Happenings List: April 2016

This is our monthly curated roundup of upcoming maker/artist/explorer events!

Angle brackets (>>) point to related info on our site.

+Arizona

April 16, 5:30pm at Macayo’s Mexican Grill & Cantina’s Scottsdale and Shea location, 11107 N. Scottsdale Rd.
Dine with Mexico City-based artist Tania Candiani and ASU Art Museum curator Julio Cesar Morales. Cocktail hour, four-course menu with Tequila Ocho pairings.
>>Macayo’s Mexican Grill & Cantina’s Scottsdale.

Yuma Jazz Company’s Village Jazz Series

April 21 + 28, 6pm in the Village Area of Yuma Palms Regional Center, Yuma.
Free outdoor jazz performances by Yuma Jazz Company and other musicians.

Chef’s Kitchen Dinner Series: Tastes of the World

April 22, 7pm at Omni Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Montelucia, 4949 E Lincoln Dr, Scottsdale.
Customized meal pairing with liquors and wines from around the world. Dishes prepared and served using sustainable cooking techniques and methods.
>>Our visit to the Omni Charlottesville Hotel.

Community Pancakes with Ennoble Arizona

April 24, 8am – 1pm at Peixoto Coffee 11 W Boston St, Ste 6, Chandler.
Pop-up pancakes in a downtown Chandler coffee shop.
>>Peixoto and other great coffee spots.

Arcosanti Resident Art Show

Now – April 30 at Arcosanti, near Cordes Junction.
Art by Arcosanti residents and alumni for sale.
>>The day we had breakfast at Arcosanti was also during an art show. Work for sale included jewelry, photography, and mixed media pieces.

CraftHack

May 9, 6pm at Gangplank Chandler.
Meet other artists and crafters and learn something new or bring your own project to work on!

>>A past CraftHack.

Latino Cultural Festival

May 14, 10AM-8PM at Altadena Main Library, Phoenix.
Book readings and signings, art market, live music, Latin American food and beverages.

Elstree 1976 presented by Phoenix Comicon

May 19, 7:30pm at FilmBar, Phoenix.
Documentary about the bit-part actors and extras who were in scenes filmed in suburban London in 1976.

Phoenix Comicon

Jun 2 – 5 at Phoenix Convention Center.
Convention for fans of pop culture.

>>Check out our guide for newbies!

+California

Class: Modern Needlework Tapestry

April 16, 3-6p at Parallel Print Shop, San Anselmo.
Modern needlework as home decor.

Maker Costume Expo

May 21-22 at the Anaheim Convention Center

>>Where to eat in and around the Convention Center.

#BlogHer16: Experts Among Us

Aug 4 – 6 at JW Marriott LA Live, Los Angeles.
BlogHer annual conference.

+Colorado

V for Vegetables art exhibit

Now – May 15 at Denver Botanic Gardens, York Street, Gates Garden Court Gallery.
Explore the historical and contemporary graphic traditions surrounding the victory gardening movement and celebrate the virtue of growing food in your own backyard.

>>Denver Botanic Gardens.

+Indiana

Monroe Lake nature events

Lunch with Nature: Ferns. Apr 25, 11am at Paynetown SRA, Activity Center. Bring a sack lunch to enjoy during the main presentation. Afterwards, there is a short hike/activity that highlights the topic.
Flora Field Day. May 3, 9:30am at Salt Creek SRA. Work on your flora identification skills with a naturalist! Free.

>>Also check out Mounds State Park in Anderson.

+New York

Rochester Film Fest

Apr 14 – 16 in Rochester.
The World’s Oldest, Continuously Held Short Film Festival. Free admission.

Artistic Furniture of the Gilded Age

Now – May 1 at Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC.
Rockefeller-Worsham Dressing Room now open in Gallery 742 of The American Wing. While you’re there, listen to the “Gallery 742” episode of the Memory Palace commissioned for the exhibition.

+Ohio

Arc of Appalachia Wildflower Pilgrimage

April 15 – 17 at the Highlands Nature Sanctuary, Bainbridge, Ohio.
Hikes to wildflower displays and talks by naturalists.

+Tennessee

The Legendary Deconstructed Songwriters Showcase

April 19 7pm at Kimbros Cafe.
Free-form open mic night for musicians and writers of all types – weekly on Tuesdays.

Spring Tennessee Craft Fair

May 6 – 8 at Centennial Park, Nashville.
Craft, food from local vendors, kid-friendly activities, and demonstrations from artisans.

+Virginia

Tom Tom Founders Festival

April 17 in Downtown Charlottesville.
Community-led festival with concerts, competitions, talks, workshops, local food, and public art.

