Thank you again to Amber Harrold of Camelbackpackers Hostel. Amber and her family put out an incredible spread for us, including local craft beer, wine and even camel-shaped cookies. If she went to those lengths for us, you can feel good recommending your friends to say at CamelbackPackers Hostel when they come through town.

As we roll in to the cooler weather we start to think about family and all of the holidays centered on spending time together.

This month, please join us for our first annual Get Your PHX Family Thanksgiving. You’ve all been so supportive of Get Your PHX and Cenpho businesses for so long that you really are part of the family. So, before you head off for your “other” family dinners in late November, please join your Get Your PHX family for one special thanksgiving meal.

Hob Nobs owners Bob and Sharilyn are preparing a very warm reception for us. In addition to their regular, vast menu of goodies, Hob Nobs is offering a Thanksgiving Sandwich special for just $10 -that’s a turkey and cranberry sandwich and a drink. In addition, they are offering a $1.99 craft bottle of beer, to be announced.

Hob Nobs is also organizing for their most popular musical act, DirtMusic, to entertain us for Get Your PHX. This band has travelled around the world to play its mix of alternative blues and bluegrass. You don’t want to miss this.

And, of course, I will be hosting the monthly raffle. Don’t miss out. Your PHX family misses you!

PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS A TWO-NIGHT EVENT. DEC. 5TH AND 12.

Friends, it is official. Phoestivus is on and bigger than ever. Not only will we have over 50 vendors. Not only will we have at least 6 food trucks. Not only will we have feats of strength, an airing of grievances and the worlds largest Phoestivus pole (as far as you know).

Not only that, friends. But this:

Thank you again to Mat and Sharry Englehorn of Angels Trumpet Ale House as well as Kelly Aubey of FilmBar for a wonderful evening of beer, food and thought-provoking film.  Also, a special thanks to Kelsey Wong of Co+Hoots for co-hosting. It was a pleasure to work with you, Kelsey!

The October Get Your PHX will be a stay-cation of sorts as we meet Amber Harrold, owner of the new Camelbackpackers Hostel at 13th Ave and McDowell.

I grew up and traveled with the Youth Hostel experience. Whenever I traveled Europe, I would grab a bunk, pay much less than a hotel and meet some incredible people from all around the world.

It is a tradition that never really caught on in the United States, but is growing in popularity. If you live in the Garfield neighborhood, you know that there is a youth hostel there. You can tell by the confused and nearly heat-stroked Germans walking by with shocked looks on their faces, especially in the summer.

However, Amber is starting a new concept hostel for Phoenix. This well-appointed, fresh hostel sits next to one of the premier historic neighborhoods in Phoenix. In Europe backpackers from the very young to the very old use hostels. Amber’s oldest guest was 69.

The Camelbackpackers Hostel is a small hostel by European standards, able to take as many as 16 people. They have two dorm rooms with bunk beds and a private room.

Amber, an army veteran originally from Nebraska fell in love with hostels when she was deployed to Germany. After returning to the US and a job with Pepsi here in Phoenix six years ago, she looked in to starting a hostel.

While their policy is to not allow local residents to use the hostel, many folks use the hostel’s private room as an inexpensive place for relatives to stay from out of state.

Amber takes special pains to make certain she recommends local attractions and businesses for her visiting guests. The Camelbackpackers is a unique gateway through which new people experience the real Phoenix –the Phoenix that all of us Get Your PHX-ers know well.

Amber will tell us about her experiences starting the project, gaining the trust of her neighbors and creating a positive experience for her guests.

Regardless of whether you’ve never had the hostel experience, please drop by and support Amber.

Thanks again to George Hancock and Gregory Fretz, owners of the  Phoenix Ale Brewery, along with their Head Brewer John Donehower. We had a great time last month and the food from Lunche Libre hit the spot.

Its funny. Since we had our tour of the Phoenix Ale Brewer, I see their brews all over the place in town. It just goes to show you what a little exposure will do.

