Downtown Digest: performances, beer and drone racing

What’s up downtown Phoenix people! Sorry I’ve been M.I.A. for part of the summer, but never fear: T.J. Triolo is not dead. I’ve just been busy wrapping up my summer break and getting the school year started, so I have more things for you to do now! I’ll admit, the drone racing one looks really interesting. As a former radio-controlled car racer myself, somehow I have a feeling flying a drone is a little bit harder.

Poetry Reading with Erika L. Sánchez and sam sax
Wednesday Sept. 4
7–8 p.m.
Burton Barr Central Library
1221 N. Central Ave.

Come and see a poetry reading from some master poets themselves! Erika L. Sánchez and sam sax are award-winning poets performing a reading at Burton Barr. Oddly enough, this event is a collaboration between Arizona State University and the University of Arizona. This is probably one of the few times you’ll see Sun Devils collaborating with Bears for a common event. Granted, I’ll give U of A a pass on the mascot: Real bears are snuggly-looking, so I like them. That is, until they bite your face off. This event is free.

Director’s Choice, a Library Lecture
Thursday Sept. 5
6:30–7:30 p.m.
Burton Barr Central Library
1221 N. Central Ave.

Ballet Arizona is a prominent local ballet company that puts on dazzling shows, complete with dancers who can somehow impressively twist their bodies and not fall over while balancing on one leg, unlike me. This is a chance to learn about the dance company’s upcoming works and about how they create their dances, which is something I would guess most people who grew up without a sister who danced for 15 years would probably not know. So come on and expand your dance knowledge horizons! This event is free.

Actually: iTheatre Collaborative
Friday Sept. 6, Saturday Sept. 7 and Sunday Sept. 8
Starts at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. on Sunday
Herberger Theater Center
222 E. Monroe St.

Ah, an artsy play. I honestly really want to see these types of shows that have deeper meanings behind them, but I always forget to! This one involves race and gender politics with Princeton University as a setting. The description also references there being “three sides to every story.” Honestly this is so true; you get two biased perspectives, but there’s always the truth somewhere between the two. Wow, look at me having philosophical thoughts. Maybe thinking about deeper subjects actually works for me sometimes. Tickets cost $11–$27.50.

Urban Ale Trail
Saturday Sept. 7
1–5 p.m.
Multiple locations

At long last, your search is over. The adventure you’ve been working on completing for years is finally at an end because you’ve found…beer. The Urban Ale Trail is back in downtown Phoenix, and it features restaurants and bars offering cheap beer tastings and food. The first 300 people to go to CityScape will also receive a free commemorative koozie and bottle opener. This event is free, but prices vary per location.

Drone Racing League 2019 Chase Field Race
Sunday Sept. 8
Starts at 7:30 p.m.
Chase Field
401 E. Jefferson St.

So you probably know drones from all the news about regulating them and the photo and video footage you see they take at a nice, slow speed. Somewhere along the lines, someone decided to start racing drones, which is an amazing idea. I’ve raced R/C cars and even full-scale cars before, but racing a drone? I think mine would look like a pile of expensive confetti after it’s done. This would make an amazing spectacle to watch though! Tickets cost $15 per person.

Contact the reporter at tjtriolo@asu.edu.