ArtWalking? Bring a cane

I dragged my roommates to Scottsdale with me hoping that the Scottsdale ArtWalk, which happens weekly on Thursday from 6 to 9 p.m., would make a decent alternative to the hipper First Fridays in Phoenix, which only happens once a month. Unfortunately, the ArtWalk is about as close to First Fridays as the Heard Museum is to the Paper Heart.

The Southwestern-themed galleries in Old Town Scottsdale stay open later on Thursdays, but most of them are so tacky it is almost nauseating. A few of the galleries were interesting, but honestly my roommates and I had a better time making fun of the people and art then seriously looking at any of it. There weren't many people out walking around considering it was hot and humid, but the people who were around were either older couples or groups of middle-age folk. We literally did not see another person younger than 30 the whole time we were taking the ArtWalk.

The highlight of the trip was the Scottsdale Civic Center mall, an open green area near the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts with the famously cliché LOVE sculpture, and several fountains and other sculptures. After working up a healthy appetite people watching on the ArtWalk, we stopped for dinner at Jewel of the Crown Indian cuisine, which was not only tasty and reasonably priced, but reassuring, as it was filled mostly with young couples. After dinner we headed for a walk down Scottsdale Road, where the people watching was definitely improved by the presence of many people not yet eligible for AARP. We stopped for dessert at the Gelato Spot, which was crowded with more of the typical Scottsdale crowd and made for a good end to the evening.

If you are ever planning a trip to Scottsdale, I would recommend skipping the art and heading straight for the food — which is definitely what I will be doing next time.

— Megan Hunt