Tempe Conventions & Visitors Bureau

With a wide variety of Irish pubs, live music and of course green beer, Tempe is the place to be this St. Patrick’s Day. Here is a list of the best spots in Tempe to celebrate!

For live music all day and performances by Celtic dancers and Irish Pipers, Rula Bula Irish Pub is the place to be. The party starts at 10 a.m.

For an authentic St. Patty’s Day experience, check out the street party at Robbie Fox’s Public House. The party will take place on Mill and 6th Street in front of the restaurant and begins at 6 a.m. In addition to corn beef sliders, fish and chips and lamb stew, guests can also enjoy Murphy’s famous green beer!

Celebrate St. Patty’s all weekend long at Thirsty Lion Pub & Grill. Enjoy live music, Irish dancers, bag pipers and a special Irish menu from March 16-18.

Tempe Marketplace is celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in a big way with the ShamRocked 2012 event, held in conjunction with D’Arcy McGee’s, San Felipe Cantina and Cadillac Ranch. Beginning at noon, you can have green beer (of course) and see a great line up of live music, including the headliner, Filter.

Before ShamRocked opens the doors, kick off St. Patrick’s Day bright and early at Darcy McGee’s. Doors open at 6 a.m. and don’t close until 1:45 a.m. Specials include a make your own Bloody Mary bar, bagpipes and live music.

Flogging Molly will make their return to Tempe this St. Patrick’s Day when they perform at Tempe Beach Park with special guests Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers. Gates open at noon. For ticket info please visit http://www.luckymanonline.com/

Find your pot of gold at Chompie’s annual St. Patrick’s Day feast! Enjoy all-you-can-eat corned beef, boiled potatoes, cabbage and Irish soda bread for $18.95 a person.

 Have a safe and happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone!

Tempe will be hopping this week with the start of another exciting Cactus League Spring Training season. There’s also plenty of post-game music, theater and comedy to enjoy in Tempe. The amazing Bill T. Jones-Arnie Dance Company will perform Body against Body at the ASU Galvin Playhouse. The performance revives and reconsiders the duets and solos that launched Jones and Zane on the international dance scene of the early 80s. Bill T. Jones won the Tony Awards for Best Choreography for Spring Awakening in 2009 and for Fella! in 2010. This is the last week to see WICKED at ASU Gammage and Childsplay’s Rock the Presidents at the Tempe Center for the Arts.  View a complete listing of Tempe events, or call 480-894-8158 for more information.

• March 6: Bill T. Jones-Arnie Zane Dance Company, ASU Galvin Playhouse
• March 6: Open Jam, Rula Bula Irish Pub
• March 7: Nathan Hubbard Songbook Trio, Dave’s Electric Brew Pub
• March 7:  Walk-in Wednesdays Open Mic, Tempe Center for the Arts
• March 8: Miss Push America Ambassadorial Competition, Tempe Center for the Arts
• March 8: Ten for Ten, Tempe Improv
• March 8: Music on Mill, Mill Avenue District
• March 8: Avant-Garden: Australia, Desert Botanical Garden
• March 8: Jeff Hunt Live; March 9: The Love Brokers; March 10: Capital Down, Rula Bula Irish Pub
• March 9: Music in the Garden: The DelRayz, Desert Botanical Garden
• March 9-10: Johnny Sanchez, Tempe Improv
• March 9: Los Guys; March 10: Talent Team Performing Arts; Shawn Johnson & The Foundation, Tempe Marketplace District Stage
• March 9: Sherry Finzer; March 10: Grains of Sand, Tempe Marketplace Barnes & Noble Fountain
• March 10 & 11: Childsplay Presents Rock the Presidents; March 11: Sonoran Chamber Music: Piano Trio, Tempe Center for the Arts 

Rula Bula, 401 S. Mill Avenue in Tempe, will open its doors to the Pat Tillman Foundation for the Fourth Annual Pints for Pat event beginning at 4 p.m., Friday, March 9. “Pints for Pat” is the official start of the 42-day countdown to the 8th Annual Pat’s Run, scheduled for Saturday, April 21, 2012 at Arizona State University.

In 2002, Pat Tillman proudly put his NFL career with the Arizona Cardinals on hold to serve his country. Following Pat’s death in 2004, while serving with the U.S. Army’s 75th Ranger Regiment in Afghanistan, his family and friends established the Pat Tillman Foundation. The mission of the Pat Tillman Foundation is to invest in military veterans and their spouses through educational scholarships; building a diverse community of leaders committed to service to others.

