Free Admission to Arizona Museums with the Culture Pass

You can get free passes to over 30 museums and attractions if you have a library card from Maricopa County or Pima County, Arizona.

How to Check Out a Culture Pass

The program is called the Culture Pass, and it works like this:

Visit the Culture Pass kiosk at a participating library.
Pick the pass you’re interested in. There will be cards for all the available passes – it’s first-come, first-served.
Check the pass out with your library card. You will be exchanging the card from the kiosk for a receipt-like slip of paper, which is your actual ticket in.
Go to the museum! Each pass is good for free general admission for two people one time. You have one week to use it before it expires, but you don’t have to return anything to the library.

You may be able to search the library’s catalog online to see ahead of time what’s available.

If you live in Maricopa County, you can get a library card from any of the County’s public libraries. Only ASU students can check out Culture Passes from ASU libraries, although alumni and community members are eligible for cards with limited access to other ASU library resources.

Culture Pass Arts Destinations

Some of the Culture Pass Arts Destinations we’ve enjoyed (with or without a pass):

Arcosanti (Cordes Junction)
AZ Heritage Center at Papago Park
Desert Botanical Garden
Heard Museum
Phoenix Art Museum

Culture Pass Performances

More recently, the program has also expanded to include performances. It works basically the same way. Certain plays, ballets, operas, and symphony concerts will have Culture Passes available a couple weeks ahead of time on a first come, first serve basis.

These include performances from…

Arizona Opera
Ballet Arizona
Great Arizona Puppet Theater
The Phoenix Symphony

…and lots more!

Outside of Maricopa County

The Sedona Public Library also has passes for Northern Arizona destinations, like Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Route 66 Museum in Kingman, and the Sedona Heritage Museum.

Pima County Public Library branches have passes for Tucson destinations like Tohono Chul Park, Tucson Museum of Art, and Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, as well as performances by Arizona Opera, Tucson Symphony, and UA Presents.

I believe there are similar programs at some libraries outside of Arizona. If you know of one, let me know!

August 3, 2017

Teatro La Fenice in Venezia (Venice)

The Phoenix

For a place that’s been called “a city of stone built on the water,” Venice has had a lot of fires.

In fact, Venice’s premiere opera house only came into being because of its predecessor’s destruction by fire. Symbolically, the new theater would rise from the ashes of the old one. They named it “La Fenice,” The Phoenix.

First opening in 1792, Teatro La Fenice is now one of the top opera houses in Italy and one of the best-known in Europe.

While the name was chosen to commemorate the theater’s origin, it turned out to also be an ominous foreshadowing. Teatro La Fenice has been resurrected twice, after catastrophic fires in 1836 and 1996.

The one in 1836 started because of some kind of malfunction with a new stove from Austria. The 1996 inferno, however, was intentional.

Two electricians doing renovation work on the theater were facing fines for being behind schedule. So they set the place on fire.

This (a) did not help get the project done on time, and (b) lead to each of them serving several years in jail. Not actually a helpful strategy for anyone.

I’m not sure if the electricians intended to burn it to the ground or just to singe it a bit to make their point. However, access to the theater was restricted due to the renovation project, and firefighters were not able to quell the flames before the building was destroyed. It would remain closed for the next 7 years.

House

La Fenice re-opened in 2003 with upgraded accoustics and an increased seating capacity of 1000, while its appearance matched the elegance of its previous incarnation.

There are five tiers of boxes, which had been “deliberately egalitarian in design” – until Napoleon came to power. To prepare for his visits to the theater, six individual boxes were combined into one royal box. This imperial loggia remains part of the current design of the theater, just above the auditorium entrance.

Opera

Despite a real history rife with operatic-level turmoil, the theater remains open today with a busy schedule that includes symphonies, ballets, and over 100 opera performances a year.

This September, we are looking forward to seeing “L’Occasione fa il ladro: ossia Il cambio della valigia” (The Opportunity Makes the Thief: The Case of the Exchanged Luggage), a single-act farce with music by Gioachino Rossini and libretto by Luigi Prividal.

The opera is a romantic comedy of errors that debuted in Venice in 1812.

It’s good to know that, after all that drama, La Fenice still has a sense of humor.

– More Info –

Teatro La Fenice:

Located in the San Marco neighborhood near the Doge’s Palace.
Open for self-guided tours most days, 9am – 6pm. €10 admission includes audioguide.
Event and performance schedule.
Libretti (lyrics) from past operas performed at Teatro La Fenice.
More on the theater’s history.
Detailed account of the 1996 fire, with photos.
What to wear to the opera, illustrated.
The first half of Season 3 of Mozart in the Jungle has some great shots of Venice, including scenes at La Fenice.

You can see a complete performance of “L’occasione fa il ladro” by another opera company at Schwetzingen Festival, Germany on YouTube.

Photos by Michele Crosera, courtesy of Teatro La Fenice.

