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 the city’s most popular attractions: Fall Tempe Festival of the Arts.

Since the Beatles had its #1 hit, “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” on the radio 40 years ago, this festival has been the event holiday shoppers love to attend. I’ve been several times and still recall the gift I purchased for my sister the first time I went in 1988 (the 20th anniversary year). It was a hand-crafted Christmas Elf.

I don’t know if that booth’s still around, but here’s a sample of what I know you’ll experience while there this year:

_250,000 visitors, more or less, with lots of them pushing strollers, so watch out.

_more than 400 juried artists’ booths (woodwork, jewelry, paintings, ceramics, fountains, photography, textiles and more), so you know you’ll see quality work.

_food and beverages to purchase at the Food Court on 6th Street near Mill.

_street performers (stilt walkers and mimes, for instance).

_live entertainment (past performers have been local bands, including Gin Blossoms, Margo Reed, Walt Richardson and others).

_hands-on crafts and activities for kids, thank goodness.

_Arizona Wine Festival with tastings from several Arizona wine growers.

If you attend on Friday, stick around after hours for an added treat this year: the Anniversary Beatles Tribute. It takes place at the Arizona Wine Festival Jazz Stage, with Beatles tribute music played by cover band Apple.

IF YOU GO:

WHAT: 40th ANNIVERSARY FALL FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS

WHEN: December 5-7, 10 a.m. to Dusk

WHERE: Mill Avenue in Tempe

ADMISSION: Free

PARKING: Free at Rio Salado Parkway & Hardy Drive, just east of Priest Drive on the north side of Rio Salado Parkway. A free shuttle runs every 15 minutes. (map it)

If you don’t want to hassle with that, nine paid parking garages or lots surround the downtown area, closer to the festival. But still, plan for a lot of walking and wear comfortable shoes.

(Photo of Mill Avenue Festival courtesy of Tempe Convention & Visitors Bureau.)

Post from: The Phoenix Traveler

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 on both days.

If you go:

What: ArtFest of Scottsdale                                                               When: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 22 and Sunday, Nov. 23        Where: Scottsdale Civic Center Plaza, 7380 E. 2nd St.                          Cost: Free

Post from: The Phoenix Traveler

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 Art, London’s Victoria and Albert Museum and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Garden exhibitions of his work have been mounted at the New York Botanical Garden, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Atlanta Botanical Garden and the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew.

Expecting large crowds for this exhibit, the Garden has introduced timed ticketing to help control the flow of guests, ensure adequate parking and improve the viewing experience. Timed ticketing sessions are as follows:

8 a.m. – noon / noon – 4 p.m. / 4p.m. – 8 p.m.

Ticket prices are: Adults $15, Seniors $13.50, Students (13-18 and college with ID) $7.50, Children (3 -12) $ 5, Children under 3 admitted free.

To purchase your tickets, call 480-481-8188, or visit www.dbg.org. Advanced purchase is recommended during this time.

Post from: The Phoenix Traveler

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 about the venues and performances, find out about free events. This very comprehensive site  makes it easy for you to find out what’s what and where so that all you have to do is literally show up and be entertained.

And it grows every year to include even more information, including festivals, art galleries and reviews. For art and culture lovers, this is your one-stop source for information–a site you can really use.

Post from: The Phoenix Traveler

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 Arts, One East Main St.

Low and Slow: The Art of the Lowrider through January 11, 2009
Arizona Wheels and Ink through January 4, 2009
The Parlour through January 11, 2009
Beneath the Skin: Artwork Inspired by Tattoos through December 7, 2008

Arizona Museum for Youth, 35 North Robson Street

Dia de los Muertos through Nov. 30, 2008
Full Circle: Recycled into Art through Feb. 8, 2009
Way to Glow! Scott McNeill through Feb. 8, 2009

Arizona Museum of Natural History, 53 Macdonald St. 

HOHOKAM!  Ancient Monuments of the Salt River Valley through March 29, 2009
MARS!  through June 28, 2009
Dinosaur Mountain on – going
PSI:  Poop Scene Investigation through December 07, 2008

The museums are part of the Mesa Arts Center, said to be Arizona’s largest arts campus. It’s home to four theaters, five art galleries and fourteen art studios. Visit the Web site or call 480-644-6500 for more information. Free guided tours of the campus take place at noon every Wednesday at noon. To book a tour, call 480-644-6626.

(Above photo provided and used with permission by the Mesa Arts Center.)

Post from: The Phoenix Traveler

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 blight. And now, there’s even an art gallery. Better yet, that art gallery has spawned something else–Sunnyslope’s very own art walk.

