Good morning, Chandler. The National Weather Service has an extreme heat warning up across the Valley through 8 p.m. Sunday.
- 🎸 Cheap Trick and an Eagles tribute at Wild Horse Pass. Two shows, Saturday and Sunday, both after sunset.
- 🏁 Midnight Madness returns to Firebird. Drag strip, truck show, and vendors Saturday night.
- 🥕 Two farmers markets Saturday. Dr. A.J. Chandler Park downtown, plus the Gilbert market at Chandler-Gilbert Community College.
- 🎤 Free summer concert downtown Friday. Stilicho the Band, 7 p.m., 125 E. Commonwealth Ave.
- 🏫 CUSD's superintendent sets a listening tour. Part of Dr. Anna Battle's 100-day plan.
- 🌵 Around the Valley. Martin Lawrence in Chandler tonight, a Tom Petty tribute in Tempe.
Two nights of rock at Wild Horse Pass
The casino's showroom carries the weekend's biggest music bill, and both shows start after the sun goes down.
Key facts:
- Saturday, Aug. 22, 8 p.m. One of These Nights, a tribute to the Eagles. Tickets.
- Sunday, Aug. 23, 7 p.m. Cheap Trick, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band, in a room that seats a fraction of what they usually play. Tickets.
- Where: Gila River Resorts & Casinos, Wild Horse Pass, 5040 Wild Horse Pass Blvd.
- Hotel-and-ticket packages are listed separately for Saturday and Sunday.
The heat warning runs until 8 p.m. Sunday, which rules out most of the outdoor calendar until dark. Both of these are indoor and both start late enough that the walk from the parking lot is survivable. The Sunday bill is the rarer one.
Worth watching: single-night runs at this venue tend to sell down late in the week.
The weekend
Thursday
- 📚 Silent book club, after hours. The Downtown Library opens its first floor tonight for the Silent Book Club of Southeast Valley. Bring a book, an e-reader, or headphones. Details.
Saturday
- 🥕 Downtown Chandler Farmers Market. Produce, artisan goods, and live music at Dr. A.J. Chandler Park, the original 1912 town square. Details.
- 🌽 Gilbert Farmers Market, Chandler edition. The market's summer expansion runs at Chandler-Gilbert Community College through Sept. 26. Details.
- 🏁 Midnight Madness at Firebird Motorsports Park. Run What Ya Brung on the drag strip, plus a truck show and vendors. The whole point is that it happens at night. Details.
- 🎸 Unplugged at SanTan Gardens. American Idiots plays the barrel room in a stripped-down set, with food trucks outside. Details.
Around Chandler
🏠 Homes in Chandler are taking about 49 days to sell right now.
🧾 Benefits help every Thursday morning. An AZCEND coordinator sits in Room 138 at the Downtown Library to help people apply for SNAP, AHCCCS, and cash assistance. No appointment. Details.
🤝 City outreach navigator at Sunset Library. Thursdays from 10 a.m. to noon in Huddle Space E, a City of Chandler navigator connects people experiencing homelessness, or anyone needing valley resources, to services. Details.
🏭 Tech & Downtown Chandler
What's on downtown and at the city's venues.
Free summer concert: Stilicho the Band. Friday at 7 p.m., 125 E. Commonwealth Ave. No ticket, no cover. Details.
All Ages Talent Show auditions. The city opens auditions Aug. 26 at 125 E. Commonwealth Ave. Open to every age, which is the unusual part. Details.
Art Tots: Portraits. Aug. 26 at 10:30 a.m., 300 S. Chandler Village Drive. A short, messy studio session for the preschool set. Details.
From the schools
The superintendent is going on a listening tour. Chandler Unified superintendent Dr. Anna Battle has scheduled a listening tour as part of her 100-day plan, with findings headed to the CUSD governing board. Six high schools and 40,000-plus students means the feedback that shows up early tends to shape what the board sees later. Details.
Teen study hall at Sunset Library. Teens get the Learning Lab after school today, with a snack and a quiet place to work. Details.
Creation Station at Basha Library. Friendship bracelets in the Program Room this afternoon, first and third Thursdays, drop in. Details.
Around the Valley
A few picks worth leaving Chandler for, closest first.
Martin Lawrence at Gila River Resorts & Casinos, Wild Horse Pass, tonight at 8 p.m. Tickets.
The Broken Hearts, a Tom Petty tribute, at Marquee Theatre in Tempe tonight at 7:30 p.m. A good room for this catalog. Tickets.
Atmosphere & Friends at The Van Buren in Phoenix tonight. Three decades of Minneapolis hip-hop in a standing-room house. Tickets.
Hermanos Espinoza, LINAJE Tour at Arizona Financial Theatre in Phoenix tonight. Make a night of it downtown. Tickets.