The Happenings List
This is our handpicked list of upcoming events, starting January 2017, for makers and explorers. While I’ve done my best to be accurate, sometimes things change or aren’t listed correctly. So consider this your starting point, double check the details, and then venture forth and tell us all about it!
Asterisked (**) items link to related posts on Travelcraft Journal.
+Arizona
Phoenix Art Museum
- Now – Mar 12. Horacio Zabala: Mapping the Monochrome.
- Now – Apr 9. INFOCUS: Juried Exhibition of Self-Published Photobooks.
**Opening night of the Kehinde Wiley exhibit at the Phoenix Art Museum.
Picket Post Mansion Tour
Jan 7-8
Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park
Rare opportunity to walk through Colonel William Boyce Thompson’s mansion on the cliffs overlooking the Arboretum. Tours were last offered in 2011! Purchase tickets at the Arboretum gift shop on the day of the tour – they will not be sold in advance. Tour tickets $20 plus Arbotetum admission.
**Australia Day at the Arboretum.
New Year Canoe Trip
Jan 7, 12pm
West Wetlands Park, Yuma
Afternoon canoe trip with guided tour. Ages 6+. Call Parks and Recreation at (928) 373-5200 to register. Fee $20.
CraftHack
2nd Mondays, 6pm
Gangplank Chandler
Free monthly meet-up of artists and crafters. Learn something new or bring your own project to work on!
Upcoming dates:
- Jan 9. Learning Emboss Resist Stamping.
- Feb 13. Stitched Paper Hearts.
Field to Feast Tour
Jan 11, 12, 18, 19, 21, 25
Feb 2, 4, 8, 9, 11, 15, 18
Mar 1, 2, 4
8am
Visitor Information Center at Yuma Quartermaster Depot State Historic Park (201 N. 4th Ave., Yuma)
Half-day farm tour. Hands-on harvesting instruction from a local grower followed by lunch made from the produce you picked. Includes transportation, some veggies to take home, and the field-fresh lunch. Tickets $50.
**Exploring Yuma and its agriculture.
Star Wars: The Music
Jan 13, 7:30pm
Phoenix Symphony Hall
The Phoenix Symphony performs music from the Star Wars saga, including The Force Awakens. Tickets $25-83.
**Star Wars and Star Trek Music at the Phoenix Symphony.
Boyce Thompson Arboretum Art Classes
- Jan 14, 12pm. Smart Phone Photography with Lisa Langell: Learn how to take better photos with your phone by going beyond basic settings, improving your composition, and editing pictures right on your phone! Fee $40 plus Arbotetum admission.
- Feb 11. Paint + Wine Class with Carla Keaton: Paint a simplified scene from the Arboretum. Includes use of art supplies. Fee $35-45 plus Arbotetum admission.
Savor Yuma
Jan 17
Feb 7, 23
Mar 2, 14, 30
5pm
Yuma Visitors Bureau admin office (180 W. 1st Street, Yuma)
Progressive dinner tour. Visit three different restaurants and enjoy a multi-course meal. Price includes meal, two adult beverages, and transportation. Tickets $55.
Arizona Game Fair
Jan 21-22
Mesa Convention Center
Tabletop gaming convention. Open gaming (with a library of board and card games available), vendors, events, and game industry guests. Full event badge $30.
**Community garden in Downtown Mesa.
Quilt, Craft & Sewing Festival
Jan 26-28
Arizona State Fairgrounds, Phoenix
Expo with sewing, quilting, needlework, and craft supply vendors (both local and national), as well as workshops and presentations. Admission $10 or $9 with online coupon (printable PDF).
**The 2016 Festival in Phoenix.
32nd Annual Historic Florence Home Tour
Feb 11, 10am
Downtown Florence
Tour of 17 homes and historical structures and see performances by the community.
**More to see in Florence, Arizona.
World Championship Hoop Dance Contest
Feb 11-12
Heard Museum, Phoenix
2-day competition of intricate dances with up to 50 hoops, based on traditional intertribal hoop dance. Tickets $18 (includes museum admission).
Festival Luna Llena – Art Music Love at the Garden
Feb 11, 7pm
Mesa Urban Garden, Downtown Mesa
Full Moon Festival with live music, art by local artists, telescope viewing, and origami paper lantern group craft project. Partial proceeds from the sale of artists’ work and raffle tickets benefit the garden!
