Just as one eventually must set aside one’s belief in Santa Claus, it’s now time for another holiday tradition to be laid to rest. Farewell, then, to Actors Theatre’s A Christmas Carol. You’ve resided on our Christmas list, just above figgy pudding and immediately beneath sleigh bells in the snow,…
Author Tina May Hall will be appearing out of thin air at Changing Hands Bookstore to share her 2010 award-winning short fiction collection The Physics of Imaginary Objects. OK, not really. However, her tales – beautifully worded journeys that produce a poetic range of emotion and intrigue – are much…
The holidays are all about getting together with your nearest and dearest, which is why Bill Tarsha and the rest of the Rocket 88s are gathering a few of their friends for an evening of down-home tunes on Christmas night at the Rhythm Room. Guitarist Johnny Rapp and bassist Paul…
Eric Clapton once called Carvin Jones “the next up-and-coming blues player,” and Jones has just kept on coming, holding down multiple gigs per week at local venues like Tim Finnegan’s, where he wails out blues standards and classic rock covers with aplomb. This man’s finger’s are fast and flashy, and…
Yoga. Outdoors. In nature. Talk about zen. Mon., Dec. 27, 6 p.m.; Tue., Dec. 28, 9 a.m., 2010…
Learn a whole new way to heal when Reiki vocational school director Eileen Dey presents Touching the World Through Reiki. Tue., Dec. 28, 7 p.m., 2010…
Watch dancers fly across the stage as the classic tale and local holiday tradition is performed by Ballet Arizona. Dec. 10-24; Sun., Dec. 26, 2010…
There may be a lot of plotting going on during the 2010 Insight Bowl. That’s because one of the participating squads, the Missouri Tigers, will be back in September to play a what-will-probably-be a huge non-conference game against the Arizona State Sun Devils. The Tigers (10-2) of the Big 12…
This season, Chris Bosh has proven that it’s not impossible for a guy who’s made five NBA All-Star teams in the last five seasons to become an afterthought. By signing with the Miami Heat last summer, Bosh – arguably one of the league’s top 15 players – managed to find…
The Arizona Cardinals have had a lot of adjectives attached to them this season – most are clever variations on the word “suck” –. And it’s true, especially with that pathetic loss against the Carolina Panthers. While the Redbirds aren’t ever really favorites to win, their Christmas Day opponent, the…
Nothing pisses off us desert-loving hikers more than hearing the ridiculous rumbling of nearby motorcycles. Seriously, we understand that others want to enjoy nature, but maybe you could consider getting off your lazy, gross, and hairy biker’s ass to take a walk on a trail for once in your pathetic…
Christmas in the desert isn’t like it is in other places. There’s no snow, it doesn’t get that cold, and novelties like warm fires and cups of hot cocoa serve no practical purpose the way they do in the east. So even if we’re not huddling for warmth, one of…
Steve Aoki’s biggest accomplishment isn’t starting his own record label, Dim Mak, in his early 20s or working with artists like Drake, Bloc Party, Snoop Dogg, and Peaches. Nope, all that is simply an everyday existence for Aoki. It’s Aoki’s 2008 album, Pillowface and His Airplane Chronicles, that really helped…
Every Sunday evening, thoughts of meetings, presentations, and Monday’s work checklist kick-start an anxiety-filled, downward-spiral of a night. What a waste. Face it. A good night’s sleep ain’t gonna happen. We say you use that time for the better and have some fun at Sultry Sundays at Afterlife. The 18-and-over…
When dealing with thickheaded folks who spout that the Valley has no history or traditions to speak of, we find inviting them to our favorite places and events around town is slightly more effective than socking them in the face. Thankfully, Las Noches de las Luminarias, now in its 30th…
Stop us if you’ve heard this one: A French clown and a Hungarian equestrian ballerina get hitched in Venice and form Zoppé, an Italian family circus — a proper circus, alive with clowns, acrobats, equestrian escapades, and cavorting canines, all wrapped around a story instead of some high-concept contortionist acid…
You could spend Christmas Eve wrapping presents to an endless playlist of pop-star holiday albums while trying to explain to Grandma why you won’t be attending midnight mass. Or you could spend it drooling over the couture wardrobe of a famous Russian fashion model. Tatiana Sorokko was the first Russian…
Like frozen middle fingers extended to the Midwest and East Coast, two Valley ice-skating rinks are bringing winter fun to the desert — no long underwear required. Skate with the socialites on a synthetic ice rink developed by former ice-skating Olympian Ryan O’Meara. On the patio of an interior design…
Downtown Tempe gets all festive with a Holiday Lighting Display through New Year’s Day. Nov. 27-Jan. 1, 2010…
Feel like a stalker staring at your neighbor’s Christmas lights at night? Well, feel creepy no longer, because there’s a better way to get your fill of festive decorations. The thirteenth annual Celebration of Lights, which bills itself as the state’s largest display of holiday lights (seven million bulbs!), has…
Chandler Boulevard between 24th Street and Desert Foothills Parkway will be illuminated with more than one-million lights from Thanksgiving to New Year’s. Nov. 27-Jan. 1, 6-11 p.m., 2010…
Dealing with family for an entire day can be trying enough. If you’re crammed into a 1,000- to 2,000-square-foot house for hours on end, it makes it that much more excruciating. Pack up the kids, Grandpa, and all other drive-you-crazy relatives and head to ZooLights. There, you’ll get to feel…
