Attractions, Music, Arts, Sports, Outdoors, Night Life
By Judy Hedding, About.com Guide to Phoenix
If you can't find something to do in the Greater Phoenix area, then you haven't looked past your front door! Educational experiences, outdoor adventures, spectator sports, performing arts, visual arts, culinary delights, family entertainment -- we've got it all in Greater Phoenix.
- Annual Festivals and Events
- Celebrate the Holidays
- Movie Theaters
- Gardens and Zoos
- Go to the Game: Professional Sports
- Museums
- Theatre, Music and Dance
- Art Festivals and Events
- Amusement and Water Parks
- Entertaining Visitors (and Your Family)
- Find a Golf Course
- Dining Out
- Night Life and Night Clubs
- Home and Garden Shows, Trade Shows
Annual Festivals and Events
These are family friendly events (unless otherwise noted) that are held every year in the Greater Phoenix area. Aside from the calendar, you'll also find details here about the most popular events in the Valley of the Sun.
- Monthly Event Calendars
- Cactus League - Spring Training Baseball
- Arizona State Fair
- Maricopa County Fair
- Arizona Renaissance Festival
- Barrett-Jackson Classic Car Auction
- FBR Open PGA Golf Tournament
- Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show
- Arizona Fall League Baseball
- Aloha Festival
- Tempe Festival of the Arts
- Ostrich Festival
- Glendale Chocolate Affaire
- Balloon Festival
- Luke Days at Luke Air Force Base
- Fiesta Bowl
- Insight Bowl
- Spring Break
- Ironman Triathlon
- PF Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Marathon
Celebrate the Holidays
Holidays are often time for families and fun. Many of the communities in Greater Phoenix have holiday celebrations throughout the year.
Movie Theaters
With hundreds of screens in the Greater Phoenix area, there's sure to be several within a short distance of where you live or where you are visiting.
- Movie Theaters in Phoenix
- Movie Theaters in Scottsdale
- Movie Theaters in Mesa and Gilbert
- Movie Theaters in Tempe and Chandler
- Movie Theaters in Glendale, Peoria, Avondale, Goodyear
- Movie Theaters in Casa Grande
- Discount Movie Theaters and Drive-Ins
- Big Screen Movies and IMAX
- Where To See Foreign Films
- Phoenix Film Festivals
Gardens and Zoos
For about eight months of the year, Phoenix is a great place to enjoy the outdoors. The Sonora desert's flora and fauna are very different from what you might find elsewhere in the country!
Go to the Game: Professional Sports
Phoenix has become a major sports town in the past 25 years, and not many professional leagues are missing from the area. All year long there's some team or professional athletes playing something!
- Arizona Diamondbacks Baseball
- Phoenix Suns Basketball
- Arizona Cardinals Football
- Phoenix Coyotes Hockey
- Spring Training Baseball
- Arizona Fall League Baseball
- Arizona Rattlers Arena Football
- Arizona Team Mascot Picture Gallery
- Arizona Team Logo Gallery
- Arizona String Lacrosse
- FBR Open PGA Golf
- Safeway International LPGA Golf
- NASCAR at Phoenix International Raceway
- AVP Tour Pro Beach Volleyball
- Phoenix Mercury WNBA Basketball
- Phoenix Roadrunners Hockey
- Fiesta Bowl Football
- BCS Championship Football
- Insight Bowl Football
- Super Bowl 2008 Football
Museums
Any kind of museum you could be looking for--and some that you'd never think of--can be found in the Greater Phoenix area.
- Heard Museum
- Phoenix Art Museum
- Arizona Science Center
- Arizona Challenger Space Center
- Deer Valley Rock Art Center
- Mystery Castle
- Bead Museum
- Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West
- Hall of Flame Museum of Firefighting
- More Museums
Theatre, Music and Dance
Whether you are interested in opera, heavy metal, youth theater, ballet, salsa or jazz, there's something for everyone when it comes to musical and theatrical entertainment in the Valley of the Sun.
- Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre
- Concerts and Shows - Monthly Calendars
- Get Discount Tickets at ShowUp
- Buying Tickets Through Ticketmaster in Arizona
- Jazz Clubs
- Hard-To-Find Tickets
- Arizona Opera
- Ballet Arizona
- Phoenix Symphony at Symphony Hall
- Chandler Center for the Arts
- Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
- Del E. Webb Center for the Performing Arts
- Gammage Auditorium at ASU
- Mesa Arts Center
- Tempe Center for the Arts
- Famous Performers with Arizona Ties
- Dodge Theatre
- Jobing.com Arena
- US Airways Center
- Celebrity Theatre
Art Festivals and Events
People travel to Phoenix and Scottsdale from all over the country to attend art festivals and enjoy the fine art galleries.
- Scottsdale Art Walk
- First Friday in Phoenix
- Downtown Chandler Art Walk
- Tempe Festival of the Arts
- Scottsdale Arts Festival
- Arizona Fine Art Expo
- Celebration of Fine Art
- Litchfield Park Fine Art & Culinary Festival
- Native American Arts Festival
- Pueblo Grande Museum Indian Market
Amusement and Water Parks
We don't have Disneyland or Six Flags in Arizona, but we do have some places where kids (and adults) can play games and enjoy rides all day long.
- Rawhide Western Town
- Take a Little Train Ride
- Splash Pads and Spray Pads
- Santa's - A Christmas Theme Park
- More Amusement Parks
Entertaining Visitors (and Your Family)
These ideas for things to do when friends and family visit will work at any time of the year. During the winter months, however, you'll find that friends and family have a tendency to visit. Of course, they are here to see you, but it doesn't hurt that they can escape their snowy state to enjoy Arizona.
- 15 Best Things To Do
- Road Trips
- Activities With Kids
- Activities For People Who Aren't Active or Can't Walk Much
- Activities For Active People
- Concerts and Shows
- Vacation in Your Own Arizona Backyard
- Things To Do on Christmas Day
- Average Phoenix Holiday Temperatures
- 5 Great Motorcycle Rides in Central Arizona
Find a Golf Course
If you are a golfer, you've come to the right place. There are many public gold courses in the Phoenix area, for all levels of golfers and all thicknesses of wallets.
- My Favorite Golf Courses
- Golf Courses To Impress Your Friends
- Best 'Bang For Your Buck' Golf Courses
- Budget/Cheap Golf Courses
- Short/Executive Courses
Dining Out
There's no lack of options when it comes to eating out in Greater Phoenix. Cheap restaurants, expensive restaurants, chain restaurants, independent restaurants, ethnic restaurants--you name, you'll find it here.
- Find a Restaurant Near You
- Read My Restaurant Reviews
- Read Visitor Restaurant Reviews
- Submit a Mini-Review of Any Restaurant in Phoenix
- Best Restaurants in Greater Phoenix
- Best Wine Lists
- Best Sunday Brunches
- Restaurant Coupons and Discounts
- 15 Restaurants Offering Discount Certificates
- Inspection Reports - Which Restaurants Scored the Best
- Vegan and Vegetarian
- Coffee and Live Music
- Kids Eat Free
- Buffet Restaurants
- Chinese Restaurants
- Greek Restaurants
- 24 Hour Restaurants
- Great Restaurants for Kids
- Ice Cream Parlors
- Eating Out on Christmas Day
Night Life and Night Clubs
You've had a busy day of fun in Phoenix, and a fine meal at a local restaurant. It's time to go home and go to bed, right? Wrong!
- Hot Night Clubs in Phoenix and Scottsdale
- Sports Bars
- Live Jazz
- Visitors Review Local Night Clubs and Bars
- Great Scottsdale Happy Hours
- Submit a Mini-Review of a Local Night Club or Bar
- Coffee and Live Music
- Local Bands
- Brew Pubs and Irish Pubs
- Arizona Liquor Laws
Home and Garden Shows, Trade Shows
If your idea of a good time is visiting hundreds of booths of companies selling their wares, than the Greater Phoenix area is the place for you! We have great trade show venues here, so naturally there are lots of trade shows. The Home and garden Shows are especially popular.
