Posts Tagged ‘Downtown Ambassadors’

Festive Friday at CityScape Dec. 17

Monday, December 13th, 2010

After rocking the Renaissance and leaving Arizona Center awestruck, the Downtown Ambassadors are taking their Festive Friday act to CityScape, where this Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. they’ll be teaming with Downtown retailers to hand out treats and smiles.

Ad DemoFriday, December 17 – CityScape

Participating Restaurants and Retailers:  Touch of Yogurt, Cartel Coffee Lab, Phoenix Public Market, Moms Gone Nuts, Fallen Wood Turnings, Sherrye’s Kitchen, Dulce Dance Company, The Pickle Lady and more.

Live Music: Bad Cactus Brass Band 11:00 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Downtown Holiday Shop-Around: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

To promote holiday shopping Downtown, the Jolly Trolley will run a loop delivering shoppers to CityScape, Arizona Center and selected shops near Roosevelt Row.  Pickup and drop-off will be at CityScape during Festive Friday.

See you Friday!

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Tequila, Ballet and 300 Cats

Tuesday, December 7th, 2010

The holidays are in full swing in Downtown Phoenix with a plethora of classic performances and events that are sure to get you into the spirit of the season, beginning tonight at 7 p.m. with KTAR’s 25th Annual Christmas Carol at Orpheum Theatre. An all-star cast retells the classic tale in old-time radio fashion. Get to the theater early (doors open at 6 p.m.) and enjoy Dickens-inspired carolers.

mariachiYou can get into spirits of a different kind Saturday and Sunday at the Phoenix Tequila Fest and the 19th Annual Christmas Mariachi Festival, both at US Airways Center. While the all-day tastings and margarita challenge are obvious huge draws, there will also be food from Macayo’s, Dos Gringos, La Parrilla Suiza, and America’s Taco Shop. Mariachis provide Saturday evening’s entertainment and Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers close the festival on Sunday with a 6 p.m. concert. Don’t forget that your event ticket gets you a free ride to and from on METRO light rail and the Sheraton is offering a special $89 room rate to festival goers. Call 800.325.3535 to make reservations.

winterventionMidwest and East Coast transplants can get their winter fixes in a couple of ways: CityScape’s skating rink is open daily 3-11 p.m. (over 1,000 people laced up their skates last weekend alone) and Warren Miller’s Wintervention makes its yearly stop at Orpheum Theatre Wednesday evening  at 8 p.m. Narrated by skiing legend Jonny Moseley and celebrating its 60th year, Wintervention’s HD visuals will have you hugging your snowboard.

iCollaborative presents That’s What Christmas Means, an all-new holiday cabaret playing Dec. 9-22 at Herberger Theater Center. Shows start at 8 p.m. but you can come down early and enjoy the nightclub setting of the Kax Stage.

Ballet Arizona presents Ib Andersen’s The Nutcracker Dec. 10-26 at Symphony Hall. It’s Ballet Arizona’s 25th season sharing this wonderous tale and to celebrate they’ve amped up their production with sets but Carey Wong and costumes by Fabio Toblini.

The Downtown Ambassadors will host the second of three Festive Fridays this week at Arizona Center. Not only will there be free music by Soul Power and food by your favorite Arizona Center restaurants like 1130, Sam’s Cafe, and My Big Fat Greek Restaurant from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., but retailers will be on hand to help you with your holiday shopping.  

catsFinally, while it has absolutely nothing to with the holidays, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the 18th Annual Phoenix Feline Fanciers Cat Show, happening Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Phoenix Convention Center’s South Building. Think Best In Show, only for cats, with over 300 “fancy felines” competing for kitty gold. Many vendors will be on hand selling cat clothes, scratching posts, gourmet food, jewelry, and probably a whole mess of stuff you can’t imagine let alone dream you could buy.

ENJOY!

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Downtown Dine Around Saturday

Sunday, November 28th, 2010

revised_logoIf you didn’t get enough to eat over the Thanksgiving holiday, Downtown Phoenix has a way you can fill your stomach without emptying your wallet.

This Saturday, Dec. 4, 10 core restaurants will particpate in the First Annual Downtown Dine Around, an opportunity for adventurous (and hungry) day-trippers to experience Downtown’s blossoming dining scene while feasting on an array of menu offerings on the cheap.

From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Dine Arounders can ride the light rail or walk to 10 Downtown restaurants: ICON Lounge, Kincaid’s, 1130 The Restaurant, Brick Pizzeria & Wine Bar, Ghost Lounge, District American Kitchen, Coach & Willie’s, Sing High Chop Suey House, Z Pizza, and Matador Mexican Food Restaurant. Each restaurant will offer three menu items under $3.50, as well as a drink special. And we’re not talking about low-brow fare, either. Dine Arounders are going to be savoring everything from green chili soup and lobster bisque to margherita flatbread, bacon-wrapped meatballs, pesto chicken pasta, and spicy Moroccan lamb sliders. Download and print the full menu here.

Drooling yet?

While the Downtown Dine Around is a FREE event (save perhaps for the $3.50 cost of a light rail day pass) organizers do ask that you spread a little holiday cheer by bringing non-perishable food items to benefit St. Mary’s Food Bank. Food donations can be dropped off at any of the 10 participating Dine Around locations or at the Downtown Ambassadors Information Center on First Avenue and Adams Street.

