For all of you Peeping and would-be Peeping Toms, The Roosevelt Historic District is offering the perfect way to peep without getting slapped with jail time. TourFest, a guided tour of more than 20 houses, lofts and businesses, allows a rare view into buildings that date back to the founding of Phoenix. The festival features food; live music by Zum Zum Zum, The Diva Band, and Ratio; as well as demonstrations on restoration, home design and landscaping techniques. Gold Spot Market hosts a beer and wine garden.
This year's event is much bigger than previous years', as it commemorates the 20th anniversary of the District's founding in 1983. "It'll be like a block party," says Terri Palmberg, the president of the Roosevelt Action Association. "It's the perfect way to celebrate the Roosevelt experience."
TourFest is Saturday, October 25, at the intersection of Roosevelt and Third Avenue. Tours, $15, run between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., and free festivities continue until 9 p.m. Free parking is available in the Post Roosevelt Square garage at the intersection of Central and Portland. - Quetta Carpenter
Market Flair
Fresh is the mantra at this market
Ongoing
Get that oh-so fresh feeling: Vincent's Camelback Market, stocked for its 13th season, peddles produce, pastries and pizzas from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday. Packing the restaurant's parking lot at 3930 East Camelback, the goods come from near (fresh local produce) and far (imported fruits, vegetables, olives, cheeses and wines). And to get a taste of the renowned chef's talent, pick up a few of Vincent's signature duck tamales, croissants and pestos. Call 602-224-0225 or see www.vincentson camelback.com. - Jill Koch
Beginners' Luck
First Fiction Night hosts new talents
Thur 10/23
Being an emerging writer isn't always easy, even when the publishing world is your oyster. For Nell Freudenberger, the bidding war that followed her very first published story -- in the 2001 "Debut Fiction" issue of The New Yorker -- was like the publishing world's equivalent to an arms race. At the time, Freudenberger was an editorial assistant at the magazine, and writing was a hobby she did every morning before hopping on the subway."I think especially for a young writer, it's easy to forget that anyone's ever going to look at your work besides your best friend or maybe your mom. Once that story ["Lucky Girls"] was published, it was a good reminder that you have to keep somebody's attention, you have to be funny, and you have to make the person keep wanting to turn the pages."
Then she signed the contract for her book, a short story collection also called Lucky Girls.
"I was terrified," Freudenberger says. Fortunately, readers are raving about the characters in the five stories, young American women navigating love and family issues in the unfamiliar surroundings of India and Southeast Asia.
Getting a book published is only the first hurdle for new writers. Getting exposure is the second. First Fiction Night, a new event from Changing Hands, brings five fresh talents into the spotlight on Thursday, October 23.
Joining Freudenberger for readings and signings is Ryan Harty, whose book Bring Me Your Saddest Arizona won a 2003 John Simmons Short Fiction Award, and Julie Orringer, who just released her first full-length short story collection, How to Breathe Underwater. Also appearing is Audrey Niffenegger, whose debut novel The Time Traveler's Wife was chosen for Good Morning America's book club, and Nic Kelman, who's been getting glowing reviews for his strangely addictive book Girls.
Readings begin at 7 p.m. at Monti's La Casa Vieja in Tempe. Call Changing Hands, 480-730-0205, for details.- Michele Laudig
Turner Round
Screen queen speaks
Thur 10/23
In 1984 and 1985, she won Golden Globes. In 2003, she launched NPR's American Dialogue. And in 1986, she achieved pop culture immorality, thanks to Falco, whose seven-minute song, "The Kiss of Kathleen Turner," said it best: "Just take a good look at Kathleen Turner/ Now there's one heck of a girl."
Take that good look at Kathleen Turner this Thursday, October 23, when the actress addresses "Reel Women and Real Women" as part of ASU's Women of the World Lecture Series. The free lecture begins at 7:30 p.m. at Gammage Auditorium; tickets are available at ASU Bookstores and Borders. Call 480-965-0051 for details. - Jill Koch
Auto Exposure
The world's finest classic cars are on display
Sat 10/25
For those of us whose automobiles are odes to practicality and limited budgets, the opportunity to get up close and personal with some of the world's finest classic cars is a rare opportunity indeed. Visions of the rarefied air in which a precious few drive through life make for good theater -- and prime examples of what a car can be when money truly is no object.
Shift your automotive fantasies from idle into second gear at the kick-off event for the 2003 Gauthier Classic Car Rally, Saturday, October 25, from 7 to 10 a.m. in front of Jewelry by Gauthier, 4211 North Marshall in downtown Scottsdale. A cache of collector's items, ranging from Porsches and Ferraris to Maseratis and Jaguars, will line Marshall between Third and Fifth streets before embarking on a weekend journey through Arizona's scenic desert landscape. Proceeds will benefit the families of fallen police officers and firefighters throughout the state. Admission is free. For details call Mary Garrett at 602-952-1222. - Craig Wallach
Play Station
New park opens in Ahwatukee
Sat 10/25
Break out the teeny-weeny bikinis: An "Itty Bitty Beach Party" is among the events inaugurating Ahwatukee's first district park this Saturday, October 25. The 66-acre Pecos Park, 48th Street and Pecos Parkway, encompasses the community's first public swimming pool and water slides; soccer and softball fields; basketball, tennis and volleyball courts; picnic areas; a skate plaza; playground; and off-leash dog activity area. From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on opening day, the community is invited for a picnic lunch, golf cart tours, giveaways, sports activities and a skate park exhibition. See www.phoenix.gov for more information. - Jill Koch
Franken Sign
Political humorist does the Right thing
Sat 10/25
He's good enough, he's smart-mouthed enough, and, doggone it, people notice him. Political satirist, author and comedian Al Franken -- Saturday Night Live's sappy self-helper Stuart Smalley -- is on the (anti)warpath, promoting his new book, Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right. All fired up after scrutinizing "the rhetoric of the Right," Franken is out to destroy "the myth of liberal bias in the media" and to expose the deceptive dealings of Bill O'Reilly, Karl Rove and "other right-wing scoundrels." And that's okay.Franken reads and signs his book at 7 p.m. Saturday, October 25, at Tempe's Marquee Theatre, 730 North Mill. Tickets -- $20, or $8 with purchase of Lies -- are available at Changing Hands Bookstore, 6428 South McClintock in Tempe. Proceeds benefit Wellstone Action. See www.changinghands.com and www.Al-Franken.com for details.- Jill Koch
Story Hallelujah
Mesa launches oral tradition
10/24-10/25
About to get swept up in a two-day tale spin, Mesa hosts its first Storytelling Festival this Friday and Saturday, October 24 and 25, at Centennial Hall, 200 North Center. The roster of national and regional talent includes West Virginian Bil Lepp, who holds five "Biggest Liar" titles, and renowned Native American storyteller Michael Lacapa of Taylor, Arizona.Full event tickets -- including all daytime events, Friday night's family concert, and Saturday night's "Humor Us" concert -- are $30 for adults and $20 for children, with a family pass for $75. Daytime and evening-only tickets range from $5 to $15. To purchase, call 480-834-4436, visit www.mesastory telling.org or stop by the Mesa Library at 64 East First Street. See a full schedule at www.mesastorytelling.org.-Jill Koch
