The City of Yuppies

Phoenix is the perfect city for the young and active, offering unlimited outdoor recreation in near perfect weather. (BACKGROUND) A dazzling desert sunset rewards hikers in the Phoenix Mountains Preserve, a favorite after-work retreat for many desk-bound professionals. Mike Fioritto photo Dear Lisa, Well, your little sister's last semester of college is coming to a close, but I'm no longer worried about how I'll fare in the "real world." I've discovered there is a large group of people making their way upward and having a great time doing so. They are known as Yuppies, Young Urban Professionals.

I think I'll fit the basic Yuppie profile: I'm young (age range is generally twentyfive to forty-five years), I could be urban (just the thought of renovating an old home into a work of art deco makes me tear my croissant in two in elation), and I'm going to be a professional. (Journalist fits in this category; after all, not everyone is an attorney or has a master's in business administration.) Although a myth exists that Phoenix has more older people than young, the reverse is actually true. I met a market researcher, Earl de Berge, the other day who said fifty-three percent of the people in Phoenix are between the ages of thirty-five and fifty-four and thirty-six percent are under thirty-five. Earl thinks Yuppies probably make up thirty-nine percent of metropolitan Phoenix's population.

Two Yups who were probably counted in the thirty-nine percent are my friend Marilyn and her boyfriend Dave. Last weekend we enjoyed an evening in Yuppiedom. We played racquetball at The Pointe Resort (they live at the Pointe Tapatio, a Pointe subdivision) and, after I graciously let them beat me, we had dinner at Aunt Chilada's, a trendy Mexican restaurant near there.

During the course of the evening, I learned a lot about how to begin postgraduate life as a true Yuppie.

First lesson: leisure time. Dave and Marilyn travel a lot on the weekends. They fly to Los Angeles, Lake Tahoe, or Denver probably once a month, Dave said. Earl told me Yuppies take trips more often than the general population. But Dave doesn't think they take very many trips. Two or three a month would be a lot of traveling, he said. (That's also lesson two: the Yuppie perspective.) When they're not skiing at Tahoe or Vail, they're active here. Leisure time is very important to the average Yup. Marilyn said they like to hike up Squaw Peak, ski at Sunrise, and ride off-road bicycles for adventure. Dave said he likes to lie in the sun on the weekends, too. When you consider Yuppies worship Jane Fonda and the Nautilus system, it's not unusual for them to want to tan their ultra-fit bodies.

They also spend their time doing artsy-craftsy things, as Dave put it. They go to artisan fairs and follow the exhibits at the museums. They go to the movies a lot, too. Marilyn wondered whether or not that was a Yuppie characteristic. We decided old Hitchcock movies are de rigueur and remembered any movie by Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg, or George Lucas qualifies as a cornerstone of Yuppie culture (according to the high priestesses of Yup, Marissa Piesman and Marilee Hartley, who documented the phenomenon nationwide earlier this year in their Yuppie Handbook).

Another cornerstone of Yuppie culture is owning the right car. A BMW is the essence of Yup-lean, sleek, and modern. Volkswagen Rabbits and Saabs (Dave drives a smoky-gray one) are also solid Yup choices. When you go to just the right bar for a Yuppie happy hour (another ritual, more sacred than the business lunch) the parking lot will inform you you're at the right place. Inside, three-piece suited Yups mingle with the khaki and Izod Yups, like at Oscar Taylor. Now there's a Yup sanctuary! Marilyn and Dave like to hang out at Beside the Pointe, a restaurant at The Pointe Resort. The bar is really a Yuppie magnet. A lot of resorts here attract the upwardly mobile. This is the life, I have no doubts.

Yuppie occupations run the gamut in Phoenix, from attorneys and accountants to real estate agents and journalists. Dave sells computer hardware and says his co-workers are dyed-in-thewool (never synthetic) Yups. Marilyn is a business reporter, so her Yup contacts fit right in with her career.

A great many Yuppie occupations here are service-related. That's not unusual for Phoenix, since our latest census shows that we are a serviceoriented town. The largest occupational group is secretaries. There are, more than 26,600. Then come elementary schoolteachers. There's some 13,882 of them. After that, the figures show all the occupations with over 10,000 people performing some type of service for a living.

On the high end of Yuppie occupations, Earl said they are twice as likely to earn more than $25,000 a year than the general population. Yes, I think Yuppiedom and I will get along nicely.

