Whether you’re sober-curious, totally off the sauce, or just interested in expanding your horizons, there are plenty of fun, engaging, sober-friendly things to do in Phoenix every night of the week. We’ve picked five of our go-to booze-free events that we think you’ll thoroughly enjoy, whether you’re looking to learn some new kitchen skills, catch a reading from your new favorite author, or join a social sports league.

Check out literary events at independent bookstores

Several times a month indie booksellers like Changing Hands, Poisoned Pen, and Grassrootz feature live readings, book clubs, workshops, and other community events, most of them free. Across their two locations, one in Phoenix, the other in Tempe, Changing Hands Bookstore features near-daily events featuring live readings and Q+As with emerging authors from every genre, while Poisoned Pen hosts multiple themed book club meetups each month, for fans of horror, sci-fi, noir, and other classics of genre fiction. Grassrootz, Arizona’s only Black-owned bookstore, regularly hosts pop ups, game nights, and live spoken word, poetry, and hip hop performances, accompanied perfectly by a beverage from their specialty juice bar. Various locations.

Try a social sports league

Your friends at the PHX Fray are always coordinating new seasons and leagues for recreational sports like basketball, soccer, and softball, as well as more casual stuff like pickleball and skeeball. Sign up as an individual and meet new people or as a whole group of friends and have a new way to get together regularly without defaulting to a bar meetup every time. Various locations.

Get into tea

While most tea houses and coffee shops close up in the early evening (understandably), a handful of spots, including Cha Cha’s Tea Lounge, keeps their doors open until 9 or 10 each night. The cafe menu at Cha Cha prominently features matcha tea across several different concoctions, from tasty vanilla and coconut matcha lattes to pure Japanese matcha preparations to give you an uncut blast of grassy matcha flavor. They also have plenty of varieties of loose-leaf tea and blends to try out and even bring home to brew at home. 1229 Grand Ave. Phoenix, AZ; chachastea.com // @chachastealounge

Tour a museum after dark

Most museums keep pretty tight hours, making it hard to pop by for a few hours after work or whatever. Thankfully, high-quality spots like the Phoenix Art Museum and the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art offer semi-regular evening events. On the first Friday of every month, the Phoenix Art Museum stays open until 9 p.m. for free (with a suggested donation), a great way to spend an evening enjoying the gorgeous exhibitions they have on display. SMoCA offers several evening events a month, including trivia night, conceptual art events and film festivals, all great, sober-friendly alternatives to hitting the bars or clubs on a weekend night. Various locations.

Take a cooking class

There are several local options for those looking to learn more about cooking, spots like Classic Cooking Academy, L’Academie School of Baking and Cooking, and Mix Cooking School offer a huge range of classes for every skill level and culinary subgenre. Whether you’re just developing basic skills or hoping to learn more advanced techniques, there’s something for everyone at these foodie academies. These spots offer a mix of one-off classes focused on one specific dish or style of cooking, and multi-week series for those looking for a more far-reaching approach, digging deeper into the science and philosophy behind different culinary styles.

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