The 9th Annual Arizona Irish Festival will be held this year on Saturday, October 31st. Events will be held at Margaret Hance Park and the Irish Cultural Center in Phoenix.
Activities are for all ages! If you have kids 12 and under you can sign them up for the costume contest and parade located at Tragedy Ann’s Costume Contest Headquarters. Here will be four categories of costumes: funniest, scariest, best family or group and best Celtic costume. These events will be taking place at 1:00 PM. If your kids want to Trick or Treat they can do so safely at the various vendor booths. There will also be Faerie face painters, animal balloon classes and big, bouncy things to play around in or on. If your kids want to catch a show, two Deb’s dragons and other misunderstood creatures shows are offered for free at 11:30 AM and 1:00 PM.
Be sure to check out the Trip to Ireland Raffle- only 1500 tickets will be sold. They are $10 each and can be purchased at either one of two raffle booths, which are located near each gate or from any of the green-aproned volunteers who are roaming around the Festival grounds. If you are the lucky grand prize winner, you will receive a $2500 voucher for a trip to Ireland, which can be scheduled for anytime of year after the festival. See the website below for the 2nd and 3rd prize packages.
The Irish Cultural Center is located at 1106 N. Central Avenue in Phoenix. For more information on the festival visit: https://festival.azirish.org/
The Szabo Group offers first class real estate services to clients in the Scottsdale Greater Phoenix Metropolitan Area. Award winning Realtors and Re/MAX top producers, The Szabo group delivers experience, knowledge, dedication and proven results. Contact Joe Szabo at 480.688.2020 or visit www.scottsdalerealestateteam.com
Fashion Square Mall – Located at Camelback Rd. and Scottsdale Rd. This mall is 2 million square feet of stores, dining and entertainment Some of the 225 stores include Abercrombie & Fitch, Bath & Body Works, Barney’s New York (opening this fall), Build-A-Bear Workshop, as well as high-end stores including Cartier, kate spade, Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Co.. There are about 20 places available for snacks or other food as well. For more information visit: 
A definite highlight is the giraffe feeding platform. Purchase the food and step right up for the animals to take it right out of your hand! (Adults can do this too if they want).
You can take the fifteen minute Safari Train Ride through the African Wildlife exhibits or for an aerial view of the park, take the fifteen minute Sky Ride. If neither one of those rides excites your kids, there’s also a carousel, Australian boat ride which features red and gray kangaroos, the emu and the kookaburra; or log flume ride. Additional fees are charged for rides. Check the website for pricing.
There are three separate aquarium buildings and they are: The Diversity of Life in Water, The Wild and The Wonderful, and Predators. The Diversity of Life in Water features upside down jellyfish, the American alligator, some touch tanks and more. The Wild & Wonderful features a poison dart frog, clownfish and lionfish to name just a few. When you get to the Predators, you can see a piranha, giant moray eel, a white albino alligator and more.
If you want a neat dining experience, check out either the Tiburón Restaurant or Flamingo Lounge which provides great views of the sharks and other fish at the aquarium.
The Wildlife Zoo & Aquarium is located at 16501 W. Northern Ave. in Litchfield Park. For more information visit: 
If you aren’t sure what you’d like to do at the festival there is The Pleasure Feast package which includes:A festival admission ticket valued at $20:
6 course meal
2 hours of entertainmentSelection of drinksSpecial Edition gobletCommemorative medallion
If you have young children, you may not want them to attend this feast as there may be suggestive or risqué humor/language. The Arizona Renaissance Festival is located at 12601 Highway 60 in Apache Junction. For more information visit: 
Some exhibits you might want to visit include:
All About You exhibit explores learning and remembering as well as how our bodies move.
Psychology explores preferences of personal space as well as features The Echo Chamber where you can discover how those with blindness figure out where they are.
Get Charged Up lets you experience what it’s like to lie on a bed of nails. You can also see how a prism splits white light into the colors of the rainbow and more!
Robots: The Interactive Exhibition opens September 27, 2009 and features characters from the animated film Robots.
The science center also offers family camp-ins, which are $20 for one parent and child. Each additional child is $5. Also, it is recommended for younger children, those ages 6-10. Some upcoming classes are:
Oct. 10: It’s a Small World – Learn about nanotechnology and how you are impacted.
Oct. 24: Our Colorful World – Learn about light and color and its properties.
Nov. 7: Recipe for Weather – Learn about tornadoes, hurricanes, blizzards and more.
Nov. 21: It’s Elementary, Dear Watson – Learn about scientific method and how it can be used to solve a problem. Your child will be able to observe, predict, conduct an experiment, collect data and present their conclusions.
Dec. 5: It’s About Time!–Learn about the world of time and time zones. Your child will be able to create a way to measure time without using a clock.
The Arizona Science Center is located at 600 E Washington Street in Phoenix. For more information visit: 
Some of the current exhibits and events include:
July 11, 2009-October 18, 2009 – 
In the We Are! Arizona’s First People exhibit, be sure to check out the mural titled “Fear of a Red Planet” which showcases scenes from American Indian history that have had an impact on the lives of American Indian people living in the Southwest.
For kids, there are three galleries which feature hands-on take-home activities and interactive displays. They can make a Yaqui-inspired paper flower or bandolier bag.
Claiming to provide moving stories is the Remembering Our Indian School Days: The Boarding School Experience.
The Heard Museum shop buys directly from hundreds of American Indian artists and offers jewelry, pottery, katsina dolls and more. It also features a great selection of books by and about American Indians.
Be sure to grab a meal or snack at The Café. The food is has a Southwest-inspired flavor to it.
The Heard Museum is located at 2301 N Central Avenue in Phoenix. For more information visit: 
by Joe Szabo, Szabo Group
Calling all race fans! Phoenix International Raceway has some offerings for fan experiences including the Budweiswer Roll Bar, which features driver appearances during races and live music. Check the website listed below for more information.
The SPEED Cantina, which is located just outside Turn 2, features a bar and grill and live entertainment as well.
Some upcoming events include:
November 15-17, 2009- NASCAR’s Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 – the last race of the year. Jimmie Johnson will be driving For ticket information and event schedule, visit 
Some other upcoming events include:
Biergarten – September 25, 2009 – 7-10 PM
Cost: $70 for members; $75 for general public
Enjoy great beer, the great atmosphere of the gardens, and great music provided by four different groups.
Las Noches de las Luminarias – December 3-30, 2009
Member tickets are on sale now and are $20 for adults and $10 for children. Tickets for the general public go on sale October 1st and are $25 for adults and $12.50 for children. Thousands of hand-lit lights cast a glow on all of the garden’s featured plants. Enjoy this special event with your whole family! For more information on this event visit 
Fashion Square Mall – Located at Camelback Rd. and Scottsdale Rd. This mall is 2 million square feet of stores, dining and entertainment Some of the 225 stores include Abercrombie & Fitch, Bath & Body Works, Barney’s New York (opening this fall), Build-A-Bear Workshop, as well as high-end stores including Cartier, kate spade, Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Co.. There are about 20 places available for snacks or other food as well. For more information visit: 