PINTS FOR PAT

WHEN: Friday, March 9 starting at 4 p.m.
WHERE: Rula Bula is located at 401 S. Mill Avenue in Tempe.
WHY: To raise funds for the Tillman Military Scholars program. To date, the Foundation has provided over $2.2 million in scholarships to 171 active servicemembers, veterans and dependents. To learn more about the Foundation, visit: www.pattillmanfoundation.org.

Visitors can stop by Rula Bula beginning March 9 to purchase a 2012 Pints for Pat souvenir glass. The limited edition collector’s glass will be sold exclusively at Rula Bula. Each Guinness pint glass is etched with the number 42 and a word that celebrates Pat’s legacy. This year, 1442 glasses, the 4th in the series, will feature the word COURAGE. Each glass costs $10 and 100% of the proceeds will support the Tillman Military Scholars program. Please note, glasses are only available at Rula Bula on a first-come, first-served basis. The event also includes a silent auction, featuring autographed sports memorabilia, restaurant and hotel certificates and Guinness collector items.

Pat's Run finishes on the 42-yard-line of Frank Kush Field in Sun Devil Stadium at Arizona State University in Tempe. Pat Tillman wore number 42 while a linebacker for ASU in the 1990s.

It’s the final week to see Stray Cat Theatre’s production of The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. Those of you who love the edgier side of theater won’t want to miss this hypothetical story of the court case and fate of Judas Escariot. The setting is a courtroom in Purgatory where lawyers take testimonies from a host of famous witnesses through the ages, including Mother Teresa, Caiaphas, Saint Monica, and Sigmund Freud. The devil also makes an apperance, played to satanic perfection by Damon Dering, better known as the Artistic Director of Nearly Naked Theatre. For more about the play, read this excellent review by theatre critic Kerry Lengel. 

View a complete listing of Tempe events, or call 480-894-8158 for more information.

• February 27: Tempe Symphonic Wind Ensemble: “Young Person’s Guide…”, Tempe Center for the Arts
• February 28-March 11: WICKED, ASU Gammage
• February 28: Tempe Symphonic Wind Ensemble: HS Band Festival; February 29: Walk-in Wednesdays Open Mic, Tempe Center for the Arts
• February 29: Sherry Roberson, Jazz Diva with Beth Lederman, Dave’s Electric Brew Pub
• March 1: Music on Mill, Mill Avenue District
• March 1: Arizona Wind Symphony: Continental Drift, Tempe Center for the Arts
• March 1: Avant-Garden: Costa Rica, Desert Botanical Garden
• March 1-March 3: Stray Cat Theatre Presents The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, Tempe Performing Arts Center
• March 1: Jeff Hunt Live; March 2: Shawn Johnson; March 3: Sea Merchants, Rula Bula Irish Pub
• March 1-4: ASU Lyric Opera Theatre Presents Ainadamar, Evelyn Smith Music Theatre
• March 2: Music in the Garden: The Swingtips, Desert Botanical Gardens
• March 2 & 3: Tom Arnold, Tempe Improv
• March 2: Hello Swindon; March 3: Adam Smith & Friends, Tempe Marketplace District Stage
• March 3: Gradymusic, Tempe Marketplace Barnes & Noble Fountain
• March 3: Kevin O’Dea’s Comedy Circus, Tempe Improv
• March 3 & 4: Childsplay Presents Rock the Presidents, Tempe Center for the Arts

Tempe showcases theatre this week with three big productions. WICKED continues at ASU Gammage, but don’t wait to purchase your tickets; a little birdy told me that WICKED  is  close to selling out. For an edgier theatrical experience, there’s Stray Cat Theatre’s production of The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, set in a time-bending, darkly comic world between heaven and hell. Childsplay takes a timely look at 223 years of the American presidency in Rock the Presidents. It’s a rollicking, multi-media-filled musical revue covering the American presidency from Washington to Obama, brought to life through all-new rock, pop and folk music.

Here’s a sample of Tempe’s packed arts, culture and entertainment calendar this week. From music to theatre to arts exhibitions and events, there’s plenty to do. 

