NEW TIMES 2023 BOWL GUIDE SPECIAL RETAIL SECTION Dec 28th, 2023–Jan 3rD, 2024 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES 30 a desert metropolis, but for more than 20 years, the Japanese Friendship Garden has been delighting visitors to its spot near Hance Park in downtown Phoenix. Created in partnership with Himeji, Japan, one of Phoenix’s sister cities, the Japanese Friendship Garden features a lake with a waterfall, traditional Japanese structures, secluded walking paths, plenty of koi, and a gift shop stocked with Asian goods. Cost is $10 adults, $8 seniors, and $7 students, military and children ages 6 to 17. Mill Avenue, Tempe tempetourism.com There’s always something happening on the stretch of Mill Avenue in Tempe that runs from Rio Salado Parkway to the north to University Drive to the south, right next to Arizona State University. By day, people of all ages stroll along the street past tightly packed shops, restaurants, and bars. At night, the vibe gets rowdier as a 20-some- thing crowd comes out to party. You can see a movie at the AMC Centerpoint 11, or snap a photo of Harkins Valley Art, the oldest movie theater in Arizona. Snacks, drinks and hundreds of games are available at game cafe Snakes & Lattes, and you can sing your heart out every night of the week at 414 Pub Pizza & Karaoke. Musical Instrument Museum 4725 E. Mayo Blvd. 480-478-6000 mim.org See thousands of musical instruments from all over the world, spanning thousands of years of history, at the Musical Instrument Museum in north Phoenix. Much of the museum is organized geographically, allowing guests to experience the music of various cultures as they move through the galleries. But there’s also a space for mechanical musical instruments, and the Experience Gallery on the first floor gives visitors a chance to play instruments from around the world — it’s just as much fun for adults as it is for kids. Currently on display is “Acoustic America: Iconic Guitars, Mandolins, and Banjos,” a temporary exhi- bition that features 90 historic stringed instruments. The museum is open daily. Tickets for the museum plus the “Acoustic America” exhi- bition are $27 for adults, just the museum is $20 and just “Acoustic America” is $10 (tickets for children are discounted). Odysea Aquarium 9500 E. Vía de Ventura Suite A-100, Scottsdale 480-291-8000 odyseaquarium.com Yes, there’s an aquarium in the desert. And it’s pretty great. Odysea, the largest aquarium in the Southwest, is the home of 6,000 animals from sharks and penguins to otters and seahorses. The Odysea Voyager is a rotating aquarium experience that takes guests past enormous tanks full of sea life, while the touch pools let them get up close and personal with some of the resi- dents. Odysea is part of the sprawling Arizona Boardwalk, an entertainment complex that includes Butterfly Wonderland, Pangea: Land of the Dinosaurs, a laser and mirror maze, the new UFO Experience, and more. Old Town Scottsdale oldtownscottsdaleaz.com Technically bounded by Chaparral Road to the north, Earll Drive to the south, 68th Street to the west, and Miller Road to the east, Old Town Scottsdale is one of the livelier parts of metro Phoenix. There’s world-class shopping at the Scottsdale Fashion Square mall, or if you’re just looking to pick up some souvenirs, streets like Fifth Avenue and Brown Avenue are lined with shops full of Arizona-themed goods. Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West has permanent and temporary exhibitions on view, as does the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art. Bars, restaurants and nightclubs are in heavy supply, and you can hear live music any night of the week at places like Belle’s Nashville Kitchen, the Rusty Spur Saloon and Old Town Tavern. Phoenix Art Museum 1625 N. Central Ave. 602-257-1880 phxart.org Phoenix’s premier art museum has several cool exhibitions on display at the moment, including “Amalia Mesa-Bains: Archaeology of Memory,” a look at the significant work and career of the pioneering Chicana artist . And the museum’s permanent collection is no slouch either. Highlights include “You Who Are Getting Obliterated in the Dancing Swarm of Fireflies,” a Yayoi Kusama infinity room; and the Thorne Rooms, a charming set of painstakingly created tiny replicas of historic rooms. Phoenix Art Museum is open Wednesday through Sunday; admission is $24 online or $26 in person, with discounts for seniors, students, and children. Children under 5 and military members with ID get in free. Phoenix Zoo 455 N. Galvin Parkway 602-286-3800 phoenixzoo.org Zoos are fun for all ages, and the Phoenix Zoo is no different. The nonprofit zoological park holds about 3,000 animals, including lions, elephants, rhinos, giraffes, and many more. The Arizona Trail is home to creatures you would find in the desert, and the Children’s Trail contains a petting zoo. The zoo’s wildly popular ZooLights nighttime event continues through Jan. 14. Oh, and if you’re wandering around the zoo and you see a strange white pyramid on the top of a hill, that’s Hunt’s Tomb, the resting place of George W. P. Hunt, the first governor of Arizona. Roosevelt Row Arts District rooseveltrow.org Roosevelt Row in downtown Phoenix is one of the most vibrant areas of the city. The official boundaries are Seventh Avenue to 16th Street between McDowell Road and Fillmore Street, and in that area, you’ll find art galleries and museums, performance spaces, bars and restaurants, local shops, colorful murals, and more. Catch a concert with local bands at The Trunk Space; have a beer and listen to a local DJ at Jobot; shop at RoRo’s newest store, sports card shop Rip Valley; see work by local creatives at galleries like Eye Lounge and Modified Arts; experience Indigenous art and goods at Cahokia PHX; bowl at Cham Pang Lanes; shop for vintage clothes at Antique Sugar; drink and play arcade games at Cobra Arcade Lounge — you’ll never get bored in Roosevelt Row. South Mountain Park Preserve phoenix.gov/parks/trails/ locations/south-mountain This is the perfect time of year to explore South Mountain Park/Preserve, which at 16,000 acres is one of the largest munici- pally managed parks in the nation. There are hiking trails for all ability levels, from the family-friendly Kiwanis Trail to the moderate Hidden Valley Trail to the chal- lenging Hau’pal Trail. If hiking isn’t your thing, you can bring your bicycle; take a horseback ride with Arizona-Horses, a stable located next to the park (visit arizona-horses.com); or drive up to Dobbins Lookout for a spectacular view of the whole city. Taliesin West 12621 N. Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd., Scottsdale 480-860-2700 franklloydwright.org/tickets-tours Architect Frank Lloyd Wright is world- famous for his iconic designs. See where he lived, worked and taught by visiting Taliesin West in north Scottsdale, a National Historic Landmark and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Taliesin offers two tours: a 60-minute self-guided audio high- lights tour that takes guests to some of the most popular parts of the property ($39 adults, $27 students with ID, $19 youth ages 6 to 12), and a 90-minute guided tour that dives deeper into the history of Taliesin and takes visitors into some of the private living spaces ($49 adults, $35 students with ID, $24 youth ages 6 to 12). Taliesin West is open daily. See the City from p 28 The Mill Avenue bridges across Tempe Town Lake. (Photo by Martin Ely/CC BY 2.0/Flickr) You can see the eye-popping spectacle of “Immersive Van Gogh” in Scottsdale. (Photo by Jennifer Goldberg)
