Weekend Fun

Posted on 08. Jul, 2010 by Tony Arranaga in News

A new exhibit at Practical Art, the Smunch crew descends on downtown hot spot The Duce, and a dance party at SideBar. These are just some of the events on my radar in this weekly edition of Weekend Fun along the light rail in Phoenix.

Friday, July 9th

Practical Art (Central and Camelback Station) will host local artist Christine Cassano and her latest work titled Invest With Confidence – an exhibit that draws attention to the disparity between how Americans are feeling the economic recession and the extent to which they are understanding it. According to the Facebook invite each piece contains a host of embedded objects representing free market commodities, as well as a piece of modern paper currency that is sealed within the work but accessible enough to be removed and recirculated by the collector, thus raising questions about the negotiable integrity of the piece and the value of the art as investment. Sounds interesting! The free event starts at 7 p.m. and is open to the public. Practical Art is a short walk from the light rail, see a map here.

Saturday, July 10th

Smunch, the once-a-month Saturday morning breakfast club, heads to The Duce this weekend. The building is located in downtown’s warehouse district (Central and Lincoln, on the south side of the urban core). If you’ve never been to The Duce, you should check it out! Over on my Facebook page, I talked about the owner describing the space as a community center, but it’s really much more. I like to think of it as a mashup of a restaurant/coffee bar/soda fountain/boutique…with a tiny gym. Smuch starts at 10:30 am, see all the deets here and a map to The Duce here. The location is a quick bike ride from either of the 3rd Street light rail stops.

Also on Saturday:

Free Sizzlin’ Summer Saturdays at the Heard Museum

80s Night at Chase Field (Arizona v. Florida)

Sunday, July 11th

Retro Hi-Fi is a great way to end the weekend with a bang – or a good way to keep it going if you have Monday off! The Retro Hi-Fi DJs turn this intimate downtown Phoenix lounge into a dance club. My favorite part is when some of the regulars start poppin’ and lockin’ and doing head spins. I love it!  SideBar is located at 7th Avenue and McDowell which is a quick bike ride from the McDowell light rail station. Find a map here and the Facebook invite here.

UPDATE 1

Also on Sunday:

Downtown Chamber Series at the Phoenix Art Museum (Sunday and Wednesday 7/14)

Tell me how the light rail fits into your plans this weekend in the comments below.

Tags: events, Phoenix, things to do, weekend