Serenity
Calling all Browncoats! Serenity, the cinematic continuation of Joss Whedon’s beloved sci-fi series Firefly, is hitting the big screen again for an out-of-this-world party. (It’s okay to be late to the game. Like the show it’s based on, no one saw the movie the first time around.)
The ragtag crew of the titular spaceship, led by comic-con favorite Nathan Fillion, gets into trouble when they bring aboard a passenger with psychic powers, making them the target of a government tracker who will do anything to capture her.
Aim to misbehave at 7 p.m. on Thursday, September 28, at Alamo Drafthouse Chandler, 4955 South Arizona Avenue. Admission is $12.94 and includes cap guns for you to aim at the screen and your own Serenity ship to navigate. For more information, visit the Alamo Drafthouse website. Jason Keil
Arizona Opera will perform Das Rheingold as part of its 2017-18 season.
Cory Weaver/Minnesota Opera
Wine is, like, the ultimate partner. Obviously, plenty of folks enjoy it on its own, but it often becomes part of a union.
The Story of Opera in Wine will pair vino with education, which can only make you a smarter, happier, and slightly more drunk person. Attendees will tour through opera’s history while enjoying a curated selection of red and white wines from different European wineries. Expect to start the evening by hearing about the origins of opera and Italy, and continue your informational journey from there.
Operatic knowledge is uncorked at 7 p.m. on Thursday, September 28, in the Arizona Opera Atrium, 1636 North Central Avenue. Admission is $20. Call 602-266-7464 or visit the Arizona Opera website. Amy Young
Jazz Meets Poetry
Some of the Valley’s premier performance poets are taking the stage at The Nash, as part of a new series blending poetry and jazz. It’s a new creative platform for Leah Marché, co-founder of BlackPoet Ventures, who’s working with the Roosevelt Row music venue to explore diverse voices, talents, and styles.
First up for the Jazz Meets Poetry series is a tribute to renowned jazz musicians Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie. It’s happening at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 28, at The Nash, 110 East Roosevelt Street. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 the day of the show. Visit the Nash website. Lynn Trimble
Mummy dearest awaits you at Haunted Attractions.
The Crypt Haunted Attractions
If you scare people for a living, it’s important to convince them that this year will be the scariest yet. And although The Crypt Haunted Attractions is great at both being increasingly horrifying and seeming that way, we tell you what, those ghouls and so forth will have to go pretty far if they wanna scare us more than this year has.
Catharsis is healthy, so screaming it out in an appropriate venue sounds almost comforting. However, it won’t be — muah ha ha — as you experience the 2017 Nightmare Edition through Tuesday, October 31, featuring the Crypt, the Asylum, and Chaos Maze, at the possibly actually haunted Fiesta Mall, 1445 West Southern Avenue in Mesa.
Hours on Friday, September 29, are 7 to 10 p.m. Admission is $8 to $35, depending how much you can handle and whether you want to wait in line. Buy advance tickets or ask questions at the Haunted AZ website. Julie Peterson
Cerberus Cup
September has five weekends this year. And that can only mean one thing: The local improv community will once again compete for the coveted Cerberus Cup. The tournament begins with three teams made up of three performers skilled in the art of spontaneity battling each other for laughs and your vote. Those with the most votes at the end of the three bouts will duke it out the next night for a cash prize and Cerberus Cup Championship glory.
Cast your vote starting at 8:30 p.m. on Friday, September 29, at The Torch Theatre, 4721 North Central Avenue. Admission for each bout is $10, and a pass for all three bouts for $15. For more information, visit the Torch Theatre website. Jason Keil
She Loves Me
After Sleepless in Seattle, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan starred in You’ve Got Mail. It features two people falling in love on AOL. Old school! The storyline has a rich pedigree, starting with a 1937 Hungarian play, Parfumerie, and evolving through enough stage, screen, and musical versions to choke a horse. The tale of two pen-pal lovers who don’t know they know each other in real life also might have inspired “Escape (The Piña Colada Song).”
The very popular musical version She Loves Me is presented by Don Bluth Front Row Theatre through Saturday, November 4, at 8670 East Shea Boulevard, #103, in Scottsdale. Showtime is 7 p.m. for the performance on Friday, September 29, and tickets are $23 to $25 at 480-314-0841 or the Don Bluth Front Row Theatre website. Julie Peterson
Pancakes & Booze
The flapjacks will be flying again this year, when the Pancakes & Booze art show returns to The Duce, 525 South Central Avenue. It’s a chance to satisfy both your eye for art and your culinary cravings, while mixing it up with fellow Phoenicians.
Event organizers put out the call for local artists, but they haven’t revealed whose work they’re showing. So at this point, there’s no telling what sort of artistic gems you might stumble on during this year’s gathering. Expect live performances, too.
