Imagine a night out with friends, where you can serve yourself beer and liquor from taps at the table while top-notch country stars do some serious strumming on a 400-square-foot stage hanging from the ceiling above the bar.

If you haven't been by the patio at Monti's La Casa Vieja in Tempe for a while, it's changed.

PHOENIX — Obstacle course runners start on their feet, but eventually end up on their stomachs, sides, even backs at they clamber through mud, over shipping containers, across netting made of mangled ropes.

Beer fans can get a lift to this weekend’s big brew party.

Pop open a cold one at this annual beer festival celebrating American-made craft brews. More than 60 national and local breweries serve up their best drafts at the Scottsdale Civic Center, where festival-goers can enjoy live music, food, beer games and a beer garden. This is a 21-and-older event.

Picking up some fresh wines for summer is in the bag — or shopping cart, actually — as supermarkets get in touch with their inner sommeliers.

Even with a healthy appreciation for the arts and a career that puts me in close proximity to them — not to mention a cousin who’s an accomplished professional ballerina — I can’t say I clamor for a night at the ballet.

There are restaurants that slash prices on margaritas or invite a mariachi band for Cinco de Mayo - and then there are restaurants that go a little nuts.

Friday is National Pretzel Day, and a Valley restaurant known for its pretzels is celebrating in a big way: Brat Haus in Old Town Scottsdale will be super sizing their signature German-style soft pretzels all day April 26, and serving them with beer and cheese fundido or Nutella.

Local chefs featured on the Eight, Arizona PBS show “Check, Please! Arizona” gather at the inaugural Check, Please! Arizona Festival, where fans and foodies can sample some of the Valley’s best restaurant fare and audition for upcoming episodes of the show. Cuisine from at least 36 of the independent restaurants – from five-star dining establishments to tucked-away cafes – previously featured on the show will be offered.  Among event highlights are cooking demonstrations, panel discussions and the chance to audition in front of cameras.

With only a partial City Council on hand, Mesa Mayor Scott Smith ultimately pulled an agenda item on a proposed Marriott Springhill Suites Hotel — slated for the “Wrigleyville” area between the news Cubs’ baseball stadium and park at Riverview — from the council’s meeting during its study session Monday night.

Runners in the East Valley are a tight community. If any two enthusiasts don’t know each other, there’s a good chance they know someone who knows someone who they’ve crossed a finish line with.

After 16 years of producing craft brews, Four Peaks Brewery is celebrating with a beer festival. Food trucks, live music from indie bands Black Carl and Mergence, and more than 25 types of beer will be on hand for the party at the recently opened Wilson Street tasting room in Tempe.

All you cool cats out there — slip on your poodle skirts and saddle shoes or dust off you leather jacket and cuffed jeans before you jive to sounds from the ‘50s and other tunes.

While Thursday's opening day at Country Thunder was the shortest day concert-wise, there was no disappointment in the four acts that took the stage – especially not when it came to headliner Brantley Gilbert.

Weekends are made for moving a little slower, taking time to enjoy oneself and reconnect with whatever’s been put on the back burner during a hectic work week.

Most people know what it’s like to pull up a chair at a family reunion or holiday meal, but not many have tucked their toes under the table at a community harvest feast. Several local art and community organizations are hoping to change that with Saturday’s “Feast on the Street” in downtown Phoenix.

NEW YORK — At the beginning of each tourist season, the entrepreneurs who pitch the thrill rides, hot dogs, sideshows and souvenirs at gritty Coney Island gather along its famous boardwalk to pray for two things: good weather and large crowds.

If you’ve ever wondered if people will ever learn to stop texting while driving, the answer is, yes, they will, but sadly it’s going to take some time. And it won’t be a law specifically against it that will ensure cooperation, but rather something that’s sometimes more powerful: social acceptance.

“Those three seconds I took my eyes off the road changed my life forever.”

Mill Avenue has always been a hot spot for tourists, students, and locals alike. With the constant flow of people and changing demographics, it is typically no surprise when a new restaurant or bar opens.