I’ve not done one of these curated lists of events, articles and various things for many months.
I’ve been looking forward to getting back to doing it.
If you feel these are valuable, please let me know. Pretty please.
Rooftop Easter Brunch. On April 9th from 9am to 2pm, the Rennaissance Hotel will host it’s 2nd Annual Rooftop Easter Brunch. Easter Brunch comes complete with bottomless mimosas, an ocean bar with oysters, shrimp, crab, ceviche, and more, carving stations for Easter ham and prime rib, omelet and pasta action stations, salads, desserts…and the menu goes on. For the kids and kids at heart, Easter egg hunts, cookie decorating, and kids drink table. Adults $85, Kids 5-12 $50, Children under 5 FREE. Don’t let the egg roll over the edge. That’s all I’m saying.
Keep Your Money Where Your Home Is. On Wednesday, April 12th, Local First is hosting this meet and greet with community banks. Even if you don’t own a business, this is valuable. About 10 years ago, I finally wriggled my way free of Wells Fargo. The Great Recession and being a member of Local First showed me the value of joining a local credit union. But, its not easy to get free, especially if you have more than one business account. This is a great first step.
Is a Boycott Free Speech? Starting at about minute 15 in this On the Media podcast, you can learn about how a little-watched court case could result in deciding that boycotts are not free speech. (The Supreme Court decided decades ago that boycotts are free speech.) In at least one appellate court district in America, if you call for a boycott of a company, you could be sued. In other words, we could live in a country where dark money is free speech, but boycotting businesses that refuse to serve black people could land you in court. The title of the episode is Indicted, in case the link, above does not work.
Inspirational Ikebana with Ping Wei. On April 16th, learn Ikebana, traditional Japanese flower art, outside in the beauty of the Japanese Friendship Garden of Phoenix. Led by master Ikebana teacher, Ping Wei, you will learn essential Japanese flower arranging techniques, aesthetics and the meanings of flowers in order to make your own arrangement. $50.
Tour the Historic Orpheum Theater on April 18th. The Orpheum Theatre is a fully-restored 1929 atmospheric theatre complete with a disappearing Mighty Wurlitzer Theatre Organ! Guided tours of the theatre include all public and many non-public areas and offer visitors a glimpse behind the scenes of a movie palace. All regular tours last approximately 60 minutes. Free. 12:00 PM & 1:30 PM.
Earth Day, April 22nd. There are several Earth Day Events going on. See the official Phoenix event at this link. The Phoenix Zoo has its own events. See here for that. More than going to an event, I recommend you check out the official Earth Day website, which details simple things that you can do to reduce the damage to the earth, and thus ourselves.
Localist Open House. Many years ago, Local First was very smart to create an alliance of people who support local businesses. That way you don’t have to feel like you are a business in order to be involved in the movement. Localists get special tours of locations and businesses that most people never see, and they get to socialize and network with like-minded people. You know…community. The next Localist Open House is on April 27th at 6pm in downtown Phoenix.
Voter Choice AZ Speaker Training. If you, like me, are a fan of Ranked Choice Voting, a way that you can help us get it on the ballot is to join the speakers’ training. There are two trainings coming up on April 10th and April 17th. They are on Zoom, so you can participate from your home in your PJs if you so desire. You can learn the best ways to talk about it, so you can join the speakers’ bureau. Speakers address all kinds of social or political groups. I’ve never seen a group do such an effective job of building it’s grassroots support. Learn more about this crucial election reform here.
