Grey Box Collective
Sometimes you have to get inside of a box in order to think outside of the box. Grey Box Collective, a new dance and theater performance group that creates interdisciplinary work about social issues on college campuses, is debuting new work on Saturday at [nueBOX] in the Phoenix Center for the Arts, 1202 North Third Street, room 3002. The piece, I Am Enough, is inspired by Brené Brown’s research on shame culture and will take the form of a pseudo-fashion show, featuring text, movement, and media.

Performances begin at 6 and 8 p.m. on June 18 at [nueBOX]. Tickets are $10 in advance or $15 at the door. For more information, visit nuebox.org/greyboxcollective or greyboxcollective.com. Katrina Montgomery

Juneteenth Celebration
The Emancipation Proclamation took effect January 1, 1863, but in the southern and border states, you wouldn’t have known it. The order was finally read in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865.

This year, 151 since the news broke, the Arizona Legislature and Governor Ducey made June 19 official Juneteenth Day. (We’re only the 45th state to do so.) Arizona’s longstanding Juneteenth Celebration covers many bases, with live music, vendors, food, a talent show, displays of educational and cultural materials, a kids’ zone, a youth town hall, health screenings, a Buffalo Soldiers presentation, an African art walk, and a basketball tournament. It all drops from 4 to 9 p.m. Saturday, June 18, at Eastlake Park and Community Center, 1549 East Jefferson Street. Visit www.azifoundation.wix.com/phxjuneteenth. Julie Peterson

2016 New Summer Shorts
Name your kids Tuna and Salmon, and there’s bound to be some drama. That’s just what Debra Rich Gettleman, a local playwright with a knack for writing 10-minute plays, had in mind. She’s one of eight playwrights featured in 2016 New Summer Shorts at Theatre Artists Studio, 4848 East Cactus Road in Scottsdale.

Michael Fleck is showing Tide Pools, his paean to John Steinbeck, Ed Ricketts, and Cannery Row. And Nina Koch is presenting her exploration of art acquisition and appreciation titled Illumination. Other playwrights get 10 minutes each for treatments of topics ranging from community gardens to dementia.

Showtime is 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 19, and performances run through Sunday, June 26. General admission is $20. Visit www.thestudiophx.org or call the box office at 602-765-0120 for tickets. Lynn Trimble

John Carpenter
John Carpenter scared the hell out of us with The Thing and Christine, and gave nerds a reason to go to the movies with Big Trouble in Little China and They Live. Now, the horror master is hitting the road.

John Carpenter: Live Retrospective is Sunday, June 19, in the Ikeda Theater at Mesa Arts Center, One East Main Street. Doors are at 7 p.m., and the show starts at 8.

Carpenter will perform his classic film compositions live, as well as work from non-soundtrack albums. This is an all-ages event, probably so a whole new generation of kids can have the Halloween theme stuck in their heads while waiting for Michael Myers to come out of their closets.

Tickets range from $40 to $60. VIP, meet-and-greet, and front-row ticket packages cost $155 to $325. For more information, visit www.statesidepresents.com or www.mesaartscenter.com. Lauren Cusimano