If you're a winter visitor looking for a centralized source of information on how to live the good life in the Valley, this expo will give you everything under the sun. This is mostly for the 55-plus crowd that calls Phoenix home for part of the year. There are all kinds of seminars and brochures on financial, medical and household matters, plus food booths, door prizes and live entertainment. Admission is free to this daylong event in mid-February. The town of Fountain Hills looks forward each February to welcoming thousands to this three-day outdoor fair featuring almost 500 professional artists and craftspeople displaying and selling their creations.
Admission is free.
From the intersection of Scottsdale Road and Shea Boulevard in north Scottsdale, head 12 miles east to Fountain Hills. You will have many ethnic and cultural festivals to choose from during a Phoenix winter, but this is probably the loveliest of them. For the last 15 years, Matsuri organizers have brought together the sights and sounds of Japanese classical dancing, Taiko drummers, natives dressed in beautiful kimonos and artists displaying unusual crafts. Martial arts play a big part in the festival, too, with demonstrations in judo, Shotokan karate, swordsmanship and tae kwon do. Exhibits include bonsai demonstrations, origami folding, kite construction, fabric art and cooking demonstrations.