This week you can learn CPR, celebrate black history, crawl some techs, see Arizona memorabilia, save your sight, watch fastballs, deal with disease and make your kids stop biting you.

This column includes activities and programs in the Greater Phoenix area that have free admission. If you are looking for fundraisers, seminars, workshops, and other community programs that have an admission charge, or where donations are expected, I have a separate column for those. I call them "Phoenix Area Programs, Fundraisers & Events" and you can find those listings in my blog. They tend to cover a wider range of dates than a week, because advance registration is often required. For a long list of programs and festivals that are annual events in Greater Phoenix check the calendar.

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In this issue: centennial bike ride, taco week, zoo walk, fashion show, pet walk, munchies with an author, composting, brain cancer walk, rescue dogs, golf tournament, a bed race, casino games fundraiser, sanza, symphony, an Irish band, chef's studio and fishing fun.

This column includes announcements of seminars, workshops, community events, fundraisers and other programs for which there is an admission charge, a donation expected or you are otherwise expected to spend money, such as shopping events. Advance registration is required at some these events, so you might see them listed here weeks before they are scheduled to occur.

If you are looking for programs or activities where there is no charge for admission, you can check my weekly "Free Things To Do" column (it comes out every Monday), or check the monthly calendar of recurring annual events.

Events are presented here in date order.

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Have you ever been part of a flash mob? If you'd like to give it a whirl, there will be three opportunities this weekend in Mesa at the Mesa Arts Center:

Saturday, February 11, 2012: flash mob starts at 1 p.m., you should arrive at 11:30 a.m.
Saturday, February 11, 2012: flash mob starts at 3 p.m., you should arrive at 1:30 p.m.
Sunday, February 12, 2012: flash mob starts at 2 p.m., you should arrive at 12:30 p.m.

© Getty

What is a flash mob? According to Flash Mob America, it's "a spontaneous public performance, usually a dance, that appears seemingly out of nowhere with just one person, grows to hundreds of people, then quickly disappears." You've probably seen that commercial shot at Grand Central Station where a man starts his flash mob too early because he didn't get the message on his phone that it had been delayed. If you don't know which commercial I'm referring to, never mind!

The Mesa Flash Mobs are being held in conjunction with the Mesa Takes Flight event. To learn the flash mob dance steps, please watch the videos on the Mesa Arts Center's Mesa Takes Flight Dance at YouTube. Begin Part 1 and move through Part 9; you'll find them on the right side of the page. The full dance takes about around 6 minutes.

There is no charge to participate. I took a look at the videos and it's going to take some practice, so get to work!

You Might Also Be Interested In....

• Are Flash Mobs Losing Their Appeal?
• More Thing to Do in Mesa
• Tour the Mesa Arts Center

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Although it seems popular with online reviewers, the worst offender during the month of January had 8 significant violations on their latest restaurant inspection, mostly revolving around proper food temperatures and cleanliness. Most of the serious offenders in January were Asian restaurants, with a few pizza places sprinkled in. Do you stop eating at your favorite restaurant when they fail their inspection? It's difficult, I know!

This list represents those restaurants (not schools, caterers, corporate cafeterias, bakeries or other food processing businesses) that had five or more Risk Factor violations -- those that are considered a risk for foodborne illness -- during their last inspection. There is no magic to that number; a restaurant that had that many Risk Factors would be one that I'd avoid, at least until they had subsequent inspections showing more understanding of safe food preparation standards and concern for their patrons.

Here is the list of those restaurants in Maricopa County which had 5 or more Risk Factors noted on their last inspection. After you peruse that, please take a look at the many Phoenix area restaurants that achieved perfect inspections during the month of January 2012.

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