The time for summer vacations is drawing to a close. But there’s plenty of time to explore around the state. If that’s your plan over the next week, here’s some fun you might want to indulge in:
Sedona
The Sedona Hummingbird Festival will feature garden tours, guided field trips and a hummingbird marketplace.
Hummingbird lovers might want to head north Aug. 2-4 for the Sedona Hummingbird Festival. There will be hummingbird garden tours, guided field trips, hummingbird experts and even the Hummingbird Marketplace. Some events are free (such as that marketplace) and others vary in price. And if you want to check out a field trip, reservations are a must. Hummingbirdsociety.org
Flagstaff
More than 80 Navajo artists are expected at the 70th annual Navajo Festival of Arts & Culture at the Museum of Northern Arizona Aug. 3-4. Traditional and contemporary art will be available for sale, and there will be artist demonstrations, music and dances. This one is always a must-see. It’s $18 for a weekend pass or $12 a day. Musnaz.org.
And while in Flagstaff, you can check out the Arizona Mead & Cider Festival Aug. 3 at the Pioneer Museum. Mead makers and cider slingers will be offering up tastings of the specialities. Tickets are $40. facebook.com/meadandcider/
Phoenix
If you’ve cruised the internet looking for ridiculous videos, you no doubt have come across the Everything is Terrible! site. Everything is Terrible! is a Chicago-based video and performance collective which has amassed a huge collection of really, really bad videos and gathered them in one spot for your viewing pleasure. And they have taken their show on the road and are stopping at the Crescent Ballroom. Here’s how weird the group is: they opened a Jerry Maguire Video Store in Los Angeles which carries only “Jerry Maguire” videos. None of which you can rent. They call it an art installation. The plan: to build a pyramid in the desert with “Jerry Maguire” videos. We do not know what the show will be like, but we are definitely curious. It’s 8 p.m. Aug. 1 at the Crescent Ballroom. Crescentphx.com.
Or this may be more to your taste: Art Unraveled 2019 takes place at the Embassy Suites through Aug. 6. An international slate of artists will lead workshops on such things as jewelry, mixed-media watercoloring, mosaics and glasswork. artunraveled.com
Prescott
The city’s 16th annual Gem & Mineral show is happening Aug. 2-4. It’s not as massive as Tucson’s show, but who’s to say it isn’t a gem nevertheless. More than 60 vendors are expected, and there will be lots of fun stuff, such as geode cutting, gold panning and even wheel spinning. Findlaytoyotacenter.com.
Scottsdale
This year’s Arizona Dance Classic will be held in Scottsdale at the We-Ko-Pa Resort & Conference Center.
The Arizona Dance Classic steps into the WeKo-Pa Resort & Conference Center Aug. 1-4. There will be ballroom, line dancing, salsa, west coast swing, hustle — all sorts of dancing to lift your spirits. Workshops and lessons will be happening, and the competitions take place each day. Arizonadanceclassic.com.
Clarkdale
Clarkdale will show off its small-town hospitality this Saturday with a concert in the park featuring the Cadillac Angels.
If you are headed for the Verde Valley area, stop in for a free concert in the Park at 7 p.m. Aug. 3. The rockabilly band Cadillac Angels take the stage at 7 p.m. It’s a pretty cute town to walk around, too. clarkdale.az.gov
