Community

On Wednesday night from 4-9 p.m., the second annual International Jazz Day celebration at CityScape featured jazz from respected musicians Carlos Rivas and Azar Lawrence.

Moviegoers looking for something a little more exotic than the typical Hollywood blockbuster can participate in the Czech That Film festival at FilmBar. The festival aims to expose downtown Phoenicians to Czech arts and culture.

For the month of April, Obliq and Gallery Luxx have hosted a tribute to Debra Friedman, the former dean of ASU’s College of Public Programs and vice president of the Downtown campus.

Female entrepreneurs are settling in Phoenix to help grow the diverse economy of a relatively young city, and the friendly commercial climate of downtown is encouraging other women to join them.

Phoenix Art Museum director James Ballinger is stepping down after a lengthy career. Ballinger was considered a valuable cultural advocate to the national art community by his peers, amassing 10,000 pieces of art to the museum's collection and overseeing the expansion of the museum grounds.

After a hiatus in Los Angeles, Valley native Hector Paul Primero is in Phoenix share his artistic vision of a brighter future for the city.

Short Leash Hot Dogs put on a pinewood derby Saturday that pitted contestants against each other with their uniquely designed, hand-crafted cars. The event was created to spark interest in local businesses and encourage participation in other downtown events.

Haley Ritter, a 37-year-old who has epilepsy, was inspired early on to pursue her passions of American Sign Language and bicycle advocacy. Despite the hardships she endures living with epilepsy, Ritter has become a catalyst in several Phoenix bike programs.

Some struggle to find parking in downtown Phoenix, partly because of the times the Street Transportation Department puts bags over parking meters to block them off for events or construction.

The Rising Youth Theatre meets in a room at the Phoenix Center for the Arts, and the group writes and produces a show in four to six weeks. The upcoming show is "Light Rail Plays," to be performed June 6-8.