These display cases house a small part of Elvis Knievel’s record insert collection.Elvis Knievel stands in the kitchen of his northwest Phoenix home (“the Smithsonian of cool,” he says), preparing his usual noontime tea. He’s surrounded by pop culture memorabilia, including old toy models of Schwinn bicycles, autographed photos of…
“rachel’s tiny show” is a departure in size, but not in beauty, for Rachel Bess. The solo exhibition opens Friday night with a Third Friday artist reception, and features a new series of Bess’ oil paintings. But there’s a twist: they’re miniature portraiture paintings that all measure three inches in…
Artist Colin Chillag keeps the titles to his new portrait paintings, now on display through October 30 at Pravus Gallery, refreshingly simple. Most are either labeled Portrait of a Man or Portrait of a Woman and, in one case, Portrait of a Man and Woman. But that’s where all simplicity…
It’s too bad that Virginia Katherine McMath’s mother turned down the movie contract her daughter was offered at age 6. A career as a child star might have afforded Virginia, who later took the stage name Ginger Rogers, a more interesting backstory. Which would have given playwright Christopher McGovern a…
Attention all Valley-dwellers: It is now safe to leave your homes and enjoy our ridiculously beautiful weather (assuming we don’t have any freaky heat waves). Either way, this morning jaunt will get you in the mood for outdoor love with park docents leading the way. Mon., Oct. 18, 8 a.m.,…
Yo. Guess what? It’s time to get outside and do stuff at our city parks. And here’s the perfect excuse: the Arizona Road Racers’ South Mountain Classic 20k and 5k, which weaves through the roads and trails of South Mountain Park and Preserve. Race day registration starts at 6:30 a.m…
Hispanic culture gives so much to America. We’ve got Cinco de Mayo, Día de Los Muertos, and some of the most crave-worthy cuisine in the world. Not to mention, Hispanic Americans have done a kick-butt job serving the country in the armed forces. Show some appreciation through celebration at Fiesta…
Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, Hooters girls, and free grub? Sounds like some party. Celebrating 20 years of progress in downtown Phoenix (think: Herberger Theater Center, Civic Space Park, light rail, and scads of new retail, restaurants, and coffee spots), the Downtown Phoenix Partnership is taking to the streets with an…
Which LGBT tennis tournament only has one woman signed up? The Gay and Lesbian Tennis Alliance-sanctioned Cactus Open 2010. “Bigger cities like Atlanta have larger core groups, which include women,” says tournament director Chris Jenkins. Granted, it’s the event’s inaugural year and we’re not San Francisco, where wannabe Martina Navratilovas…
Phoenix-haters love to bitch about the “lack of culture” in this town. And since a key factor to culture is history, let’s learn some already. Let Marshall Shore school you on all the interesting things Phoenix history has to offer at this month’s “Phoenix Retro Spooktacular.” This time around, the…
Old-school schlockfests collide with new-wave splatfests at the sixth annual International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival, four days of more than 30 fanciful flicks and gory chicks. Join special guests, actors Lance Henriksen and Charles Cyphers, for autographs and Q&A sessions following screenings of their films — James Cameron’s classic…
Every culture has traditional dishes. The United States? Hamburgers and fries (love). Mexico? Burritos and tacos (freakin’ yum). The United Kingdom? Bangers and mash (ew). How about Korea? We’re going with kimchi. This, the most common side dish in Korean cuisine, is made from fermented vegetables with varied seasonings, and…
She didn’t do it. Most folks forget — or don’t know — that Winnie Ruth Judd did not, in fact, hack up the body of one of her friends and shove it into a steamer trunk in October of 1931. Many of us are convinced, in fact, that she didn’t…
Colin Chillag probably won’t be offended if you say his works that currently hangs at Pravus have a perished quality to them. That’s because the painter is the first to admit as much. “I have a remarkable disinterest in the work,” says Chillag. “It’s kind of dead after it’s done,…
Dear Phoenician, did you know that autumn (the season between summer and winter) can also be called fall? Did we just blow your mind? If so, all we gotta say is, “le sigh.” This weekend, Desert Botanical Garden is giving us a seasonal reminder with its annual Fall Plant Sale…
The true sign of artistic success isn’t merely measured in dollar signs. It’s also evident when artists can also confidently hail their peers. The Center Dance Ensemble, in its 22nd year, commemorates the Herberger Theater Center’s renovations by opening their door to dance companies from across the Valley for New…
Last April’s playoff series between the Phoenix Coyotes and the Detroit Red Wings was a Rorschach test for Coyotes fans. For glass half-full types, the fact that Phoenix managed to take a perennial powerhouse like Detroit to a seventh game was proof that the team is finally heading in the…
Normally it’s kind of a “must” to know what movie you’re about to see before paying to see it, but when esteemed film critic Harlan Jacobson is the one personally responsible for selecting said film, the risk factor suddenly plummets. Since 1992, Harlan Jacobson’s Talk Cinema film series has shown…
Spend an evening as French environmentalist Jean-Michel Cousteau shares memories about his world-famous father, Jacques Cousteau. Jean-Michel will also sign copies of his most recent work, My Father, The Captain: My Life with Jacques Cousteau. Wed., Oct. 20, 7:30 p.m., 2010…
Classiest. Comic. Book. Movie. Ever. Not the best. Not the worst. Just the classiest — Helen Mirren (and Morgan Freeman and John Malkovich and Brian Cox and Richard Dreyfuss) can spruce up any pulp. As far as comic-book adaptations go, though, Red is a little closer to the bright side…
Movie stars make a living peddling distinct, definable personalities. Edward Norton, a movie star who might have enjoyed the comparative anonymity of a character actor if not for the gossip-media market value of a few of his habits (an aggressive perfectionism that has earned him a “reputation” for “being difficult,”…
If analog photography is a dying animal, then what does that make expired print film and archaic cameras? Double dead? Nope, especially when you check out “Wings” by Mark Lipczynski. The solo photography exhibit at Practical Art saw the commercial and editorial image-maker rummaging through his refrigerator for out-of-date film,…
