Posts Tagged ‘Heritage Square’

Festivals Highlight Weekend Events

Tuesday, September 27th, 2011

Downtown Phoenix will host two dynamic festivals this weekend: Herberger Theater Center’s Second Annual Festival of the Arts and the Rainbows Festival.

20AnnHTCcolor [Converted]These two events promise to bring thousands of people into Downtown.

Festival of the Arts

The second annual Herberger Theater Center Festival of the Arts takes place Saturday, Oct. 1 from 1-5 p.m. and offers indoor/outdoor performances on four stages, wine tasting, children’s activities, short films, and culture for all ages and tastes. Tickets for Festival of the Arts  ($5,  free for kids 12-under) can be purchased the day of the event at the gates (Third Street and Monroe, Second Street and Monroe). There is free parking courtesy of Arizona Center (Fifth Street and Fillmore). Bring your parking ticket to the Festival to redeem.

imagesRainbows Festival

A Downtown tradition since 2002, Rainbows Festival & Street Fair is a FREE celebration of the diversity of the LGBT community and takes place at Heritage Square Park. Open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Rainbows Festival is one of the largest LGBT events in Arizona and offers a full weekend of activities, including music, dancing, a wide variety of food, drinks, and exhibitors.

Hope to see you this weekend in Downtown Phoenix!

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Zombies to Roam Streets Friday

Tuesday, October 26th, 2010

What’s green, blue, red, and tastes funny?

A zombie eating a clown.

This Friday, Oct. 29, citizens of the undead are invited to line up at Heritage Square at 6 p.m. dressed as their favorite brain-craving Zombie for Zombie Walk 2: Bigger! Better! Undead…er.Zombie Walk 2

The Downtown Ambassadors , Arizona Ghostbusters and Broken Bulb Studios (makers of the hit Facebook video game Braaains!) invite you to attend this FREE, family friendly celebration which begins at promptly 6:30 p.m. and will circle back to the park in time for the All Hallows Eve Festival running 5-11 p.m. The All Hallows Eve Festival will feature candle-lit tours of Rosson House, pumpkin carving and decorating, children’s costume contests, face painting, palm readers, cake walk, jump house, silent horror films, gift basket raffle, carnival games, live music, food vendors, fresh brains** and a cornucopia of spooky peeps.

Anyone who would like to have their zombie makeup done by professionals, come down to Heritage Square at 4 and be made undead for as little as $10.

NightmareCROPPEDClaybirdsIf that’s not enough to satisfy your ghoulish cravings, the The Rose & Crown will host A Nightmare on Adams Street with beer garden operating from 7:30 p.m. to Midnight. Admission to A Nightmare on Adams Street is free and the music will be abundant, featuring bands from 7:30-9 (Claybirds have already signed on) then DJ LaRue will provide the soundtrack from 9-12. There will also be a costume contest with prizes and a scary movie (we suggest something by Sam Raimi).

If you’re into Halloween make plans to attend these wickedly fun events in Downtown Phoenix.

And if you want to see just how much the Ambassadors like Zombies, check out these great photos on Facebook and Flickr.

** No, not really.

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Posted in Arts & Culture, Bars & Nightlife, Family, Featured, Food, Restaurants & Dining, Music & Events | 5 Comments »

Concerts, Theater, Festivals, Oh My!

Tuesday, September 28th, 2010

What a week in Downtown Phoenix!

Bryan_AdamsFirst up is Bryan Adams, who brings his Bare Bones Tour to the intimate setting of the Orpheum Theater tonight.  You’ll be singing along to classics like “Summer of ’69,” “Cuts Like a Knife,” and one of the best love songs of the 90s,  ”(Everything I Do) I Do It For You.”

Next, The Arizona Latino Arts and Culture Center and New Carpa Theater bring  “The Eagle and the Serpent: A History of Mexico Abridged” to their new stage, recreating Mexico’s tumultuous history from 30,000 BC to the present. With characters like Montezuma and Sinaloa Drug Kingpin “El Chapo,” this production is sure to be both entertaining and moving. 

Also, don’t forget that this weekend brings First Friday, and the galleries are stocked and ready for those craving art. You can also find great First Friday activities at Heritage Square Park, Arizona Latino Arts and Cultural Center, Phoenix Children’s Museum, Arizona Science Center, and even our own Ambassador Information Center at the 101 North Building.

Back for the season is the Civic Space Park monthly event, featuring great organizations, businesses and artists including Neighborhood Ministries, Barrio Bikes, Fair Trade Cafe and live music from The Haymarket Squares and Snake! Snake! Snakes!  There will also be a new exhibit opening in the A.E. England Gallery featuring paintings from ASU Assistant Professor Forrest Solis. Visit Fair Trade Cafe’s Facebook fan page for more details.