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Ambassadors to Host Downtown CoolDown

Monday, August 23rd, 2010

In some parts of the country, August signals the end of summer.  Here in Phoenix, August seems to be the hottest month of the year and just teases you that cooler weather is still another six weeks away.

cooldown002_CS3_adjustedThis got the Downtown Ambassadors thinking, what could we do to make August a little more bearable?  Maybe make summer something we Downtowners could look forward too?  The answer we came up with: pool party.

Okay, we admit, it’s not the most unique idea.  We definitely aren’t the only ones hosting pool parties Downtown, but we are the only ones who could convince the Hotel San Carlos to let us use their pool.  Matter of fact, as we walked up to check out the pool space, the door to the deck mysteriously opened for us – so we figured the San Carlos ghosts were happy to have pool parties back.

So this Friday, Aug. 27, don your hippest poolwear and join us at the Hotel San Carlos for the inaugural Downtown Cooldown, a pool party hosted by the Downtown Phoenix Ambassadors.  We’ll have a DJ along with food & drink specials from 6-10 p.m.  Then we’ll keep the party going at the Ghost Lounge.  This is a 21 and over event. Tickets are $7 online and $10 at the door.

Bottoms up!

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Cartel Coffee Lab

Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

Cartel Coffee Lab’s Downtown location is a lot like the hipster bar du jour–your cool quotient spikes just knowing it exists.

CartelTucked between a military entrance and processing office and Burger King on 1st Street near the Washington intersection, Cartel makes little attempt to introduce itself to the masses. In fact, for months there was no signage at all lest a piece of hand-torn cardboard taped to the door that simply read “OPEN.” Management’s casual approach to marketing has made the haunt all the more attractive to Downtown’s coffee elitists and fringe crowd, similar to Cartel’s sister coffee klatch, Conspire. 

Once you do find the place, Cartel is more than comfortable; it’s dang-near homey. There are quiet conversation spaces, local artists’ work displayed throughout, friendly chatter from regulars (the bar area , and a staff-sponsored playlist full of old favorites and new surprises. (I recently heard a set comprised of Led Zeppelin, Passion Pit, Velvet Underground, Arcade Fire, Fiona Apple, and The Muppets’ seminal work, “Mahna Mahna.”)

Cartel_MichaelAnd the coffee, well, that’s where Cartel really sinks its hooks into you. They roast their own beans in Tempe–exquisite beans hailing from Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, Brazil and Mexico–and every cup is prepared with the utmost care (see photo, above) In fact, if you ask manager Michael Terlisner (Cartel’s ever-present Sam Malone, pictured left) for some help in selecting the perfect brew, he’ll match you with your dream bean e-Harmony-style. Seriously, these guys don’t mess around when it comes to coffee.

Cartel is slowly expanding its food menu, too, graduating from scones and breakfast burritos to tarts and light lunch plates. They also sell their precious beans by the pound and will tailor-grind them to meet your specifications.

And if you can’t locate Cartel on your own, don’t fret.  Simply flag down one of our Downtown Ambasssadors patroling the streets; many of them are professed Cartel junkies.

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Join the 3rd Annual ComiCon Zombie Walk

Wednesday, May 26th, 2010

ghostbustersLed by the Arizona Ghostbusters, the living dead will lurch through the streets of Downtown Phoenix this Friday, May 28 in celebration of Phoenix Comicon. 

The crowd will gather on the southwest corner of 2nd Street and Monroe near the Hyatt beginning at 6:30 p.m.  Promptly at 7 p.m., the zombies will begin to walk the streets of Downtown while Ecto (the Ghostbuster’s replica vehicle) rounds up carnivorous mass. 

After the walk, stay for the Zombie Pageant at the Hyatt.  All zombies will receive discounts at the Hyatt Network’s Bar & Grill. 

Participating in the walk is free.  Tickets to the pageant and ComicCon ($20) can be purchased at the Convention Center Box Office.  Visit the ComiCon website or call 602-495-1500 for more information.

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Viernes Festivos!

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

Pump up the jam
Pump it up
While your feet are stompin’
And the jam is pumpin’
Look at here the crowd is jumpin’
Pump it up a little more
Get the party going on the dance floor
Seek us that’s where the party’s at
And you’ll find out if you’re too bad

Festive_FridayJoin the Downtown Ambassadors as they kickoff Cinco de Mayo Weekend and welcome NBA Nation* to our fair city.

Come down to the Downtown Ambassadors Information Center at 101 N. 1st Avenue (Adams Street side of US Bank Building)  from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. this Friday for free street tacos from Baja Fresh and creamy dessert from Touch of Yogurt, plus get your picture taken as you show off your dunking skills on our basketball hoop. Don’t worry if you’re vertically challenged or have the jumping acumen of a turtle, the Ambassadors have a plan to help you feel like you’re Michael Jordan and Vince Carter rolled up into one vicious dunktician. Heck, there may even be some Technotronic (featuring Ya Kid K) if you’re lucky.

See you Friday, ballers and shot-callers!

*What is NBA Nation?  In addition to being the largest mobile basketball playground evah, fans can hang out with NBA legend and dunkaholic Darryl Dawkins, win cool prizes, take part in performance challenges, and throw-down on the Sprite Showdown Court. 

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