Sat 11/22 “I’ve been to the ER more times in the past three months than I have in the past three years,” Smashley Adams says of her preparation for the upcoming inaugural Arizona Roller Derby season. Adams, who plays for the Smash Squad (whose only current rival is the Bruisers),…
11/22-11/23 “It’s like taking a vacation and being a dictator for two days,” says Mimi Altree, the actress playing Queen Elizabeth in the 21st annual Devonshire Renaissance Faire. “But it’s good to be the queen, even if it’s for only a few days.” Altree has played Elizabeth I at the…
11/15-4/11 Bone up on history’s big shots at the Arizona Science Center; this weekend, it unveils the largest exhibition of dinosaur fossils ever to tour North America. “Dragon Bones” — a 10,000-square-foot traveling exhibition — takes guests back 248 million years, chronicling the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods through original…
Sat 11/15 Thanks to designers who routinely revive styles from past decades, American consumers are well schooled in the diversity of silhouettes that defined 20th-century fashion. But they’re much less familiar with the trends of the 1800s. “Beauty and Style in 19th Century American Fashion,” opening this weekend in Phoenix…
Sat 11/8 At last, a car show that’s so not Scottsdale. This Saturday, November 8, cruise to Fast Eddie’s Diner, 3422 West Glendale Avenue in Phoenix, after 11 a.m. for “Bad Guys III,” a car show featuring “pre-1968 hot rods, customs and motorcycles.” Presented by the Invaders Car Club, the…
11/8-11/9 It’s fitting that the Honeywell rodeo team (yes, the Honeywell rodeo team) honors aerospace cowboy Cliff Garrett each year in a memorial event for charity. Garrett tamed the young, rip-snorting field of aviation with inventions such as pressurized cabins and auxiliary power. This year, the Cliff Garrett Memorial Rodeo…
11/8-11/9 Of all the ironies to emerge from our current “country at war” mindset, perhaps the greatest involves the startling number of would-be patriots who have emerged from the woodwork to embrace all things military. Safe to say that, once CNN tunes out from the latest conflict to end all…
Sat 11/1 Bursting with civic pride? Take a civic ride. This Saturday, November 1, the Central City Bike Expedition takes to the streets of downtown for an exercise in urban awareness.Sponsored by the City of Phoenix, the excursion — seven miles, four hours — departs Encanto Park at 8 a.m…
10/30-11/2 They call it “the 14th Annual Arizona Classic Jazz Festival,” and by “classic,” they primarily mean Dixieland, ragtime and swing: the three faces of pre-World War II jazz that rocked your grandparents’ world.As Dick Knutson — a featured musician and husband of fest director Jeanne Knutson — puts it,…
Imagine a placid lake reflecting a cloudless sky. Now take a deep breath as a boat sails into view, and hold your breath for a count of five — the exact time it takes for the 5,000 horsepower top fuel drag boat to scream down the liquid quarter mile. This…
10/18-10/19 The first Rastafarian, Leonard Howell, said, “Everyone, regardless of race or religion, is a Rasta deep within.” Get together with the rest of mon-kind at the 5th Annual Legends of Rasta Reggae Festival Tour (formerly the Annual Bob Marley Festival Tour) from noon to 10 p.m. Saturday, October 18,…
10/17-11/16 The 38th Annual Cowboy Artists of America Sale kicks off its boots on Friday, October 17, at the Phoenix Art Museum. For a mere $200, you can rub elbows with some of the most notable art collectors in the state. But if $200 has you cringing, you can attend…
Sat 10/11 If we learned anything in Gamma Delta Phi, it’s that fish don’t like beer. Since the usual Oktoberfestivities won’t do, the mayor, along with the Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department and Arizona Game and Fish, present Octoberfish, a morning of free fun to usher in fishing weather from…
Thu 10/9 Between numerous guerrilla film projects, microcinema events and the Phoenix Film Festival (devoted to low-budget features and short films), Phoenix is becoming a haven for indie filmmaking. So this city has the perfect readership for the latest book by cult filmmaker Lloyd Kaufman, Make Your Own Damn Movie:…
Rawhide laces up an intimate Western venue with all the right gear — free admission, a “No quiche” restaurant, and the occasional Main Street shoot-out. Bucking Thunder prices run from $15 to $50. At the early Saturday performance, one child 12 and under gets in free with each paying adult. Tim and Willy set you back another $5 if purchased with rodeo tickets, or $15 separately. Chris LeDoux’s concert is $10 with a rodeo ticket or $20 separately. Tickets are available from Ticketmaster, 480-784-4444 or www.ticketmaster.com. Rawhide camps at 23023 North Scottsdale Road at Pinnacle Peak Road, two miles north of the 101 Freeway in Scottsdale. For more information, call Rawhide at 480-502-1880.
Sat 10/4 What is it, girl? Barktoberfest? Go fetch your costume! This Saturday, October 4, Friends for Life Animal Sanctuary presents its annual canine carnival and dog wash from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Cooley Park in Mesa. Gilbert police demonstrate how K-9 officers catch the bad guys, and…
Sun 10/5 “I think there’s somewhat of a hunger for things to do downtown,” says Don Hamill, event coordinator for the Rainbows Festival, downtown’s gay and lesbian street fair. As proof, Hamill cites the turnout for last year’s celebration, the first time Rainbows Festival was held. “The reality is, you…
Sun 9/28 Author Eric Carle has illustrated more than 70 books with his hand-painted collage imagery. His whimsical tales of the animal world are read by millions of children worldwide. With the help of a black light and puppets based on Carle’s illustrations, Very Eric Carle brings three of these…
Fri 9/26 The lure of wheel-to-wheel racing is reserved for a special kind of person, one for whom life truly begins when the rubber meets the road. Arizona has always been a fertile breeding ground for racing aficionados, a group about to be indoctrinated into the world of European-style kart…
Sat 9/27 No time to cruise? No matter. Landlocked Arizonans can experience exotic island culture at this weekend’s Caribbean Multicultural Festival, which brings native music, food, dancers, storytellers, and arts and crafts to Heritage Square, 601 East Monroe. The Caribbean American Association of Arizona, in conjunction with the Children With…
Sat 9/20 You support them with every paycheck, but how well do you really know them? Public lands, we mean. This Saturday, September 20, is National Public Lands Day; from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., take the kids to meet your other legacy — the United States’ wide-open spaces –…
9/18-9/20 It is fitting that September marks not only the opening of an inspiring exhibition in Scottsdale, but also the month that Frida Kahlo endured a horrific accident. In 1925, Kahlo woke up with a disabled body she hadn’t counted on and would have to live with for the rest…