Downtown gets pink (just in time for breast cancer awareness month).  Pinkalicious the musical starts up at the Valley Youth Theater this week, celebrating all things pink while showing that being yourself is the best of all.  Australian Pink Floyd, the best one out there, will be at the Dodge Theater on Friday night with The Big Pink Greatest Hits World Tour. 

RAINBOWOf course, if you’d rather celebrate all the colors of the rainbow, make sure to visit the Rainbows Festival happening at Heritage Square on Saturday and Sunday.

Last but certainly not least, Herberger Theater Center will show off its latest renovations during Saturday’s Festival of the Arts.  You’ll get to tour the revamped theater while enjoying food, music and short films from the Phoenix Film Foundation.  There’s an interactive children’s area too!  That’s a lot of entertainment for only $5!

I could keep going and going but that would spoil the rest of the discoveries waiting inside this week’s What’s Happening. Download your copy here and get in on the Downtown fun!

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This Week: Soulful Crooners, First Friday, Bowling & Baseball

Monday, August 30th, 2010

Summer may be winding down, but Downtown Phoenix is only getting hotter.  Three nights a week you can laugh yourself in stitches over Ashley Pirouznia’s lineup of local talent;  Mondays at Sonoma Casual Dining, followed by  Fridays and Saturdays at Ghost Lounge.  Whether you want to see Phoenix veterans of comedy or the latest “fresh meat” (prime heckling material), there is a laugh for every taste.  All shows start at 8:30 p.m. and there’s no cover!

lamontagneSpeaking of talent, David Gray and Ray Lamontagne perform at the Dodge on Wednesday night.  Both known for their acoustic style and raspy voices,  this show will easily slide you over hump day on into the weekend.  On Friday, talent will be abound with the First Friday of the month.  Check out the fun at Arizona Latino Arts and Culture Center, Children’s Museum of Phoenix, the Arizona Science Center with Adult’s Night Out, ASU University Center’s gallery “The Vault”, Heritage Square, AE England Building in Civic Space and much more.  The Valley Youth Theater has extended “Grease” due to its popularity.  With famous alumni like Chelsea Staub (Disney Channel), Jordin Sparks (American Idol) and Emma Stone (Zombieland) you may easily be able to say, “I saw them when…”.

The D’backs take the field again this week against the Padres and the Astros.  College football starts this week too.  Coach and Willie’s kicks-off the season with great specials on Thursday night and again Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m. (in time for the East Coast kickoffs).

If none of this floats your boat, you can always hit the lanes at Lucky Strike.  They have great happy hour specials and this amazingly entertaining lunch special – a sandwich and a game for $5.50!  You can get a turkey sandwich while you bowl a turkey.  Ha!

Download This Week’s What’s Happening for a Complete Guide to Downtown Events

 

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Rainbows Downtown

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

I love fall in Arizona: The summer begins to fade into fond memories, I leave my windows open and turn off the a/c, the license plates begin to change colors, and the annual Rainbows Festival takes place in Downtown Phoenix.

Rainbows Festival is what I call “Pride-lite”- it’s like Pride but without the parade. The other difference is Pride happens in the spring in Indian School Park, but Rainbows is held in Hearitige Square. The first Phoenix Rainbows Festival happened in 2002 as a one-day event. By 2004, it had grown so much that an extra day was added to the festival. I’ve missed Phoenix Pride the last four years in a row for one reason or another but I always go to Rainbows. The festival kicks off the holiday season for me and has become one of my favorite new traditions. (Last year, I got to talk with Afeelya Bunz after the show. That was one of the highlights.)

What’s not to love? The light rail goes there; it’s in a beautiful space downtown; the weather is always sunny and warm (i.e., perfect); there is great entertainment, drinks, and food; and last year, it brought out 25,000 people over the weekend.

Rainbows Festival will be on Saturday, October 3rd and 4th, and coincides with the 2009 Phoenix AIDS Walk happening on Sunday. There is no admission fee for the event, although you can make a donation and all the money will be donated to the AIDS Walk. The festival opens at 10 a.m. both days and goes until 6 p.m. Barbra Seville is taking the stage at 3 p.m. on Sunday and I’m looking forward to that show. (Barbra has a weekly show at Forbidden in Scottsdale, and it’s a ton of fun.)

If you’re looking for something fun and cheap to do this weekend, make a day out of it: Hop on the light rail, come see what the festival is all about, hang out downtown and see all the new projects. Then hop on the light rail and have lunch at a place you’ve never been. That’s what I’m going to do.

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