AZ Vibe – The Ultimate Phoenix Entertainment Resource

With Halloween almost here, some people may not be able to participate in the festivities due to food allergies.  For the most part, most of the major food allergies (like dairy) can be identified from a list of ingredients.  However, people who are allergic to Gluten or live a Gluten-Free lifestyle, have a more challenging time determining what Halloween foods they can and can’t eat due to ingredients lists not including whether or not their product(s) are Gluten-Free or not.

We’ve compiled a list of foods and candy that are Gluten-Free and can be consumed in various amounts this Halloween Season.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Candy

Hershey’s Kisses & Hugs
Hershey’s milk chocolate bars
(except crispie or cookie)
Hershey’s Nuggets (except cookie)
M&M’s (except crispie)
Nestle Butterfinger BB’s
Nestle Chunky
Raisinets
Reese’s Peanut Butter cups
3 Musketteer’s
Baby Ruth
Butterfinger
Snickers
Clark Bars
Dove
York Peppermint Patties

Halloween Specific Candy
Farley’s candy corn
Spangler picture pops
Jellybelly candy corn

CHEWY CANDY
Flavor Rolls—all
Jellybelly jellybeans
Tootsie Rolls—all
Starburst Fruit Chews
Jolly Rancher Fruit Chews
Double Bubble — all
Wrigley’s chewing gum — all
Trident gum — all
Skittles
Milk Duds
Airheads
Big League Chewing Gum
Bubble Yum — all
Chicklets
Dentyne Gum — all
Haribo Gummies
Sharie’s Candies Gummies
Trolli Gummies
Gold Medal Cotton Candy

HARD CANDY & SUCKERS
Charms—all
Lemonheads
Farley’s hard candies
SweeTarts
Spree
BitOHoney
Spangler DumDum Pops
Tootsie Pops
Extreme Pops
LifeSaver’s—all
Jolly Rancher hard candy & Lollipops
Topps Ring Pops
Pez
Smarties
Wonka: Bottlecapss, gobstoppers, mix ups, pixy stix,
shocktarts, tart ‘N tiny, fun dip (lik-M-Aid), Laffy taffy,
Nerds, Runts, Tangy Taffy, Nips.
Haviland (Necco) Candy Stix

FRUIT SNACKS
Kroger’s Fruit snacks
Nabisco Fruit snackså
General Mills Fruit snacks
Farley’s Brand gummy bears
Favorite Brand gummy and fruit
Fruit to Go (SunRype)
Trolli Gummi Candies—all
Fruit by the foot
Sunkist Fruit Rolls
Sun-Maid Raisons
Welches Fruit snacks

Other Snacks
Jiffy Pop Popcorn
Crunch ‘n Munch
JellO Brand gelatin and
pudding snacks
Del Monte Pudding cups

Popularity: 8% [?]

On Tuesday July 21, 2009 from the moment the stores open until 10:30 AM all US Starbucks will be giving away free pastries with the purchase of a beverage. Just print out the invitation in the Starbucks link below, present it at the time of purchase and then chow down!

* Pastries included in offer are: Muffins, Scones, Bagels, Croissants, Rolls, Breads, Pound Cakes, Morning Bun, Coffeecakes, Cheese Danish, Apple Fritter, Doughnuts, Tarts, Pies, Gluten Free Orange Valencia Cake, Tropical Paradise Bar.

More info:

http://www.starbucks.com/retail/free_pastry.html

For you Facebook types, here’s the event invite:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=111190617889&ref=nf

Popularity: 1% [?]

A friend suggested that we should have a list of places to go to beat the heat.

So we got to thinking (I do that sometimes).

We can just as easily come up with a list of the things that you can do to beat the heat like all the other publications in the area are doing right now. The list would probably consist of the things that everyone else is going to do like go to the air conditioned malls in the area and to the public pools that are more than likely a shade of yellow than blue with all the kids peeing in it.

Wouldn’t you rather do something else that might actually be fun?

