News alert: Phoestivus vendor list announced! With over 150 vendors, the event continues to grow every year. Its gonna be big, so we need volunteers! See the entire list here.

Every year we need volunteers to make Phoestivus happen. Please follow this link to volunteer.

In fact, we can’t do it without them. We need folks to help sell raffle tickets, to direct patrons, to help with the various features at the event.

We need folks to help with set-up and break-down.

We need folks to even help people figure out which receptacle is for trash and which is for recycling. Yep, people STILL don’t know.

So, what we are saying here is that we need your help. Are you picking up what we’re puttin’ down?

If you can give us an hour or three hours. It all helps.

Here’s who it really helps. Volunteers help us raise money for Community Food Connections, the organization that runs the weekly farmer’s market downtown. That’s huge, because we still have a bit of a food desert downtown –not to mention the need for locally-sources whole foods.

If you are willing to volunteer, contact us directly at 605-456-9388. If you are with a company or organization who can supply many volunteers then you be certain that we are going to praise your good works from proverbial rooftops.

Well, we are planning the 2018 Phoestivus. Can you believe its been nine years already?

We plan to have more vendors, more food, another batch of Phoestivus Ale from Phoenix Ale Brewery and an expanded event footprint.

If you are a local vendor and want to share your creative work with the world, please visit the website to apply. Look under “Vendors” on the main menu to find the link to the application.

The booths go quickly, since there are no over-head rent fees. Specifically, we take a cut of vendor sales, which goes toward the fundraiser for Community Food Connections. In that way, there is less of a risk for people who are trying to start a new business. Our goal is to support those start-ups. See what we did there?

So, you need to apply right away. Don’t miss out!

Plus, if you are interested in being a sponsor of the event, please call Ken at 602-456-9388. Sponsorships start at $500 and include all kinds of goodies, such as social media presence, visibility and access to the sponsor’s booth.

Our goal is to raise money for our premier open-air market while we continue to build our community around our own Phoenix traditions.

Phreddie the Yeti and Your’s Truly

Thank you all for helping us raise more money for Community Food Connections than we ever have before at the 2017 Phoestivus Market. We raised over $15,000 to support our city’s downtown farmer’s market. Total sales for both nights at the market were over $150,000.

While we don’t have an official head counter, we are certain that we saw well over 3,000 people on each night of the event.

A special thanks needs to go out to Sara Matlin, the director of the farmer’s market at the Phoenix Public Market, a division of Downtown Phoenix Inc.

As the years have gone by, I find myself doing less and less with the market logistics, as Sara has professionalized the operations in a way that I can only dream of.

So, we all get to spend more time at the market just talking to participants and vendors, rather than running around, putting out fires. This means a lot to me, in particular. I walked around the market both nights with a permanent grin of my face, seeing the thousands of people really enjoying this event.

We’ve become an institution in Phoenix that supports fresh food and Community Food Connections, and Sara gets a great deal of credit for that.

We, of course, could not do it without our sponsors. Our prime sponsor, Bookman’s has been a long-time supporter. As have been Impact Printing, Blue Sky Airport Parking, Downtown Phoenix Inc, Roosevelt Row, Dig It Nursery, Local First Arizona and, of course, us, The Get Your PHX Team.

This year, we welcomed the Arizona Opera, Pick Me!, Breadfruit, Roosevelt Point and Tuft & Needle.

We always get questions at or after the market about how one can become a vendor next year. Well, first, be locally owned and consider being a member of Local First. Then check out Phoestivus.com for more information and updates. Vendor applications are typically announced in late August and they fill up in only a week or so.

See you next year!

Y’all know that we don’t host the Get Your PHX events every month anymore –just when I’m inspired, as I have been by Midtown Roots.

When I met with the owners of Midtown Roots early in 2017, as they were building out, I thought this would be a good place to host an event.

Midtown Roots is a dispensary with a community-minded philosophy. They not only have an impressive space at the NW corner of Thomas and Central, with 14 bud tenders stations for patients, but they are also opening part of the building as a community space and a space for daily yoga programming. They are open from 8am to 7pm daily.

This impressed me.  I always like it when a business takes in to account the local community. I’ve seen the owners at local community events, too. So, they are doing their best to be out there.

They also took the time to give tours to local elected officials and neighborhood leaders so that everybody knew what was going on. I’ve seen a lot of dispensaries pop up in the last few years and I’ve heard concerns from neighbors about how little they communicate. Not so from what I’ve seen with Midtown Roots.

