All of the cocktail knowledge in the world isn’t going to be very useful if you don’t pair it with the right supplies. Luckily, Arizona Cocktail Week at Hotel Valley Ho, 6850 East Main Street in Scottsdale, includes an Artisanal Spirit and Cocktail Market. The market will feature boutique spirits,…

Why celebrate just one holiday when you can celebrate two? This weekend, Raven Events presents the ultimate Valentine’s Day Mardi Gras mash-up, In Love With Mardi Gras, at Talking Stick Resort, 9800 East Indian Bend Road in Scottsdale. Entertainment includes the STR8UP Band, DJ Kilo, and Robert Ray Magic. In…

Things might get a little loopy this weekend at the Heard Museum, 2301 North Central Avenue, when the world’s most skilled hoop dancers face off at the World Championship Hoop Dance Contest. Top American Indian and Canadian First Nation men and women will be judged on the basis of precision,…

The tradition of super-rad programming for YA literature continues this week at Changing Hands Phoenix, 300 West Camelback Road, with a Lunar Ball to celebrate the release of Melissa Meyer’s latest book, Fairest: Levana’s Story. Fairest is a prequel to Meyer’s bestselling Lunar Chronicles series, which includes the books Cinder,…

While friends and family in other parts of the country have been busy plowing snow or staying bundled up indoors, we Arizonans have been outside enjoying some of the most beautiful temperatures of the year. This weekend, you’ll have a chance to continue the trend at the Winter Garden Party…

Young-adult literature sometimes gets a bad rap, but the judgment is not always a fair one (we’re looking at you, millions of adults who read The Fault in Our Stars and Twilight). At YAllapalooza, an annual event at Changing Hands Bookstore, 6428 South McClintock Drive in Tempe, teens and tweens…

This could be the start of something good. The inaugural Arizona Vegetarian Food Festival is coming to the Scottsdale Civic Center Amphitheater, 3939 North Drinkwater Boulevard. The event will feature a series of activities and speakers, and, of course, lots of veggie food for sampling. Headliners include Madelyn Pryor, Jason…

Dinosaurs became extinct millions of years ago, but they don’t seem to have had any trouble retaining their popularity. In fact, our large Jurassic friends are the topic of this week’s PEP (Phoenix Educational Programming) Rally, a performance art series at Lawn Gnome Publishing, 905 North 5th Street. The PEP…

What’s the big deal with drones? Chandler Science Cafe endeavors to address this question this January in its monthly talk series. The talks are live events, open to the public, that feature conversations with scientists on specific topics. Up this month is “The Drone Dilemma: Commercial UAVs, the FAA, and…

Clearly, Phoenix isn’t the place to go searching for a white Christmas, but you can still enjoy some of the perks of colder climes this year with the Desert Ice Skating Rink at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess, 7575 East Princess Drive. The 6,000-square-foot rink is surrounded by an array of…

The competition will start promptly at 1 p.m. on Saturday, December 20. There is a $5 venue fee along with a $5 tournament entry free, should you choose to participate in the actual gaming. Tournament winners are eligible to take home payouts of 60, 30, and 10 percent for first,…

Phoenix may not have the bright lights, big city feel of iceskating in Rockefeller Center, but the Southwestern holiday game is strong, especially at the Desert Botanical Garden during Las Noches de las Luminarias. During the annual event, you can wander paths lit by over 8,000 luminaria bags while sipping…

This month, DTPHX Engagement Lab is hosting a bonafide neighborhood potluck, where the neighborhood is all of Downtown Phoenix. Places, Spaces and Faces will feature food and discussion with the founders of DTPHX Engagement Lab, R.J. Price, and Lindsay Kinkade. The duo will share what they have accomplished through creative…

It’s time to get blissed out for the holidays. Yoga Phoenix, 2308 North Richard Street, is hosting its annual Winter Yoga Festival this weekend with the theme “Celebrating A Way Through Every Block.” The festival includes everything from traditional yoga classes to dog reiki (seriously). You can pick and choose…

Veg heads, get excited. You may have felt excluded from Thanksgiving festivities of the past, but this year there is tofurkey aplenty. Green Restaurant is hosting its seventh annual Thanksliving celebration at its Tempe location, 2240 North Scottsdale Road, Suite 8. The event includes a multi-course vegetarian meal along with…

If that scene from Jurassic Park with the raptors in the kitchen didn’t scar you for life, you might want to check out the critically acclaimed 3D dinosaur experience coming to US Airways Center, 201 East Jefferson Street, this month. Walking With Dinosaurs The Arena Spectacular tells the story of…

Elizabeth Streb’s Extreme Action Company follows one guiding principle: Anything too safe is not action. Streb’s company of performers is the subject of a new documentary, Born to Fly: Elizabeth Streb vs. Gravity, which will be on view at FilmBar, 815 North Second Street, for one day only this weekend…

It doesn’t feel like much of a stretch to say that David Sedaris’ books have been occupying bestseller lists nonstop for the past decade. His signature style is both poignant and hysterical, a sort of black comedy that has enchanted fans for years. This week, the much-loved author is coming…

This ain’t no rodeo. The annual Bentley Scottsdale Polo Championships return to WestWorld, 16601 North Pima Road, this Saturday and Sunday with some of the top polo players in the world, including Sunny Hale, Sarah Wiseman, Paola Martinez, and Caroline Anier. The Women’s World All-Star Team will take on the…

Every October the Phoenix Zoo, 455 North Galvin Partkway, hosts a week of spook-filled activities for kids (and adults who retain that youthful spirit) in the days leading up to Halloween. Boo! at the Zoo features the typical fall festival faves like straw mazes and pumpkin patches, but visitors also…

It’s been a minute since Billy Idol last wrote one of his big hits, but he’s still one of those celebrities who needs no introduction. The ’80s punk rocker turned pop icon has had one hell of a ride, and now he’s telling all in a new memoir predictably titled…

Lepidoterophobes, take note: It’s that time of year of again. The butterflies are returning to Desert Botanical Garden, 1201 North Galvin Parkway, for the annual Mariposa Monarca Monarch Butterfly exhibit. The show features information about life cycle and migration patterns of these special butterflies, but the real draw is that…