Category: Things to Do

🍖 The Downtown Mesa BBQ Classic, the only Kansas City Barbeque Society-sanctioned competition in Arizona, will take place 5-9 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday at Main and McDonald. The event includes a one-meat challenge Friday and a four-meat

🍨 Latin dessert shop Frutilandia celebrates National Chocolate Day with a BOGO 50% off deal on any ice cream or milkshake Saturday at all eight of its Valley locations. 🌱 Sample local foods at ‘‘Seeding Our Harvest,’’ a free festival

⚾️ The 10th annual Save Second Base pub crawl takes place in downtown Chandler today and Saturday. Your ticket gets you a drink at each of 11 bars participating on the tour, a T-shirt, and a swag bag. The money

Downtown Mesa has launched a new Sunset Market at Main and Macdonald from 4-8 p.m. on the third Thursday of every month. The free event includes fresh grocery products, food vendors, demonstrations, artisan goods, live music, and more.

🍺🌭🎸 The Four Peaks Oktoberfest – a three-day festival of food and drink, live music, games, carnival rides, dancing, and more – celebrates its 50th anniversary this weekend at Tempe Town Lake. New this year: The return of the local

🍻 Oktoberfest season continues with the family-friendly Gilbert Oktoberfest from 2-9 p.m. Saturday at the Gilbert Civic Center. Participating East Valley breweries will include OHSO, Desert Monks, Old Ellsworth, Oro, and 12 West. There also will be food vendors, polka

🇯🇵🍜 Celebrate Japanese food and culture this weekend at Taste of Japanese at Heritage Square in downtown Phoenix. The family-friendly event runs noon-9 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday. Vendors from Arizona and Southern California will have traditional Japanese

🥨🍺 SanTan Brewing and Pedal Haus Brewery will co-host the annual Downtown Chandler Oktoberfest from 1-10 p.m. Saturday and 1-8 p.m. Sunday at Dr. A.J. Chandler Park. The event will feature beer and food from both breweries, plus German fare

🌮🎸Attention, taco lovers! The 12th annual Rockin’ Taco Street Fest , featuring tacos from 20 restaurants and food trucks, will take place noon-9 p.m. Saturday at Dr. A.J. Chandler Park in downtown Chandler. Festivities will include live music, lucha libre

🍽 The Genuine in uptown Phoenix is launching a monthly dinner series with a Don Julio Tequila Pairing Dinner at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 28. Cost of the four-course dinner, which includes Argentine red shrimp tacos and pineapple caramel pork

🧄 Queen Creek Olive Mill hosts its 10th annual Garlic Fest – a nine-day event featuring garlic-inspired menus and garlic products – starting this Saturday, Sept. 16, running through next Sunday, Sept. 24. The festivities will include: Garlic 101 classes;

🎉 OHSO Brewing in downtown Gilbert will celebrate the one-year anniversary of The Park, a half-acre multi-use recreation area behind the brew pub, from 7-10 p.m. Thursday. The Park: The family- and dog-friendly venue includes a grass lawn, a retail

📖 Phoenix Magazine’s 2023 Best Fest, a food and drink festival showcasing the magazine’s Best of the Valley winners, will take place 5-10 p.m. Saturday at Events on Jackson in downtown Phoenix. What: Attendees can enjoy ‘‘unlimited’’ bite-sized food samples

🥳 More than 20 downtown Chandler restaurants and bars will participate in the fourth annual You’re Bacon Me Crazy Brunch Crawl from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday. There will be $6 food items and/or $5 drinks at each stop. Tickets are $25 for

🥟 The Beer Research Institute in Mesa will hold its latest monthly pairing Thursday featuring four scratch-made dumplings – Philly, Traditional Pork, Chicken Soup, and Sour Cream & Onion Rangoon – with four 8-ounce BRI beers. The $25 pairings will be

🍖 The 14th annual KNIX Barbeque & Beer Festival returns to Tumbleweed Park in Chandler from noon-10 p.m. Saturday. The event features 30 barbecue pitmasters, beers and spirits, live music, a 6,500-square-foot ‘‘sports bar’’ with giant TV screens, a kids zone,

🚴🏽‍♂️ Bike-themed bar and grill Spokes on Southern in Tempe celebrates its 10-year anniversary with a party from 9 a.m.-close Saturday. Highlights include a disc golf tournament, a brunch buffet, DJ and live music, and an art sale. Twenty percent of all

🏀 March Madness, aka the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, tips off in earnest today, and a new viewing option this year is The Park, which opened last August next to OHSO Brewery in downtown Gilbert. The outdoor venue will host several public watch

🎟 The 33rd annual Ostrich Festival runs today through Sunday at Tumbleweed Park in south Chandler. Besides dozens of shows and attractions (and roaming ostriches, of course), there will be plenty of traditional fair fare, from corn dogs to ice cream

🍷 Kudos to Provision in uptown Phoenix for the idea of hosting a ‘‘Step Brothers’’-themed Catalina Wine Mixer from 6-10 p.m. Saturday. The event will feature live music, wine, snacks, a costume contest, an ’80s-themed photo booth, and, of course, a dinosaur. If you have