Happy hour idea: Running of the Bulls celebration at Sol y Sombra

By Michele Laudig

You have to hand it to the Spaniards -- they've come up with one of the world's most, uh, unique ways to work up an appetite: running their asses off as ornery bulls chase them down the street. That's their idea of a party.

Sol y Sombra's thinking party, too, but no bull. Just some crazy video footage of Pamplona's Running of the Bulls, some free celebratory cocktails from 5 to 7 p.m. tonight, live entertainment, and a special menu cooked up by chef Aaron May, featuring pintxos (tapas) from the Navarre region.

Who knows -- this might be a secret trial run for some of the dishes that May will feature at his new Basque-themed restaurant, Leche, which will open in downtown Scottsdale later this year.

You'll actually get a special gift if you show up at this thing wearing "the traditional garb of the participants in the running of the bulls." Does a ketchup-splattered Fruit of the Loom count?

A portion of this evening's proceeds will benefit the AZ chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.