Writer Joseph J. Airdo Photography Courtesy of Rosie’s House [dropcap]D[/dropcap]uring World War II, Rosie Schurz had just started music lessons when she and her family were forced to evacuate their home in Munich and flee to the German countryside. “The war took away my childhood,” says Schurz, who was only 7 years old at the…
Writer Joseph J. Airdo [dropcap]T[/dropcap]wo decades ago, Beth Ames Swartz had the idea to bring Arizona artists together to develop not only their professional practices but also their bonds with one another. Since then, the group has grown to more than 180 participants who — as informal members of Artists’ Breakfast Club — attend monthly…
Writer Joseph J. Airdo Photography Courtesy of Musical Instrument Museum [dropcap]T[/dropcap]here is only one place in all of the U.S. that is dedicated to telling the story of our shared connection through music. As Arizona residents, we are exceptionally fortunate to have that place — the cultural crown jewel known as Musical Instrument Museum, which…
Writer Joseph J. Airdo Photography Courtesy of Foothills Animal Rescue and Maren Sater Photography [dropcap]T[/dropcap]hink about the time that you first invited a cat or dog into your home to become a member of your family. If you are like most people, that decision — while not made lightly — did not truly take into…
Writer Shannon Severson Photography by Art Holman [dropcap]B[/dropcap]ig Bronco has long been a fixture in Cave Creek as a place for beautiful, artisan-made furniture, decor and gifts. This year, owner Faith Weinberg is celebrating the store’s 20th anniversary and thanking her customers by hosting the “Biggest Event of the Year” –– a fun-filled fiesta and…
Writer Shannon Severson Photography Courtesy of Ballet Arizona and Alexander Iziliaev [dropcap]T[/dropcap]wenty years ago, the future of Ballet Arizona—and ballet in Arizona—hung in the balance. The cultural landscape in Phoenix was in its infancy and struggling to gain a foothold. Within a week of being hired as artistic director by then-Board Chair Gwen Hillis, Ib…
Writer Joseph J. Airdo Photography Courtesy of the Herberger Theater Center [dropcap]M[/dropcap]ark Mettes Sr. has seen downtown Phoenix develop and grow around the Herberger Theater Center in the 30 years that the venue has graced the community. “When I was first working here in 1992, we would all stop rehearsal as it began to get…
The year was 1926. World War I had ended eight years prior, and the Roaring 20s were in full swing. While Phoenix’s once-booming cotton industry had all but dried up following the war, a new era of growth had begun in the Valley of the Sun—one writer Scott Fitzgerald referred to as the “greatest, gaudiest spree in history.”
One of Arizona’s oldest performing arts organizations is about to receive a long-overdue honor. And if that was not enough, the prestige arrives in the midst of the group’s best season yet—a season that builds upon its storied history and provides audiences with the symphonious sounds of the Valley’s most talented male singers.
The Scottsdale Culinary Festival, one of the longest running food festivals in the country and the signature fundraising event for the Scottsdale League for the Arts, celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2018. Over time it has expanded from a weekend food festival to several culinary fundraising events throughout the year. Through these events, the Scottsdale League for the Arts has raised more than $4.5 million to support the arts in Maricopa County since 2000.