BEST Things To Do In Scottsdale
Wednesday, August 21, 2019

The Event Oracle knows ALL the fun things to do in the land of the Scottsdale sun. Select your date above then scroll down for all the Arts, Entertainment, and Events in my crystal ball...

• Carnival of Illusion

  
  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."

• Divergent Materiality: Contemporary Glass Art

  7374 E. Second St.
  Scottsdale, AZ 85251
  

  Divergent Materiality: Contemporary Glass Art is a contemporary take on one of the first exhibitions featured at SMoCA, Studio Glass: From the Gerard L. Cafesjian Collection.

  As the lead donor of the museum, Cafesjian’s legacy is important and his love of glass is undeniable. This exhibition highlights contemporary glass artists—both masters and emerging—whose innovative approaches using glass have advanced the medium’s discourse within contemporary art. While this is not a survey, the artworks selected represent the vast techniques and ideas used to explore this transformative material from the mid-20th century to today.

• Mutual Reality: Art on the Edge of Technology

  7374 E. 2nd St.
  Scottsdale, AZ 85251
  

  In the 21st century, each of us—often unknowingly—leave a digital footprint in everything we do from texting to a simple internet search. This exhibition presents the multiple ways in which we, as users, interact with an artwork and the response or output the artwork provides in return. These interactions are meant to get the viewer thinking not only about the traces we leave behind, but the effects we have on technology.

  In this important moment in time, humans and technology are evolving together and interactive art exemplifies this relationship. This intimate level of engagement with an artwork opens the opportunity to shift the viewer’s perspective on the meaning and boundaries of art itself.

• New Beginnings: An American Story of Romantics and Modernists in the West

  3830 N. Marshall Way
  Scottsdale, AZ 85251
  

  This major traveling exhibition offers a fresh take on Western art through 100 works by 70 well-known artists including those from the Taos Society of Artists and less-recognized artists, who were living and working in the 1920s and 1930s in Santa Fe and Taos, N.M. – important art colonies then and now. The New Beginnings exhibition, which makes its debut at Scottsdale’s Museum of the West and will travel to four additional institutes across the U.S. into 2021, features paintings, works on paper, photographs, sculptures and a furniture piece from the celebrated Tia Collection including never-before-shown works. This is the first time three-year-old Scottsdale’s Museum of the West, a Smithsonian Affiliate, is debuting another organization’s traveling exhibition. The exhibition offers a crisp view of artwork covering nearly a century, from 1888 to 1983, showing the evolution of art in New Mexico from 19th century Classicism and Romanticism to early 20th century Modernism with a focus on artworks and artists who operated on the transnational stage. Several years in the making, the New Beginnings exhibition features artists who were originally from outside the American West and also includes a significant number of women artists.

• Janel Garza: Environ

  7374 East Second Street
  Scottsdale, AZ 85251
  

  As the title suggests, the new mural unveiled at SMoCA, Environ was designed to reflect multiple features that directly surround the space. Each aspect of the courtyard where it resides is taken into consideration—from the colored light of James Carpenter’s glass scrim wall to the ever-changing view of James Turrell’s skyspace, Knight Rise, as well as the nearby native plant life. Pulling simple abstract shapes and colors from each of these influences created one cohesive and fluid design. The intention of the artist is to complement the space and welcome visitors to spend time within the courtyard walls.

• Juegos Wednesdays

  4925 N. Scottsdale Rd.
  Scottsdale, AZ 85251
  

  Games in Cuba, have become a daily social event that combines competition with camaraderie. In the main neighborhoods in Havana, it is not unusual to see games being played on front porches, in parks and on the sidewalks.

  Immerse yourself into the Cuban tradition at The Scott Resort & Spa. Try your hand at Dominoes, Backgammon or Chess while enjoying The Canal Club’s Signature Cocktails.

• Live Music at The Thirsty Camel Lounge

  6000 E Camelback Rd
  Scottsdale, AZ 85251
  

  Come enjoy an evening of entertainment with live music in The Thirsty Camel Lounge at The Phoenician Resort. Happening every week at 5pm - 7pm Monday through Friday.

• Havin' Fun Big Band Dance Band

  6398 E. Oak St.
  Scottsdale, AZ 85257
  

  Dance to the big bands sounds of the 11 piece Havin' Fun Big Band at the Scottsdale Elks Lodge. Music of all styles including Fox Trot, Swing, Waltz, Polka, Rock, and Latin (Cha-Cha, Rhumba, Tango, Samba).