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Happy Friday, everyone!

Time for another weekend. 😎

I’m excited about all the winter activities going on around the state.

Tonight, I’m keeping it chill and planning to try a bar in downtown Phoenix that I haven’t been to yet. I’m thinking Chilte or BARCOA Agaveria, depending on price—I’ll be honest, I haven’t looked at the menus yet—but I’d love to hear your suggestions. 

On Saturday I plan to walk around the Winter Wanderland festival downtown. There are all sorts of free activities like live music, an aerial acrobatics show, a culinary demo, and a showing of “Elf” in Civic Space Park later at night. 

I’m leaving Sunday for actually getting holiday tasks done. 😉

Some other fun things going on this weekend: 

What are you doing this weekend? Do you like these weekend event roundups, or would you rather me skip them? Let me know in a reply to this email!

Thanks so much everyone for your donations so far!

From now through the end of next week, we are running our Holiday Supporter Drive, and we need your support to ensure we can continue to report the local stories that matter most to Arizonans. 

You can join us by donating to our newsroom today! Thanks for being part of our community. ❤️

Rendering courtesy of the Arizona Jewish Historical Society

💬 “Now more than ever, we need to teach students and [the] public alike about the dangers of radicalization, and show them where such incendiary rhetoric will lead.”

— Dr. Lawrence Bell, executive director of the Arizona Jewish Historical Society

A Holocaust education center is coming to Arizona in the next couple of years.

The Arizona Jewish Historical Society will break ground on the center in downtown Phoenix in 2024. 

Phoenix is the fifth-largest city in the US and the largest city in the country without a permanent Holocaust education center or museum.

The Hilton Family Holocaust Education Center will be in a 27,000-square-foot new building just northeast of Interstate 10 and Central Avenue. It will be located at the site of the Arizona Jewish Historical Society, just next to the Burton Barr Central Library.

The museum is expected to open in 2026. Read more about it here. 

Pueblo (Photo by Analisa Valdez)

In the Sonoran Desert’s unique climate, there are only so many plants that can survive in this tough environment.

Luckily, there are amazing nurseries and plant stores in the Valley suited to help provide and educate people with their vast array of indigenous Arizona plants. Here are some of the most unique and luscious nurseries across metro Phoenix:

🌵 Plant Stand of Arizona, Phoenix

🌵 Pueblo, Phoenix

🌵 Berridge Nurseries, Phoenix

🌵 Dig It Gardens, Phoenix

🌵 Whitfill Nurseries Inc., Gilbert

🌵 SummerWinds Nursery, Phoenix

And remember—plants can make great holiday gifts! We’ll be bringing you some great local gift guides as Christmas gets closer. 

💡 Our reporter Rob is looking for the Valley’s best neighborhood Christmas lights displays. Tell him here, or reply to this email!

🌵 Watch how you can build your own Christmas cactus decoration. 

📺  See Arizona native Emma Stone open her fifth episode hosting “Saturday Night Live.” 

❤️ This is our reporter Rob’s favorite story of the year. And here is our chief political correspondent Camaron’s favorite.

🚩 George Santos, who was just expelled from Congress, put this Arizona politician on his “yay list.”  

🎄 Check out this cute Mesa store filled with Christmas decor. 

Thanks for reading. This newsletter was written by Jessica Swarner. The Copper Courier is happily free to read for everyone. Your financial support means a lot to us. Donate here.

Send us your feedback and news tips to info@coppercourier.com