Hello downtown Phoenix readers! It’s T.J. Triolo, your downtown events guide. I’m back with some more events this week, including some for the scariest holiday of the year. If you don’t know which one I’m talking about, then you live under a rock, because spoiler alert: It’s Halloween on Wednesday! Have fun this week, be safe, and eat chocolate.
Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary Live
Tuesday Oct. 30
10 a.m.–1 p.m.
Orpheum Theatre
203 W. Adams St.
If you’re not familiar with Shark Tank, it is a TV show where people pitch startups and products to business executives, and they decide which business ideas they want to invest money into. Kevin O’Leary is one of those judges, and he’s going to be coming to Phoenix to give free investing advice to an audience. Who doesn’t want to make more money from free investment advice? Be sure to register ahead of time online!
Jack-O-Lanterns
Tuesday Oct. 30 and Wednesday Oct. 31
10 a.m.–12:45 p.m. each day
Phoenix Children’s Museum
215 N. 7th St.
If you have kids and they’re not into the scary aspects of Halloween (I sure wasn’t when I was younger!), then this event would be perfect for them. They get to create happy jack-o-lanterns here out of craft materials, and they don’t have to do anything scary! If you want to put that on your porch too, that will save you the effort of buying a pumpkin and carving it up. This event is perfect if you’re like me and don’t like carving out the slimy, gross guts. So just use the ones made here instead; they’re far more permanent too! This event costs $7 per person.
PoeFest: The Raven
Wednesday Oct. 31
7:30–9:30 p.m.
Rosson House Museum
113 N. 6th St.
Victorian mansions are the perfect setting for horror events. The Rosson House is downtown Phoenix’s very own Victorian mansion, so what better event to have on Halloween night than a reading of Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The Raven”? Readings of the poem will be performed every 20 minutes inside the house, and admission includes a tour of the house’s lower level, complete with artifacts of mourning from the 1800s. Tickets cost $14 per person.
Día de los Muertos Festival
Friday Nov. 2
Starts at 3 p.m.
Arizona Latino Arts and Cultural Center
147 E. Adams St.
It’s the time of the year to celebrate Día de los Muertos, the Mexican Day of the Dead! If you don’t know about Día de los Muertos, it honors deceased ancestors in Mexican culture. The Arizona Latino Arts and Cultural Center is holding a festival to honor the holiday, complete with dancing, music, art, a fashion show and local vendors. I hope there will be sugar skulls for sale. This event is free to attend.
Contact the reporter at Thomas.Triolo@asu.edu.
Downtown Devil's community section editor. I also write the Downtown Digest, a weekly column with things to do, with experience writing news articles and creating news videos as well. Graduating from ASU in May 2020.
