Sunday A'Fair - AZ ROCKS! Arizona Centennial Celebration

I spent my Sunday afternoon at Scottsdale's Sunday A'Fair celebrating Arizona's Centennial.  The day was a bit cooler than Saturday, but still a great day to sit out on the lawn and listen to great music.  The first band up was The Persuaders, and then Cold Shott and The Hurricane Horns blew away the large crowd. 

They announced at the break that they were going to have a very special surprise guest.  I said to myself, "Please! Please! Don't let it be Sheriff Arpaio or Governor Jan Brewer."  Thank goodness it wasn't either of them.  :-)  The surprise guest turned out to be 14-year old Joey Hudy who designed the Marshmallow Cannon and showed it off to President Obama.  He demonstrated how his marshmallow cannon works.  He truly was a delightful and special surprise guest.



Parada del Sol Parade

One thing I love about The Artist Way is that it gets you off your butt to do things you have not done before, and also it encourages you to bring out your "inner child."  Well I did both today!  I went and took my inner child to the Parada del Sol Parade.  I have lived in Scottsdale for 14 years, and have never been to the Parada del Sol Parade.  I went to the rodeo ten years ago, but never the parade.  Well that changed today.  I got down to Old Town Scottsdale early this morning and browsed around the Farmer's Market, then got a good place on the street to watch the parade.  I now call the parade a "dog and pony show" with lots of kids.  :-)  There were lots of horses, plus a lot of dogs...the Golden Retrievers were just so cute, espeically the ones wearing the hats.  Plus there were plenty of kids marching, playing in the bands, and twirling.  The kids were so cute too, but not as cute as the Goldens.  lol

After the parade I went to see Native Trails perform once again.  Then I headed over to the Trails End street party where there was food, live Country music with so many cowboys dancing, bull riding, pony rides and a kid zone.  I wore the most Western shirt I own, but the REAL cowboys were out and about today.  It was a GREAT people watching day. After that I walked over to the Made in Arizona Art Fest and browsed around there for a little bit. 

My inner child had a lot of fun today.  I can't even remember when was the last time I went to a parade.  Now I think my inner child needs some ice cream.  :-)

An Evening of Romance with the Phoenix Opera

Last night hubby and I went to the Musical Instrument Theater to hear the Phoenix Opera perform much loved Broadway love songs to celebrate the romance of Valentine's Day.  They sang songs from Gershwin, Porter, Bernstein, Webber, and many more.  They finished the performance with the classic Beatle tune, All You Need Is Love.  What a LOVELY evening!  
                                                                                    

Walt Richardson and Tim Sadow

Walt Richardson



 Today I went over to Mayo Hospital for their Atrium Music Concert and heard Walt Richardson and Tim Sadow.  I usually go to Mayo Clinic on Wednesday, but my husband has other plans for me on Wednesday.  And since I missed last weeks concert I definitely didn't want to miss another one.  I have heard Walt Richardson sing and play before with his band The Peaceful Warriors at Scottsdale's Sunday A'Fair, and have always enjoyed his performances.  Adding the violin playing of Tim Sadow along with Walt truly made it worth my drive over to the hospital.





Tim Sadow





 

After the concert I headed back to the Arizone Fine Art Expo, and then onto the Celebration of Fine Art. 

A little music...a little art...makes a perfect day!

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A Chorus Line @ Fountain Hills Theatre

I saw A Chorus Line at the Fountain Hills Theatre on Sunday afternoon.  I saw this musical only once before in Chicago when it first came out.  Seeing it again with this marvelous cast was truly a Sensation!

MOMIX Botanica

Last night hubby and I went to see MOMIX Botanica at the Orpheum Theater.  WOW!  What a show...it's hard to describe and put into words.  It's so much more than just phenomenal dancing and choreography.  The costumes and the props the dancers wore and used made this show so unique, plus the special effects, lighting and music were sensational.  This is a kind of show you just have to go see for yourself...no words or still pictures can do this show justice.

