Tourists and locals agree, spring is Arizona’s time to shine between the sports, shows, conventions, and exhibitions. With so much going on in just one season, it’s time to get off the couch and get planning. Here are Jackalope Ranch’s top 30 events to attend this spring…
Spring officially starts on March 20, but to catch all the great exhibitions this season, you’ll want to get started ASAP. From a group show that entrances your senses to a solo exhibition featuring one of our favorite street artists, there’s plenty to be excited about in the art scene…
Nerd Wallet, you’ve done it again. And by “done it again,” we mean missed the mark entirely. The financial counseling site that aims to help its users with everything from finding the right bank to finding Mr. Right has just released a list of the “Best Places for Homeownership in…
The Hormel Festival of New Plays and Musicals at Phoenix Theatre gives theatergoers a rare opportunity to check out new plays and musicals in the works and to offer insight to the directors, actors, and producers on how that particular work could improve. With a range of themes and styles,…
Looking to save some green this spring? It’s not as hard as you might think. Between bookish endeavors and modern dance, this week’s free events are sure to give you plenty of bang for no bucks…
Arizona PBS series Books & Co. is about to begin its 17th season of delving into a world filled with imagination, fantasy, and history, as told through the eyes of both well-known and up-and-coming authors. Hosted by Arizona’s inaugural poet laureate, Alberto Rios, an ASU Regents’ Professor of English, each…
Spring Butterfly Exhibit In the song “Someone Saved My Life Tonight,” Elton John sings, “Butterflies are free to fly, fly away/fly away, bye bye.” The insects at Desert Botanical Garden’s Spring Butterfly Exhibit won’t be so lucky, but visitors can enjoy their winged captivity through Monday, May 12. Hundreds of…
After having lived in a place for a while, it’s easy to get caught up in routine and forget about exploring the places that make our cities destinations. Putting on your tourist cap should be fun. And that’s why we’ve gathered up our 10 favorite tourist attractions in (and around)…
Calling all artists: Scottsdale Public Arts has once again partnered with City of Tempe Public Art and City of Chandler Public Art Program to bring back the second installment of the public arts project, platFORM, and they’re looking for a new batch of artists to make that happen…
In 1997, a “vee pattern” of lights flew across Arizona north-to-south. While conspiracy theories abound, the explanation is far less sexy.
Leading up to this year’s Big Brain Awards, we’re checking in with past winners. Up today: Jon Ashcroft. Jon Ashcroft’s on the move. The illustrator and designer won a Big Brain Award in 2012 and moved to Seattle soon after. Since then, he’s ventured back several times — only to…
Sure, the high-tech features and high-definition graphics of the Xbox One and PS4 are great. But sometimes, it’s hard not to get nostalgic for running and jumping with Mario and Sonic or crushing your friends in Mortal Combat and Street Fighter. If you want to relive some childhood memories or…
The setup: Like Danny, the hero of his currently popular play The Submission, writer Jeff Talbott is a Yale Drama School grad who’s finished a handful of full-length scripts that haven’t really gone anywhere — until now. (Talbott does have a festival reading of his newest work, A Public Education,…
Spamalot Just about every local theater jumped on Spamalot the moment it became available. You could follow it around as some of us used to with The Grateful Dead — or, in this case, Not Dead Fred. Inspired by Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the spectacular keeps the troupe’s…
Phoenix has come a long way in recent years, largely thanks to the light rail, which has plans to further expand into Tempe, the Northwest Valley, Gilbert, Mesa, and downtown Phoenix. But with those projects years in the future, it doesn’t hurt for the community to start lending its efforts…
“A long time ago, we used to be friends.” So goes The Dandy Warhols’ “We Used to Be Friends,” the theme song to the canceled teen neo-noir drama Veronica Mars. For fans of the TV show, Friday, March 14’s release of the film continuation of the story is something of…
The workshop is tucked away in a tiny corner of a kitchen in a downtown Phoenix apartment. An array of glass containers has been arranged neatly on top of the refrigerator, some tall and skinny while others are fat and bulbous. Where most would entertain a window-side breakfast nook, a…
The setup: In her diverse 30+-year career, writer-comedian-educator-activist Monica Palacios, a.k.a. the Surfer Chola, has not written a whole lot of plays (though she’s helped others make hundreds of theater pieces) — she’s more of a lecturer, standup/solo performance artist, blogger, essayist, and magazine-style journalista making queer Latinahood something that’s…
Courting Disaster is Jackalope Ranch’s weekly column of dating horror stories, observations, how-tos, and more by Katie Johnson. Names of ex-boyfriends, past hookups, and bad blind dates have been changed to protect the guilty. Where are all my single ladies at? On their way to Phoenix, apparently. A recent report…
There are a few things that are almost guaranteed to happen during St. Patrick’s Day: funny hats and green beads will be worn by many a bar patron, bad imitations of Irish accents will be proffered by the inebriated, and endless gallons of emerald-colored beer will be quaffed. Such things…
When it comes to picking a place to party, a lot of things need to be factored in: the venue, the driving, and of course, the potential number of douchebags you’re going to encounter While douchebaggery isn’t that hard to spot — what with the man jewelry, tight shirts, and…
Douglas Miles doesn’t need your praise. The artist, who hails from the San Carlos Apache reservation just east of Globe, seeks to reinvent contemporary Native American iconography, challenging mainstream imagery associated with the Native experience. It’s no small feat. But as much as his art has the power to shift…
