The great thing about the Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum isn’t that it houses expansive galleries chock full of pieces of famous modern art. The great thing is that it doesn’t.

Popular downtown Gilbert Postino East WineCafe is set to welcome a new neighbor with some south of the border flair. Joyride Taco House is set to open June 3 on the north side of Postino’s Grainbelt building, and it will share some outdoor space with the wine bar.

The interior is revamped and the menu is fresh, but the jokes are still funny as ever. The Tempe Improv is reopening April 19 with a new look and a new owner, but a familiar headliner — comedian and impressionist Frank Caliendo.

The interior is revamped and the menu is fresh, but the jokes are still funny as ever. The Tempe Improv is reopening April 19 with a new look and a new owner, but a familiar headliner — comedian and impressionist Frank Caliendo.

Eddie Castillo said that the South American culture has the empanada, the British have the pasty, and he and his business partner Mike Caliendo are giving Arizona the hand pie.

Eddie Castillo said that the South American culture has the empanada, the British have the pasty, and he and his business partner Mike Caliendo are giving Arizona the hand pie.

Food Network’s “Cupcake Wars” hasn’t just motivated viewers to indulge in the sweet treat. The TV show has inspired Mesa culinary instructor Amee Hoge to host a similar cupcake challenge of her own but with a twist — it’s just for kids.

She may have grown up in Michigan, but Jana Kramer is country at heart. The former “One Tree Hill” actress entered into the music scene in 2012 with the release of her self-titled debut album. She has since been enjoying success in the genre — gearing up for a tour with Blake Shelton, planning her wedding with fellow country music star Brantley Gilbert, and heading to Arizona for a performance at Country Thunder, the annual music festival in Florence. In between it all, she chatted briefly with the Tribune about her career and what fans will experience this weekend at her show.

Ahmed Alsoudani says that America is a dreamland. Yet, his complex paintings of violence and warfare are very much influenced by his upbringing.

Using nothing more than the soot from a wood burning stove mixed with his own saliva, deaf artist James Castle used this homemade ink to communicate with the world.

Mary Rose is raising money for bird conservation efforts, and she’s headed out on the open waters to do so. Rose will be rowing thousands of miles across the Pacific Ocean next summer in the hope that she can be of help to the animal that she admires.

The walls are white, the chairs are plastic, and the smiles are few. As you head down a hallway, cell blocks to the left and a gated recreation area at right, hearing bursts of laughter and lively chatter coming from a small room in front of you is slightly jarring, especially seeing as the boisterous classroom is inside Estrella Women’s Jail in central Phoenix.

With a banjo, a guitar, an upright bass and a mandolin — and four talented musicians to play them — Yonder Mountain String Band’s songs make you feel more like you’re spending a day in the Alabama woods rather than the Arizona desert.

Dean Starbuck can spin pizza dough above his head for one minute and thirty seconds. He and his co-workers from local restaurant chain Barro’s Pizza are hoping to beat that record at this year’s International Pizza Expo and World Pizza Games in Las Vegas.

“Born to Illegal Immigrants, Henry Cejudo Wins Gold for U.S.”

Rolling out a sleeping bag, pitching a tent and cooking food over a campfire. If anything to do with camping makes you anxious, Arizona State Parks is here to help.

You know him as Luke Duke from “The Dukes of Hazzard,” but what you may not know about Tom Wopat, one of the two lead actors from the classic 1980s TV show, is that aside from his history of driving around the General Lee and foiling Boss Hogg’s latest scheme, he and his former co-star John Schneider are also accomplished musicians.

Thirty thousand black paper moths are perched on the walls and ceiling of the Phoenix Art Museum lobby. Some moths the size of a softball, others as small as a penny, greet visitors to the museum with their delicate wings and form a visual path that encircles guests and escorts them into the main exhibition.

In a small thrift shop on a quiet stretch of Arizona Avenue, a group of women sift through piles of clothes and household goods, looking for anything that might catch the eye of someone who has happened upon hard times or someone who is looking for a great deal.

The four members of the band Fat Tree, Sam Bischof, 27, and the Jacobs brothers — Eric, 31, Kyle, 28, and Samuel, 25 — are East Valley residents who have been performing together since high school.

In a room at the School of Ballet Arizona, this phrase is tacked onto a bulletin board and followed faithfully: “There are three ways to build a costume — good, fast and cheap. Of these three options, only two of the three are possible at a time.”

Deep-fried gator, barbecued turkey legs, monster baked potatoes, funnel cakes and cotton candy. These are just a sampling of menu items at Piggly’s at the Fair, a new restaurant in Mesa.

Ryan Dempsey was 7 years old when he first started to draw. Three years, and more than 100 canvases later, he continues to use his talent to paint pictures for himself, for his family and friends, and for a good cause.

Naming herself after the provincial flower of Alberta, Canada, Loca Rosa is a performer with international flair.