Phoenix Event Oracle for Things to do Today

BEST Things To Do In Phoenix

The Event Oracle knows ALL the fun things to do in the land of the Phoenix sun. Select your date above then scroll down to check out what events are going on this week...

  • Carnival of Illusion

    Carnival of Illusion
    Arizona Biltmore Resort
    2400 E Missouri Ave
    Phoenix, AZ 85016

    Carnival of Illusion is an evening of Old-World Magic in the style of classic entertainers such as Buster Keaton, Mae West, Gypsy Rose Lee, and Harry Houdini. The hosts have performed as house entertainers at the world's top resorts, Fortune 100 CEOs, to the 200 Most Powerful Women in America and operate the longest-running Arizona theater show. Carnival of Illusion is "Magic, Mystery, and OOOH La La."

  • The Electric Guitar: Inventing an American Icon

    The Electric Guitar: Inventing an American Icon
    Musical Instrument Museum (MIM)
    4725 E. Mayo Blvd.
    Phoenix, AZ 85050

    The Electric Guitar: Inventing an American Icon, shares the untold story of the invention of the electric guitar, an instrument that revolutionized music and popular culture forever. This exclusive exhibition showcases more than eighty of the rarest electric guitars and amplifiers in the world?from some of the first ever heard to those played by the most famous electric guitarists known today. Decades before rock and roll, these instruments jolted, energized, and even confused the eardrums of the nation. The Electric Guitar: Inventing an American Icon encompasses the history of the electric guitar from the very beginning, including its most experimental period of the 1930s and 1940s, and gives a glimpse into the instrument’s influence on genres that defined American music.

  • Sonwai: The Jewelry of Verma Nequatewa

    Sonwai: The Jewelry of Verma Nequatewa
    Heard Museum
    2301 N. Central Ave.
    Phoenix, AZ 85004

    Verma Nequatewa began an apprenticeship with her uncle Charles Loloma around 1966. Nequatewa has signed her distinctive work with the Hopi feminine word for beauty, Sonwai, since 1989. It complements her uncle’s name, which was the masculine word with the same meaning.

    Nequatewa worked with her uncle for more than twenty years. In that time she not only learned specific jewelry-making techniques but she also learned to distinguish quality stones and to develop a keen design sense. Today, she is recognized as one of the leading Native American lapidary artists. Although her jewelry has been featured in the U.S. and internationally, this will be the first comprehensive exhibition of her work. This exhibit continues the Heard’s emphasis on sharing with our visitors the finest work in contemporary jewelry.

  • Electric Desert at Desert Botanical Garden

    Electric Desert at Desert Botanical Garden
    Desert Botanical Garden
    1201 N. Galvin Parkway
    Phoenix, AZ 85008

    You're invited you to see desert, light and sound unite in a mesmerizing display like never before. Cactus and desert become a living canvas in this nighttime experience, taking visitors on an immersive journey through the garden using light and original music. 

    Electric Desert includes six site-specific locations, with each experience inspired by and related to the Garden.

    Note: The Garden is closed Nov. 22, in the evening on Dec. 24 and for the entire day on Dec. 25 for the holidays.

  • Fragments: Broken Bowls Tell More Tales

    Fragments: Broken Bowls Tell More Tales
    Pueblo Grande Museum and Archaeological Park
    4619 E. Washington St.
    Phoenix, AZ 85034

    Hear the stories pottery sherds have to tell archaeologists when theses pieces of the past are rediscovered and studied. Fragments: Broken Bowls Tell More Tales, is a temporary exhibit at Pueblo Grande Museum that explores researchers use sherds to uncover a variety of details, such as how the pottery was made, used, and where it was produced. These details aren’t always obvious during examinations of gorgeous whole pottery vessels.

    Visitors typically see the most unique and complete pottery vessels of a museums’ collection on display. They seldom see, or know about, the thousands of broken pottery fragments called ‘sherds’ that are preserved in storage. Using local and traded examples, Fragments invites visitors to see how sherds help archaeologists piece together new ideas about the ancestral O'Odham, more commonly known as the Hohokam.  The exhibition also features sherds that connect the Hohokam with their neighbors across the Southwest and northern Mexico during the time of the European Renaissance. Visitors can listen to local Native perspectives on archaeology and cultural preservation while experiencing traditional O’odham songs that tell of the mountains surrounding Pueblo Grande and their deep connections to past, present, and future O’odham generations.

  • Monster Fish: In Search of the Last River Giants

    Monster Fish: In Search of the Last River Giants
    OdySea Aquarium
    9500 East Via de Ventura
    Scottsdale, AZ 85250

    Guests are invited to dive beneath the surface of the world’s rivers in the new exhibition Monster Fish: In Search of the Last River Giants.

    Enormous in size and rapidly dwindling in number, these ancient fish play critical roles in their freshwater habitats. Dr. Zeb Hogan, aquatic ecologist, National Geographic Fellow and host of the Nat Geo WILD series Monster Fish, has spent nearly two decades searching for and studying the rare, large freshwater fish species profiled in the exhibition. The interactive exhibition will include five extraordinary, life-size sculptures of monster fish as well as videos and hands-on interactive activities for audiences of all ages.

    Monster Fish takes visitors on a journey to river basins around the world to learn about colossal fish and the people that depend on them. Through detailed maps, sculptures and custom illustrations, the exhibition showcases close to 20 fish species and their diverse freshwater ecosystems. In addition to highlighting the biology of each species, the exhibit depicts the cultural ties between the fish and local people. From mythical tales and storied traditions to threats and conservation efforts, visitors will leave with a greater understanding of the connection between humans and fish.

  • Ragnar Kjartansson: Scandinavian Pain and Other Myths

    Ragnar Kjartansson: Scandinavian Pain and Other Myths

    Phoenix Art Museum
    1625 N. Central Ave.
    Phoenix, AZ 85004-1685

    "Ragnar Kjartansson: Scandinavian Pain and Other Myths" triggers multi-sensory aspects of the Icelandic artist's practice through text, painting, performance, and song. This focused exhibition will enlighten visitors to recurring themes in Kjartansson’s work such as Nordic identity, melancholia, repetition, and popular culture. Referencing everything from Edvard Munch to the musical super group ABBA, Scandinavian Pain and Other Myths will introduce Phoenix audiences to one of the most creative and engaging contemporary artists working today.

  • MIM Musical Interludes Series: Nancy Buck—A Viola Performance

    MIM Musical Interludes Series: Nancy Buck—A Viola Performance
    Musical Instrument Museum
    4725 E. Mayo Blvd.,
    Phoenix, AZ 85050

    Since 2002, Nancy Buck has served on the faculty at Arizona State University where she teaches courses in applied viola, chamber music, viola pedagogy, and repertoire. Buck holds degrees in performance from the Oberlin Conservatory and the Cleveland Institute of Music. Much in demand as a chamber musician and artistic collaborator, Buck has presented recitals in leading concert venues throughout the United States and Europe. She regularly appears at the Arizona Bach Festival and with the Phoenix Symphony. She has also been a member of the Arizona Musicfest All-Star Orchestra, the Bowling Green String Quartet, the Canton Symphony, the Phoenix Piano Quartet, the Toledo Symphony, and the Michigan Opera Theatre Orchestra.