GetOut Magazine

Fiesta for the eyes
By BETTY WEBB
Get Out
Jan. 2, 2003

Football and fine art seem an unlikely mix, but the reality is, the combination of the two makes for one of Arizonas most exciting yearly events the Fiesta Bowl Art Walk.

"The regular art walks started back in the 70s when the gallery owners used to have big art openings on Sunday afternoons, then decided that switching to Thursday nights might be even more fun," says Kathy Duley, co-owner of Scottsdales Duley-Jones Gallery, and one of the events organizers. "They were right. And pretty soon they discovered that the Thursday night (the week of the) Fiesta Bowl was a particularly exciting time."

During the annual Fiesta Bowl Art Walk, almost 100 Scottsdale art galleries all within easy walking distance of each other will stay open. Many of them will feature big-name artists painting, sculpting and crafting right in front of enraptured audiences.
But the Art Walk isnt just a gigantic art show. Its a fiesta, with entertainment galore.

This year, several bands will be playing along the streets and in the galleries, among them the Bob Ravenscroft Trio, Gradymusic, Brett Reeds Sonoran Marimba Band, the Ted Allen Trio, the Desert Breeze String Quartet and JTs Island Steel Band.

Food, of course, is a staple of any fiesta, and the Art Walk is no exception. Free food samples abound, from such diverse culinary establishments as Malees on Main Thai restaurant, Blue Agave Mexican Cantina, Cowboy Ciao, Wallish Wonders Cookies and Cathys Rum Cake.

"The Fiesta Bowl Art Walk has gotten to be pretty well-known around the country, so well have a lot of people from other states coming down here to join the festivities," Duley says. "But we still get plenty of locals and winter visitors, too. They like to join the party, and they love to enter the drawing for free prizes."

The prizes this year include a night for two at Mazatzal Casino in Payson; tickets to "Late Nite Catechism," "Keyboard Conversations with Jeffrey Siegel," "Aeros" and "Momix" at Scottsdale Center for the Arts; passes to Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art; and one month of free art classes at Arizona Art School.

Children wont be left out of the fun, either. This year, Arizona Art School will create the Childrens Art Zone, where youngsters can take part in arts and crafts.

"This is really a family-friendly event," Duley says. "Thats one of the reasons people keep coming back year after year."