The whole issue of medical marijuana can be contentious. So, I appreciate when a local business like Midtown Roots takes their job seriously. They seem to have a wholistic approach to the patients who seek the help of medical marijuana.

So you, our loyal Get Your PHX fan, are going to get an exclusive tour of the facility and accurate information about what the law requires of dispensaries.

Join us on November 16th at 5:30 for a tour, snacks and beverages. (No, silly, the snacks will not have THC in them. I knew what you were thinking!)

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS EVENT IS NOT ON OUR USUAL SECOND TO LAST THURSDAY OF NOVEMBER.

Where:  2918 N. Central Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85012
When: November 16th at 5:30
Sign us for a free ticket here.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/events/154740685265505/

Its time for Phoestivus 2017, this December 14th and 21st.

We have an all-new look, the Return of the Yeti and all the fun and frivolity that you expect from our rag-tag crew of Phoestivonians.

Is that a word?

We will have a new feats of strength. The airing of grievances will again feature live story telling. The Hipster Santa will join us again. And, of course, the Phoestivus pole is still sitting in the middle of it all, watching you to see if you have been naughty or nice.

Check out Phoestivus.com for more information and updates. Vendor applications are closed for this year, by the way.

It seems like every year somebody comes to us in November saying they would like a vendor application. People, please remember that we usually book out by mid October. This is a pretty popular event, y’all!

Phoestivus is one of the best ways for sponsors to address a loyal and targeted audience of about 3,000 people per night.

And, as with every year, this year’s event will be a fundraiser for Community Food Connections, which organizes the Phoenix downtown farmer’s market. The market is one of the few places downtown where you can get locally-gown, whole foods that nourish both our bodies and our community.

Well, we’ve hosted Get Your PHX every month since January, 2009.

Thats 102 straight months of supporting the city we love. Some events had 10 attendees. Some had 200.

We spun off the Phoestivus Market and raised money for the Phoenix Public Market, while supporting hundreds of new businesses. Its been an incredible run.

So, July will the the first month since January of 2009 that I did not have somewhere specific to be on the second-to-last Thursday of the month.

Why? We will no longer host the monthly Get Your PHX events in their current form.

Its not that we are getting out of the community building business.

Rather, we have something else in mind. I hesitate to say exactly what. But, its gonna be good.

It will reach back to the reason I started Get Your PHX to begin with –to build community and empower people.

So, stay tuned. This story is yet to be told.

I would like to ask you to do one thing for us while you wait for that news.

Please support our Charity Referral Network.

You may have seen the following phrase on my email signature or in the Clark Report: “You refer, we donate. Call me today to find out how we can support your favorite charity. We appreciate your referrals!”

This is our attempt to focus positive attention on those charities that you care about, and which do so much good work here in Phoenix.

Here is how it works. If you send us a referral for a home sale or purchase, and that transaction closes, we will make a donation to the charity of your choice. We will post on our blog and on Facebook that your referral was instrumental in making that donation happen.

It is as simple as that. Thank you!

Please give us a call today at 602-456-9388 for more.

We are getting ready for the June Get Your PHX in the Warehouse District. You’ll get a personal briefing on future plans for the Warehouse District, directly from Brian Cassidy, President and CEO of CCBG Architects. Brian is a driving force behind efforts to revitalize the district in to a space for entertainment and the arts.

Have a look at this link for an inventory of major structures in the district, along side their historic photos.

For years the Warehouse District in Phoenix was in a kind of dead stall. With the exception of several small projects. However, as downtown Phoenix becomes more dense it is natural to see development pressure southward.

The question on most people’s minds is what that development could look like. We will have access to the city’s preeminent thinker on adaptive re-use at our disposal. He will present on current thinking and he’ll take your questions.

Yep, this is an exclusive – a not-to-miss presentation.

The Warehouse District’s Council’s goal is to “promote  and brand the Warehouse District as great place to live, work and play, just blocks from the heart of downtown Phoenix.   This ½ square mile area has significant room to both attract responsible infill development and continue to preserve and restore the unique character warehouse structures that represent the early  working roots of this city.”

Brian is a passionate advocate for creating livable, walkable, sustainable and exciting urban places that will continue attracting more people to make the urban decision to move in to central Phoenix and other urban cores currently being formed throughout metro Phoenix. He sees the Warehouse District as “the intersection of history and creativity.”

