The Phoenix Traveler

Mill Avenue in Tempe hustles and bustles with pedestrian traffic year-round. It’s not the place to go if you want peace and quiet. And though I’d say the majority of the people you’ll see milling around are Arizona State University students, urbanites from all over the Valley of the Sun head over on evenings and weekends to shop, dine at the many restaurants, hang out in the taverns, and walk, ride bikes or rollerblade over to Tempe Town Lake.
This coming weekend, however, pedestrians will flock to Mill Avenue–one of America’s “ten great streets” (American Planning Association, 2008)–for one of …read more

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More than 20 Arizona authors will sell and sign their books at the 15th Annual ArtFest of Scottsdale today and tomorrow. New for this year’s event, “Book Street” gathers the authors all in one area, near the Scottsdale Mondrian hotel at the northwest corner of the festival site, in Old Town Scottsdale.
A few travel writers, including Christine K. Bailey, author of Destinations: A Complete Guide to Phoenix, Scottsdale, Sedona and Central Arizona, and Teresa Bitler, whose Great Escapes Arizona was just released are scheduled to appear.
Also plan to see arts & crafts booths, food and live music at the festival …read more

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Visit the Desert Botanical Garden from November 22 until May 31, 2009, for the chance to see the works of renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly. The art exhibition–his first in a desert setting–will feature new and unique works of glass sculpture along the garden’s trails.
Chihuly is known for his innovative glass sculptures and use of vibrant colors. Perhaps you’ve seen his work and didn’t know it; one of his more prominent displays is on the ceiling of the Bellagio Resort in Las Vegas. His work is also found in more than 200 museums worldwide, including the Metropolitan Museum of …read more

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What’s happening in theaters, museums and outdoor venues in Greater Phoenix? You can find out easily just by showing up.
Showing up online, of course. The above link takes you to a Web site created in 2003 by the Alliance for Audience, a non-profit organization consisting of arts and cultural groups in the Valley of the Sun who wanted a way to promote what they’re doing so you can take part in it.
Want to attend a live theater performance, a poetry reading or take an art class? Do you like concerts? It’s all here…times, dates, locations. Even maps. Get tickets, read …read more

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Now through October 2009, three museums in Mesa (Mesa Contemporary Arts (pictured above), Arizona Museum of Natural History, and Arizona Museum for Youth), all within walking distance, are open free to the public on the first Sunday of every month, noon to 5 p.m.
Other free events: MACFest, a downtown Mesa art and cultural festival every Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; the October Storytelling Festival; and Day of the Dead and Holiday Art & Music festivals coming in November.
The city of Mesa, Target and the Arizona Republic launched the free museum program, 3 for Free, this month.
Upcoming Exhibitions
Mesa Contemporary …read more

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It’s not a neighborhood normally associated with art or community functions of any kind. In fact, Sunnyslope has long been the neighborhood in Phoenix to avoid. Why? It’s run down. Its streets are graced with colorful people of questionable character. And its early 20th century origins are based on the fact that it was once a tuberculosis colony. Not exactly the stuff that fun is made of, unless you’re talking about a joke.
But that’s changing. Restaurants are moving in. There’s a wine bar and coffee shop. Houses are being renovated. The community is pulling together to rid itself of the …read more

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Below are the answers to yesterday’s pop quiz.
Watch for more to come in the future. Once a month, I’ll include a quiz, centering it around a theme, such as Native American art, sporting events, outdoor recreation, and other things travel-related. You can join in on the fun by leaving your answers here in the comment box.

Till next time, let me know if you knew the answers to this quiz without having to do an online search, or phone a friend.

If this quiz was too easy, let me know that as well. The answers are:

There are three places in Greater Phoenix …read more

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You may have seen this book, or maybe not. But Sam Lowe, the author of Arizona Curiosities (now in it’s second edition), happens to be a funny guy with a lot of quirky stories to tell, including one about the time he interviewed a couple at a nudist colony in Tonopah. And, yes, they were unclothed. Well…he was, after all, in search of the “bare facts,” as quoted from his book.
Not only is Sam funny, but the guy’s also got guts.
Guess that’s why Marshall Trimble, the state’s official historian, recommended Lowe to the publisher, Globe Pequot, as the guy …read more

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And why is that crown of thorns being lifted onto the roof of the new convention center in downtown Phoenix?
Crazy-sounding questions, I know, to be asking about objects located in a downtown metropolis. But they’re legitimate. That’s what I really was thinking last week when I was walking on Monroe Street to go take a look inside the city’s new Visitors Center. I’m writing a story about that for US Airways magazine and figured I might as well take a detour while I’m there.
It had been a while since I’d seen what I’d dubbed “the alien in Phoenix” when …read more

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