I love this race. I've done the 10K for the past three years and it's a great day for running. This…read moreyear it began on time and they had two "water" stations with pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce. I didn't try either cuz I didn't want to stop for it so no input on their taste. The course was similar in that the 10K is two 5K loops, so basically I had to pass the finish line and make a left to loop the course and finish, which was tough. The weather is always great during this time of year and the crowds are plentiful but not overwhelming. The one complaint is the post race food; they had water and yogurt which was fine but then they had trays of animal crackers and other cookies, it was weird. Wish they had bananas and oranges. Turkey trots take place all over the valley on Thanksgiving but I love running through Downtown Phoenix and I will continue to participate. Definitely recommend this race as it is family friendly, plenty of parking, and good vibes.

I was absolutely flabbergasted by the shirts they came up with this year. Not only was the shirt…read morehigher quality fabric, the back of the shirt came printed with the words, "Bird is the Word." With Family Guy being one of my favorite shows ever, the episode where Peter sings the oldie song, "Bird is the Word" incessantly, I was just too excited to get this shirt this year. Another update included the first aid/water stations. I mean, unless I didn't notice it last year, the first station featured pumpkin pie. I am not talking about flavored pumpkin pie candy. It was actual pumpkin pie! I didn't even realize it until after I passed the station, and I even said out loud, "Man! I can't believe I missed it! Real pumpkin pie?!" One of the runners was nice enough to offer hers which she still held in her cup, but I respectfully declined, because it is kind of hard to run and eat at the same time. The second station which was a mile from the end featured cranberry. It was more of a gelatin texture so it was a bit easier to down while running than eating pumpkin pie, but next time, I will make a point to stop at both stations. It seems like the route was a bit different but better this year and it was fun running through the streets of downtown and through part of one of the historic neighborhoods. The run even seemed more popular and crowded this year. I made turkey headbands for my group of four runners. Everyone wears some sort of Thanksgiving inspired garb. Whether if they're dressed as full blown turkeys or just have turkey hats, everyone doesn't care about being silly, and that's why I love this run so much. Even the kids had a fun little turkey trot with adorable shirts.

How did I not know about PHOESTIVUS!? My cousin asked to tag along over the weekend. We arrived a…read morelittle after 5 PM. Of course downtown was busy however we were able to find street side parking close by. This is the best place to get all your holiday shopping and to support all your local vendors/ artists! There's a mix of 170 vendors. We also enjoyed the food trucks! We snacked on popcorn, papusas, and tamales. Yummy! Everything we ate was very delicious. I'd come back again next holiday! Very festive and dog friendly.

Neat market, it takes up a whole block. All local valley vendors from Goodyear to Chandler. Food,…read morejewelry, vintage goods, soap, plants, art, and more. The Yeti wonders and you can take a photo with him, there's a hip Santa you can also take a photo with. You can air your grievances, and what you're grateful about. There was a glass making demonstration from a studio. There was live jazzy music which I loved. Overall, a nice holiday market. There is street parking, metered parking, and a parking garage nearby. It's dog friendly and there's vendors catering to dog products as well.

Attended the Phoenix Mercury v Atlanta Dream game - what a time! First time in AZ and seeing a WNBA…read moregame. We really enjoyed ourselves! The fans are really loyal, the entertainment, the game itself - everything was top tier. This game had over 12K in attendance which was a sell out. The ATL Dream won - yeah for our home team! I'll definitely go out to support more WNBA games.

I'm back. I really enjoy the games, truly. But it's little things that irk me about this venue -…read moremost recently the fact that they promote special things and then don't have them available. To specify, there was a promotion on the official Mercury instagram saying that if you signed up for the Spinato's pizza rewards program, you would get a coupon for a free personal cheese pizza. I'm all for doing things to snag a deal - even when you risk sharing your personal data - so I registered for the rewards and got my pizza coupon. It also included a free cannoli coupon. So next time I went to a game, I was excited to get a free dinner out of it too. Only to get to Spinato's inside the venue and be told that the rewards program doesn't work there because "they have a different system". Okay great, don't have the Mercury instagram page promote specials that you can't even use during a Mercury game - I find that completely pointless. Why would I travel all the way to a Spinato's establishment if the most common one I have access to is inside the venue... Anyways, I got Wetzel's Pretzels and one of the $2 fountain sodas. A $3.50 additional cost for a tiny cheese cup is crazy btw. Be warned that the $2 soda is a small cup compared to the almost $12 souvenir soda, but technically you can buy 3-4 small sodas and get the same amount of drink for cheaper. Just a way to beat "the system" there. Rock the Pink night was fun - Scorch had a special pink outfit and hair that they probably only bring out for that day.