September 23, 2015September 23, 2015

Ballet under the Stars is Back

In Arizona, we plan outdoor events during most of the year with reckless abandon. Organizers bet on clear skies, because the odds are just too good to pass up.

Of course, sometimes they bet wrong.

Like when the Ballet Under the Stars performance we usually attend in Tempe had to be canceled last year due unseasonably late and unusually heavy rains.

We decided to drive an hour south to the Casa Grande performance at the Paul Mason Sports Complex a few days later. The rain had stopped, and it was a beautiful drive with the golden hour sun dropping below the clouds.

While there was still a great turnout, it was a much smaller crowd with even more of a community vibe and much more convenient parking.

We had packed a simple picnic of cheese, crackers, hummus, fruit, and chocolate. We spread out our blanket as the dancers warmed up and the sky erupted into increasingly spectacular shades of pink and orange.

It was a beautiful show.

What to know about Ballet Under the Stars 2015:

There are 5 performances in different locations September 24-October 2 at 7pm. (Unfortunately, I don’t see Casa Grande on the list this year.)
Admission is free, but you can make a donation to support Ballet Arizona online or at an event.
No photography is permitted during the event.
Bring something to sit on (blanket, lawn chair, etc.).
Expect some background noise. There will be people moving around a bit, kids doing kid things, and parents stage-whispering things like “Don’t hit your brother with that glow stick.” or “Stop asking strangers for snacks.” It’s actually not that disruptive, as long as you don’t get stuck behind oblivious people who decide to chat through the whole performance. May the odds be ever in your favor.

September 10, 2014May 23, 2023

Ballet Under the Stars and the beauty of free culture

When people talk about free events, they tend to miss what really makes them great. The fact that no money is required for entry is nice. But what’s even better is the laidback feel, ability to be spontaneous, and sense of community that is more likely when there’s no price of admission.

Sure, I like dressing up and watching a performance in a reserved symphony hall seat once in awhile. But I also like taking in a ballet while sitting cross-legged with a cooler full of my favorite snacks and beverages at my side.

Free usually means not having to bother with tickets. You can decide to go or not go at the last minute if you need/want to. Free can bring typically inside events (Shakespeare) outside (…in the park). You can enjoy good weather AND enjoy the arts, instead of it being an either/or scenario.

Ballet Under the Stars

I love Ballet Arizona’s annual event, Ballet Under the Stars. I try to make it to the performance at Tempe Center for the Arts every September. By then, the evenings have usually cooled off, and it’s lovely to be out next to the lake, under the sky, instead of stuck inside hugging the air conditioning vents (which is basically what you do all summer in Phoenix.) You can spread a blanket out on the grass or bring folding chairs.

You see lots of people with kids, little girls wearing tutus and dancing along. But it’s not just for people with kids. You also see seniors and ASU students, and everyone in between. There’s always a huge turnout, and it seems to grow every year.

The program is usually a mix of the traditional ballet that most of us associate with the art form and more contemporary pieces, showcasing excerpts from upcoming performances. There is also a performance from kids in the community who have participated in the company’s Class Act program.

Picnic

Last year, I took the neighborhood shuttle over with a picnic and a blanket. I got there about 6:30, got a decent spot (6:00 would probably get you a super spot!), and watched the dancers warm up. Phillip took the light rail after work and found me just before the performance began.

For the main course of our picnic, Wildflower Bread Company’s Roasted Sweet Potato sandwich gave me idea for a veggie grilled cheese with sliced leftover sweet potatoes, onions, bell peppers and gouda cheese between two slices of bread toasted on the outside. I wrapped each sandwich in foil to keep them (mostly) warm until Phillip got there. They were just a little messy and some of the melted cheese wanted to stick to the foil, but it worked pretty well overall.

We munched, took in the performance, laid back, and looked at the stars. And that’s a wonderful way to experience the ballet.

What to know about Ballet Under the Stars:

There are performances all over the Phoenix area, September 18-27 at 7pm.
Admission is free, but you can make a donation to support Ballet Arizona online or at an event.
No photography is permitted during the event. (Post photos were taken before it.)
Bring something to sit on (blanket, lawn chair, etc.).
You don’t have to be silent, just don’t be annoying. Expect there to be general kid noise and people-coming-and-going noise. Whisper a comment to your friend if you want – just don’t talk over the whole performance.

Transportation/Parking for the Tempe Center for the Arts Performance

DO NOT plan to park at Tempe Center for the Arts unless your car has a disability plate or decal! Because Ballet Under the Stars is such a huge event, that night the entire lot is used for ADA parking. There’s always a long line of cars waiting to get in the lot and most of them are turned away. It causes a big traffic snarl.
~~Park at the U.S. Airways Garage at 111 W. Rio Salado Parkway (enter off of Ash Avenue). It’s free after 6 p.m., and it’s about a 1/2 mile walk.~~ [UPDATED parking info is on the TCA site.]
Or don’t park at all. TAC is about 3/4 mile from the Mill Avenue/Third Street light rail stop.