Cellar 433 Valentine’s Chocolate & Wine Event
Feb 11, 7pm
Cellar 433, Jerome
Live music and tasting of Arizona-made ports, wines, chocolate creations, fondue, and cheeses. Shuttle provided to and from Cottonwood-area hotels with advance registration. Tickets: $60.
Art in the Park
Feb 12, 12pm
Gateway Park, Yuma
Fine arts festival alongside the banks of the Colorado River, a la A Sunday on La Grande Jatte. Wander through art displays with a glass of wine or a mimosa. Free admission.
Arizona Cocktail Week
Feb 17-24
Phoenix area and Tucson
Celebration of the craft of the cocktail, including parties, spirit tastings, educational seminars, cocktail competitions, and drink specials. Passes $25-550.
Wild Wild West Steampunk Convention
Mar 3-5
Old Tucson
Steampunk convention with contests, panels and workshops, fashion show, vehicle exhibition, vendors, entertainment and rides, tea dueling, artists, authors, performers, and Cthulhu running for president. Tickets: 1-day $41, full event $55-125.
McDowell Mountain Music Festival
Mar 3-5
Margaret T. Hance Park, Phoenix
Music festival featuring headliners Flume, The Shins, Chromeo, and Grouplove, as well as local artists like Bear Ghost, CooBee Coo and RUCA. 100% of the proceeds go to local nonprofits Phoenix Children’s Hospital Foundation and UMOM New Day Center. Tickets: 1-day $40-170, full event $80-510. Service charges: $15-25/ticket.
Southwest Maker Fest
Mar 11, 12pm
Downtown Mesa
Collaborative, one-day festival of makers seeking to achieve the vision of a connected community, empowered by creativity.
**My travel journal workshop at SWMF.
Art Detour 29
March 16-19, 2017
Downtown Phoenix
- March 16, 5pm. Art D’Core Gala.
- March 17, 6pm. Pre-Detour Third Friday.
- March 18-19. Art Detour! Studio and art space tours.
MCAS Yuma Airshow
Mar 17-18
Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma
Airshow featuring both military and civilian demonstrations, including the Patriots Jet Team, the Misty Blues All Women Skydiving Team, and the famous Wall of Fire, which is planning to break a Guinness World Record. Ticket prices TBA.
**Staying and sightseeing near MCAS Yuma.
Phoenix Comicon
May 25-28
Phoenix Convention Center
Pop culture convention featuring actors, top comic book writers and artists, programming, and vendors. Full event passes $55 through January 31.
**Phoenix Comicon 2016.
+Florida
#BlogHer17
June 22-24
Hilton Bonnet Creek, Orlando
Annual conference for online content creators. Early bird blogger/influencer passes $249.
+Nevada
In Transition: Female Figurines from the Braunstein Collection
Now – Mar 30, 2017
Barrick Museum at UNLV, Las Vegas
Female figurines from the pre-Hispanic era cultures of Mesoamerica, South America, and Central America. Free ($5 suggested donation).
**Our visits to the Barrick Museum, Downtown Container Park, Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, and other Las Vegas sights.
Las Vegas Spring Festival
Jan 28, 11am
Downtown Las Vegas and Container Park
Chinese New Year Parade and Party with community cultural performances and concerts.
Red Rock Wildlife Art Workshop
Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, Las Vegas
Materials provided. Ages 13+. Registration is required – (702) 515-5367.
- Jan 30. White-crowned Sparrow: Walk around the visitor center followed by watercolor session.
- Mar 10. Geology of Red Rock: Explore Red Rock Overlook and have a lesson in landscape painting.
+Virginia
Virginia Festival of the Book
Mar 22-26
Various locations in Charlottesville/Albemarle County
A week of readings and discussions, book signings, film screenings, and performances.
**3 Sides of Charlottesville, Virginia.
INTERNATIONAL
+France
Paris Déco Off
Jan 19-23
Paris
Home decor companies open up their Paris showrooms to the public and interior designers to debut new collections. Linen Lux 2017 lamps will be on display, as well.
**Make your own miniature version of the Linen Lux lamps.
+Italy
Carnival of Venice
Feb 11-28
St. Mark’s Square, Venice
Two weeks of pre-Lenten celebrations with revelers in elaborate masks and costumes.
Virginia Festival of the Book logo via Virginia Festival of the Book. France photo via Fat Tire Paris.
