Desert Stages Theatre
The award-winning nonprofit provides entertainment in a 219-seat theater, as well as the intimate, cabaret-style Actors’ Café. Highlights: Footloose, Nov. 15-24; A Christmas Story, Dec. 6-22; The Lightening Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical, Jan. 10-26; Honk Jr., March 21-April 6; and Steel Magnolias, April 4-20. 7014 E. Camelback Rd., 480-483-1664, desertstages.org
Don Bluth Front Row Theatre
Renowned film director Don Bluth (The Secret of NIMH, An American Tail, Thumbelina) presents classic productions in an intimate 75-seat theater. Highlights: It’s A Wonderful Life, Nov. 14-Dec. 23; Done to Death, Jan. 16-Feb. 21; and The Rainmaker, March 20-April 26. 8989 E. Via Linda, 480-314-0841, donbluthfrontrowtheatre.com
Kerr Cultural Center
This quaint performing arts venue was once the home of Louise Lincoln Kerr, an active composer as well as a gifted and well-trained musician who played the viola with several symphonies. World music, indie folk, jazz, soul, baroque pop and more grace the stage each season. 6110 N. Scottsdale Rd., 480-596-2660, asukerr.com
Ravenscroft Theater
This new, 30,000-square-foot performance space boasts a state-of-the-art sound system for its intimate 200-seat theater. The music venue also offers the Jazzbird Lounge, which hosts touring and local musicians and serves wine and local craft beers. Highlights: DARUMA, Nov. 15; David Weiss Sextet, Dec. 13; and Valley Jazz Cooperative Alumni Band Christmas Concert, Dec. 21. 8445 E. Hartford Dr., theravenscroft.com
Scottsdale Artists’ School
Professional artists travel from across the country to teach at this nonprofit school, which offers more than 200 programs each year. Instruction is geared toward all levels, from absolute beginners to advanced artists, with options that include one- to five-day workshops, weekly classes, a premier youth and teen academy, destination workshops and open-studio sessions. 3720 N. Marshall Way, 480-990-1422, scottsdaleartschool.org
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
The center offers presentations of classical and world music, dance, jazz, theater, film, educational programs and festivals. Highlights: Dreamy Draw Music Festival, Nov. 1-2; and Jose Hernandez’ Merry-Achi Christmas, Dec. 14. 7380 E. Second St., 480-499-8587, scottsdaleperformingarts.org
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
A museum dedicated to contemporary art, architecture and design that challenges expectations, SMoCA has four main galleries that showcase changing exhibitions and works from the museum’s growing permanent collection, plus an outdoor courtyard featuring Knight Rise, a Skyspace enclosure by James Turrell. Highlights: Exploding Native Inevitable, through Jan. 5; Brains and Beauty: At the Intersection of Art and Neuroscience, through Jan. 19; Cybele Lyle: Floating Seeds Make Deep Forms, through Feb. 2; and poetics of dissonance, through March 23. 7374 E. Second St., 480-874-4666, smoca.org
Scottsdale Rodeo Museum
Open November through May, the museum features historical cowboy and rodeo artifacts and memorabilia dating back to the 1950s. 3806 N. Brown Ave., 602-616-6901, scottsdalerodeomuseum.com
Scottsdale’s Museum of the West
Celebrating the art, history and culture of the American West, past and present, Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West features rotating exhibits and educational activities. Highlights: American Backcourts, through April 13; Women of the Southwest: A Legacy of Painting, through August 24; Courage & Crossroads: A Visual Journey through the American West (ongoing); and People, Places, Predicaments: John Clymer’s West, through October 26. 3830 N. Marshall Way, 480-686-9539, scottsdalemuseumwest.org
Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center
Injured and orphaned wildlife get a second chance at this nonprofit, which rescues bobcats, wolves, deer, owls and javelina. 27026 N. 156th St., 480-471-9109, southwestwildlife.org
Taliesin West
Frank Lloyd Wright began building this desert masterpiece in 1937 as his personal winter home, studio and architectural campus, and spent his winters here until his death in 1959 at age 91. Visitors can experience the architect’s ability to integrate indoor and outdoor spaces through public tours, which range from a self-paced audio tour to a 60-minute guided overview. 12621 N. Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd., Scottsdale, 480-860-2700, franklloydwright.org
Thursday ArtWalk
Scottsdale Gallery Association hosts this weekly celebration featuring gallery show openings and artist receptions. Downtown Scottsdale, scottsdalegalleries.com
USS Arizona Memorial Gardens
A tribute to those who were aboard the USS Arizona when it was attacked and sank at Pearl Harbor, the serene 5-acre gardens feature a piece of the ship’s original boathouse along with 1,512 commemorative columns – each representative of a life aboard the ship that day. 7455 N. Pima Rd., Salt River Indian Community, 480-362-2700, memorialgardensatsaltriver.com
Wonderspaces
Visitors become part of the exhibit at this evolving art-show experience featuring a dozen immersive installations spread across a 16,000-square-foot space. 7014 E. Camelback Rd., Scottsdale, arizona.wonderspaces.com
Carefree/Cave Creek
Cave Creek Museum
The nonprofit museum showcases an extensive collection of art and artifacts that depict the culture and legacy of Native Americans, miners, ranchers and pioneers in the Cave Creek/Carefree foothills area. Open October through May. 6140 E. Skyline Dr., Cave Creek, 480-488-2764, cavecreekmuseum.org
Carefree Sundial
Commissioned in 1959 for Carefree founder K.T. Palmer, this majestic structure continues to mark time today as one of the largest sundials in the U.S. Pointing to the North Star, the huge dial stands 35 feet above ground and uses the sun to indicate local time by the position the shadow casts upon the solar plaza. Grab a selfie and see for yourself! Downtown Carefree, adjacent to Carefree Desert Gardens and Amphitheater, 480-488-3686, visitcare-free.com
Cosanti
This historic site is where the famous Paolo Soleri bronze and ceramic windbells are made and sold, along with pots, bowls and bronze sculptural pieces. The site also features Soleri’s innovative experimental architecture. On most weekday mornings, guests have an opportunity to witness the dramatic bronze casting process as artisans pour 2,400-degree molten bronze into handmade sand molds. 6433 E. Doubletree Ranch Rd., Paradise Valley, 480-948-6145, cosanti.com
Desert Foothills Theater
A program of the Foothills Community Foundation, the company has provided theater experiences in the northeast Valley since 1975. The 2024-2025 season includes A Christmas Cinderella, Dec. 12-15; Junie B. Jones Jr., Feb. 13-16; and The One Act Play That Goes Wrong, March 14-23. Most productions are staged at The Holland Center, 34250 N. 60th St., Scottsdale, 480-488-1981, dftheater.org