Art is not just for Phoenix and Scottsdale anymore. The creative outdoor fun is now in Sunnyslope, too.

Just look for the big white “S” on the mountain at the top of Central Avenue, and you’ll know you’re there.

To be sure, plan to show up on the evening of October 11. That’s when you’ll get to mix and mingle with more than 100 artists and six different live bands. They’ll set up shop along the east side of Central Avenue, from Dunlap Avenue, south all the way the Canal at Ruth Street. 1,000 Valley residents showed up for the first Sunnyslope Art Walk last April, and this one could draw more.

If you’ve not been to the area in a while–or if you’ve never been–you might want to stop in a littler earlier to check out the coffee shop called Grinder’s, Bombero’s wine bar, Nielsen Galleries, or Corbin’s Bar & Grill–all within easy walking distance of each other. Local businesses are looking forward to it, and I hope to see you there.

What: Sunnyslope Art Walk.

Where: Dunlap and Central Ave., Phoenix.

When: Saturday, Oct. 11, 5 p.m. – 10 p.m.

Parking: The Cowden Center, 9202 N. 2nd St., between Dunlap and Hatcher; Food City parking lot at Dunlap and Central; Sunnyslope High School, 35 W. Dunlap.

Post from: The Phoenix Traveler

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.

1. 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.
3. If this quiz was too easy, let me know that as well. The answers are:

1. There are three places in Greater Phoenix where I know you can find Allan Houser sculptures. I may have mentioned them previously in this blog. Do you know the names of these places? THEY ARE: HEARD MUSEUM, FIGARELLI FINE ART and THE PHOENICIAN RESORT.
2. Phoenix is situated in the heart of what is considered the most ecologically diverse desert in the world. Do you know the name of this desert? THE SONORAN DESERT.
3. Phoenix is one of how many U.S. cities with franchises in all four major professional sports leagues: Phoenix Suns (NBA), Arizona Diamondbacks (MLB), Arizona Cardinals (NFL), and Phoenix Coyotes (NHL)? ONLY 13 U. S. CITIES HAVE SUCH FRANCHISES.
4. In what year did the Arizona Diamondbacks win the World Series Championship? IN 2001.
5. Can you name all six lakes that can be found within a 75-minute drive from Phoenix? THEY ARE APACHE, BARTLETT, CANYON, LAKE PLEASANT, ROOSEVELT AND SAGUARO.
6. Frank Lloyd Wright built a studio here. Though he is now deceased, his foundation operates a teaching facility for students interested in organic architecture. Visitors can take tours and workshops there. Do you know the name of this facility? IT IS TALIESIN WEST. 
7. The largest municipal park in the world is located here. It covers more than 16,500 acres. Do you know the name of this park? IT’S CALLED SOUTH MOUNTAIN PARK AND PRESERVE.
8. Three major industries are located in Phoenix. Can you name all three? THEY HAVE BEEN MOST RECENTLY CONSTRUCTION, HIGH-TECH MANUFACTURING AND TOURISM (though construction is questionable these days…).
9. A famous rock star from the 70s lives here. He’s still producing albums and going on tour. He’s also very active in philanthropic projects. Do you know his name? Hint: He invested in a downtown Phoenix restaurant near what used to be known as Bank One Ballpark. THAT WOULD BE ALICE COOPER.
10. The late Senator Barry Goldwater donated a collection of unique dolls to the Heard Museum. Do you know what these dolls are called? THEY ARE CALLED KACHINAS or KATSINAS.

(Photo used with permission by the Greater Phoenix Convention & Visitors Bureau.) 

Post from: The Phoenix Traveler

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 to write this book. The author, a former full-time newspaper columnist for the Arizona Republic and the now defunct Phoenix Gazette, writes regularly for Arizona Highways and Highroads, AAA Arizona’s travel magazine, among other publications. He’s also just completed his third book in the “Curiosities” series, only this one’s about New Mexico. It’ll be out in September.

I had the opportunity to meet the author for lunch this week at Café Carumba in Scottsdale. We chatted about our mutual work as Phoenix-based travel writers and then he answered a few questions for me about his book:

Q: First, tell me a little bit about what you did to find the curiosities.

A: I drove 12,000 miles across Arizona. I went to every town in the state, except for Young (He’s since been there, too.), and it took me eight months. Because of my column for the newspaper, “On the Lowe Road,” I pretty much knew what was there already. I was just following up, to make sure it was still there.

Q: During your eight months on the road for the first book, what was the most surprising thing you learned about Arizona?

