9 Best Things to Do in Metro Phoenix This Weekend

New Times picks the best events in metro Phoenix from Friday, July 1, through Sunday, July 3. For more things to do, see our curated online calendar.

"Caminos: My Story, Our Voices"
Everyone has a story to tell. That is no less true of the Latinx and LGBTQ communities, but in the wake of the tragedy in Orlando people, from allies to leaders, might finally be listening. Really listening.
“Caminos: My Story, Our Voices” is the next installment in Trans-Queer Pueblo’s ongoing “Queer Artivismo” series, an art-as-activism event that encourages conversation and awareness — particularly about the undocumented LGBTQ population. Presented in collaboration with the Arizona Center for Neighborhood Leaders and Maricopa Community Colleges, the night of storytelling includes poetry, a visual art exhibition, and drag performances. The theme, caminos, highlights the journeys guiding everyone forward.

Stories start at 7 p.m. on Friday, July 1, at AZCNL, 816 North First Avenue. Admission is free. “Queer Artivismo” events are safe spaces; for details on the organizations involved and the series, visit www.facebook.com/AzQuip and www.azcnl.org. Interested in telling? Contact organizers through www.facebook.com/events/274315729581023. An open-mic set will run from 9:30 to 10 p.m. following the program. Janessa Hilliard

Phoenix Mercury vs. New York Liberty
For the first time since 2012, the Phoenix Mercury face the possibility of missing the playoffs. Perhaps things own’t go quite as abysmally as they did in 2012, when Phoenix finished the season 7-27. But the Merc have yet to creep above .500 this year, and time is not on their side. If one of the winningest sports franchises in the Valley wants to keep things that way, they’ll need to see a little more production from their all-star center Brittney Griner, who is having a subpar season thus far. The Mercury host the New York Liberty — a very good road team — at Talking Stick Resort Arena, 201 East Jefferson Street, at 7 p.m. on Friday, July 1. Tickets are $9 and up. Visit www.mercury.wnba.com or call 602-379-7800 for details. Rob Kroehler

"Rue Femme"
Sometimes you can see great art without even having to get out of your car. And no, we do not mean by perusing artists’ websites on your phone. Put that down, please.

It’s by taking in the multiple murals that have become a prominent part of the local landscape. Diverse styles grace the walls of buildings and other available external canvases all around town, with a high concentration in downtown and Central Phoenix. {9} The Gallery owner Laura Dragon is celebrating female muralists by bringing them together for the exhibition “Rue Femme.”

“The street art and murals created by the women who contribute to this movement is fresh, vibrant, and transcends traditional boundaries,” Dragon says. Head indoors to see work by those who also help beautify the outdoors from 6 to 10 p.m. on Friday, July 1, at {9} the Gallery, 1229 Grand Avenue. Admission is free. Call 602-354-9557 or visit www.9thegallery.com. Amy Young

Nomads No' Mo'
Against all odds, The [SIC] Sense sketch comedy troupe has hung in there for years, hopscotching around Phoenix and remaining reliably bizarre and offensive. The company now has its own space, with a sign on the building and everything. It’s a flippin’ miracle.

Friday, July 1, marks the venue’s grand opening with The [SIC] Sense: Nomads No’ Mo’, featuring door prizes, complimentary refreshments, and a guaranteed lack of David Hasselhoff. (Unless you tell him about it. Don’t be that guy.) Expect some favorite classic sketches and a lot of new ones; some veteran performers and some fresh Sickies.

Showtime is 8 p.m., and performances continue through Saturday, July 16. Tickets are $10 at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2559524 and $15 at the door, 1902-1909 East McDowell Road. Call 602-214-4344. Julie Peterson

Tongue Tied’s America Eff Yeah! Dance Party
Even hip kids can get patriotic every now and then. This month’s Tongue Tied is all about celebrating the good old US of A at Linger Longer Lounge, 6522 North 16th Street. The popular monthly dance party will include a costume contest for best patriotic garb, face and body painting, a green screen photo booth, cheap beer and BBQ, and free drink tickets, gift cards, and movie tickets, among other fun stuff. Wear your best stars and stripes.

America, Eff Yeah kicks off at 9 p.m. on Saturday, July 2, with songs spinning until 2 a.m. at Linger Longer Lounge. The 21-and-over event’s cover is free before 9 p.m. and $5 after. For more details, see www.facebook.com/events/497571300453117. Katrina Montgomery


Flashlight Tours
In the summer, all Arizonans become at least a little bit nocturnal. Luckily, you can still get your nature fix, even after sundown, at the Desert Botanical Garden, 1201 North Galvin Parkway. See nature come to life as the temperatures drop in the evenings with the Garden’s self-guided Flashlight Tours. The tours are a great way to experience and learn about the desert at night, complete with a variety of discovery stations for visitors of all ages.

Flashlight Tours occur weekly on Thursdays and Saturdays from 7 to 10 p.m. now through September 3. Admission ranges from $10 to $22. Don’t forgot to bring a flashlight! For more information, call 480-941-1225 or visit www.dbg.org. Katrina Montgomery

Me and My Girl
In their entertainment choices, the British are not so different from you and us. After a 1938 sporting event was cancelled and the London musical Me and My Girl wound up on the radio, bewitched limey fans flocked to the playhouse, creating a bona fide hit. The tale of a Cockney fella who inherits an earldom (but won’t leave his girlfriend behind) remains an award-winning crowdpleaser today.

The show’s dance craze, “The Lambeth Walk,” was legitimized when the King and Queen did it in public. Those plucky royals will do anything in the name of morale. Catch the closing performance at 3 p.m. Saturday, July 2, at Hale Centre Theatre, 50 West Page Avenue in Gilbert. Tickets are $18 to $28 at 480-497-1181 or www.haletheatrearizona.com. Julie Peterson


Flight of the Conchords
They came, they saw, they Conchord — kind of.

After gaining a cult following thanks to their Emmy-nominated HBO series of the same name, the expertly coiffed comedy folk duo Flight of the Conchords (Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie) laid a little low, enjoying the kind of success that still spawns an array of GIFs and Tumblr posts.

Now everyone’s favorite New Zealanders have returned to the stage with the “Flight of the Conchords sing Flight of the Conchords” tour. Fans can expect to hear favorites “The Most Beautiful Girl (in the Room),” “Carol Brown,” and “Business Time,” along with new material, including a song about being gym sex buddies, “Fuck You On The Ceiling,” and the twosome’s signature clever banter.

Things take flight at 8 p.m. on Sunday, July 3, at Comerica Theatre, 400 West Washington Street. Ticket prices run from $39.50 to $55, plus fees. Irish comedian and musician David O’Doherty will open. Click www.comericatheatre.com or call 602-379-2800 to purchase tickets. Janessa Hilliard

Tournaments & Tacos
Midway Games’ NFL Blitz ‘99 is, without a doubt, the greatest football video game ever created. It’s football taken to its glorious, inevitable extreme: Every player is a 300-pound, musclebound behemoth; every throw a Hail Mary; every instance of late-hitting, body-slamming unsportsmanlike conduct entirely permitted. Fair catches? Fair catches are for the weak.

Prove your prowess at this most American of games during Cobra Arcade Bar’s pre-Fourth of July Tournaments & Tacos event and you (and a teammate) could take home fabulous prizes. The blitz begins at noon on Sunday, July 3, at 801 North Second Street. Registration is $10 per team. Call 602-595-5873 or visit cobraarcadebar.com for more.  Zach Fowle