But Earl doesn't think Yuppies are much different from the rest of the Phoenicians, ideologically, so they meld right in. According to his studies, Phoenix is one big Yuppie town. This info must've gone through the grapevine because the majority of people migrating to Arizona are coming from Illinois and New York-from established Yup havens to a blossoming one.Tell me coming to Arizona State University wasn't a great thing to do. Now all I have to do is graduate, find a fabulous job, and join the rest of Phoenix on the rising road to Yuppiedom. See you in December! Love, Melanie Former Arizona Highways intern Melanie Johnston is a journalism student at Arizona State University, and winner of a Eugene C. Pulliam Journalism Scholarship.

ARIZO

For this special issue, here's a guide to a few annual events

Annual Events

Day of the Dead Festival, November 4. Pioneer Park, Mesa, 964-6171. Latin American festival of performing arts with a crafts show and food.

Thunderbird Invitational Balloon Race, November 10-11, American Graduate School of International Management campus, Glendale, 978-7208. A race with an international flair featuring nearly 100 hot air balloons plus a hotly contested gas balloon cross-country race. Don't forget the international food booths.

Celebrate Youth Festival, November 10-11, Civic Plaza, Phoenix, 234-3828. A spectacular array of arts and crafts, performing artists, exhibits, crafts sales, and workshops all celebrating Phoenix's young people and their achievements.

Fiesta Bowl Football Classic, January 1, Tempe, 840-2693.

Phoenix Open Golf Tournament, January 14-20, Phoenix, 263-0757. Top professional golfers battle for a $400,000 purse.

Parada Del Sol Rodeo and Parade, January 31-February 3, Scottsdale, 990-3179.

Phoenix Jaycees Rodeo of Rodeos and Parade, March 13-17, Phoenix, 264-4808.

Cinco De Mayo, May 5, most communities in Arizona. Colorful celebration commemorating the 1862 Battle of Puebla, the beginning of the five-year struggle to expel the French from Mexico. Includes Mexican art, dancing, food, and mariachi music.

Museums/Performing Arts

Arizona Museum of Science and Technology, 80 North 2nd Street, Phoenix, 256-9388. Hands-on displays and talks on the changing world of technology.

Central Arizona Museum of History, 1242 North Central, Phoenix, 255-4479. Charming exhibits of Central Arizona's history.

Champlin Fighter Museum, 4636 Falcon Circle, Falcon Field, Mesa, 830-4540. Terrific collection of fighter planes and memorabilia from World War I to the Korean War.

Desert Botanical Garden, 1201 North Galvin Parkway, Phoenix, 941-1217. One of the larger and more complete collections of arid land plants in the Southwest.

Heard Museum, 22 East Monte Vista Road, Phoenix, 252-8848. Worldrenowned museum of Southwestern anthropology and primitive art.

Museum for Youth, 35 North Robson Street, Mesa, 898-9046. Programs designed to "bridge the gap between children and artists."

Phoenix Art Museum, 1625 North Central Avenue, Phoenix, 257-1222. Celebrating twenty-five years of bringing exhibitions of national and international importance to the Valley.

Pueblo Grande Museum, 4619 East Washington, Phoenix, 275-3452. A city owned and operated museum on the site of an actual Hohokam culture ruin, home of the first Phoenix residents. Arizona Theatre Company This season's fare includes And a Nightingale Sang, Master Harold...and the Boys, The Learned Ladies, Death of a Salesman, and the Robber Bridegroom. For information, contact the Arizona Theatre Company, 17 East Thomas Road, Phoenix, AZ 85012, 279-0534, or 53 West Congress, P.O. Box 1631, Tucson, AZ 85702,884-8210.

Phoenix Symphony Orchestra The 1984-85 Phoenix Symphony season features Conductor Theo Alcantara hosting such greats as Itzhak Perlman, Mstislav Rostropovich, Henry Mancini, Doc Severinsen, and Joel Grey. Contact the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, 264-4754,6328 North 7th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85014.

Jazz in AZ This organization sponsors and coordinates jazz performances throughout the Valley. For upcoming jazz events, call 254-4545.

Recreation

Boating and Waterskiing Six major lakes are within sixty miles of downtown Phoenix. Many have boat and ski rentals. For more information, call: Lake Pleasant, 583-8405; Saguaro Lake, 986-5546; Apache Lake, 467-2511; Roosevelt Lake, 467-2245.

