Best things to do in Phoenix this weekend, from First Friday to a Freddy Krueger photo op
Corrections & Clarifications: A previous version of this article included an incorrect real name for Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Her real name is Cassandra Peterson.
Don’t let this weekend catch you unprepared after the Fourth of July interrupting the work week Tuesday. There’s a lot of cool events in metro Phoenix to distract you from those triple-digit temperatures.
It is First Friday, after all, which means Roosevelt Row will be swarming with serious art lovers and those who take more of a “go for the art walk, stay for the party” approach to the monthly gathering.
Other best bests range from TLC and Shaggy sharing a bill at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre to a Mad Monster Party whose guests include the actors who brought two of the most iconic monsters of all time to life – Freddy Krueger and the diabolical Dwight Schrute.
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TLC and Shaggy at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
TLC and Shaggy are bringing the Hot Summer Nights Tour 2023 to town with special guests En Vogue and Sean Kingston. Fans can expect the artists to perform their biggest hits, from TLC’s “Waterfalls” and “No Scrubs" to Shaggy’s “It Wasn’t Me” and “Boombastic,” En Vogue’s “Hold On, My Loving (Never Gonna Get It)” and Kingston’s “Beautiful Girls."
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Details: 7 p.m. Friday, July 7. Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre, 2121 N. 83rd Ave., Phoenix. $25 and up. 602-254-7200, livenation.com.
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First Friday art walk in downtown Phoenix
There's a reason First Friday has steadily grown into one of the largest monthly art walks in the country, drawing as many 20,000 visitors a month to an event that stretches from Grand Avenue to midtown Phoenix, the Warehouse District and Roosevelt Row.
There’s a pop-up market on Roosevelt Row, live music in the streets and plenty of art to experience, from sidewalk exhibitions to the many galleries and the Phoenix Art Museum, where admission is free from 4 to 7 p.m.
If you’ve never been to Phoenix Art Museum, that’s the perfect place to start, although it’s only fair to warn you that you may end up deciding to become a member by the time you’re through.
The Heard Museum and Phoenix Children’s Museum also offer free admission on First Fridays. Stop by in the early evening, allowing the temperature to slip into something more comfortable while you're inside an air-conditioned building. Then hit the streets once it cools down a bit.
Among the galleries you'll definitely want to hit are Alwun House, monOrchid, Modified Arts, Cahokia SocialTech + ArtSpace and Eye Lounge.
Details: 4-10 p.m. Friday, July 7. Throughout downtown and midtown Phoenix. Go to the Artlink website for an interactive map of the destinations. You can pick up a physical copy courtesy of Downtown Phoenix Inc. Free. info@artlinkphx.org, artlinkphx.org/first-fridays.
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'That’s Not Funny! The Artwork of Alex Halaszyn'
The Trunk Space is hosting an opening reception for "That’s Not Funny! The Artwork of Alex Halaszyn," an exhibition of 25 works including drawings, paintings, photography and mixed media collage. The thread that ties all of the pieces together is an unnamed character that features prominently in all the work.
Halaszyn has created art in multiple mediums for 20 years, but this is his first art show.
A self-taught artist from Huntington Beach, California, Halaszyn is the creator of That’s Not Funny Comics. He will be available to meet visitors and share his creative process and inspiration behind each artwork.
That’s Not Funny! will be on view through July 28.
Details: 6-9 p.m. Friday, July 7. The Trunk Space, 1124 N. Third St., Phoenix. Free. 602-565-3421, thetrunkspace.com.
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Mad Monster Party with Rainn Wilson and Robert Englund
Fans of horror, science fiction, fantasy and the macabre will gather at the Renaissance Phoenix Glendale Hotel & Spa in Glendale for three days of screenings, celebrity signings, photo ops, panels, costume contests, "scaraoke" and vendors selling all manner of things related to those genres.
Celebrity guests include Rainn Wilson (“The Office,” “Six Feet Under,” “House of 1000 Corpses”), Cassandra Peterson (Elvira, Mistress of the Dark), Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger), Lance Henriksen (“Terminator,” “Aliens”), John Carroll Lynch (“American Horror Story”) and Dylan McDermott ("American Horror Story").
There’s also a V.I.P. experience, which we’re pleased to report they’ve decided to call the R.I.P. experience because of all the killing. Love it. There’s even an R.I.P. Lounge.
Details: 6-11 p.m. Friday, July 7; 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday, July 8; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, July 9. Renaissance Phoenix Glendale Hotel & Spa, 9495 W. Entertainment Blvd., Glendale. $80 for a weekend pass; $35 Friday; $45 Saturday; $35 Sunday. 623-937-3700, madmonster.com.
Mario Moreno and the Ramblers' Big Show and Dance
Mario Moreno comes from a long line of cowboys and alfalfa farmers in south Phoenix. His music is a blend of old-school American country and rock 'n' roll with traditional Mexican cumbia, ranchera and Southwest sounds.
He was a staple of the local punk scene in the ‘80s with his rockabilly band the Varmits. These days, you can find him fronting Mario Moreno and the Ramblers.
He’ll headline a Big Show and Dance at Crescent Ballroom, where his record-collecting DJ friends and music history enthusiasts (Johnny D, Vinyl Vagos, DJ Dana and Grassy Noel) will spin the music that inspired him throughout the decades.
Details: 7 p.m. Friday, July 7. Crescent Ballroom, 308 N. Second Ave., Phoenix. $10. 602-716-2222, crescentphx.com.
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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 weekend events in Phoenix: TLC, First Friday, Mad Monster Party