Tickets for the age 21-and-over event start at $7 (for early birds), and the pancakes are free. The show starts at 8 p.m. on Friday, September 29, and runs until 2 a.m. Visit the Pancakes & Booze website. Lynn Trimble
Salvage Yard
During junking excursions, nothing is more exhilarating than finding a piece to complete a project or add to a collection. During the Salvage Yard at Rusty Saturday on Saturday, September 30, you can become a picker like Mike Wolfe or Frank Fritz.
The monthly sale, held in a warehouse behind the store, has a variety of rustic, vintage, industrial, antique, and repurposed items, including furniture, home decor, and spare project parts.
Founded by three self-proclaimed “junkers,” the warehouse sale caters to homeowners working on DIY projects and shoppers looking for vintage items to decorate with.
The monthly event runs from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 12815 North Cave Creek Road. For more information, visit the Facebook event page. Laura Latzko
Newbie Night
Just because Phoenix New Times has teamed up with Tempe’s Coyotes Curling Club, 2202 West Medtronic Way, for the upcoming Newbie Night doesn’t necessarily mean that getting a perm is officially back in style. No, this is the other type of curling. Not the kind you do at the gym — the other, other type of curling.
It’s the sport that may or may not inadvertently have been invented when a bunch of drunk medieval Scots discovered that it was safer to slide large stones, rather than attempt to hurl them, over bodies of frozen water. Now, curling is an Olympic sport, and the Valley’s premier curling club is inviting you to put your stones on ice, so to speak.
Give it a shot at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 30. The 18-and-over event is $20. Visit the Coyotes Curling website or call 480-447-4559 for details. Rob Kroehler
Paul Rodriguez and Joey Medina
Paul Rodriguez and Joey Medina changed the comedy scene by giving voice to the Mexican-American experience on an international level. Their appearances on The Original Latin Kings of Comedy special helped cement their position as two of the top Latino comedians in the stand-up world.
The veteran comedians will perform on Saturday, September 30, as part of the Return of the Latin Kings of Comedy show at Comerica Theatre, 400 West Washington Street. The star-studded lineup will also feature Willie Barcena, a regular on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno; Johnny A. Sanchez, a former cast member on MADtv; and Dennis Gaxiola, a top-tier clean comic.
Tickets start at $25 for the 8 p.m. show. For more information, call 602-379-2800 or visit the Comerica Theatre website. Laura Latzko
Read on for more of the best things to do in metro Phoenix this week.
The Bikini Boogaloo
It’s time to get down at Bikini Lounge. The dive bar has teamed up with The Record Shoppe to bring you a night that’ll spin you right round.
DJ Brent Roy and Rev Psychedelic Sunset will be spinning rare, out-of-print records ranging from garage and rockabilly to northern soul during The Bikini Boogaloo at 1502 Grand Avenue.
There’s no cover for this event, which runs from 10 p.m. until 2 a.m. on Saturday, September 30. For more information, visit the Facebook event page. Lindsay Roberts
Arizona Cardinals v. San Francisco 49ers
No Arizona Cardinals fan in their right mind would argue that the team’s offense has been good this season, but things could be worse.
The San Francisco 49ers, for example, failed to score a touchdown in either of their first two outings, registering a total of 12 points through week two of the 2017 season. At least the Cardinals, who tallied 39 points through week two, have a valid excuse for their offensive shortcomings — the absence of their most potent offensive player, David Johnson.
Expect the Cards’ stalwart defense to capitalize on the ineptitude of the Niners offense when they visit Glendale’s University of Phoenix Stadium, 1 Cardinals Drive, at 1:05 p.m. on Sunday, October 1. Tickets are $70 and up. Visit the Cardinals website or call 623-433-7101 for details. Rob Kroehler
The Phantom Tollbooth
The best children’s books are just plain good books, which is helpful for adults who missed out on them the first time around. Along with an upbeat, palatable moral, Norton Juster’s The Phantom Tollbooth is packed with idiomatic puns, including characters named Faintly Macabre and the Senses Taker.
The story of a bored boy named Milo whose travels show him how school (and, therefore, life) can be more challenging and diverting has been a worldwide favorite since its 1961 debut. Childsplay brings the fantasy to life through Sunday, October 15, at Tempe Center for the Arts, 700 West Rio Salado Parkway. It’s meant for audiences 6 and older. Showtime on Sunday, October 1, is 1 p.m. Tickets are $12 to $30 at the Childsplay website or 480-350-2822. Julie Peterson
Pumpkin Days and Corn Maze
Whether you’re looking for a scare or some less frightening fall fun, Tolmachoff Farms celebrates both sides of the season.
During the family-friendly Pumpkin Days and Corn Maze festivities, you can traverse either a six-acre or a mini corn maze, visit a petting zoo, take a ride on a pedal-cart track or a train, tear it up on a hay pyramid, and pick a pumpkin. This event runs Tuesday through Sunday, from September 30 to November 5. Admission is $12, and children 2 and younger get in free.
