Nerd-outs, pop-ups, and a pair films fit for a queen round out this weekend's top picks.
Gear up in your best Sherlock cosplay and prepare to bask in the geeky glory of Phoenix's premier nerd culture event: Phoenix Comicon. Each year, the event grows bigger and bigger with informative panels, nerdgasm-inducing meet-and-greets, and tons of local exhibitors selling everything from independently made comic books to the essential accouterments for Brony living.
See also: 15 Phoenix Comicon Parties and Nightlife Events
This year, special guests include such heavyweights from film and TV as Nathan Fillion, Bruce Campbell, Cary Elwes, Adam West, John Rhys-Davies, and many more. Whether you're an anime junkie, a costuming guru, or a high-ranking Whovian, there's definitely going to be something exciting to see at Comicon this year. Plus, after parties like the signature Masquerade Costume Contest and Zombie Beauty Pageant are sure to keep the fun going all night.
Phoenix Comicon kicked off on Thursday, June 5, at Phoenix Convention Center and keeps the love of all things nerdy, geeky, and dorky rolling until 6 p.m. Sunday, June 8.Tickets, which are $70 in advance for the entire weekend, and more information on all Comicon-related events are available at www.phoenixcomicon.com. -- Heather Hoch
Palabra Collective Pop-Up Opening Reception
UNION, the Biltmore's hyper-local boutique haven, has seen its fair share of turnover during the past few months, giving rise to a new collective of temporary tenants: the pop-up shop. Casual eatery Short Leash Hot Dogs debuted Short Leash, Short Lease in March, slated to stay through the summer. Up next on the list: Palabra Hair. Art. Collective. with its newest mini-gallery.
Owned by stylist and curator Jorge Ignacio Torres, the salon and art house is in the beginning stages of expanding its current location on the northwest corner of Seventh and Pierce streets. The new short-term space will double as an offshoot of the showroom. Its premiere exhibition, entitled "Girl," features works from Denver-based illustrator and painter Rebecca Green and downtown Phoenix's own oil painter and sketch artist Mikey Jackson.
Check out the opening reception the evening of Friday, June 6, (exact timing to be determined) at the Palabra Pop-Up at UNION at the Biltmore, 2502 East Camelback Road. The event is free and open to the public. Visit www.palabraphx.com or www.shopbiltmore.com/union for details. -- Janessa Hilliard
Jay and Silent Bob Get Old: Live Podcast
Kevin Smith is a talker. The rebel filmmaker's built up a podcast empire, and two of his premier shows pop up in downtown Phoenix in their live incarnations on Saturday, June 7.
The master of the View Askewniverse started the Jay & Silent Bob Get Old podcast as a laidback weekly intervention to keep his best friend Jason Mewes, most well-known as mischievous stoner Jay in Smith's films, on the wagon. Now tallying 1400-plus days of sobriety, Mewes shares tales of his drug-hazed past, sex romps, and other uncensored high-jinks. Meanwhile, Edumacation sees former Tonight Show with Jay Leno staffer Andy McElfresh attempting to increase Smith's intellect with a smattering of surprising facts.
Stand Up Live, 50 West Jefferson Street in Phoenix, hosts the Jay & Silent Bob Get Old live podcast recording at 7 p.m. and the Kevin Smith Present Edumacation with Andy McElfresh at 10 p.m. Admission for each show is $40. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.standuplive.com. -- Jose Gonzalez
Rarely does being good at drinking games pay dividends in the real world. Oh, you may occasionally get the chance to show off your mad beer pong skillz by throwing a balled-up piece of paper into a trash can, but what's the reward -- not needing to walk five feet to throw something away?
The Bags Tournament at The Duce, however, offers real-world value for your useless expertise at lawn games -- namely bags (a.k.a. cornhole), the one in which you attempt to throw a beanbag through a hole in a wooden board 30 feet away. The very best baggers, in fact, will win $500.
The Duce's bags tournament costs $60 per team to pre-register and $70 the day of the event, with a portion of the proceeds benefitting the Girls and Boys Club of Arizona. Bags fly at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 7, at The Duce, 525 South Central Avenue. Visit www.theducephx.com for more. -- Zachary Fowle
Considering the end she met, it might be in poor taste to make a doubleheader joke about Phoenix Art Museum's screening of two vaguely biographical Marie Antoinette movies. So we won't. Instead, let's just say that no cinematic adaptation of the French queen has been particularly brainy.
But, as any film connoisseur knows, sometimes silliness and frippery can entertain sufficiently. And certainly the long-gone, generously reviled monarch would agree - given her penchant for bonkers wigs, super-expensive dresses, um, what else, palaces, and, ah, right, cake. Get two times the 18th century upper-crustiness when the museum presents a pair of films titled Marie Antoinette, one from 1938 (with John Barrymore and Norma Shearer) and the other made by Sofia Coppola in 2006 (starring Kirsten Dunst and Jason Schwartzman).
The films screen starting at 11 a.m. Sunday, June 8, with an intermission. Admission to the event is $10 and doesn't include access to "Hollywood Costume," though it is presented in conjunction with that film-centric fashion exhibition. Visit www.phxart.com or call 602-257-1880. -- Becky Bartkowski