>>Charlottesville.

Devils Backbone Oyster Roast

May 14, 12pm at Basecamp Brewpub & Meadows, Roseland.
Fresh oysters from Rappahannock Oyster Co., special beer and live music at Basecamp Brewpub & Meadows.

+Washington DC

Now – TBA Life in One Cubic Foot

Natural History Museum. Interactive exhibition about the marine life that can be found in one cubic foot of water during a 24-hour period.

>>Monuments on the National Mall.

+Washington

Artisan Chocolate Tasting & Scotch Pairing

April 16, 2-4pm at Barrel Thief Wine & Whiskey Bar, 3417 Evanston Ave N., Fremont.
Taste and learn about chocolate with optional Scotch tasting flights for purchase.

>>Public art in Fremont.

Sourdough 101 Cooking Class

April 17, 9:30am – 12:00pm at Book Larder.
The team behind Sea Wolf Bakers will teach the key points of bread baking in this hands-on class. Everyone will leave with their own jar of starter, a recipe for Sea Wolf’s white sourdough bread, and a Book Larder tea towel for proofing your lovely new loaf. Class is limited to 8 students and includes light dinner.

>>Fremont Sunday Market.

+Spain

Workshops at Duduá, Barcelona

Introduction to Paper Cutting. April 16, 10:30am.
Introduction to Weaving. April 16 + 17, 4pm.
Spinning by Hand. April 23, 5pm.
Lettering with Watercolors. April 30, 10am.

+UK

Star Wars Celebration

July 15 – 17 at London Excel Centre, London.
Star Wars fan convention.
>>Things we saw at last year’s Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim.

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Photo credits:

Gilded Age chair via Metropolitan Museum of Art

Tennessee paper boat by my friend Michelle.

Other photos by me.

April 11, 2016April 11, 2016

A Dash of Wine

When Phillip and I took our anniversary trip to Florence, Arizona, we saw a handmade sign in front of a house that just said “winery” with an arrow.

Obviously, we had to investigate.

It turns out the winery in question was not, as the sign seemed to suggest, in someone’s backyard, but a totally legit operation down the street. The Windmill Winery was quiet except for a few donkeys, and it turns out the tasting room is closed on Mondays. We moved on with no wine and only a little whine.

The scene was very different when we were back months later. Even though it was early Sunday morning, people were already bustling around and a DJ was spinning. The winery was hosting the Dionysus Dash, a 5k run for a charity that Phillip’s work supports.

The scene before the #dionysusdash at @windmillwinery – tutus, togas, and a wine tasting afterwards!

A video posted by stephanieliebold (@stephanieliebold) on Apr 3, 2016 at 12:24pm PDT

After the runners were done running and we were done running the raffle booth, we got to visit the barn for a special tasting set up for the event, then say hi to the donkeys and chickens and check out the lake and the outside of the actual tasting room.

Maybe one of these days we’ll actually visit during regular hours and go inside.

—

April 7, 2016April 7, 2016

Hostile Border: A Cross-Genre Film about Crossing the Line

Did I ever tell you about the time Phillip and I walked into Mexico?

On the Border

Okay, before I start the movie review, here’s the short version: We took the trolley from San Diego south to the border, over this elaborate pedestrian bridge with tall metal turnstiles. On the other side was a Mexican soldier with a big gun just kind of hanging out there, not checking anyone’s papers or even making eye contact. We stepped off the bridge into a super sketchy part of Tijuana, rolling suitcases bumping along behind us, trying not to get robbed (or worse) while we looked for a bus where there wasn’t any.

I don’t recommend that particular way to see Mexico.

There are some lovely parts of Tijuana, but the border draws danger, making the city swell with the pressure of desperate outsiders.

Over the Line

The film Hostile Border begins, not on the border, but in Illinois, where it plunges you immediately into the world of the ambitious main character, Claudia. Minimal exposition. No flashbacks. It moves quickly and lets you fill in the gaps.

After Claudia’s history of credit card fraud and undocumented status catch up with her, she is deported – through another metal turnstile in a Tijuana port of entry – into Mexico, where she has little connection and even less knowledge of the language.

One thing the film does explain outright is the meaning of its working title, “pocha”, slang for “a Mexican American who can speak little or no Spanish”. It can also refer to something rotten. The first definition definitely applies to Claudia. Whether the second one does is a question posed throughout the film in various ways.

Does committing crime mean you are a criminal? What happens after you cross the line?

Veronica Sixtos’s performance as Claudia is so compelling you don’t miss words during her long stretches of silence, yet she conveys emotion and inner conflict subtly enough to be consistent with the character’s guarded nature.

