If you’re heading Downtown for First Friday, you’ll find some juicy new attractions this week. And by juicy, I mean melt-in-your-mouth burger sliders and pot roast with gravy, just to name a few of the dishes at Bliss, a brand-new eatery.
But first, for any newbies who don’t know about First Friday, I’ll keep it short and sweet: First Friday is the country’s largest, self-guided art walk. This event takes place every month in Downtown Phoenix from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., and the pleasures range from live music, food and performance artists to more than 100 art galleries.
Just as a heads-up, the street closure is still on hiatus for Roosevelt, but Roosevelt Row restaurants are always open for business, so be sure to check out Bliss and its companion bar ReBar, which just opened at Roosevelt and Fourth Streets.
American Comfort Food, Updated
Bliss is co-owned by Mark Howard, who also owns Fez, one of the most popular restaurants in central Phoenix (oh, Fez, if only you delivered those sweet potato fries). The menu for Bliss features a new angle on American comfort foods, from pot roast and pork chops to mac and cheese with chicken and bacon. After 10 p.m., Bliss offers $5 nibbles including mini beef tacos and burger sliders.
Target Free First Fridays
Thanks to Target, the Children’s Museum of Phoenix is open and free of charge during First Friday. A tribute to imagination, this interactive museum has one kid-friendly exhibit after another, from the Noodle Forest to the Texture Café, where kids use fabrics to create entire meals. The astonishing 3-story Climber, made from odd and found materials, provides kids with a one-of-a-kind experience.
Adult’s Night Out
This adults-only event returns this Friday to the Arizona Science Center with a free lecture from an actual CSI-type scientist. Kim Kobojek, forensic scientist, will give you the skinny on Hollywood vs. reality when it comes to crime labs. The lecture starts at 7 p.m., but for the regular admission fee, you can stick around and see an IMAX film or a Dorrance Planetarium presentation at 8:15 p.m. (the topic is “Black Holes”).
The 
grotto at 5 p.m. and will feature live music, audience entertainment with magicians and caracaturists, plus yummy appetizers from many of Arizona Center’s great restaurants like 
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from 7:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. Admission to the Monster Mash is free and DJ LaRue will be on hand to provide the soundtrack. There will also be a costume contest with prizes and a movie (we suggest something by Sam Raimi).
Fringe art is all the rage in Downtown Phoenix and there’s no better showcase for our central city’s talented and proud fringe art community than the Phoenix Annual Parade of the Arts, or PAPA if you please, now in its fifth year.
You can bet the 
Speaking of talent, 
Lucky Strike Lanes
Jimmy John’s
Civic Space Park 
As seen on Entourage
Five Guys Burgers
But in a welcome twist, a new version of Grease is opening this week with actors who are about the same age as the characters they play. From Aug. 13-29, 
