May Attractions and Great Reads
Cross your fingers. Forecasts for May indicate that we may have more cool days that we expected a couple weeks ago. So, there’s time to get out and see those May Attractions. Plus, I’m sharing some of the great reads that could occupy your attention at the pool.
The Smoking Gun Continues to Smoke. For many of us, we’ve known for decades that the big fossil fuel companies intentionally misrepresented the danger of global warming. And evidence of that has dribbled out over the years through discovery in various lawsuits. But now, we have a peer-reviewed study from Harvard and the Rockefeller Family Fund that assesses the known projections of Exxon going back three decades.
Practical Art’s 15th Anniversary. We’ve been fans of Practical Art for years. We did special events with them over the years, way way back when they were new to the scene. So, it’s exciting to see their 15th Anniversary Art Edition with lots of beautiful and accessible art to choose from. They are located uptown, just north of Camelback and Central.
Revisiting Cadillac Desert. This seminal work spanned two centuries of, corruption and short-sightedness of water policy all across the growing United States, but primarily in the arid desert Southwest. (See this short video from the documentary to get a taste.) It’s a biggie. At over 600 pages, it leaves no stone unturned. I’ve had it on my shelf for two decades and only got through the beginning. I had to admit defeat and download the audio book. The 27 hours of listening is still engaging. As we in Arizona have been told by the Bureau of Water Reclamation to radically cut our use of Colorado river water by 25%, it is worth diving in to this one. If nothing else, watching the documentary will give you an idea of the mentality of decision makers that got us here and what it would take to save our skins.
Kickback with the Locals. Local First Arizona is hosting an event on May 11th at Barcoa, downtown, to link up local artists, makers, growers, foodies, trendsetters, entrepreneurs, and local advocates. Brought to you by Local First Arizona | LocalBuzz | Barcoa | XICO Gallery. The evening will be hosted by Marshall Shore, the Hip Historian! in a century-old building in Downtown Phoenix. Discover tons of local businesses and learn how to officially become a Localist through Local First Arizona and learn about Pollyn – a hyper-local creator marketplace by LocalBuzz. Guests can sip from an exclusive Mezcal tasting at Barcoa Agaveria while enjoying the action of the print workshop in XICO Inc. gallery and studio.
Third Fridays. Little-known fact outside of downtown: Third Fridays is like the adult swim of art Fridays. That will be May 19th this month. If you get overwhelmed by the masses of people at First Fridays, you will enjoy the room to breath on Third Fridays. For many people, it’s the only way to experience art downtown (and on Grand Ave) these days.
