The Best Live and Virtual Things to Do in Metro Phoenix This Week

This week you can learn the basics of letterpress printing, explore a giant sculpture inspired by desert storms, or watch a baseball film with a global twist. Here's a look at the best live and online events happening around metro Phoenix.

Sports Traditions

As the world looks ahead to the postponed 2020 Summer Olympics scheduled to open in late July in Tokyo, a Phoenix-based independent cinema called No Festival Required will be screening a film that explores a beloved baseball tradition in Japan. Titled Koshien: Japan's Field of Dreams, the film is named for the country’s national high school baseball championship, whose participants are expected to both excel in athletic skill and embody important values of Japanese culture. Watch the online screening at your convenience this week. The cost is $10.

Poetry in America

Maybe you’ve still got chills from hearing Amanda Gorman, named the first National Youth Poet Laureate in 2017, deliver a moving reading of her poem "The Hill We Climb" during the recent inauguration ceremony at the U.S. Capitol. Keep that poetry love going as U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo, the first Native to hold that position, and former U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey share a virtual reading and conversation at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, January 26. The Power of Poetry in America event is being presented by ASU’s Center for Imagination In the Borderlands. Register online.

Creating a Storm

Recent storms reminded urban desert dwellers of the impacts wind and rain can have on natural and manmade landscapes. It’s a fact that’s long inspired artists Natasha Lisitsa and Daniel Schultz, a husband-and-wife team whose Wind installation recently opened at the Desert Botanical Garden. See how they used cholla skeletons, tumbleweeds, and other plant materials to create the large-scale living sculpture inspired by desert wind and dust storms. It’s included with Garden admission, which starts at $14.95. Garden hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day this week. Advance tickets are required.

Letterpress Printing

If you’re hoping to spend more time being creative this year, try your hand at letterpress printing at Hazel & Violet, a letterpress shop located on the delightfully quirky strip of Grand Avenue that’s home to several galleries and other artistic spaces. The next workshop runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, January 30. It’s a chance to learn the basics of letterpress printing with wood and metal type while exploring your inner artist and designer. The cost is $50 per person. Register online.

Celebrating Fine Art

The Celebration of Fine Art featuring 100 or so artists is happening every day this week from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. inside big white tents located near Loop 101 and Hayden Road in Scottsdale. Participating artists come from around the country, and work in diverse mediums from sculpture to photography. Look for Phoenix-based artists including Aileen Frick and Troy Moody while you're there. The event continues through March 28, and you can get a pass that’s good for the entire run for $10.