• February 21-March 11: WICKED, ASU Gammage 
• February 22: Zazu Gypsy Jazz with Alan Ames Steve Douglas, Bass, Dave’s Electric Brew Pub
• February 22: Walk-in Wednesdays Open Mic, Tempe Center for the Arts
• February 23: Joleen Lunzer,  Tempe Improv
• February 23: Music on Mill, Mill Avenue District
• February 23: Avante-Garden: Idaho, Desert Botanical Garden
• February 23: Jeff Hunt Live, Rula Bula Irish Pub
• February 23: ASU Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts School of Music Presents Big Band Night at the MADCAP, MADCAP Theaters
• February 23-March 3: Stray Cat Theatre Presents The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, Tempe Performing Arts Center
• February 24 & 25: Dave Foley, Tempe Improv
• February 24-25: Tempe Art A Gogh-Gogh, Sail Inn Bar and Grill
• February 24: Mojo Farmers; February 25: Knee Deep Experience, Tempe Marketplace District Stage
• February 24: Jake Dean; February 25: Leah and Stephanie, Tempe Marketplace Barnes & Noble Fountain
• February 25: Miss and Mister Phoenix Gay Pride Pageant, Tempe Center for the Arts
• February 25: The Jeff Hunt Band, Rula Bula Irish Pub
• February 25-26: 11th Annual Self-Guided Ceramic Studio Tour, ASU Art Museum Ceramic Research Center
• February 25-March 2: Childsplay Presents Rock the Presidents, Tempe Center for the Arts
• February 26: Winter Music in the Garden: Bad Cactus Brass Band, Desert Botanical Garden

WICKED is back by popular demand at ASU Gammage, February 15-March 11. The musical takes place before Dorothy from Kansas arrives in Oz.  It’s told from the perspective of the witches of the Land of Oz: Elphaba, the misunderstood girl with emerald-green skin, and Glinda, the beautiful, ambitious and popular blonde. The story follows the friendship that evolves between the two as they grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good.

Since opening in 2003, WICKED has won 35 major awards, including a Grammy and three Tony® Awards. The New York Times named WICKED the defining musical of the decade and Entertainment Weekly called it “the best musical of the decade.”   I saw WICKED when it was at ASU Gammage in 2009 and it exceeded my expectations 100 fold. I loved everything about it from the lush production to the beautiful music to its moving, but never maudlin message. In 2009 it broke box office records at ASU Gammage and sold out in record time. So, don’t wait to get your tickets or you might miss out.

The arts and entertainment scene in Tempe is just plain wicked good in every way in the week ahead. Check out this line-up, get off your couch and enjoy some of what’s happening in Tempe this week.

• February 14: Valentine’s Day Comedy Crush, Tempe Improv
• February 15-March 11: WICKED, ASU Gammage
• February 15: Stan Sorenson & Guitar Legend Jack Peterson, Dave’s Electric Brew Pub
• February 15: Walk-in Wednesdays Open Mic, Tempe Center for the Arts
• February 16: Third Thursday on Mill Presents Geeks Night Out, Mill Avenue District 
• February 16: Improv at the Improv; February 17 & 18: Tom Green, Tempe Improv
• February 16: Avante-Garden: Bolivia, Desert Botanical Garden
• February 16-19: ASU Herberger Institute for Design & the Arts Presents Untold Stories/Unsung Heroes, Lyceum Theater
• February 17:  ASU Herberger Institute for Design & the Arts Presents Maximo Diego Pujol, Guitar, Katzin Concert Hall
• February 17: Lakeshore Jazz Series: Benny Green Trio, Tempe Center for the Arts
• February 17: The Sullivans; February 18: Take Cover, Rula Bula Irish Pub
• February 17: Jed’s A Millionaire; February 18: Hello Swindon, Tempe MarketplaceDistrict Stage
• February 17: Tony Putrino; February 18: Just Jade, Tempe Marketplace Barnes & Noble Fountain
• February 17- March 2: Childsplay Presents Rock the Presidents, Tempe Center for the Arts
• February 17 – March 3: Stray Cat Theatre Presents: The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, Tempe Center for the Performing Arts
• February 18: Bully Mammoth, Tempe Center for the Arts
• February 19: Winter Music in the Garden: Chris Burton Jácome, Desert Botanical Gardens

If laughter is the best medicine, then Tempe has a medicine chest full of cures this week at the Tempe Improv.  On Wednesday, the Class Clowns Comedy Showcase will highlight the best in local talent. This popular event is a mix of seasoned comics who are well on their way and newbies to the stand-up scene.  On Thursday, Shang will bring his political and explosive humor to the Improv’s stage. The week ends with Tommy Chong of Cheech and Chong fame teaming up with his wife Shelby to perform the type of humor that made them famous during their Cheech & Chong days.  View a complete listing of Tempe events, or call 480-894-8158 for more information. 

