5 Best Things to Do in Phoenix This Weekend

"LAYERS"

Go ahead and shake off the shame of being called out for tracing drawings in your elementary school days. There are plenty of pros who use stencils to create works of art, and two of them just so happen to have pieces on display at MonOrchid's Shade Gallery this summer. “LAYERS” features the work of artist Scott Wolf, who uses bright, idyllic imagery to express darkness, and DadSocks, whose celebrity portraits teem with street-art influence. Line up for the show's opening from 6 to 10 p.m. on Friday, June 5. Works will remain up through Thursday, June 25. Visit www.monorchid.com for more. Becky Bartkowski

Summer Opening Celebration

Technically summer starts on the 21st, but those of us who’ve survived at least one sweltering season know it hits the Valley of the Sun far earlier. Luckily this also applies to the gamut of summer fun: summer savings, summer concerts, and summer events — like the new exhibitions at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art.

Catch the end of some, middle weeks of others, and the debut of a few at the annual Summer Opening Celebration. The evening of art is held in time for new exhibits “MetaModern,” an exploration of mid-century and modern design objects, and “Jennifer Marman and Daniel Borins: The Collaborationists,” a groundbreaking installation of sculpture and sound art unique to SMoCA.

Enjoy the air conditioning and celebrate the new season(s) starting at 7 p.m. on Friday, June 5, at 7374 East Second Street. Admission is free and open to the public. The museum closes at 9 p.m. Visit www.smoca.org or call 480-874-4666. Janessa Hilliard

Fangirl

In the same way that one’s Thanksgiving fullness gradually dissipates, and by the time Cyber Monday rolls around you could use a sandwich, your Comicon satiety may be merely an awesome memory by now. Fortunately, Brelby Theatre presents Fangirl through Sunday, June 7. Local actress and director (and playwright, obv) Manda Leigh Blunt’s script features cousins Lila and Marcie and a desperate quest for the perfect costume. At this point, we’ll quote the promotional materials: “a Wonder Woman bedspread, a Dr. Who Sonic Screwdriver, a Benedict Cumberbatch pillow, a Captain Planet salute, Vulcan ears . . . light sabers,” and so forth.

Geek out at 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 5, at 6835 North 58th Avenue in Glendale. Tickets are $12 at www.brelby.com, or call 623-282-2781. Julie Peterson

Hair Wars

There have been some pretty epic battles in human history: the Battle of Gettysburg, the Battle of Troy, the Battle of Rosie O’Donnell versus Donald Trump. Prepare to add one more battle requiring extreme skill, strategizing, and probably a fair amount of hairspray, when Hair Wars takes over Talking Stick Resort, 9800 East Indian Bend Road in Scottsdale, on Sunday, June 7. Doors open at 5 p.m., and the first competing salon fills the runway with extravagant, creative, and sometimes monstrous hairstyles and fashion at 7 p.m. We’re talking men being walked down the runway by ropes of hair, cages of hair shielding models’ faces, and high ponytails the faint of heart should avoid. Tickets range from $51.18 to $90.96. Call 480-850-7734 for tickets and more info. Evie Carpenter

Everything Is Terrible! 

If an alien race was studying Earth culture and all they had to go off of was late-1900s VHS tapes, they wouldn’t know what the hell to make of us. Instructional videos detailing how to give your cat a massage. Workout videos just drenched in homoeroticism. Jay Leno’s direct-to-video crime drama, Collision Course. Everything was terrible.

But if everything is terrible, then nothing is, right? For seven years, the crew at Everything Is Terrible! has been diving through bargain bins to find visual atrocities from the '80s and '90s and post them online. The Everything is Terrible! Legends Tour, which celebrates the greatest, weirdest, and most terrible programs they’ve ever found, begins 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Sunday, June 7, at FilmBar, 815 North Second Street. Tickets are $12. Visit thefilmbarphx.com for more. Zachary Fowle

Follow Jackalope Ranch on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.