Native Trails

Yesterday I went to see Native Trails outside the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts.  I had preplanned on going, weather permitting, for about a week.  The funny thing is that there was a whole write up about it yesterday in the Arizona Republic.  The article said that only about 13% of the audience is from Scottsdale.  Mostly tourist staying in hotels go to this cultural event.  I have to admit that this was the first time I went to see Native Trails.  :-(   I already told this morning some snow bird friends of mine who come for a few months every winter but live in Chandler to go see this great performance while they are in town.  It's definitely worth the drive from Chandler.  I will probably go see them perform once again this season.

Arizona Fine Art Expo

After my Wednesday concert hearing Hans Olson playing and singing Country, Westerm, and Blues I ventured over to the Arizona Fine Art Expo.  Here just like at Celebration of Fine Art, all the artists are there painting and creating art.  It's nice because you can talk to them, and ask all kinds of questions of their work.  They are more than delighted to speak with you, and answer all your questions.

Desert Aloe @ Me the Artist

My New

Me'sterpiece

Celebration of Fine Art

On Thursday I went to the Celebration of Fine Art.  When I first moved here in 1998 I would attend this event each year.  But I have not been to this event in several years, so I decided to go back this year.  This event has grown quite a lot since my last visit.  I like that the artist are all there painting, sculpting or doing whatever they do.  I talked to many of them, and asked all kinds of questions.  I plan on going back several more times during their 10-week run.

Tetra String Quartet

Today I heard a fabulous concert by Tetra String Quartet.  They played a lot of great dance songs and such, but my favorite was Journey's Don't Stop Believing.

Annie Get Your Gun @ Desert Stages Theatre

On Sunday afternoon I went with two friends who are in visiting from Chicago to the production of Annie Get Your Gun at Desert Stages Theatre.  I had just seen another Irving Berlin musical, White Christmas, and so I decided to go see another of his productions.  Okay, the plays are a little corny, but the songs are classics.  This production includes the memorable songs, There's No Business Like Show Business, Anything You Can Do, and You Can't Get a Man with a Gun.  The cast as usual was stellar, and it was an extremely enjoyable musical.

Later that evening I had to watch once again my favorite actor, Leonardo DiCaprio lose to George Clooney at the Golden Globe awards.  I still have hope for the SAG Awards and the Oscars.  Come on people...Wake-Up!



Arizona Sunset @ Me the Artist

On Saturday I had another session at Me the Artist, and we painted an Arizona Sunset.  Funny, because the main picture on Saturday's Living Section in the Arizona Republic newspaper was of a photograph of a beautiful Arizona Sunset, which gave me some incentive.  I always come home and fix up my painting, or completely redo it like I did last week.  This time a little fixing was in order.

My Original Painting

My painting after a little touch-up at home

Carefree Art and Wine Festival

On Friday afternoon I headed up to the Carefree Art & Wine Festival.  I didn't get up there until about 3:00 so the crowds had thinned out a bit.  I had a chance to meet one of my favorite artist...Pat Stacy.  I found her by going this past Fall to the Hidden in the Hills Studio Tour.  I searched that website for studios to visit who had art that I really liked.  I saw her artwork and was completely amazed.  She wasn't there at the time of my studio visit, but I did finally get to meet her at the Carefree Art Festival.  I just assumed she had been painting her entire life, but she told me she just started painting in 2008.  WOW!  I couldn't believe this talented artist just started painting only a few short years ago.  This only goes to show you that when you are aligned and in the Vortex...anything is possible.

I also had the chance to hear the beautiful music of Dolce VAS.  If I ever get married again...I want them to play at my wedding.  hahaha...just kidding hubby.  :-)

Love, Loss and What I Wore

On Sunday I went to see Love, Loss and What I Wore at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts.  It was very funny and heart warming as well.  The cast included actress Loretta Swit who I saw over 20 years ago in the one woman play, Shirley Valentine in Chicago.  WOW!  She hasn't aged at all.  The whole cast was superb!