• February 8: Joel Robin Featuring Jerry Donato on Sax, Dave’s Electric Brew Pub
• February 8: Walk-in Wednesdays Open Mic, Tempe Center for the Arts
• February 8:  Class Clowns Comedy Showcase, Tempe Improv
• February 8: Jerrod Neimann, Cadillac Ranch
• February 9: Music on Mill, Mill Avenue District
• February 9: Shang, Tempe Improv
• February 9: Avante-Garden: Mexico, Desert Botanical Garden
• February 9: Music on Mill, Mill Avenue District
• February 10: The Dickensons,  February 11: Capital Down, Rula Bula Irish Pub
• February 10: Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts Presents: Brentanno String Quartet, Katzin Concert Hall
• February 10 & 11: Tommy Chong & Shelby, Tempe Improv
• February 10: The Persuaders; February 11: Katie Arminger Concert; Peppermint James, Tempe Marketplace District Stage
• February 10: Scott & John of Hello Swindon, February 11: Scott Jeffers, Tempe Marketplace Barnes & Noble Fountain
• February 10-12: Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts Presents Transition Projects, Margaret Gisolo Dance Studio
• February 11: Motown Magic with Dennis Rowland; February 12: Sonoran Chamber Music, Tempe Center for the Arts
• February 12: Winter Music in the Garden: Denis Rowland, Desert Botanical Garden
• February 12-March 2: Childsplay Presents Rock the Presidents, Tempe Center for the Arts

Super Bowl XLVI is this Sunday! Get your appetites and thirst buds ready for some great parties in Tempe! Still not sure where to get the best seat for watching the game? Here are a few great options to watch the game and get some good eats too!

Cadillac Ranch at Tempe Marketplace -  Watch the Super Bowl come alive at Cadillac Ranch with rich surround sound on one of their 25 HD Plasma TVs or on the 150 inch HD projector. Enjoy $1 Coors Light Drafts, $3 Mimosas and $4 Bloody Marys! 

Buffalo Wild Wings –  What could be better than watching the Super Bowl while eating a basket of hot wings and drinking a cold beer? With TVs located at every angle, there’s not a bad seat in the house for the big game!

Dave & Busters at Tempe Marketplace – Not only can you watch the big game at Dave & Busters, but you can also play several fun games before and after the big game! Score great deals on drinks and appetizers too!

Garcia’s Mexican Restaurant – Attached to Embassy Suites Tempe, Garcia’s offers a Southwest twist on watching the big game. Enjoy a big screen TV as well as free chips & salsa and bean dip! Garcia’s offers local beers on tap too!

Hooters on Mill Avenue – Located in the heart of the Mill Avenue District, Hooters is always a great spot to watch sports games and enjoy drink specials!

San Felipe’s Cantina at Tempe Marketplace – The fun starts at 11 a.m. on Sunday for the Super Party! $10 Bottomless Mimosas, $3 Bud Lights, $4 Skyy Bloody Marys and $4 draft beers. Live music starts at noon and plays until the big game and then post game with Carvin Jones.

Blondies Tempe -  Stop in to Blodies Tempe to watch your favorite team at Super Bowl XLVI in crystal clear HD quality on 1 of their 30+ Panasonic flat screens! While you are there be sure to try their famous wings and drink specials!

The Tavern on Mill – Located just off of Mill Avenue, The Tavern has something for everyone with almost as much seating space inside as outside. 30 television monitors and flat screens are available for your football viewing pleasure.

The Tavern on Mill

Chamber music aficionados are in for a huge treat this Friday when Menahem Pressler, founding member of and pianist for the renowned Beaux Arts Trio, performs with the ASU Chamber Orchestra at ASU Gammage. Since 1946, when his illustrious career began, Menahem Pressler has been performing with the world’s greatest orchestras. Equally regarded as a teacher, he has taught on the faculty of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music for almost 60 years.  At 86 he continues to captivate audiences performing solo and chamber music recitals to great critical acclaim while maintaining a dedicated and robust teaching career.

