If you want to check out where to fulfill your arts cravings this weekend or next month, you could go to about 47 Web sites representing the various musical, theatrical, visual arts and dance outlets that dot the Valley of the Sun.

Or you could simply log on to showup.com.

The Web site, www.showup.com, is one of those ideas that’s so simple, you wonder why someone didn’t come up with it before November of 2004 when the site went online. At showup.com, you can peruse definitive calendars of events under any or all of the following headings: Theatre, Music, Dance, Visual Arts, Festivals, Kids and Families, Poetry and Literature, Unique AZ, Museums, Special Events, and Free Events. No matter whether you’re looking for a kid‑friendly play, a free concert, or a gallery showing of contemporary art, if it’s happening in the Valley, it’s going to be listed at showup.com.

Founder and director Matt Lehrman says the site is especially necessary in a sprawling market such as ours.

“So many of us have moved here from other places,” says Lehrman.

“Other cities have a central downtown in which the bulk of the arts community is located. Of course, there are great things happening in downtown Phoenix, but most of our cultural events are spread out around the area. It’s harder for people to get a handle on it.”

Lehrman, who calls the site “a convention and visitors bureau for arts and culture,” says some 70,000 visitors monthly are paying online visits. You can also buy discounted tickets at showup.com, a service comparable to the famous TKTS booth in New York’s Times Square, only without the long lines.

Showup.com helps squelch a number of myths. First of all, the site debunks the lie behind the old canard that “there’s nothing to do in the Valley.” Believe it or not, I still run into people who think that culture here is something you find in a petri dish. All anyone has to do is spend an hour online reading over what’s available, and it becomes clear that you could spend a lifetime enjoying the myriad cultural amenities of the greater Phoenix area.

The site also makes it clear that diversity is not foreign to our cultural landscape. Events linked to Native American, Asian and African cultures may have low profiles in the press, but showup.com affords them visibility.

“We get a lot of e‑mail, and one person who contacted us was delighted to find that there are African‑American cultural events in the Valley. That was unknown to him before he found our site,” says Lehrman.

A third myth is that is costs an arm and a leg to attend arts events. True, it is possible–even easy–to find concerts and plays requiring a second mortgage. But consider our showup.com search for freebies the week of June 3‑10 resulted in these:

“Art Inspires Music” combines original compositions by local musicians with works of visual art from the permanent collection at the Arizona State University Art Museum. See the paintings and listen to the music at listening stations throughout the museum, located at 51 E. 10th St., Tempe. Open Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Wednesdays through Saturdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

“Summer Cooldown:” A Celebration of the Arts and Family Reception, at Mesa Arts Center, 1 E. Main St., Mesa, at 7 p.m., Friday, June 9 featuring free music by Rave and free indoors children’s activities.

“Casablanca,” a showing of the classic movie, followed by discussion, at 1 p.m., Saturday, June 10 at the City of Glendale Library, 5959 W. Brown St., Glendale.

Jazz guitarist Pete Pancrazi in concert at 8 p.m., Saturday, June 10 at Steele Indian School Park, 300 E. Indian School Rd., Phoenix.

That’s a quartet of free events in four corners of the Valley ranging from film to jazz to visual arts and children’s events. There’s even more listed at the site.

Lehrman hopes showup.com will be a resource for locals who complain there’s little culture in the summer months.

“There is a lapse in summer,” he confesses. “The big professional companies typically go dark. But the summer is a great time to experience alternative theater like Stray Cat and Nearly Naked Theatre. It’s also a busy time for children’s theater.”

One notion showup.com can’t do away with is the idea that art originating in Phoenix can’t possibly exhibit the quality of something from out of town. All too often, I find myself explaining to newcomers that Arizona Opera has major regional status, or that Ballet Arizona is on a par with other classical dance troupes, or that Childsplay has a national reputation. The only way to rid yourself of the Phoenix‑is‑inferior misconception is to go experience these great companies for yourself.