Phoenix, Arizona — Activities
Phoenix Culture
See the Arizona Opera at Symphony Hall, 75 North Second Street (tel: (602) 266 7464; website: www.azopera.com). The Phoenix Symphony (tel: (602) 495 1999 or 1 800 776 9080; website www.phoenixsymphony.org) also performs at Symphony Hall as well as at the following venues: the Orpheum Theater, 203 West Adams Street (tel: (602) 257 4300); the Scottsdale Center for the Arts, 7380 East Second Street in Scottsdale (tel: (480) 994 2787; website: www.scottsdaleperformingarts.org); Mesa Arts Center, 1 East Main Street, Mesa (tel: (480) 644 6500; website: www.mesaartscenter.com); Pinnacle Church Presbyterian Church, 25150 North Pima Road, Scottsdale (tel: (480) 585 9448; website: www.pinnaclepres.org/missions); and Maricopa County Events Center, 19403 RH Johnson Boulevard, Sun City West (tel: (623) 544 2888; website: www.maricopacountyeventscenter.com). The latter is also the venue for Broadway-style theater.
See Ballet Arizona at the Ballet Arizona Studios, 3645 East Indian School Road (tel: (602) 381 1096; website: www.balletaz.org), or at the Herberger Theater Center, 222 East Monroe Street (tel: (602) 254 7399; website: www.herbergertheater.org).
Center Dance Ensemble (tel: (602) 997 9027) and resident theater companies, which include Arizona Theater Company (tel: (602) 256 6899; website: www.aztheaterco.org), Childsplay (tel: (480) 350 8101; website: www.childsplayaz.org) and Actor’s Theater of Phoenix (tel: (602) 253 6701; website: www.atphx.org) perform at various venues. Check www.showuptickets.com for discount tickets.
You’ll find two strategically located cinemas at the AMC Arizona Center 24, 565 Third Street (tel: (602) 956 4262), and Harkins Fashion Square 7, 7014 East Camelback Road, Scottsdale (tel: (602) 222 4275).
Phoenix Tours
Tours run the southwest gamut from adventure and nature to Native American culture and history. If you are willing to rise at the crack of dawn and want to soar over the valley like a bird, go ballooning. Hot Air Expeditions (tel: (480) 502 6999 or 1 800 831 7610; website: www.hotairexpeditions.com) and Unicorn Balloon Company (tel: (480) 991 3666 or 1 800 755 0935; website: www.unicornballoon.com) will take you.
Pedal your way around the McDowell Mountains and the desert with Desert Biking Adventure (tel: (602) 320 4602 or 1 888 249 2453; website: www.desertbikingadventures.com); take a jeep ride with Southwest Jeep Adventures.com (tel: 1 877 962 6620; website: www.yellowjeeps.com), or go by Hummer with Desert Storm Hummer Tours (tel: 1 866 374 8634; website: www.dshummer.com). Hop in a jeep and discover the Superstition Mountains with Apache Trail Tours & Superstition Mountain Adventures (tel: (480) 982 7661; website: www.apachetrailtours.com) or the red rocks of Sedona with Pink Jeep Tours (tel: (928) 282 5000 or 1 800 873 3662/8SEDONA; website: www.pinkjeep.com).
Or hop on a Gray Line bus (tel: (602) 437 3484 or 1 800 777 3484; website: www.graylinearizona.com) to see the city highlights like the State Capitol Chase Field (Ballpark), Heritage Square, Camelback Mountain, Old Town Scottsdale, Tempe Town Lake and Arizona State University.
