New Times picks the best things to do in metro Phoenix from Friday, August 19, to Sunday, August 21. For more events, see our curated calendar.
"Hare"
Everything for sale at Practical Art is handmade by artists and is useful, though you might not be able to bring yourself to use it. PA also hosts exhibitions, and the current stunner, Christy Puetz’s “Hare,” remains on view through Wednesday, August 31. The wee beaded rabbits were inspired by Watership Down.
On the evening of Friday, August 19, from 6 to 7:30 p.m., Feel Good Flow presents a yoga session in the gallery at 5050 North Central Avenue. So come over earlier to look at art, and then consider staying for yoga with refreshments, a DJ, and a long savasana. (And honestly, there’s nothing we hate more than a short savasana. Amirite?) Admission is free; yoga is by donation. Visit www.practical-art.com or call 602-264-1414. Julie Peterson
Adult Take-Over
Editor's note: This event has been canceled.
Do your pointy Spock ears perk up at the words, “Cosplay is encouraged”? If so, consider attending the grown-up Adult Take-Over: Alien Party. This is your chance to get all dolled up as your favorite intergalactic character for a night of fun that includes appetizers, a costume contest, a DJ, dancing, a costume parade, and a cash bar. This 21-and-over cosmic geek fest happens from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, August 19, at the i.d.e.a. Museum, 150 West Pepper Place in Mesa. Tickets are $25 or $45 per couple before August 15, and $30 per person and $55 per couple at the door. Call 480-644-2468 or visit www.ideamuseum.org. Amy Young
Chandler Art Walk
TechShop Chandler – a community maker space filled with high-tech tools, machinery, and software – will be playing host for Chandler’s free Third Friday Art Walk, happening from 6 to 9:30 p.m. on August 19 at 249 East Chicago Street.
More than 30 local artisans will be showing and selling their wares that night, and you can mingle with some of the makers who use the space. But the event also includes live music, performed by Courtney Cotter King. And food trucks will be joining the fun.
While you’re there, check out Mary Shindell’s Digital Desert/Agave Unfurling, an installation created for the latest IN FLUX multi-city public art initiative. Shindell’s work includes a three-part suspended sculpture created with Lucite, optical fiber, and aluminum that was water-jet cut using TechShop Chandler equipment.
Snag a schedule of upcoming classes, too — in case you feel inspired to start your own project. Visit www.downtownchandler.org. Lynn Trimble
PHX Wrestling: RISE
Being a wrestling fan who only watches the WWE is like being a fan of music who only listens to Nickelback. Sure, it’s entertaining, but it’s also overproduced, bland, and leaves you feeling empty. Expand your wrestle-fan horizons at RISE. Presented by PHX Wrestling, the event will feature pros like Alexander Hammerstone and Ricky Starks dueling for the title of King of the PHX, Sage Sin and Brittany Wonder fighting in an “anything goes” match, and 20-plus other wrestlers. Sure, the pros on the card don’t have the star power of a Triple H or a Kane. But think of all the indie wrestling cred you’ll earn. Those guys are sellouts anyway.
Get a rise out of RISE at 7 p.m. on Friday, August 19, at the Arizona Event Center, 1300 South Country Club Drive in Mesa. Tickets start at $10. Visit phxwrestling.com for more. Zach Fowle
My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady demolished musical theater records when it first graced stages in 1956. Based on George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, the story of Eliza Doolittle isn’t a gender-swapped version of Dr. Dolittle; Eliza’s a Cockney flower vendor who gets involved with phoneticist (because that’s a thing) Henry Higgins, who endeavors to make her a lady but must learn to value her as a person.
The blockbuster favorite boasts gorgeous songs, winning characters, and trenchant social commentary. Scottsdale Musical Theater Company adds full sets, a live orchestra, and all the other trimmings. Showtime on Friday, August 19, is 7:30 p.m. at Tempe Center for the Arts, 700 West Rio Salado Parkway. Performances continue through Sunday, August 21. For tickets, $33 to $42, visit www.scottsdalemusicaltheater.com or call 602-909-4215. Julie Peterson
Marc Maron
If you are used to getting a double dose of the prolific comedian Marc Maron from both his self-titled TV show and his extremely popular WTF podcast, you don’t have to be sad that the former is a done deal, having aired its fourth and final season last month. Maron’s still a prolific pod-person, interviewing a diverse roster of interesting people on the regular, and now he’s taking his wicked wit on the road. His Too Real comedy tour is an opportunity to see the frank and often self-deprecating funnyman in person, as he cleverly dissects topics from relationships to addiction. Enjoy brutally honest humor about the human condition during shows at 7 and 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, August 20, at Stand Up Live, 50 West Jefferson Street. Admission to the 21-and-over shows is $25, with a two-drink minimum. Call 480-719-6100 or visit www.standuplive.com. Amy Young
Desert Dolls Roller Derby Championship
When the marquee reads something like Joon Cleavers vs. Cosmic Killas, you don’t just keep walking. Instead, see two teams of eight-wheeled hard asses compete for the Desert Dolls Roller Derby Championship on Saturday, August 20, at the Peoria Sports Complex, 16083 North 75th Avenue.
