At 6:30 tonight, Walter Productions lights the first round of Western Fire Garden over the Arizona Canal. The same choreographed flames return at 7:30 and 8:30 p.m., and they run on that schedule every night until Canal Convergence closes Sunday.
The 11 installations line the canal at the Scottsdale Waterfront between Scottsdale Road and Goldwater Boulevard. The Herberger Stage, the workshops and the dance performances change from night to night, and Thursday and Sunday close at 9 p.m., an hour before Friday and Saturday. Thursday, Nov. 12 through Sunday, Nov. 15 are the event's last four nights, and each one has its own program. Whether you see a runway show, a headlining band or a dance at one of the installations depends on which night you go.
The Art Along the Canal
This year is the event's 15th, and the Scottsdale Arts event page ties it to Scottsdale's 75th anniversary under the theme Western Nature. Admission to all 11 installations and to the nightly fire shows is free. Phoenix New Times describes most of the pieces as interactive. These are the pieces along the canal:
- Dream Rider by William Nemitoff with Curious Form is a 14-foot illuminated horse. Visitors climb inside its neck and come down a slide made from its mane.
- Prairie Fire by True North Absurdities is a nine-foot rearing stallion that shoots flame from its snout when you press a button.
- Desert Choir by Ottomata turns your voice, spoken into its microphones, into light trails across large saguaro blossoms above the water.
- Another Slice of Reality: An Evolving Nature by Shaoyu Su x LedPulse sits beneath the Marshall Way Bridge. It responds to movement, sound and local environmental data.
- The Way The West Was Sold by Jolly Productions is a blackjack game against snake-oil salesmen, played with small items like paper clips.
- PERIGEE by Chalk River Labs, Sky Wrangler by William Nemitoff with Curious Form, grandmother turtle by In Theory Art Studios with Laura Tohe and Nora Naranjo-Morse, KaKtos by Amigo & Amigo, and the weight of light by In Theory Art Studio complete the official roster with Western Fire Garden.
The food changes daily. The official lineup rotates trucks and stands including Kyoto, Simon's Hot Dogs, The Naughty Vegan, Mustache Pretzels and Cones & Shaved Ice, and Soleri Plaza has a beer and wine garden.
The art tour also runs every night, from 6 to 7 p.m. It is ticketed and listed at $9, so check the current price when you book. The SRP Canal History Tours on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, at 5 p.m., are listed as sold out.
What Changes Each Night
| Night | Hours | Herberger Stage | Dance on the canal | Ticketed workshop |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday, Nov. 12 | 6–9 p.m. | WEARABLE WILDS at 6:30; Working West Fashion Show at 7:45 | None listed | Polaroid Emulsion Lifts with Jacey Coca, 6:15, $20 |
| Friday, Nov. 13 | 6–10 p.m. | Faun Flora at 6; The Joeys at 7:30; QVLN at 8:45 | None listed | None listed |
| Saturday, Nov. 14 | 6–10 p.m. | BBGail at 6; Myr at 7:15; Nodaway at 8:45 | NicoleOlson|MovementChaos at PERIGEE, 8:15 | None listed |
| Sunday, Nov. 15 | 6–9 p.m. | Joey Gutos at 6; Brea Burns at 7:30 | Scottsdale Community College Dance at Sky Wrangler, 7, and the weight of light, 8 | Carried By Water: Wear Your Story. Make Your Mark, 6:15, $35 |
The four nights cover different ground: fashion on Thursday, bands on Friday and Saturday, and dance with a jam circle on Sunday.
Thursday Is a Fashion Night
Tonight's stage is all fashion. WEARABLE WILDS: Fashion, Technology & Ecologies of the West starts at 6:30 p.m. with looks by students in the Wearable Technology course at ASU FIDM. The Working West Fashion Show follows at 7:45, led by Phoenix-based Indigenous designer Jeremy Arviso. Both are free.
Arviso also curates the Working West Dress-Up Space. You can try on and customize reclaimed denim, handwoven textiles and custom hats there, so on Thursday the clothes on the runway connect to a hands-on station a few steps away. Working West is free, open to all ages and needs no registration. In the Nationwide Innovation Zone, Graffiti Lettering with Rezmo runs from 6 to 9 p.m. as a free hands-on workshop. Polaroid Emulsion Lifts with Jacey Coca starts at 6:15 and is the night's paid option at $20, with pre-registration required.
