Phoenix Forge Grand Opening, D-backs, and More Things to Do This Week

Your plans for this week have arrived. Over the next four nights, you can check out the new Phoenix Forge makerspace during its official grand opening, support the Arizona Diamondbacks as they attempt to do the impossible, or dance to dark wave and other moody genres at Rips.

More details about each event are below. And for even more things to do around the Valley this week, head over to Phoenix New Times’ online event calendar.

Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

Believe it or not, the Arizona Diamondbacks still have a slim chance at nabbing one of the wild-card slots in this year’s Major League Baseball playoffs. While it’s totally wishful thinking and a complete long shot, the D-backs haven’t been mathematically eliminated from the race for a postseason berth just yet. To do so, they’ll have to pull off a lot of upset wins against some tough National League teams over the next few weeks. First up is a three-game series with the Los Angeles Dodgers from Monday, September 12, to Wednesday, September 14, at Chase Field, 401 East Jefferson Street. The Blue Crew have all but locked up the NL West Division title and will be formidable foes, owing to the fact they’ve already beaten Arizona nine times this season. The Diamondbacks have occasionally shown flashes of brilliance this season, though, including going 16-12 in August and beating some tough teams (including taking two of three against the Philadelphia Phillies). Their games against the Dodgers this week start at 6:40 p.m. each night. Tickets start at $26.

Phoenix Forge Grand Opening

Makers, tinkerers, and DIY craftspeople of the Valley rejoice. Phoenix Forge, 535 West Van Buren Street, opened to the public earlier this year and has provided an enormous community makerspace where the public can work on various projects, from jewelry-making and textile crafting to metalworking and electronics prototyping. The 22,500-square-foot facility is equipped with an array of tools, sewing machines, 3D printers, laser cutters, design computers, and soldering stations, as well as metal and wood shops, a ceramics and glass studio, and more. Newbies and pros are welcome, and various classes and workshops are held weekly. Eager for a look inside? Phoenix Forge’s long-delayed grand opening will take place on Tuesday, September 13. Free tours of the space and demos of its equipment will be offered from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. Anyone interested in attending can RSVP here.

Cinematery: The Devil's Rejects

While the tepid reaction to Rob Zombie’s upcoming straight-to-streaming reboot of The Munsters might cause you to question his credentials as an auteur, the rocker-turned-filmmaker definitely has the chops to pull off a decent horror flick. Case in point: 2005’s The Devil's Rejects. Don’t let its 54 percent “freshness” rating on Rotten Tomatoes fool you, as the black comedy/horror film (which follows the murderous characters of Zombie’s House of 1000 Corpses as they attempt to evade the cops) is actually a decent watch. Heck, both author Stephen King and the late Roger Ebert reportedly enjoyed it, which has to count for something. The Devil's Rejects will be screened at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, September 13, at Majestic Neighborhood Cinema Grill, 1140 East Baseline Road in Tempe, as part of the ongoing “Cinematery” series. Tickets are $10.

Area 51 Dance Night

You won’t have any close encounters with aliens, government conspiracies, or top-secret UFOs at the latest edition of this long-running weekly dance night on Thursday, September 15, at Rips, 3045 North 16th Street. That being said, there’s a good chance you might cross paths with some men — or women — in black, as gothy fans of genres like dark wave, industrial music, witch house, synthpop, and EBM (as in “electronic body music”) fill the interior of the local rock dive. DJ AKA and special guests will spin up these sounds throughout the evening while bartenders serve up drink specials like $3 PBRs and well cocktails. The music starts at 9 p.m. and admission is free all evening long. Click here for more info.