The DDRD Championship starts at 6:30 p.m. (though it’s recommended you arrive early for good seats), with the new champions in full celebration mode by 9:30. Tickets are $10 in advance at www.brownpapertickets.com, and $12 at the door, with kids 12 and younger admitted for free.
After, find food and drink at Daddy-O's Grill, 4163 West Thunderbird Road, for a small after-party. For more information, call 623-252-0418, or visit www.desertdollsrollerderby.com. Invite some friends at www.facebook.com/events/1052370568214215. Lauren Cusimano
Seventh Annual Type-In
If you know a touch-typist, you know the soothing sound of rapid, whispery keyboarding. (It could be the aural equivalent of watching someone else work.) But if you are — for who knows what reason — being typed at by a fan of the old manual typewriter, the soundscape’s a lot more ... well, crunchy, and it’s punctuated by thunks and dings. (Also, depending on proficiency, sporadic taps that call to mind a drunken carnival chicken.)
Typists and groupies alike enjoy type-ins, which take place all over all the time (the Typosphere international blog’s a good jumping-off point). If you think “carriage return” might be an ancillary service provided at a Victorian airport, you should get schooled on that and other matters at Phoenix’s Seventh Annual Type-In from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, August 20, at Changing Hands Bookstore, 300 West Camelback Road. Call 602-274-0067 or visit www.changinghands.com. Julie Peterson
O.H.S.O. Trail Run
If your running shoes have seen better days, there’s a free trail run where you’re provided with and allowed to thoroughly abuse new shoes on an actual trail, followed by beer and food.
If this sounds like your dream morning, Hoka One One and Sole Sports Running Zone present the O.H.S.O. Trail Run, offering five-, eight-, and 13-mile trails through Phoenix Mountain Preserve. O.H.S.O. Paradise Valley, 10810 North Tatum Boulevard, #126, opens at 6 a.m. on Saturday, August 20, for try-ons and demos, with all runs starting at 6:30 a.m. Back at OHSO, beer, Bloody Marys, and mimosas are served starting at 7:30 a.m., breakfast gets going at 8, and the raffle kicks off at 9.
For more information, call 480-522-2475, or see www.facebook.com/events/917723025022320. Lauren Cusimano
Play: The Documentary
When first-time filmmaker Matty Steinkamp returned to his hometown of Phoenix, he discovered something disheartening: Because of budget cuts, schools were cutting music programs. Growing up in a musical home meant interacting with instruments was as important as test scores, and Steinkamp decided to create a film that explored just that.
A two-year project partly funded through Kickstarter, Play: The Documentary features 40 musicians from across the United States and Ireland, providing a social commentary about how music has an impact on society and creates well-rounded individuals. The independent production debuted at Phoenix Film Festival, and will play at Sedona International Film Festival in late August.
Catch Play’s second screening at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, August 21, at Film Bar, 815 North Second Street. Tickets for the 18-and-over event are $12 at www.thefilmbarphx.com; proceeds benefit Valley-area music and arts programs, including Arizona School for the Arts. For more on the film, visit www.playthedocumentary.com. Janessa Hilliard
Downtown Chamber Series
Instead of strolling through the Great Hall exhibition and event space at Phoenix Art Museum, grab a chair and stay for a while – because a woodwind quintet called the Mill Ave Chamber Players performs there at 2 p.m. on Sunday, August 21. It’s more intimate than a giant concert hall, and tickets are $15.
Musicians playing flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and horn are performing works by Brazilian composer Heitor Villa Lobos, American composer John Steinmetz, Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi, and Russian composer Dmitry Shostakovich.
Did we mention the bassoon? That’s the long wood tube that’s doubled over on itself – the one your band teacher probably begged you to play instead of the flute. This is your chance to see what you missed. Visit www.downtownchamberseries.org. Lynn Trimble