click to enlarge Roman Reigns, one of the current stars of WWE Friday Night SmackDown. WWE Are you counting the days until you can again attend a blockbuster con like Phoenix Fan Fusion? Yes, we aswell. The good news is that there are plenty of nerd-friendly activities and events happening around the valley in between to keep geeks like you occupied, especially in August. Over the next few weeks, you’ll have the opportunity to get involved in almost anything you can do at an average con, including cosplay, buying collectibles, autographing, and interacting with notable names. You can also use your extensive Harry Potter knowledge, catch professional wrestlers dueling in the ring, watch shooting stars fly through the sky or sing along with some of your favorite childhood characters. Grab your costumes and get ready for the freak, all of you. Here are all the details. Related Stories I Support Local Community Journalism Support the independent voice of Phoenix and help keep the future of the New Times clear. click to enlarge Slither on CB Live on August 5th for its Harry Potter Quiz Night. Warner Bros. Happy Birthday Harry Potter Movie Trivia When you’ve memorized every Harry Potter movie (including the spin-offs) and can memorize all seven Horcruxes and other factoids, invite some friends into your flying Ford Anglia and get started on the way to the Desert Ridge Marketplace on Thursday, August 5th. CB Live, 21001 North Tatum Boulevard, is hosting a Harry Potter Movie Quiz Night starting at 6:00 p.m. in honor of the character’s birthday. (And yes, before you get rid of Hermoine Granger on us, we know that the official date for the occasion was late July.) Groups of up to six people will answer five rounds of questions worthy of OWDs (or “common wizarding levels”) are) “to you Muggles) Examination with prizes awarded to the best teams. Participation is free, but you must register online in advance. Sunday, Bloody Sunday Signing Event Local artist and illustrator Jay Photos will be out on Sunday the 8th. Each artist will present new projects at the event: Rodriguez will sign copies of his picture title Stray Dogs (described as “Lady and the Tramp meets Silence of the Lambs”), while Dieterle will bring copies of his independent horror anthology series OMG! and Photos will debut his recently released title Gorgon. As bloody as their respective works can be, no one will sign their names in blood. The event times are from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Autograph prices range from free to $ 5, depending on the artist. More information can be found here. Click to enlarge A time-lapse photo of the Perseid meteor shower in 2015. Perseid meteor shower Heads for astronomy freaks: The annual Perseid meteor shower will light up the night sky over Arizona (and the entire northern hemisphere, by the way) during the first half of August. The annual sky event in summer, widely considered to be the biggest meteor shower of the year, will peak on the evening of Wednesday, August 11th until the early hours of Thursday, August 12th, but anyone waking late stays or gets up early can see a variety of meteorites. It is best to look at the northeastern sky between midnight and sunrise in the darkest possible area of the valley (read: outskirts). Phoenix Film Festival After the Phoenix Film Festival released a smaller version last year due to COVID-19, it will host its 2021 edition from Thursday, August 12th. More than 200 films will be shown at Harkins Theaters Scottsdale 101, 7000 East Mayo Boulevard, over 11 days and (as you would expect) a mix of independent films, Artier-Kost, documentaries and shorts. Various parties and discussions will also take place during the festival, including an opening ceremony on August 12th at 7.30pm with a screening of the Sian Heder drama CODA and a post-screening interview with actor Troy Kotsur. (Tickets are $ 25 per person.) The full festival schedule can be found here. Admission prices range from $ 15 per film to $ 175 to $ 200 for each film and $ 375 to $ 425 for a platinum pass. click to enlarge Marc Maron is coming to Phoenix in mid-August. Travis Shinn Marc Maron You better act fast if you want to see Marc Maron perform at Stand Up Live at 50 West Jefferson Street later this month. Tickets for the popular comedian, actor, podcaster and geek icon’s performance on Thursday, August 12th are already sold out and we bet they will be for his follow-up show on Friday, August 13th. And it wouldn’t be a surprise, given the popularity of Maron’s long-running WTF podcast and comic book talent, which we described in 2016 as “hilarious, brutally honest, insightful, and engagingly sincere”. Admission to the second show, which starts at 7pm, is $ 35 per person (plus a minimum of two drinks). Free Comic Book Day As the name suggests, Free Comic Book Day on Saturday, August 14th, local stores across the US will be giving away special editions of dozens of titles in celebration of the superhero and the sequential art form. Notable events will be held on-site at stores like Gotham City Comics and Collectibles, 46 West Main Street in Mesa, which will feature live music and a visit from pro wrestling legend Sabu from 11am to 6pm. Meanwhile, Samurai Comics at Mesa and Chandler are both hosting the Arizona Comic Mini Expo, with appearances from a number of local artists and writers. The opening times are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Participation in every event is free. click to enlarge John Cena will be at the house at the Footprint Center on Friday August 20th. Benjamin Leatherman WWE Friday Night SmackDown Pro Wrestling freaks from across the valley will flock to the Footprint Center at 201 East Jefferson Street on Friday, August 20, for the first WWE event in the Valley in 18 months when Friday Night SmackDown ends Arena is broadcast. It was going to be a big episode as it will take place the night before SummerSlam, better known as the WWE’s second largest pay-per-view of the year. Ongoing storylines will have their final developments before the big event, and superstars like Roman Reigns (aka the current Universal Champion), Rey Mysterio, Kofi Kingston and John Cena will all make appearances. The promotion starts at 4:45 p.m. and tickets range from $ 20 to $ 75. Arizona Toy Con 2021 Are you in the market for vintage toys or collectibles to add to your growing collection? The annual Arizona Toy Con takes place on Saturday, August 28th, at the Glendale Civic Center, 5750 West Glenn Drive. As in years past, dozens of vendors and collectors will have tables of old-school offerings for sale, from Star Wars and Hot Wheels to Barbie, as well as an array of video games, decorative items, and more modern toys for buy. Hours of operation are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and entry is $ 5 per person. Animaniacs in Concert Many children in the 1990s spent time outside the subway to watch Animaniacs and the antics of the Warner siblings Yakko, Wakko and Dot. The animated show was “zany to the max” (according to the title song) and was clever, slapstick-loving fun that often broke the fourth wall. It also featured a variety of memorable humorous songs sung by the siblings, including songs listing every US president (at least up to this point), all 50 states, and the nations of the world. The touring production Animaniacs in Concert – which airs on Saturday, August 28th at the Madison Center for the Arts, 5627 North 16th Street – features many of these tunes, sung by Yakko voice actor Rob Paulsen, as they perform of an orchestra. Tickets cost $ 39 to $ 49 for the 7pm performance.
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