THE STAPLES
Best 10K/Marathon
3TV Phoenix 10K
Dr. Art Mollen’s venerable foot-race – now in its 47th year – survives a late charge by Pat’s Run (which, at 4.2 miles, doesn’t quite fit the description, but we love it anyway). phoenix10K.com
Best Yoga Studio
Radi8
The North Phoenix “hot yoga” studio holds the position. Also getting votes: Metta in Phoenix. radi8love.com
Best Music Fest
M3F
Nonprofit and locally produced, the two-day indie rock bacchanal returned to Margaret T. Hance Park this year and gave us the metaphorical post-pandemic lymph drainage session we needed. m3ffest.com
Best Food Festival (tie)
Devour Phoenix, PHOENIX Dish Fest
Where the latter is concerned, we’re admittedly biased. As for the former… hey, gotta tip your hat to the king. devourphoenix.com, phoenixmag.com
Best Live-Music Venue
Crescent Ballroom
Charlie Levy’s transformative Downtown concert hall is back to its old tricks: curating an unbeatable menu of rising indie bands and nostalgic heritage acts. crescentphx.com
Best Museum (tie)
Music Instrument Museum, Phoenix Art Museum
The Valley’s cultural biome would collapse if either of these pillars left us. mim.org, phxart.org
Best Place to Make Your Mark
Hazel & Violet
Nancy Hill will be happy to make your letter-pressed wedding invitations, your business cards, your holiday greetings. But even better, she’ll host you and your friends for a workshop where she’ll graciously teach you how to use her incredible old presses and huge collection of vintage type. She’s got plenty of paper, tips and war stories. BYOB. 1301 Grand Ave., Phoenix, 480-544-2162, hazelandviolet.com
Best Food Class
Making the Cheese
You’ve made your own vanilla extract, pickles and bread. Have you made your own feta? Kathy Levine teaches these roving courses on cheesemaking, instructing on the art of Brie at a farmers market in Glendale and queso fresco technique at a wine bar in Gilbert. She’ll even do an in-home class if you want to make it a party chez vous. 480-271-4979, making-the-cheese.business.site
Best Scavenger Hunt
Let’s Roam
Let’s Roam has cooked up eight Phoenix-area scavenger hunts, from Old West Meets Modern Art in Scottsdale to Sun and Fun at Arizona State University in Tempe to Arizona’s Capitol Sights in Downtown Phoenix. Use your phone to navigate, solve puzzles, answer trivia questions, complete challenges and explore historic landmarks. letsroam.com
Best Place to Shoot Your Friends
Doge Haus
Is there another 4,000-square-foot space in town where you can shoot foam darts at your besties? There is not. Visitors to Doge Haus are there to blow off steam by pummeling one another with Nerf balls and other soft, harmless ammo. An after-dark battle space offers suspended light-bending effects for noirish fun. Three Valley locations, thedogehaus.com
Best Apparent Policy Change
Harkins Theatres Seeming to Get Rid of the “Upsell” at the Concession Stands
“Small popcorn, small Coke, please.” “For fifty cents more, you can get a medium.” “No, thanks.” And by then they’ve completely forgotten what you asked for in the first place. But lately, Harkins concession workers seem to have dropped the upsell. Now they just ask if you’re a loyalty member. harkins.com
Best Place to Throw Down
Pip Coffee + Clay
The last two years made us want to throw something. Lucky for everyone, we found Pip. It’s the cutest little coffee shop/pottery studio combo – you can take a class, rent wheel time or work on your hand building. You glaze, they fire. The coffee is great and the space is friendly, with what we like to call aspirational pottery for sale in case yours (like ours) doesn’t quite measure up. 2617 N. 24th St., Phoenix, 480-616-0004, pipcoffeeclay.com
Best Kid Party
Enchanted Island
If you want a true old Phoenix experience, hit the carousel at Enchanted Island. Once called Kiddieland, the carousel was and is the crown jewel of the pint-size amusement park tucked into Encanto Park. It’s the perfect spot for your child’s birthday celebration. Don’t forget to invite us! 1202 W. Encanto Blvd., Phoenix, 602-254-1200, enchantedisland.com
Most Interesting Pop-Up
Let the Good Times Roll
Dining and shopping pop-ups are all well and good, but they can’t compete with Let the Good Times Roll, a weeklong roller-skating pop-up in downtown Gilbert that take place in March. Every night boasts a theme – disco night, ’90s night, glow-in-the-dark night – and skaters are encouraged to costume themselves accordingly. 480-503-6000, gilbertaz.gov
Best Place to See Swarms of Bats
Bat Caves near 40th Street & Camelback Road
Who knew that a local flood control tunnel was home to thousands of Mexican free-tailed bats? Maybe Nosferatu – and possibly Vampira – was aware that every summer, nearly 20,000 of these critters call Phoenix “home” on their way back down south. Signs posted by the Game and Fish Department will help you find their dramatic nightly exit, which fills the sky with swooping and squeaking.
Best Way to Spend 10 Bucks
Lawn Chairs at Ak-Chin Pavilion
If you find yourself desiring a carefree sprawl on the grass and a sturdy, back-supporting seat at your next concert, consider this: When you buy your tickets, opt for the add-on lawn chair rentals. They’re $10 and super comfy, plus, you don’t have to haul them back to your vehicle post-show. 2121 N. 83rd Ave., Phoenix, 602-254-7200, ak-chinpavilion.com
Best Immersive Kids’ Experience
StoryWalk
Take a walk or read a book as a family? You can do both at the same time with these outdoor literacy installations, where books are rendered in life-size (or bigger) artworks and structures that kids can walk through as they read the text. The Vermont-born program debuted in Phoenix in 2021 at Cesar Chavez Park, and its most recent expansion is in the Arizona Center grotto. Books regularly rotate and are available in English and Spanish. Arizona Center, 455 N. Third St., Phoenix, letsmovelibraries.org
Best Storytime
Drag Queen Story Hour at Changing Hands Bookstore
Now, where else can you bring the kids to listen to Mister Phoenix Pride 2019 Jericho Galindo (stage name: Gray Matter) read stories “promoting inclusivity and love”? We hear there’s dancing, too. We’ll see if they do this once-a-year event next spring, given the political climate. changinghands.com