Hostile Border is about the people who build fences to protect themselves, and the ones who believe crossing them is worth the risk. It pulses between the genres of thriller and western with moments of intensity balanced by scenes with room to reveal the complicated relationships between layered characters.

Inspired in part by conversations with actual deportees, this debut feature film for both director/cinematographer Michael Dwyer and writer/co-director Kaitlin McLaughlin won the 2015 the Audience Award at the Los Angeles Film Festival and a Special Jury Prize for Directing.

Hostile Border opens in select theaters (see list below) and on digital/video on demand platforms April 15. You can preorder it on iTunes now.

Theaters:

Arizona

Cinema Latino (Phoenix)
Harkins Theatres Spectrum 18 (Tucson)

California

Laemmle Noho 7 (LA)
Media Arts Center (San Diego)

Colorado

Sie Film Center (Denver)

Illinois

Gene Siskel Film Center (Chicago)

Texas

Cinema Latino (Pasadena)

—
Images and preview courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films.

March 31, 2016March 31, 2016

Introducing the Omni Charlottesville Hotel

Have you ever stayed at an Omni?

Omni-Directional

My introduction to the chain, which has 60 hotels and resorts throughout North America, was our stay at the Omni Charlottesville Hotel during our trip to Virginia. We were greeted with a bottle of local merlot in our room. Nice to meet you, indeed.

Each Omni location has its own style, informed by the area’s “local color.” The Charlottesville hotel has contemporary Southern decor and an atrium with tropical plants. Browsing around other destinations’ photo galleries, you can see that the one in Scottsdale has a Mediterranean theme. L.A.’s feels a bit Hollywood. Nashville’s has kind of an urban cowboy look.

The brand’s intention is to make its hotels “the focal points of their cities.” In the case of Charlottesville, it’s a community hub, located right off the Downtown Mall, serving as First Night Virginia volunteer check-in site and headquarters for the Virginia Festival of the Book.

Omni-Presents

Besides celebrating the uniqueness of each location, Omni also recognizes the individuality of their guests with a loyalty program that focuses on personalized amenities.

If you stay just two nights, for example, you’re eligible for complimentary morning beverages. Check off what you want the night before, and it shows up at your door in the morning. This is especially great if you’re not a morning person, or if you’ve ever watched Downton Abbey and thought “why doesn’t my day start with someone at my door with a tea tray?!”

Omni-Competent

There was really good service throughout our stay. When our safe wasn’t working, someone came the same day to fix it and even left a little note.

Many of the other guests of the wedding we were attending stayed there, too, since it also had shuttle service to area wineries and the wedding brunch was held right in the hotel’s restaurant, The Pointe. There are several meeting rooms on site, as well.

On New Year’s Eve, the Omni provided complimentary valet parking, extra security on site, and a reminder about quiet hours after 10pm. It’s definitely a good-night’s-rest place and not a party place (although Mr. Cheeseface managed to get a little crazy).

It didn’t really affect us, since we spent the evening at the wedding. But I think we might’ve got shushed for laughing too loudly on the way back to our room that night.

On New Year’s Day, our morning beverage tray also included a couple of apples and a note wishing that our resolutions would come to fruition.

It made me smile and was a nice touch to start the new year.

—

We received media rates for our stay at the Omni Charlottesville Hotel.

March 24, 2016March 23, 2016

Michelangelo in Draft

By the time he was 37, Michelangelo was finishing up painting the Sistine Chapel.

Um, reading that kinda made me wonder what I’ve done in my life.

I was at the Michelangelo: Sacred and Profane exhibition at Phoenix Art Museum with my mom and art-history-major aunt looking at a collection of his drawings. They were drafts, really, studies for later works, mostly in thin lines of red or black chalk – but still breathtaking.

These permanent works-in-progress normally reside in Casa Buonarroti in Florence, Italy, but 26 of them are on tour and have made a stop in Phoenix.

Usually, when you see artwork, you see the final product. It is a complete thing: a painting, a sculpture. It’s easy to forget it didn’t just leap fully formed from the artist’s head.

In these drawings, you see so much more of the process – an arm sketched in multiple positions, geometric lines that determined the position of a face, an architectural drawing on the back of a letter.

Maybe like the Renaissance equivalent of cocktail napkin sketches, or, as Cammy Brothers of the Wall Street Journal put it: “Masterpieces on a Shopping List.”

After circling through the exhibition, I felt a bit better. Even this great idealist had projects that had to be simplified due to budget constraints. And works that were never completed. And more ideas than he had time for.

Even Michelangelo started with rough drafts.

—
The Michelangelo: Sacred and Profane exhibition will be at the Phoenix Art Museum through this Sunday, March 27.