The Best Live and Virtual Things to Do in Phoenix This Week

Here's a look at events happening around metro Phoenix this week, from a sunrise walk to drive-thru holiday lights. For live offerings, check mask and social-distancing requirements before you go.

Holiday Lights by Car

Check out more than 5 million holiday lights from your car during the Holiday Lights at Salt River Fields event, which happens every night this week. The event has timed admissions at 6, 7, 8, and 9 p.m. Ticket prices (per car, rather than per person) vary; there is a fast-pass option.

'Portraits & Icons'

Nearly 100 works of figurative art are on view at FOUND:RE Phoenix Hotel, giving both guests and community members the chance to explore the diverse style of numerous Phoenix-based artists, including Fausto Fernandez, Rigo Flores, Lisa Von Hoffner, Marilyn Szabo, and Lucretia Torva. The exhibition includes works by emerging and established artists working in several mediums, from painting to photography.

Sunrise Light Walk

Join Miki Garcia, director for ASU Art Museum, for a socially-distanced walk from the museum to “A Mountain,” which will include several parts of the ASU Tempe campus. The free event, which will be held from 7 to 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, December 22, is conceived as a 90-minute exploration of light. Participants will receive a coloring book featuring traditional stories of light from Native American peoples of the Southwest.

'Prayer for America'

Walter Gallery in Scottsdale is showing a new body of work by Saskia Jorda, which includes a large-scale installation with 50 American flags individually bound into beads to resemble a rosary. The free exhibit includes a participatory element with thoughts written by gallery visitors for their fellow Americans. Viewing is by appointment due to COVID-19 precautions.

Holidays at the Heard

Head to the Heard Museum on Saturday or Sunday, December 26 or 27, to enjoy Holidays at Heard, which includes live music and artists demonstrations between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. If you’d also like to explore the museum, you’ll need to pay admission, which is $20 for adults (or $17 if purchased online in advance). Current exhibits include “Larger Than Memory” and “All at Once: The Gift of Navajo Weaving.”

Snow Week

Arizona Science Center launches this year’s Snow Week on Saturday, December 26. Instead of having a pile of snow on a big hill, the center will have several activities inspired by the science of ice and snow. It’s included with admission, which is $14.95 for adults. There’s an additional cost for tickets to planetarium or film experiences, as well as the “Victoria the T. rex” exhibit.