Valley museums, including Arizona Military Museum, Arizona Museum for Youth and Pueblo Grande Museum, celebrate the role of museums in communities by offering free admission for a day. Museum times and locations vary.

A theatrical look at the life of an amazing young woman whose courage paved the way for all future Americans. Christian Youth Theatre of Phoenix stages this elaborate production with a 60 member cast.

Last year, each at the age of 11, Mesa youths Jagger Eaton and Trey Wood dropped in on the X Games stage as the event’s youngest competitors ever. This year, they’re joined by 12-year-old Alana Smith when they compete next week at X Games Barcelona.

E-Books and Amazon.com may spell the demise of the publishing industry, but Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, named “Best Bookstore” yet again by “2013 Best of East Valley Voters, continues to thrive.

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.

A good cup of coffee starts with a good roast.

With an estimated 24,000 blood donations by the end of the school year, teens have retained their status as United Blood Services largest statewide donor group for the ninth consecutive year. The D-backs honored the accomplishments of students in the 2012-13 High School Blood Drive Challenge by donating 1,000 tickets to 83 award-winning schools for their May 1 game against the San Francisco Giants. Championship banners were presented on-field during pregame ceremonies to the nine schools earning the highest honors. The team invited the top two high schools, Gilbert's Highland (most total donors) and Williams (highest percentage participation) to share a party suite at the game.

Behind the mask of Chandler High School’s mascot, Scruffy, Andrew Sanchez found his “voice.”

Douglas W. Coleman, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), announced Thursday that Arizonans turned in 60 percent more pills than last year's Take-Back event, demonstrating the public’s continued appreciation and need for the opportunity to discard unwanted, unused and expired prescription drugs from medicine cabinets, bedside tables and kitchen drawers.

An eclectic group of four Valley women, the Heady Hoop Tribe aims to inspire others in the Phoenix area through the creative power of modern hoop dance.

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.

Gilbert's Highland High School will graduate 715 students in its Class of 2013. The students have earned $10 million in scholarships.

Valedictorians:

The valedictorians for Tempe's Corona del Sol are:

Mesquite High School will graduate 446 students this year. Students have been awarded just over $6 million in scholarships.

Months of collaboration and research into the history and community of Mesa will culminate Wednesday and Thursday when Mesa on Stage presents “If Not Me, Who?”

When one thinks of the Holocaust film genre, dramas such as “Schindler’s List” and “The Pianist” instantly come to mind for their harrowing portrayals of victims and survivors who suffered at the hands of Nazis. But what about the German survivors – more specifically, the children of Nazi war criminals forced to come to terms with the atrocities of their parents? This is a question posed by the exceptional new German-language film, “Lore,” Cate Shortland’s follow-up to her acclaimed 2004 feature “Somersault.”

Baseball will have a grind of a playoff schedule upcoming for those not among the top eight seeds, but softball — especially Division I — appears to be deeper than ever. Or, at least, deeper than the past five years.

NEW YORK — You might as well roll out the red carpet in front of the school gymnasium or hotel ballroom and line it with parental paparazzi: Prom season provides many girls a chance to have their moment in the spotlight.

Outlooks for the Divisions I and II softball state tournaments: