Midtown
Let’s Deck the Halls and Central Avenue
Posted on 10/11/12 by DPJ Staff » No Comments
Get that bell on a pole!
Community members representing Downtown Phoenix and beyond (including DPJ) have been working on a plan to make Central Avenue sparkle and shine during the upcoming holiday season.
It’s a big idea worthy of this great city – and it’s going to take a community-wide effort to make it happen.
Think of it: up to 10 miles of our city’s grand boulevard festooned with decorations!
A Holiday Decoration Fund has been established, with donations needed by October 25 to get the decorations up by Thanksgiving.
There are hundreds of light poles that can be decorated, so the more donations the more festive Central Avenue will be!
Read the following invitation to participate and let’s all come together and contribute to the spirit of Phoenix and the holiday season.
Dear Phoenix Community:
Please help us bring the spirit of the Holiday Season back to Central Avenue from Camelback to Dobbins!
Last year was the first year since light rail construction began that our Central Avenue street lights had holiday decorations. By the end of the Holiday Season (Thanksgiving – MLK Holiday) the decorations had deteriorated and are no longer usable.
A number of property owners and managers of buildings along the Central corridor are eager to help bring decorations back to the street.
We hope you will be too!
The cost to purchase or refurbish – and install, store, maintain, and remove the decorations, as well as purchase new hardware to support them – is excessive.
The most affordable option for the short and long term is to lease new decorations. Many communities across the country are tending toward this direction.
We have worked with all the vendors involved and have arrived at a reduced rate of $210 per street light. This includes everything: the decoration and banner (examples pictured right), installation, removal, the purchase of new hardware required to support it all and tax.
The City of Phoenix and Valley Metro Rail are assisting us and support this effort. Also, some property owners want to help decorate streets and areas along and adjacent to the light rail.
We do not have much time. Please join us!
The Phoenix Community Alliance (PCA) has agreed to be the facilitator for the Phoenix Holiday Decoration fund.
Payments must be processed by October 25.
- Let’s “banner” together PHX.
Download the contribution form from PhoenixCommunityAlliance.com.
Then use your credit card to donate online.
Or make checks payable and mail to:
Phoenix Community Alliance
234 North Central Avenue
Suite M-1100, Floor 1A
Phoenix AZ 85004
(ANY level of contribution is appreciated! PCA is a 501 (c)3 organization and your contributions are tax deductible.)
Please do not hesitate to contact PCA at 602-254-7477 ext. 22 with any questions you may have.
Thank you! And here’s to a Happy Holiday season!
JOSEPH BENESH, Director, Phoenix Center for the Arts
KENNY BARRETT & CINDY DACH, Roosevelt Row
DAN CARROLL, Chairman, Midtown Museum District
CATRINA KAHLER, Publisher, Downtown Phoenix Journal
DON KEUTH, President, Phoenix Community Alliance
EVA OLIVAS, President, Phoenix Revitalization Corporation
DAVE RODERIQUE, President & CEO, Downtown Phoenix Partnership
VICTOR VIDALES, Business Owner, REMAX, South Mountain Real Estate
GEORGE YOUNG, South Mountain Village Resident
Degrees of Fashion from Phoenix College
Posted on 9/26/12 by Cortney Kaminski » No Comments
As Downtown Phoenix expands so do the various culture scenes within it. One that has experienced growth is the fashion industry. Within just the past few years, locals have taken it upon themselves to enrich the world around them with a focus on fashion.
The growth is in large part thanks to the educational programs that help develop the creative industry. Although Phoenix isn’t home to famed design schools such as FIDM or Parsons, it is the home for Phoenix College, which houses an exceptional fashion program for those looking to take a dip into the pool of fashion design.
The students who go through the program can thank Sylvia Phillips, instructor and chair of applied technology and family & consumer sciences. Phillips came to the college when it only offered a few fashion courses, and saw that students were interested in learning more, which drove her to enhance the fashion design program.
Sylvia Phillips shows a recent donation from the Phoenix Art Museum.
“It [the program] has changed a lot. We have added a lot of courses and our enrollment has grown a great deal,” Phillips said.
For a student to receive a degree they must successfully complete the two-year program of rigorous classes as well as complete an internship or a portfolio class. Phillips said, “When they complete the program they should be able to design and work in a costuming business as a costumer.”
Those who do not directly begin their fashion career often choose to further their education, with many Phoenix College graduates attending Parsons or the Fashion Institute of Technology after they complete the program. Phillips said she often hears from past students and loves to hear how they have furthered their careers.
“Our students are very diverse, very talented. They have a passion for fashion,” Phillips said of the roughly 300 students she sees each semester.
Students draw inspiration from fashion boards.
Although Phoenix College is not the only school to offer fashion design programs, they do believe they have something special to offer their students.
The program educates students in fashion design, pattern design, fashion illustration, apparel construction and costuming. Students learn various techniques first-hand, as well as they have the opportunity to work with some of the latest technology in computer-assisted pattern making and fashion design to further enhance their experiences at the college.
The students are also surrounded by fashion in their classrooms. Phoenix College has a fashion closet that has grown over the years thanks to donations from various donors, including the Phoenix Art Museum, that have helped to grow the collection to over a hundred items.
Here’s hoping the fashion closet grows, much like the program itself.
Sculpt Your Body at SuTRA Midtown
Posted on 9/19/12 by Kate Kunkel » No Comments
Reshape your body, reshape your life.
Skullpt classes at SuTRA Midtown offer an opportunity to tighten and tone through a high-energy workout designed to deliver fast results.
Owner Rebecca Fritz helped create the program and said the class mixes Pilates, athletic conditioning and ballet. Because it’s an intense full-body workout, Fritz said people are often surprised by the difficulty of these classes.
“When we’re teaching the class, we offer different modifications if it’s too hard or not hard enough,” she said. “But we didn’t want to dumb it down. We want people to see how strong they can get and how fast they can see results.”
Fritz added that using props like weighted balls, resistance bands and magic circles makes her class unique and adds to the challenge of this workout. However, formulating the Skullpt class took several rounds of trial and error.
Owners Matthew and Rebecca Fritz. Photo courtesy of SuTRA Midtown.
“Really, it was an evolution,” Fritz said. “We started with just a ballet barre class, but I wanted something harder so people would be able to see faster results. Then we had the idea of adding in the props and putting in some new, different class styles. That worked.”
Skullpt classes are one hour and consist of a warm-up, a barre workout, ballet conditioning, resistance bands exercises, a core and upper body mat workout, and then stretching to cool down.
The instructors like to mix up each class just a bit so each workout is a little different, Fritz said. However, she added that the overall goal stays the same.
“We want to sculpt the body,” she said. “People are losing pounds, losing inches, cinching waistlines. It’s just great.”
SuTRA Midtown also offers special deals through September in celebration of National Yoga Month, including a free week of classes for new students. Yogies are also encouraged to try out Rooftop Yoga and Sutra in the Park for some unique twists on the typical yoga class.
Visit the SuTRA Midtown website for a full schedule of classes.
Celebrate Five Years of Bunky
Posted on 9/06/12 by Cortney Kaminski » No Comments
Retail shopping in downtown Phoenix has no doubt improved in these past few years. One fashionable hot-spot helped start this trend and is now celebrating its fifth anniversary this Friday – and you’re invited!
Bunky Boutique, owned by Rachel Malloy, is a contemporary boutique on 1st St. and is filled with customized T-shirts and tanks, luscious body products and enough jewelry to last you a lifetime.
The boutique has recently has launched branded specialty items, including shirts and necklaces. But Rachel isn’t done with unique products yet. Friday night she is debuting a brand new Bunky lip gloss that is made especially for herself and her shoppers.
Shopping in this modern yet timeless boutique is special not only because of the products they offer, but also because of the personable staff available to help you.
Make sure to stop by during First Friday to check out the latest products, cake and champagne will be served while you shop. And don’t forget, everything in the store will be 20% off!
Call for Artists | Phoenix Public Library
Posted on 9/05/12 by DPJ Staff » No Comments
Photo courtesy of Phoenix Public Library
Burton Barr Central Library is seeking submissions from artists for exhibition in 2013 in its @Central Gallery, located on the first floor at 1221 N. Central Ave. Proposals will be accepted from artists residing in Arizona, 18 years or older, and not currently represented by a gallery.
Artists may submit up to 10 images on CD following the prospectus instructions. Works previously exhibited in @Central Gallery and artists who have had a solo exhibition at the library in the past two years are not eligible for consideration.
The submission fee is $15. Submissions must be postmarked or hand-delivered by Wednesday, Oct. 10.
For a prospectus and submission form, visit phoenixpubliclibrary.org or send an e-mail to centralgallery.lib@phoenix.gov.
Phoenix Public Library is a system of 16 branch libraries and the Burton Barr Central Library. For more information, call 602-262-4636 or visit phoenixpubliclibrary.org. Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/phxlibrary.