A: The most surprising thing for me was at The Thing. I was really surprised at that. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I didn’t expect to see what I saw. It’s just a mummy. (I recommend that you read his book to find out more about what he calls a “billboard marketing success” story.)

Another surprising thing I discovered was near Hillside (in northwest Arizona, between Congress and Baghdad). There’s this really big rock painted to look like a skull. It’s huge, probably 25 tons, and very well done. It’s been there 100 years and was painted by railroad workers. I expected it to be kitschy.

Q: Is there one location where curiosities abound?

A: I think that would be in southeastern Arizona. There’s the monastery in Florence. There’s Tombstone. It has a rosebush–a Lady Banks Rose–that was planted in the late 1800s. It’s still growing and is (maybe?) 10,000 square feet wide. And Bisbee itself is weird. In Douglas, there’s one square block where you’ll find a church on every corner, different denominations. There’s the lady with the bookstore in her home near Benson, and then there’s Gammon’s Gulch.

Q: Where do you go to find out this information?

A: In the small towns, go to the Chamber of Commerce or the local bar. Anyone there knows where to find the curiosities, though it’s not usually curious to them. You have to ask a lot of questions.

Q: What are some of the more unusual things you’ve found in Phoenix?

A: At the Mineral & Mining Museum they have an exhibit of rocks that looks like food…steak and mashed potatoes. And if you go to McDonald Drive and 40th Street, there’s a house with an unusual rock garden. And then there’s the big plywood cut-outs at Cotton Lane off the Interstate 10 in Goodyear (One is a giant baby cut-out. She’s playing with toy tractors in a plowed field.) You can only see those when you’re traveling west on the interstate. 

Q: The entries are short, easy to read and humorous. It seems like this book would be a great book to read in the bathroom.

A: It is a definite bathroom reader, although I find that my legs always fall asleep when I read on the loo.

Tip to Sam: Don’t try to read all 300 pages in one sitting.

Before the interview ended, I couldn’t help but ask the author for his top-five pick of curious attractions statewide. In no particular order, they are:

1. The big frog rock in Congress.
2. The tiki head in Kingman on Route 66; it looks like something off of Easter Island.
3. The 30-foot-tall concrete kachina figure in the Tonto Hills subdivision northeast of Carefree.
4. The lizards on the retaining walls running up and down Highway 101 (Pima Freeway) in Scottsdale.
5. The Artichokes at Scottsdale Community College; it’s the name for the school’s mascot.

If you don’t get a chance to see any of Sam’s picks, at least consider looking for his book. Not only is it good bathroom reading, but it’s a good guide to what you’ll surely find when in Arizona–the unusual, the odd, and especially the curious.

(For the photos of the book, I wish to thank my boyfriend for loaning me his copy, and Sam’s photo above was printed with his permission. Thanks, Sam. See you on the road.)

Post from: The Phoenix Traveler

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 I first saw him. And I wanted to see him again. He’s part of the Percent for Art project the city has commissioned with various artists nationwide. This one is part of a video creation designed by Tony Oursler called “Million Colors”. Installed when the first phase of the city’s new Convention Center  opened in 2006, this part of the project includes a white, egg-shaped face that, when lit up, looks like a green alien. I can’t imagine who wouldn’t want to see that.

It’s strange. It’s different. And when you sit on the couch below, he speaks. You’ll find him in the West building, just as you walk inside the Monroe Street entrance. You have to look up at the wall, though, and to your right. When I did that this time, however, something was missing. I’ve been told, he’s undergoing some maintenance. So he’s not talking, and he’s not even green. If you go now, all you’ll see is the white egg shape on the wall. And that, my friends, just looks odd. So wait until the maintenance is complete. Or call ahead.

But if you’re going to go downtown, anyway, you might as well take a look at the latest public art project going up on Monroe Street: a giant crown-like object. It’s outside Convention Center North, over the entranceway to the ballrooms. Appropriately named “Halo”, artist Kim Cridler, with her husband William Bennie, designed the 32-foot-wide, wreath-like sculpture. Made to look like a bronze ring of interwoven agave leaves, its grid-like frame is supposed to symbolize good luck, transformation through regeneration (like the Phoenix itself), and continuity, life, and cyclic time.

These two art projects are just a sample of the total $3.2 million public art package commissioned by the city for convention center development. And if you get a chance to see these two, I hope you’re lucky enough to hear the green face speak. If you are, come back and tell me what he says. I’ve forgotten. It’s been two years since I saw him last.

Tip: There’s a lot of construction going on downtown, making it easy to get lost. Click here for a map.

(Photos used with permission by the Phoenix Convention Center.)

Post from: The Phoenix Traveler