The Valley’s arts and entertainment offerings always have been diverse, but this season’s are so diverse they're almost startling.

“Our pre-sales have been wonderful,” says Kathy Hotchner of Scottsdale Center for the Arts. “There’s Baryshnikov, of course, but we’ve also got Laurie Anderson, the Blind Boys of Alabama, the Sing-A-Long Wizard of Oz, Lypsinka!, Jeffrey Siegel’s Keyboard Conversations and the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music. There is truly something for everyone.”

The Fes Festival is based on the famous Moroccan festival in which various groups celebrate world peace through music, song and dance. Performing here will be the gospel group McCollough, Sons of Thunder; Tibetan vocalist Yungchen Lhamo; Algerian Jewish musician Francoise Atlan; and Hadra des Femmes de Taroudant, representing Morocco’s Sufi music tradition.

“It won’t be just a concert,” Hotchner says. “There will also be various panel discussions addressing issues of worldwide concern.”

Many regular favorites will be back this year, including Ladysmith Black Mambazo, the Wadaiko Drummers of Japan, vocalist Dianne Reeves, guitarist Kevin Eubanks and the Newport Jazz Festival. But the new series “Solo Voices” has everyone excited.

“We’ve partnered with ASU to bring some wonderful writers to the Center,” Hotchner explains. “We'll have the two-time PEN/Faulkner Award winner John Edgar Wideman, America’s Poet Laureate Billy Collins, novelists Alexis Pate and Melissa Pritchard and poet Alberto Rios.”

The very edgy Kronos Quartet will perform the Arizona premiere of “Sun Rings,” a piece commissioned by NASA to celebrate the successful mission of the Voyager. Besides strings, the work includes “space sounds,” such as hisses, chirps, grunts, birdlike noises made by the planet Jupiter and a roaring shock wave from the sun. Pictures taken from space will serve as backdrop.

“There’s a real Arizona connection there, because much of the equipment used in the Voyager mission was manufactured right here in Scottsdale,” Hotchner says.

Chandler Center for the Arts continues its dedication to family entertainment with Leahy, family musicians with a Celtic flavor; the country sounds of Glen Campbell; the Von Trapp Children, the great- grandchildren of the famous “Sound of Music” family; and the Tweaksters, a visually stunning mix of dance, music, juggling and acrobatics. All are offered at attractive subscription and single-ticket prices.

“We’ve always been family-oriented, but this year we’re even more so,” says Judi Johnson, spokesperson for Chandler Center. “We want to be able to offer something that families can do together at a reasonable price, so we've really worked to keep those ticket prices down.”

The same could be said over at Scottsdale's Kerr Cultural Center, which in addition to its full music lineup will also present Arizona favorites Dolan Ellis and Marshall Trimble, as well as acclaimed singer Theodore Bikel.

“We have dance, theater, music and more — we have something for everyone,” says Jane Samson, media coordinator for Kerr.