We always have fun at Phoenix Fan Fusion, a/k/a comicon. I only go one day each year, and that's…read moreenough for me--it is exhausting. There are so many things to do. First, this place is a shoppers dream for someone who likes collectibles. The hall is huge and has stall after stall if tshirts, books, collectible figures, and art. There are samples of beer and liquor (with I.D. if course), and meet and greets with celebrities--this year John Cena was a biggie, but I personally was happy to see Like and Kirk from Gilmore Girls and Steve from the original Blues Clues. Elsewhere in the convention center was a Hall with some STEM exhibits, a cool insect exciting, a Lego display, and a medieval area with fencing. There are video games spread throughout, and a huge room for Pokemon Go. There are so many breakout sessions going on all day--anything from "Mr. Rodger's Art of Kindness" to "How to Create Cosplay Pieces with EV Foam" to Improv. Of course the panels with celebrities and comic book creators are super popular. Of course there is food available at Fan Fusion, but we choose to eat outside if the convention center. My favorite things (besides the plethora of Labubus) is the cosplay. If it's fun to see all the effort people have put in! Parking is, as you'd expect, difficult. It looked like many people, like us, took the light rail.

I've been going to Phoenix Fan Fusion (ComiCon before they changed names) for about the last 15…read moreyears, and the steady decline has been sad to see. This trip was likely my last. First, whatever genius had the bright idea to eliminate the possibility of purchasing a ticket the day of at the event, without a phone, should be immediately fired. My phone died about 30 minutes before getting there (not a battery charge issue, it literally bricked on me) so I went to the table and asked to purchase tickets on site. These bafoons have absolutely NO WAY to sell you a ticket using a credit card unless you have a phone. How is that even possible? Not a single hand held payment device anywhere to sell a ticket, in 2026? So my only option was to use a strangers phone to input my credit card, because they wouldn't accept cash. Absolutely mind blowing. Second, crowd management was a joke. No strucutre, no line management, just pure chaos. We got there around 1 PM, it's 100 degrees, and we had to wait probably 20 minutes just to get through the security entrance outside because they have NO IDEA how to run this event. Then as we proceeded to enter the west entrance, they turned us all away and said we have to go across the street to enter. These people have no idea how to run a venue this size. So completely disjointed and unorganized. You could barely walk the exhibitor hall it was so crowded and it was easily a 25 minute wait just to buy a bottle of water (which by the way cost $6.00). They were completely unprepared to serve the needs of the fans; sad and pathetic. And by the way, how about scheduling your event for a weekend when the Diamondbacks don't play at home, what a mess. Third, Fan Fusion used to be a place where the focus was on sharing and experiencing creativity and fandom with other fans. Now it's turned into nothing more than a money gouging cash grab, which is evident by how they only care about getting as many people in as possible, despite their crews not being able to handle that type of event. $250 for three of us, and that gets you nothing but through the door and maybe a chance to sit on one of the panels that most people could care less about. The on-site vendors and the celebrities with their signing prices gouge you. What they charge you just to get through the door is criminal. There was nothing pleasant about this experience. I use to look forward to this, but it's not what it use to be. The spirit of creativity and entertainment is no longer the essence of this event; it's turned into nothing more than an opportunity to exploit loyal fans.

Referees are all inconsistent some obvious bad calls. It's mainly a trap to sell fake merchandise…read more $15 for one hackey sack. 30 for a fake Needoh. The parking is terrible and the available did inside it's really bad. Can't wait to get out of here.

Pros *Large venue with tons of space for courts and fans…read more Players have good serving space and high, unobstructed ceilings. *Well organized pools and brackets *Affordable nearby food and delivery options for the teams like Chick Fil-A and Zookz toasted sandwiches. Cons *Nets between many of the courts are too saggy (old?) so balls get past and interfere with other games. Very irritating for something so avoidable. *Way too expensive to watch your kid. Went to SCVA Tournament in Vegas with NO charge to watch so we took kids with us. We spent more tourism dollars there as a result. But at the Festival, expect to shell out $50 per person to watch your daughter/family member play and only little kids (5 and under) are free. It feels like blackmail.