We have a unique treat for you this month. We are joining with our friends at Co+Hoots to bring you dinner and a movie at Angels Trumpet and FilmBar. For about $18, you will get a dinner and drink at Angels Trumpet.

Because this is a special event screening, please note that we will do things a little differently this month. We will be at Angels Trumpet from 5:30 to about 6:15, when we will all go across the street for the screening. Angels Trumpet will have a buffet selection of their fine foods for ticket holders. Your ticket includes dinner and a movie. Drinks are on your own.

Please buy your tickets through the FilmBar website BEFORE SEPT. 18TH so the chef at Angels Trumpet has an exact count for food. Go to the Calendar and watch for a listing on September 20th for out event. Filmbar will post that as soon as they have rights to show the movie we are working to get for you. You will not be able to purchase a ticket after Sept. 18th.

PLEASE PRINT YOUR TICKET AND BRING IT WITH YOU TO THE MOVIE.

So, here’s the backstory:

You are already familiar with Film Bar. They have given us our first true independent theater downtown. Film Bar was a sponsor of last year’s Phoestivus Market, as well. The beautiful coincidence is that Film Bar is located directly across the street from Angels Trumpet.

Angels Trumpet is a great experiment in the fine art of beer tasting. You can see over 30 types of beers on the huge blackboard and choose from an ever-changing list of very fresh brews. You have to see it to believe it.

We are working with the movie distributors now on a special presentation, which is uniquely relevant to all of the revitalization that we are doing in downtown Phoenix.  Please RSVP on our Facebook page and please stay tuned.

Thank you to all the folks at 180°Automotive for a great July 2012 Get Your PHX event.  We had over 20 raffle prizes to hand out and lots of happy attendees. The success of the free raffle makes me think that we should make that a regular thing. So, if you represent a business looking for local exposure in a group of hip, well connected professionals, please respond to me at this address and let me know what you’d like to raffle off.

But, special thanks to Christine Cassano and Monika Woolsey for helping to organize the raffle. Of course, thank you to Bogi Lateiner, Heidi Abrahamson, Kate Benjamin, Christine Cassano (get well soon) and Tracy Perkins for participating in our honoring of their inspiring contributions to CenPho.

So, we are going to enjoy the August Get Your PHX in the best way we know how: with a cold beer in hand at the new Phoenix Ale Brewery.

I’m very excited about this event because we are not only celebrating good beer, but we are also building a new history in Phoenix. Did you know that Phoenix used to have a number of local breweries until the big corporate brewers gobbled up the market? Obviously, we have seen a resurgence of domestic brewing in America over the last 25 years. Naturally, you can find franchise restaurants that brew their own batches. But we are starting to see more local brewers who tailor to a local market –finding that there is sufficient interest in their product to survive.

I am happy to announce that our August hosts will be George Hancock and Gregory Fretz, owners of the Phoenix Ale Brewery, along with their Head Brewer John Donehower. We will get a tour of the brewery, get a taste of the beers on special and George is arranging for a special appearance of LunchaLibre, a local food truck.

This is no average beer. I discovered Phoenix Ale Brewery when I tried their Watermelon Wheat Ale at Urban Beans last month. I was very impressed with how they handled this delicate, complex taste. The quality of the brew made sense when I discovered that George Hancock was one of the founders of Pyramid Ale almost 25 years ago. Brewmaster Donehower has also put together the Camelback Indian Pale Ale, Fretzy’s Unfiltered Ale and the Ironwood Imperial Porter. George also tells me that they are introducing a new Imperial Hefeweizen called Wheatstalk. So, you will be some of the first folks to get to taste that.

I’m looking forward, not only to learning from George, Gregory and John’s experiences, but also in helping to support a new era in local urban brewing.

Please RSVP on Facebook here.

August 2012 Get Your PHX
Thursday, August 23rd at 5:30
Phoenix Ale Brewery
3002 E Washington
Phoenix AZ 85034  Map it

Thank you to Wayne Rainey of monOrchid for hosting the June Get Your PHX. Special thanks to Michael Popescu of MojoTree for bringing the Pichuberries and to Dwayne Allen and Danielle Leoni of Rum Bar for contributing their brand new recipe for the Pichuberry Punch. Many folks walked out of this last event wondering where they could get that drink again. (I know I did.) Drop by and try this new drink at Rum Bar.

