Best things to do in Phoenix this weekend: Dinos, lowriders, tats, a freebie for families
Phoenix was in its 37th consecutive day of triple-digit heat as I typed this list of things to do this weekend, so I understand if you decide to just stay home and soak up all the air conditioning you can instead of getting hyped for a tattoo expo or lowrider show.
But those both seem like very cool events.
And to be clear, by cool, I’m not referring to the kind of cool we’ve all been craving for the past few weeks.
I’m talking cool as Arthur Fonzarelli and Miles Davis once defined it.
There’s also a Jurassic World Live Tour bringing dinosaurs to Footprint Center, Family Funday at the Phoenix Art Museum and Yellowcard rolling through town on a tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of their breakthrough album, “Ocean Avenue.”
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Yellowcard
Showing up at the Warped Tour with a violin is bound to get a person noticed. It's what you do once you're noticed that counts. And by the time Yellowcard hit the streets with "Ocean Avenue," the major-label breakthrough that remains their calling card, it was obvious they had more to offer pop-punk fans than unexpected instruments. This tour celebrates the 20th anniversary of "Ocean Avenue" with special guests Mayday Parade and Anberlin.
Details: 7 p.m. Saturday, July 29. Arizona Financial Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $86 and up. 800-745-3000, ticketmaster.com.
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Lowrider AZ Super Show
This event is in its 46th year of celebrating the artistry of lowriding and unity. To honor the occasion, the Lowrider brand is hosting Super Shows across the country, including Scottsdale.
Lowrider rolled off the presses in 1977 as an automobile magazine focused squarely on the type of car that title would suggest. A customized car with a lowriding body, the low rider been a huge part of Chicano culture since the 1940s, inspiring a War song of the same name that topped the R&B charts in 1975. If you're into cars at all, this is the place to be.
Details: 11 a.m. Saturday, July 29. Westworld of Scottsdale,16601 N. Pima Road. $40; free for age 12 and younger. lowriderexperience.com.
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Jurassic World Live
The Jurassic World Live Tour will roar into Phoenix for the first time ever with a stop at Footprint Center for six action-packed performances July 28–30.
The production features more than 24 film-accurate, life-size dinosaurs operated by animatronics and performers.
It’s a full-scale arena production bringing Jurassic World to life, including dinosaurs from the iconic franchise, from Velociraptor Blue to a tyrannosaurus Rex that’s more than 40 feet long.
Fans of the popular Netflix animated series "Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous" will also recognize Bumpy, the friendly dinosaur, as she goes from baby to adult.
The events page promises memories “to last another 65 million years,” which we are duty bound to tell you would be biologically impossible but kinda nice.
Details: 7 p.m. Friday, July 28; 11 a.m., 3 and 7 p.m. Saturday, July 29; noon and 4 p.m. Sunday, July 30. Footprint Center, 201 E. Jefferson St., Phoenix. $25 and up. 602-379-7800, ticketmaster.com.
Gila Tattoo Expo Arizona
The inaugural Gila Tattoo Expo Arizona features daily tattoo contests and the finals of the InkDollz modeling competition. If you want a better shot at winning next year, they’ll have hundreds of award-winning tattoo artists in the house to help you find the perfect ink for you. There’s also entertainment in the tattoo-culture-friendly form of a contortionist, an aerialist, live suspension and dancer Decoy Munoz.
Details: Noon-11 p.m. Friday, July 28; 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday, July 29; 11 a.m.- 8 p.m. Sunday, July 30. Renaissance Phoenix Glendale Hotel & Spa, 9495 W. Entertainment Blvd., Glendale. $25 Friday and Sunday; $30 Saturday; $60 weekend pass. gilatattooexpo.com.
Family Funday at Phoenix Art Museum
It’s free admission for a day of art-making, live performances, artist demonstrations and hands-on experiences for visitors of all ages and abilities. That free admission also covers access to special-engagement exhibitions "Juan Francisco Elso: Por América" and "Move: The Modern Cut of Geoffrey Beene."
Details: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, July 30. Phoenix, 1625 N. Central Ave. 602-257-1880, phxart.org/familyfunday.
Reach the reporter at ed.masley@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4495. Follow him on Twitter @EdMasley.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Best events in Phoenix this weekend: Body art, lowriders and dinos