Tubing the Salt River During spring and summer, you can rent inner tubes and enjoy a leisurely half-day float on this desert river north of Mesa. A shuttle bus takes you from your car to where you put in on the river. For information, call: 984-3305.

Hiking Lovely mountain parks with established trails surround the Valley. See "The Wilderness Next Door," page 12.

Horseback Riding Nearly fifty stables feature rides in every part of the Valley. See the telephone directory under "stables."

Spectator Sports

Phoenix Suns Basketball Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Phoenix, October through March, 263-7867.

Arizona Wranglers USFL Football Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, February through July, 254-6464.

Phoenix Giants Baseball Phoenix Municipal Stadium, Phoenix, May through August, 275-4488. Baseball Spring Training (February through April): Chicago Cubs, Hohokam Stadium, Mesa, 834-4061.

Oakland Athletics, Phoenix Municipal Stadium, Phoenix, 275-4488.

San Francisco Giants, ScottsdaleStadium, Scottsdale, 994-2722.

Milwaukee Brewers, Sun City Stadium, Sun City, 979-4698.

Seattle Mariners, Tempe Diablo Stadium, Tempe, 968-6371.

Arizona State University Sports ASU campus, Tempe, August through June, 965-6592.

On these pages are only a few of the fascinating events scheduled in Arizona. For a more complete calendar, please write: Arizona Office of Tourism, Department CE, 1480 East Bethany Home Road, Phoenix, AZ 85014. Unless otherwise noted, all telephone numbers are within area code 602.

NIQUES

and interesting things to see and do in Phoenix, and the Valley of the Sun.

Arizona Highways Magazine, Belle of the Front Page Ball The Phoenix Press Club honors Arizona Highways' sixtieth anniversary at the Front Page Ball benefit at The Pointe at Tapatio Cliffs Resort, Friday, October 5. The reception begins at 6:30 p.m., and dinner is served at 7:30 p.m. Admission is thirtyfive dollars per person or $350 per corporate table. Entitled "Six Decades of Arizona Highways...a Timeless Love Affair With Arizona," guests are encouraged to dress in the style of their favorite era of the past sixty years. Recognition will be given to guests most appropriately dressed for an era. Honorary dinner chairman will be Senator Barry Goldwater; proceeds will benefit the Phoenix Press Club and its scholarship fund. For information, contact the Phoenix Press Club, 947-6011.

Night at the Arizona Opera

It's tough to make performing arts pay for themselves, and opera is no exception. Opera companies often survive through the generous dona-tions of patrons. And attracting this support is in itself an art-one at which the Arizona Opera is a vir-tuoso. Thanks to the promotional wizardry and management skills of Arizona Opera's General Director Glynn Ross, the hard work of the opera board of direc-tors, and the generosity of bene-factors, donations for the Arizona Opera have been flowing in. At one point $183,000 in debt, this year the Opera has paid all its debts and is functioning in the black for the first time in its thirteenyear history. The Arizona Opera, appearing both in Phoenix and Tucson, in its 1984-85 season, features such productions as Aida, with James McCracken and Sandra Warfield; Boris Godunov, with Jerome Hines and Joy Davidson; and The Merry Widow, with Mary Costa. The season runs from November through March. For more information, contact Arizona Opera 840-0841, Suite 140-E, 4350 East Camelback Road, Phoenix, AZ 85018 or (in Tucson) 293-4336, 3501 North Mountain Avenue, P.O. Box 42828, Tucson, AZ 85733.

Ballooning

Several Phoenix area companies offer balloon rides, champagne flights, gift certificates, and instruction for your pilot's license throughout the cooler months. Check the telephone directory for listings under "balloons."

Black Canyon Range

One of the superior recreational opportunities in the Phoenix area is Black Canyon Shooting Range and Recreation Area, twenty-eight miles north of downtown Phoenix, just west of the intersection of Black Canyon and Carefree highways. This 1000-acre, county owned and operated range features nearly every type of shooting imaginable including air rifle, smallbore, high power, pistol, skeet, trap, silhouette, running boar and deer, and archery. Adjacent to the range are 110 campsites with running water. Hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. For more information, call 582-8313.

Phoenix 10K (ten kilometer) Run, Phoenix, November 4.

The Southwest's largest run where 10,000 people from five to eighty years old walk and run through the center of town. There's entertainment from belly dancers to bagpipes at each mile, and breakfast is served after the race. For information, contact Harvey Beller, 241-0995, 4602 North 16th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85016.