Jazz lovers will find much to love this week at Dave’s Electric Brew Pub, Tempe Marketplace, Tempe History Museum  and Desert Botanical Garden.  View a complete listing of Tempe events, or call 480-894-8158 for more information. 

• February 1: Beth Lederman Trio, Dave’s Electric Brew Pub
• February 1: Walk-in Wednesdays Open Mic, Tempe Center for the Arts
• February 1: Class Clowns Comedy Showcase, Tempe Improv
• February 1-5: ASU Lyric Opera Theatre Student Workshop Presents Cabaret, Evelyn Smith Music Theater
• February 2: Gene Pompa, Tempe Improv
• February 2: Avant-Garden: Micronesia, Desert Botanical Garden
• February 3: Shawn Johnson; February 4: Rhythm Edition, Rula Bula Irish Pub & Restaurant
• February 3: Radio Junket, Cadillac Ranch
• February 3: Menahem Pressler with the ASU Chamber Orchestra, ASU Gammage
• February 3: Charlie King and Karen Brandow: Songs of Hope, Songs for Change, Tempe History Museum
• February 3 & 4: Paul Rodriguez, Tempe Improv
• February 3: KC’s Blues Band; February 4: Tractor Pull Divas, Tempe Marketplace District Stage
• February 3: Michael V.; February 4: Pete Pancrazi, Tempe Marketplace Barnes & Noble Fountain
• February 4: Centennial Downtown Historic Walking Tour, Mill Avenue District
• February 4: Quetzal Guerrero, Tempe History Museum
• February 4 & 5: Childsplay Presents: With Two Wings, Tempe Center for the Arts
• February 5: Music on Mill, Mill Avenue District
• February 5: Winter Music in the Garden: Quetzal Guerrero, Desert Botanical Garden

This week Tempe is bursting with events from great music to major art exhibitions to opera, dance and the exciting Shen Yun Performing Arts. This opulent production transcends time and space and will take you through China’s 5,000-year-old culture with an exhilarating performance that entertains, educates, enriches and inspires. It’s a magical journey through ancient dynasties and ethnic regions of China, interspersed with legends of the culture’s creation and stories of courage in China today. The Shen Yun Dance Company was established in New York City in 2006. Its mission is to revive 5,000 years of divinely inspired Chinese tradition, which was all but annihilated after 60 years of Communist rule.

Tempe’s music scene rocks this week starting with the Marquee where, all in one week, you can see O.A.R., Parachute, Citizen Cope and They Might Be Giants. There’s also  great jazz, rock, blues, rockabilly, opera–heck you name it and you’ll likely find it somewhere in Tempe. 

View a complete listing of Tempe events or call 480-894-8158 for more information.

• January 24: O.A.R. with Parachute, Marquee Theater
• January 25: Stu Siefer Combo, Dave’s Electric Brew Pub
• January 25: Walk-in Wednesdays Open Mic, Tempe Center for the Arts
• January 26: Best of the West Comedy Show, Tempe Improv
• January 26: Music on Mill, Mill Avenue District
• January 27: Lakeshore Jazz Series: Gretchen Parlato, Tempe Center for the Arts
• January 27: Take Cover; January 28: The Jeff Hunt Band, Rula Bula Irish Pub
• January 27: Citizen Cope, Marquee Theater
• January 27: Think Horses Featuring Leon Santiago; January 28:
• Ted Brown’s Mailbox, Tempe Marketplace District Stage
• January 27: Scott & John of Hello Swindon; January 28: Hans Olson, Tempe Marketplace Barnes & Noble Fountain
• January 27-28: Jim Norton, Tempe Improv
• January 27-29: Shen Yun Performing Arts, ASU Gammage
• January 27-February 5: ASU Lyric Opera Theatre Student Workshop Presents Cabaret, Evelyn Smith Music Theater
• January 28: CONDER/dance: Breaking Ground 2012, Tempe Center for the Arts
• January 28-February 5: Childsplay Presents: With Two Wings, Tempe Center for the Arts
• January 29: Miss Gay Arizona, Tempe Center for the Arts
• January 29: Pat Roberts and the Heymakers, Desert Botanical Gardens
• January 29: They Might Be Giants, Marquee Theater
• January 29: Trevor Rogers and The Wilderness, Cadillac Ranch