As Jew in the Isreal army, I visited America for first time week last. Handsome young man named…read moreMatt helped me buy first kart but i end up buying six more. Good deal, he promise me play Mario Kart together if I do. i crash into small child and they go hospital but still fun. Next time I in America, I visit again.

I wanted to get into karting so I visited Innovative Karting. I talked to Curtis about my plans…read more He explained the best and most economical way to proceed with this sport. What he told me was something I didn't want to hear, but something I NEEDED to hear. I was going about it all wrong. He is a real straight shooter, not trying to sell you things you don't need. He was super friendly and easy to talk to, even about questions he probably answered millions of times. His shop and floor space were neat and clean. I will continue to use Innovative, as apposed to buying on-line. We need to support owners like Curtis. You rock.

The 11th annual D-backs Race Against Cancer event took place during Fall of 2024 at Chase Field. It…read morewas my first time running it. I had seen the Arizona Diamondbacks promote this event many times at games in the past and just never had the opportunity to run one of these. I am both a Diamondback fan and an avid runner and enjoyed combining both my loves. The D-backs Race Against Cancer is presented by Dignity Health Cancer Institute and starts and ends at Chase Field. The run is for all ages and is a lot of fun. The route for this 5K run/walk goes through downtown Phoenix. I really enjoyed running this 5K because it was on asphalt and there was no change in elevation. The run benefits Arizona non-profit organizations that provide screening, treatment and support for those dealing with all types of cancer. Diamondbacks CEO Derrick Hall was on hand to kick off the event. He is a cancer survivor and a strong advocate for cancer awareness. Included with registration is a finisher's medal and a free ticket to a Diamondback game.

This year is actually the second year I've participated in this event. The D-Backs Race Against…read moreCancer is actually a pair of events taking place on an early Sunday morning (typically in early April). First there's a 5k run that traverses much of southern Downtown Phoenix, followed by a 1k family walk that circles the sports and entertainment district (aka the Legends District). The event starts and ends at Chase Field with race participants having the ability to finish their morning by taking a leisurely stroll around the warning track on the field at Chase. The D-Backs team shop is also open for the event and there are a number of vendors and cancer non-profits that station themselves along 4th Street. The event was originally started by Diamondbacks General Manager Derrick Hall after he contracted prostate cancer. Hall's wife has also battled breast cancer. So the D-Backs partnered with the Dignity Health and the University of Arizona Cancer to put on this annual event. Proceeds from the event go both to the title sponsors as well as other non-profit cancer organizations including the American Cancer Society, the American Liver Foundation, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, the American Lung Association, and others. Registration for the 5k is $40/person and the 1k is $20/person. With registration, you'll get an event t-shirt, a voucher for a D-Backs game ticket, and a drawstring bag with random goodies inside. At the event there are a few food vendors including Dunkin Donuts (odd I know) and also free bananas, oranges, Gatorades, and bottled waters for the participants. The event has plenty of restrooms as well as other random vendors giving out free knick knacks to racers at the finish line. One knock I will give this is event is that its very poorly advertised. The event still gets surprisingly good turnout even though the D-Backs and their sponsors do very little to promote the event. But I'd like to see the D-Backs really get the word out about this event to the community. They don't advertise it in the local newspapers or news stations, they don't advertise the event at all on social media, and from what I can tell Chase Field itself does little to promote it. I gotta think they could make this a blockbuster event that could raise a lot of money for these non-profit groups if they'd only put a little effort into promoting it. Yeah, it would get pretty crowded down there if they did. But hey its for a good cause everyone can get behind, so why not? In any event, my brother, two nephews and I had a fun time doing the family walk again this year and will undoubtedly do it again next year. Hopefully the D-Backs can muster even more participation in this event with a little more effort from their marketing department. Cancer sucks, so let's get more people to show up and help kick cancer's ass.

I love the the opportunity granted to local artists. The event runs from 1st street to 7th street…read more It's a fun way to get your steps in! The vendors are all along the main road of Roosevelt, as well as the side roads. There's food music, beverage, art, and more! I love it. Parking can be a pain, so I advise you to ride share or expect to pay for parking.

Very crowded with a lot of kids. Hard to see any booths. Many of the shops were not open or no…read morelonger there. The art museum was nice but won't return to the streets portion again. Unfortunate because it used to be so filled with different artist and unique people.