A series of events at the end of September traditionally welcome the beginning of autumn in Tempe and Phoenix, AZ. This year, an annual ballet performance, a fun sporting event, and a returning butterfly exhibit highlight the season, drawing crowds of visitors and students alike.
The Tempe Tourism Office listed the following events in their website, as summer officially ends on the last weekend of September 2013:
Ballet Under the Stars – This free annual presentation under the gorgeous Arizona sky brings ushers in Ballet Arizona’s performance season. Viewers are in for a night of splendour culminating in a fireworks display best viewed with the Old Mill Avenue Bridge (spanning the Tempe Town Lake) in the foreground. The event takes place on Friday, September 27, at the Tempe Center for the Arts.
Cruiserman Triathalon – A traditional triathlon with a twist. Rather than Aero helmets and carbon bikes, triathletes don floaters, cruisers and flip-flops as they run on an obstacle course. A duathlon option (minus the swim) is also being arranged for this year’s event. The sporting event usually ends before sunset with pitchers of beer on the lakeside. The Cruiserman takes place on Saturday, September 28.
Mariposa Monarca Monarch Butterfly Exhibit – A returning exhibit featuring live Monarch Butterflies in a 2,400 square foot butterfly pavilion. The exhibit presents the Monarch Butterflies’ enthralling life cycle, including the mysteries of their winter migration. The exhibit runs from September 30-November 24, 2013.
While packaged tours are available, some find less expensive ways of enjoying their visit in Tempe by reserving rooms in hotels and apartments in advance and planning their weekend stay in the vicinity of their accommodation.
Some families of students staying just outside ASU’s campus—such as those housed in University Pointe’s Apartments which is located a mere 30 steps from the university’s Lemon Street gate—find the arrangement very convenient. The apartment’s spacious and comfortable rooms can even accommodate a number of visitors if only for a weekend, without disrupting the students’ normal activities.
Prior to the opening of classes, ASU encountered problems in their in-campus dormitories. ASU is one of the most populous campuses in the country, and their Tempe campus is their biggest population. But families of displaced students easily solved the problem of accommodation through the sprawling apartments in Tempe.
University Pointe Apartments in Tempe, for example, completed the construction of new units and refurbished old ones in time for ASU semester opening in August. New facilities such as a spacious courtyard and pool area were added by developers, creating space for group study sessions and relaxation. The apartment also offered Incentives for early reservations for a long-term lease for a studio-type, one-bedroom or two-bedroom unit.
To view University Pointe Apartments in Tempe, visit their website, www.apartmentsintempe.net, or arrange for a tour or reservation through their hotline (480) 966 9000.
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