Thank you also to Jonathan and Erin Carroll of the Song Bird Tea and Coffee House for contributing to the food, the prizes and sharing their new space with us and to Troy Benjamin for his food creations using Pichuberries. Troy, I think you have a new calling.

This July 19th we are celebrating 180° Degree Automotive, which just celebrated its grand opening a brand new shop at 545 W Mariposa.

See the Facebook invite page here.

180° Automotive is a unique venture, started in another location in the Melrose District in 2009 by Bogi Lateiner, a former law student – turned celebrity mechanic. Bogi garnered a lot of attention in recent years because she is a female mechanic, business owner and all-around great lady. She has also managed to fit in time to co-star in the Velocity Channel’s auto-repair “MacGyver-like” problem-solving show “All Girls Garage.”

But as if that were not enough, we are dedicating this event to celebrate four other inspiring women business owners in CenPho. Why are we celebrating these five women? Because each and every one of them not only inspires us, but has also grown their respective businesses during the recession.

Heidi Abrahamson — Heidi is a recognized jewelry designer who has shown all over the United States and in Europe. Her jewelry is, as she says, “modern architecture for the body.” Heidi and her husband, Doug, own Phoenix Metro Retro just off 7th Ave and Hazelwood. Heidi recently got nation-wide attention for the cat hair jewelry that she created with Kate Benjamin.

Kate Benjamin — Kate is best known for Modern Cat Design, a newsletter, website and source for chique accessories and furniture for the modern cat and their people. In 2009, Kate launched Moderncat Studio, a line of modern cat products that includes handcrafted toys, beds and scratchers that are all carefully tested by Kate’s nine felines at their Phoenix, Ariz., home. Some of Kate’s chic creations were recently featured in an annual design episode of CBS Sunday Morning.

Christine Cassano — Christine is an artist and designer, who has taken the medium of concrete to a new level (come see the front counter at 180° Automotive). We know Christine because she is the inspiration behind the Phoenistivus Market publicity designs. Christine has taken up residence next to the 180° “compound”, where her work can be seen. Christine is one of those behind-the-scenes champions who helps drive the energy and connections in the business community in CenPho.

Tracy Perkins — Of Strawberry Hedgehog has proven that you CAN make vegan, plant-based bath products, which are attractive to men and women, alike. Further, Tracy has proven that these products are attractive to national retailers, such as Whole Foods.  Tracy also works out of the 180° Automotive neighborhood, where she makes her soaps in small batches by hand.

July 2012 Get Your PHX
Thursday, July 19th at 5:30
180° Automotive
545 W Mariposa St.,
Phoenix AZ 85013  Map it

16th Street Should Not Be Ignored

That is the message of Por Vida Gallery. Our January 2011 Get Your PHX was a celebration of 16th St. and we are going back to see what’s new.

Por Vida owners Pablo Luna, Thomas “Breeze” Marcus, and Lalo Cota have a foothold and a new statement that they want to share with you.

Lalo Cota tells us that 16th is the next logical step in art in Phoenix. First Friday, he says, can’t be about just 3rd and Roosevelt anymore. He tells us that space has become too much about food and artists are struggling. So it is time to expand.

Come see if the leading edge of art in Phoenix truly is making a move east and see Douglas Miles’ transfixing =Apacheria= show in which Miles challenges cliché images of Native American life through mixed media.

This will be the most engaging Get Your PHX that we’ve hosted for some time. So, don’t miss it!

Special sponsors to be announced soon!

Please join us and RSVP at our Facebook Fan Page.

March Get Your PHX
Thursday, March 22nd from 5:30 to 7:30pm.
2800 N. 16th St
Phoenix, AZ 85006 Map Here

It’s here. The second annual Phoestivus event. The image, below tells you everything you need.

We are doubling the size and doubling the fun.

Please spread the word.