The farm’s AZ Field of Screams attraction features creepy characters waiting for the perfect moment to jump out at and chase you. Prepare to be scared on Friday and Saturday evenings (and Halloween night), from September 30 to October 31. Admission is $20 per person.
Combo passes for both attractions are $25. Pumpkins, train rides, and other things cost extra. The family-owned farm is located at 5726 North 75th Avenue. For more information, call 602-999-3276 or go to Tolmachoff Farms website. Laura Latzko
See how community members honor loved ones at Appaloosa Library.
Scottsdale Public Art
Ever notice how the real history of Mexican holidays gets buffed over during American celebrations, like when Cinco de Mayo goes from celebrating Mexico’s battle win over France to living out Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville dreams? It happens during Día de los Muertos, too. That’s a celebration of friends and family members who’ve passed away, not the Mexican equivalent of Halloween.
Consider its traditional meaning while exploring “Our Stories Live On: Día de los Muertos Community Altars” between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Monday, October 2, at Appaloosa Library, 7377 East Silverstone Drive in Scottsdale. The free exhibition includes small-scale altars created by community members and is on view through Thursday, November 30. Visit the Scottsdale Library website. Lynn Trimble
Pub Trivia
Whether you can’t live without your Monday Night Football or you love to hate it, the Cardinals are not even playing on Monday, October 2. So you’re out of excuses. It’s time to start the week off right by showing off your big brain at SunUp Brewing Company’s Pub Trivia. Go head-to-head with other know-it-alls on topics ranging from the nerdy and cinematic to, yes, even the athletic (they have to level that playing field somehow). There will be $5 appetizers as well as popular craft beers on tap, including the 2017 Oktoberfest.
Win it all at 7 p.m. on Monday, October 2, at SunUp Brewing Company, 322 East Camelback Road. Admission is free. For more information, visit the SunUp Brewing Company website. Jason Keil
Doga
There’s no shortage of yoga variations. Here in the Valley alone, we have goat yoga, cat yoga, and, of course, beer yoga.
The Farm at South Mountain, 6106 South 32nd Street, offers yet another type: doga. During a 9:45 a.m. class on Tuesday, October 3, you and Fido can try out a combination of yoga poses, along with breathing and massage techniques.
Bring along a yoga mat, a blanket for your pup (who must be current on shots to participate), and water.
Preregistration costs $15 per dog and owner. For more information, visit the Facebook event page. Lindsay Roberts
“Optical Control”
Louise Fisher, Anthony Mead, and Lizzy Taber take what they see and turn it into art. In a free exhibition called “Optical Control,” the trio of graduate art students at Arizona State University “melodically illuminate light as an object.” It’s all about exploring “the wonder, necessity, perceptions, and causality of both natural and artificial light.”
Mead works with salt, burnt wood, tread, and gold. For Taber, sunlight is a medium. And Fisher works with video, photography, and printmaking. See how their work comes together at ASU’s Harry Wood Gallery, 900 South Forest Mall in Tempe. Gallery hours on Tuesday, October 3, are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Visit the ASU Events website. Lynn Trimble
Phoenix Rising Football Club
Amid all the intrigue that both the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Cardinals have generated in recent weeks, it might be easy to overlook the Valley’s lone professional soccer team, the Phoenix Rising Football Club. But that team is, indeed, rising.
Since the addition of head coach Patrice Carteron and legendary Ivorian forward Didier Drogba, the team’s performance has been impressive, to say the least. Not only is the team a virtual lock for a playoff spot, it looks as if they’ll roll into the postseason playing at a level much higher than their ranking would suggest.
Check out the hottest team in town as they host the Tulsa Roughnecks at Scottsdale’s Phoenix Rising Soccer Complex, 751 North McClintock Drive, at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 4. Tickets are $10 and up. Visit Phoenix Rising Football Club website or call 623-594-9606 for details. Rob Kroehler
Courtesy of Poisoned Pen Bookstore
Do you have to be on drugs to think you’ve seen a nine-tailed fox? Not necessarily. The shape-shifting creature also known as known as a gumiho from ancient Chinese mythology could appear to you in many different forms.
For instance, the lead suspect in The Nine-Tailed Fox, Martin Limon’s new “Sueño and Bascom” mystery, looks like a woman, but is rumored to be a 1,000-year-old fox in disguise. The detectives think she’s involved in the disappearances of three American soldiers in South Korea.
Find out if the lady is a fox after you grab a signed copy from 7 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, October 4, at the Poisoned Pen Bookstore, 4014 North Goldwater Boulevard in Scottsdale. Admission is free; books for the signing are $26.95. Call 480-947- 2974 or visit the Poisoned Pen website. Amy Young