The firm has also been a leader in adaptive reuse projects and has converted more than 25 warehouse buildingsa into creative work environments for groups such as ASU Step Gallery and Graduate Art Studios, Moses, IASIS Medical business in the historic Suns Mercantile Building, and Restoration Place, that was designed in 1982 and was one of the first adaptive reuse projects in downtown.

Be certain to RSVP here so we have a count for the event.

Location: 102 E Buchanan St, Phoenix, AZ 85004
Time: 5:30 opening. Presentation begins at 5:45

The May Get Your PHX at The Hive will celebrate a multi-tenant space, its newest residents and the incredible work of Rigo Flores. Join us for raffle, small bites and meet the owners!

Since 2009, The Hive on 16th Street has been inviting businesses and artists to participate, connect, and flourish.

At the May Get Your PHX we will see a new coffee shop buzz, meditation/buddha art studio, a zine distro, art gallery, and a resale boutique keep everyone moving. Not to mention hosting community events, but that’s how Julia Fournier likes it.

Says Fournier, “Since 2009, we have shown more than 100 artists in over 60 shows. We focus mostly on local artists, usually emerging or transitioning creatives… In May, we’re showing the work of Rigo Flores.”

Flores’ work speaks to the patriotism, violence, corruption, and current atrocities that have occurred in Mexico. #YaMeCanse2 features blurred paintings, intentionally creating an ambiguous interpretation. Drawings are made clear, portraying the Mexican salute to the flag, “however in juxtaposition to the paintings, one’s feelings of patriotism are confused.”

In a space like The Hive, the merge of community and business creates a unique cluster identity where anyone is welcome – and contributing to the community is a must.

Meet Zine Distro, Wasted Ink Distro. Owners are Charissa and Marna, (and a whole lot of interns). A small Zine library and store, Zine Distro is a home base for any AZ Zinesters looking for a DIY, creative space. Workshops, readings, concerts, and craft fairs fill the event calendar each month.

And meet Shana Bell, owner of TaSen, Buddha and Meditation Art. She began her business not as a way to profit, but as a way to give back to the community after experiencing a life changing healing event in Thailand. Meditations are twice a week.

Cherisse and Kristy run Silent Flight, a coffee shop inside The Hive. They’re celebrating two months of business!

Lastly, The Bees Knees, Julia Fournier’s business. Specializing in second hand fashion and hand selected pieces. “My idea was to shop with an eye for design lead clothing, and to shop carefully so that I could keep prices low. The clothing and household items are here because I think they are special in some way.”

May Get Your PHX at the Hive
When: May 18th at 5:30pm.
Where: 2222 N. 16th St, Phoenix 85006
More Information and RSVP at This link!

Michael Reyes is a fighter, thus “Pinche the Warrior.” After a bout with a potentially cancerous medical issue, (which after surgery left him without a food truck), Reyes is now rising up again. Pinche Taco truck will be partnering with Bar Smith and serving the community just like before.

Many of us remember spending long nights on the Paz Cantina patio, laughing with friends, eating those damn delicious tacos. Then after development, we’d flock to fill the picnic tables outside his food truck.

Michael is a warrior, and his weapon isn’t an arrow, nor an axe, it’s not even a hammer. Michael’s weapon of choice is food. This is the one constant that any Anthropologist will tell you “connects every human together”, food is culture’s glue. By wielding his weapon, he continues to bring us all together.

Like any warrior, Reyes’ battle ground may change, but his passion and purpose never falter. From his food truck, Reyes and his team served over 30,000 tacos and burritos to the homeless. Now, his step one in the plan is to bring a brand-new food truck, Pinche Tacos, to the streets that will serve the customers at Bar Smith, and spend off times serving at rallies and First Fridays. As he puts it, “This truck will be on the streets when it’s scheduled to and when it has a purpose.” With the city and downtown-devotees help, Michael hopes to open a new brick-and-mortar in December.

“This is my Phoenix,” Reyes said. “We all have more passion than we do money. But we’re dedicated to this, to this street. This is our home, our world. Between ‘the sevens.’ That’s what we fight for. That’s why we cry, and that’s why we fight, and that’s why we hurt.”

As Michael has always put it, “I will be back, delivering burritos to my people.”

Join us in celebrating Michael Reyes, Pinche Truck and the passion and purpose again in Downtown Phoenix. Celebration at Bar Smith, see event details below.

When: Thursday, April 20^th from 5:30PM – 7:30PM
Where: Outside of Bar Smith: 130 Washington St, Phoenix, AZ 85004
Note: Free raffle ticket for all those that attend!
RSVP: Click here
Check out the Facebook invite here.