Well here’s a brief list of things to do to beat the heat:

1a) Go see a Movie in a theater – Yeah, this may fall under the realm of ‘everyone else is doing it’ but it’s a great way to get out of the heat and get entertained in the process.

1b) Rent a Movie at home – There are so many options now for you to easily get a movie like Netflix, Red Box, and even Blockbuster why not stay in the comfort of your own home with some friends and have some fun.

1c) Watch a movie online – More and more websites are putting full length movies online for free.  Check out hulu.com and YouTube.com for the best selection of movies to watch online.

2) Gelato – Everyone is probably going to be heading to Baskin-Robbins, Cold Stone, Dairy Queen, etc why not go out and get Gelato?!?!  Check out the Gelato Spot for some of the best Gelato this side of italy.   Check out their website for the locations nearest you:  http://www.gelatospot.com/

3) Float down the Salt River – Now is the time to head over to the Salt River for some relaxing and refreshing intertube river floating.  For more information on one of the greatest ways to stay cool in the heat, check out the Salt River Tubing website:  http://www.saltrivertubing.com/

4) Take a Trip out of town for the weekend – Phoenix is pretty close to many major cities outside of Arizona and other destinations within Arizona it’s hard not to take advantage of so many options.  Places you could go can be San Diego, Los Angeles, Flagstaff, Taos, Las Vegas, Sedona, and so on….

5) Head to a Museum – Why not check out some of the best places that Phoenix has to offer in Museums.  For example, the Arizona Science Center is a great destination to get out of the heat.  http://www.azscience.org/

6a) Take in a Game – Baseball – Taking in an Arizona Diamondbacks game is the best way to beat the heat as the roof is closed when the temprature outside is unbearable.  http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com

6b) Taken in a tour of Chase Field – When the Diamondbacks are on the road, why not take in a tour of Chase Field?  Tickets are only $6 http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/ari/ballpark/ari_ballpark_tour.jsp

6c) Take in a Game – Basketball – A new season of Phoenix Mercury Basketball is just about underway and taking in a game is a great way to beat the heat.  http://www.wnba.com/mercury

7a) Indoors Activities – Rock Climbing – Want to beat the heat and exercise at the same time?  Try indoor Rock Climbing.  http://www.phoenixrockgym.com/PRG/main.html

7b) Indoors Activities – Cart Racing – Try racing Go-Karts indoors!  http://www.f1racefactory.com/

7c) Indoors Activities – Laser Tag – There are two places you can go to play indoor laser tag while beating the heat.  Laser Quest in Mesa and in Phoenix are the perfect places to go and have some fun out of the heat.  Phoenix Location: http://www.laserquest.com/Locations/USALocations.aspx?cntr=Phoenix Mesa Location:  http://www.laserquest.com/Locations/USALocations.aspx?cntr=Mesa

8) Ice in the Pool – Now this one is more fun than anything but have you ever thought about getting about 10 or 20 blocks of ice, throwing them in your pool and then jumping in when the water temperature cools down?

Popularity: 10% [?]

One of the best cultural holiday traditions in and around the Phoenix area is the 8th Annual Food City Tamale Festival.  This festival is held as many Hispanic families around the globe celebrate the holidays by making Tamales (including dessert Tamales….grub!) with their local faith based groups and sell them at the Tamale Festival to raise funds for their given organizations.

The festival is located in Downtown Phoenix on Washington St and in addition to the Tamales, there will be music and family style entertainment. There will also be a selection of Southwestern Latino arts and crafts on display and for sale.

The Festival will take place on the following days and times:

Saturday December 13, 2008 from 10 AM to 6 PM
Sunday December 14, 2008 from 10 AM to 6 PM

In addition there will be a Best Tamale contest starting at 2 PM. Tamale makers will be competing for a wide array of prizes.

Plan ahead as organizers are expecting tens of thousands of people attending this two day festival.

…and the best part of this festival?

Admission is FREE!!