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.

What an awesome day! I felt so empowered by all of the girls, women and the men who were showing…read moresupport! This was my first 5k and it was so fun...everyone who participated got a metro and that was such a reassuring gesture to the girls...weather your first or last you didn't give up!

Very cool event through local schools, teaching girls the fun, social support, and physical…read morebenefits of athletics. The event keys in our young ladies. There is an announcer, silent auction in support of the charity, anchor vendors with SWAG, and lots of girls enjoying things, together. Only knock is that the silent auction isn't much value.

The Mortgage Matchup Center is a premier multi-purpose sports and entertainment arena located in…read moredowntown Phoenix, Arizona. It is the home venue for the NBA's Phoenix Suns and the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, accommodating roughly 18,000 spectators for basketball games. The venue opened on June 6, 1992, at a cost of $89 million. Since then, it has been known by several names, including America West Arena, US Airways Center, Talking Stick Resort Arena, and PHX Arena. Concessions feature local and celebrity-backed favorites, including Shaq's Big Chicken, Los Soles Taqueria, Spinato's Pizza, and Cold Beers & Cheeseburgers. No complaints from this Yelper. This is a solid place for entertainment.

Why does this arena change names every 2-4 years?!?!…read more Anyways. I came here a few years ago when it was the Foot Print Center. Getting in the door had always been really easy here, I like how they've at least figured out how to stream line the security process. Lots of bars and food vendors to buy super expensive drinks and snacks from. Long lines for the restrooms. But the people working here were friendly. I came here to watch a comedy show featuring Nate Bargatze and it was hilarious. But the restroom situation sucked and even though paying $20 for a drink is the norm, I still don't like it.

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.

I was hesitant about attending this volleyball tournament because there was a the SCVA Summer…read moreSoiree in Anaheim which was closer to my home. However, I am glad that we went to the tournament as it was fairly well organized and my daughter's team had a blast at the tournament. I will say that it was mainly because of the parents on the team, but I will give a little love to the tournament. The tournament has several divisions, so if you're team is so-so, expect to get your butts kicked at least the first two days. Scores and schedules are updated fairly quickly, and so you'll know your schedule right away if you have the AES Express app. By day three, the teams/pools will be much more competitive. That said, expect the last two days to be longer because the teams are more evenly matched. Thus, expect the matches to go three games. We were in the AM pools, so we were expected to finish by 1pm, but actually finished by 2pm. We made it to the finals of our division, so we finished by 3 pm on the last day. God forbid you are in the PM pool as you may not finish until past 8 or 9. If you are flying, I recommend you flying out on Monday if you can afford it, so that you won't stress about getting out of the convention center and to your flight on time. My main gripe about this tournament was the referees. They weren't bad, but many of them seemed to be in such a hurry. I guess referees are paid by matches completed and not by hour. We were in the 12's division and so the girls naturally make mistakes due to their age and maturity level. Some referees were so impatient and even bypassed making sure things were done correctly and let egregious mistakes made by the scorekeepers to go in order to "finish" on time. That effected a couple of our match results. One referee actually called a delay of game call on one of the girls from another team which stunned both the coach, the girl, and all the parents because honestly, I haven't seen that call made in like ten years--and these are 12 year old girls, so you would think they would get a little leniency. The other small complaint is the price of the souvenir shirts and clothing. I mean $60 for an ugly tie-dyed hoodie with the festival logo on it. A few of my daughter's teammates bought one, but my daughter isn't so sentimental, so she didn't care for it. Thank God! Speaking of Phoenix, the heat is oppressive, but it's cold inside the Convention Center. Everything in Phoenix is relatively easy to get to. What they call traffic in Phoenix is nothing in comparison to LA traffic. I didn't see much of Phoenix as we didn't venture far from our hotel once matches were done for the day. Although, I did appreciate the Southwestern and Hispanic themed artwork that was sprinkled across the city. We hit a Cheesecake Factory, CPK, Rustler's Roost, and a lot of fast food takeout for our dinner options. For me, this was the perfect storm for a great experience. Wonderful team spirit, wonderful parent participation, great coach, lots of playing time for all the girls, and well planned itinerary created for us. I don't know if I would have my daughter participate in this tournament again if given a choice because there is no guarantee that we will have the same conditions as this year. I, officially, can cross it off my bucket list though. Cheers!

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.

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.