Thursday closes at 9 p.m. The 7:45 fashion show and the 8:30 fire show come close together, so you can see both on a weeknight without staying out late.
Friday and Saturday Use the Extra Hour for Music
Friday and Saturday are the only remaining nights that run until 10 p.m. The fire shows stay on the same timetable, so the 8:30 performance is still the last one. The extra hour goes to the Herberger Stage, where each night's headliner starts at 8:45.
On Friday, Latin pop violinist QVLN closes the night after earlier sets from Faun Flora, a synth dream pop act, at 6 and The Joeys, a retro garage rock band, at 7:30. On Saturday, indie rock band Nodaway takes the 8:45 slot after BBGail, a synth pop act, at 6 and Myr, a folk rock act, at 7:15. Saturday also has the week's first canal-side dance performance. At 8:15, NicoleOlson|MovementChaos performs Playgrounds and Open Spaces at PERIGEE, between the 7:30 and 8:30 fire shows.
The weekend workshops are mostly drop-in and free. On Friday, Mapping Heat, Dreaming Futures with RUMBO, Desert Ways of Knowing with S'edav Va'aki Museum, and Ojo de Dios: A Collective Vision with Monarca Center for Healing and Justice run from 6 to 10 p.m. On Saturday, Cahokia Phx adds two free activities, Color and Design: Desert Seeds by Lady Rise and Roots We Water. Torn Together: A Color Collage Experience with The Walter Hive is on the schedule both nights.
If you want the fire, the art and a full band set in one evening, Friday and Saturday are the only nights left that offer all three.
Sunday Brings the Dancers to the Installations
Closing night returns to the 6-to-9 schedule, and Scottsdale Arts calls it the "Final Night." Most nights the performances stay on the Herberger Stage. On Sunday, Scottsdale Community College Dance performs at the installations themselves, with Connected at Sky Wrangler at 7 p.m. and Static Collapse at the weight of light at 8. Each piece runs between fire shows, so you can watch both dances and all three fire shows by moving along the canal.
The stage music on Sunday is lighter than the weekend lineup. Joey Gutos, an indie pop rock act, plays at 6, and Brea Burns brings honky tonk at 7:30. Make Your Own Shaker // Jam Circle with Maxica Colectivo runs from 6 to 9 p.m. for free, and Create and Connect with Art Heals Arizona and Roots We Water with Cahokia Phx are also on the schedule. The one ticketed workshop is Carried By Water: Wear Your Story. Make Your Mark at 6:15. It is $35, the highest price of the four nights, and requires pre-registration.
Before 6 p.m. in Old Town
The installations come on at 6 p.m., and Old Town businesses are timing their deals to the hours before that. Old Town Scottsdale's Canal Convergence page lists offers for the length of the event. In rough order of a late afternoon:
- Western Spirit: Scottsdale's Museum of the West offers buy-one-get-one-free admission with the code BOGO online or by mentioning Canal Convergence at the museum.
- Chin Up Donuts has buy one, get one half off on specialty lattes and seasonal drinks.
- Bella Fine Art takes 10 to 40 percent off original art when you mention Canal Convergence, plus a free raffle ticket for a daily art giveaway. Gorgeous Things offers 15 percent off and a limited-edition Canal Convergence patch with a purchase of $50 or more, excluding custom jackets.
- Cobre Kitchen + Cocktails at Canopy by Hilton Old Town Scottsdale serves a $10 margarita, an $8 mule and a $7 draft beer from 4 to 6 p.m. when you mention Canal Convergence. The window ends just as the installations turn on.
- Malee's on Main pours a custom cocktail called The Canal Splash and takes 10 percent off food. ZuZu offers 20 percent off food and drinks when you mention Canal Convergence, and Prep & Pastry offers 20 percent off.
Parking near the canal is free in the public garages and lots, according to Phoenix New Times. The closest is the Scottsdale Waterfront underground garage at 7135 E. Camelback Road. The Craftsman North Lot at 4252 N. Craftsman Court and the Fifth Avenue Garage at 7143 E. Fifth Ave. are also nearby, and the Arizona Republic also lists the Galleria Garage. If you park at Fifth Avenue for an early dinner, the walk to the Marshall Way Bridge passes through the same blocks as most of the businesses on this list.
If you're thinking about what your own Old Town or North Scottsdale home is worth this fall, Jaime Fernandez is glad to talk it through over coffee, or before a fire show. Request your free home valuation.
