Must Do
May 17-18
Pure Imagination Festival
“If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it” at this two-day music festival that boasts a seamless medley of soundscape and landscape. Headliners The Flaming Lips, Sylvan Esso and Michael Franti & Spearhead take the stage for the festival’s third year, with the glittering water and looming granite dells of Prescott’s Watson Lake as a stunning backdrop. An eco-friendly focus and free kayak rentals add to the appeal. 5 p.m. (Friday); 1 p.m. (Saturday), $65-$325, Watson Lake Park, 3101 Watson Lake Park Rd., Prescott, pureimaginationfestival.com
“I speak to more Arizonans than anyone, and it is abundantly clear that the pre-statehood law is out of step with Arizonans.”
— Republican U.S. Senate Candidate Kari Lake, in an April 9 statement about the Arizona Supreme Court ruling to uphold an 1864 territorial law outlawing abortion. Before losing her Arizona governor bid in 2022, Lake called it “a great law that’s already on the books.”
Hoop Dreams
When the 2026 NCAA Women’s Final Four was awarded to Phoenix back in 2020, Valley bid organizers probably didn’t realize what a coup they’d scored. The 2024 WFF was a record-breaking smash, with 6.5 million average viewers for the Final Four and 9.9 million viewers for the National Championship, both the highest on record. The championship was also the most-viewed women’s college basketball game on record and most-viewed college basketball game (men’s or women’s) ever on ESPN platforms, per ESPN Press Room. Shifting cultural appreciation for women’s basketball and this year’s crop of superstars no doubt played a role in the season’s success, with Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, JuJu Watkins and Paige Bueckers achieving celebrity status. At press time, a local host committee for the 2026 event hadn’t been finalized, but a spokesperson was hopeful about parlaying 2024’s success into a blowout WFF debut in Phoenix. “We will work collaboratively with the NCAA to continue to build on the success of the most recent Women’s Final Fours and to make sure we provide the best experience possible for the participating student-athletes, coaches and fans,” they say. Similarly, an event logo has yet to be released. Here’s a placeholder:
Data Trash: Summer Fun Edition
We love getting unsolicited emails from websites peddling trashy big-data state rankings based on that most specious of metrics: internet searches. For this edition, we found three to complement our summer travel coverage.
No. 1: America’s Most Distracting Road
Evidently, Sedona’s lovely Red Rock Scenic Byway (SR 179) is the “hardest road to concentrate on.” Translation: Idiot motorists Instagram it while driving.
Most Popular Summer Dress
For Arizonans, it’s a light blue one, based on a Google Trends study. Something pretty to die in while you Instagram red rocks at 50 MPH.
Most Popular Music Genre
The in-laws are coming over for a barbecue, and you want to play music that Arizonans love. Naturally it’s “dark trap” rap legend Ghostemane. They know us so well!
Source: TripAdvisor, boohoo.com, CSGOLuck.com
MISC.
3 Tourist Destination Dupes in Arizona
The fashion dupe trend – buying cheaper or more convenient alternatives to luxury brands – has made its way to the travel sector, with Expedia publishing a list of “destination dupes,” swapping popular places like Nashville for Memphis and Seoul for Taipei. We came up with our own versions a little closer to home.
Arizona Destination Dupe for Big Sky Country: Wickenburg
We have hit streamers like Yellowstone and 1883 to thank for a recently reignited fascination with the Wild West. Why make the trek to Montana when we have a bona fide Western experience in our own backyard? Embrace the cowboy lifestyle at Rancho de los Caballeros, which offers programming like horseback riding, roping, team penning and traditional rodeos. ranchodeloscaballeros.com
Arizona Destination Dupe for Wine-Growing Regions like Napa Valley: Sonoita-Elgin
It may not cultivate nearly as much wine as the famed viticultural hub in California, but this bucolic sprawl of mountains and vineyards was the first region in the state to receive American Viticultural Area (AVA) designation. The area’s high elevation, semi-arid climate, diverse soil and sloping topography allow for the production of homegrown award-winning wines. sonoitaelginchamber.org
Arizona Destination Dupe for Bavaria: Lake Havasu City
In 1964, Robert P. McCulloch bought the London Bridge and had it deconstructed, transported and rebuilt on the banks of Lake Havasu, part of a village mimicking medieval European towns like York, Bruges and Nuremberg. Featuring cobblestone pathways, half-timbered houses, a pub and a red telephone box for photo ops, it’s just like Europe… if Europe was 120 degrees. golakehavasu.com
