What to expect from Scottsdale music, film and food festivals
Scottsdale music, film and food festivals cluster in the same window as everything else here: January through April, with a second beat in the fall. The Civic Center grounds host most of the music and the culinary weekend. The beer festival is down the road in Phoenix. The film festival moves around the calendar and always draws a crowd.
Most of these are outdoor, relaxed and easy to do with a group of mixed ages. A few sell out, and we flag those below. Treat the months as fixed and the exact dates as something to confirm each year.
Sunday A'Fair free concerts (Sundays, January through early April)
Every spring the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts turns the Civic Center Mall into an outdoor concert lawn on Sunday afternoons. The series is called Sunday A'Fair, it has been running for more than three decades, and it is free.
The music is Arizona's own. Bands from across the Phoenix area play in rotating sets, usually a couple of acts per afternoon over about four hours, so you can drop in for one set or stay for the whole thing. Bring a blanket and a picnic, or buy from the food vendors on site. Either is welcome.
The extras make it a full day. On concert Sundays the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art opens free from noon to five, and The Store at the Center around the corner sells handmade jewelry and ceramics. You can spend an entire Sunday on that block without paying for anything but lunch.
Arizona Strong Beer Festival (February)
The Arizona Strong Beer Festival lands in mid-February at Margaret T. Hance Park in Phoenix. The name is literal. Local and regional breweries bring their bigger beers, more than 400 different pours in a typical year, from heavy stouts to aggressive IPAs, and a good number of them are made only for this event.
It runs as a full afternoon in the park rather than a tasting room crawl. Live music, food trucks and games fill the space between the brewery tents, and the brewers themselves are pouring, so you can ask about the process while you drink the result.
Arrange a ride. It is a short drive from Scottsdale, the weather in February is close to perfect for it, and nobody should be behind a wheel afterward.
Scottsdale Culinary Festival (April)
The Scottsdale Culinary Festival is a fundraiser for the Scottsdale League for the Arts, and it fills the Civic Center Mall for a weekend in April. It is the town's restaurants, breweries and bands moved outdoors onto the same lawn.
In a typical year that means dozens of local restaurants serving tasting plates, a couple dozen craft breweries, and a rolling lineup of bands on stage. Chef demonstrations run through the day, there is a wine garden, a family zone for the kids and a teen cooking challenge that is more fun to watch than it sounds. The strategy is simple: pace yourself and taste widely.
Scottsdale Jazz Festival (late April)
The Scottsdale Jazz Festival takes over the Civic Center in the last part of April, timed to line up with UNESCO's International Jazz Day. That connection gives a local festival a global feel, and the programming matches it.
The bill ranges from big band ensembles to intimate solo sets, and from classic to contemporary jazz, with nationally known players headlining. The setting is outdoor with Scottsdale's mountains as the backdrop, and food trucks and local vendors line the grounds so you can eat and drink while the sets roll from afternoon into evening.
It is one of the better events for a mixed group. Serious listeners get real musicians. Everyone else gets a warm evening, a lawn and something good to eat.
Arizona Tiki Oasis (late April)
Arizona Tiki Oasis is four days of tiki culture at Hotel Valley Ho in the second half of April.
The program covers everything the scene cares about. Tropical cocktails, obviously. Live music and dancing every night. Workshops on the history of tiki bars and Polynesian pop, plus fashion, decor and collectibles. Newcomers are welcome alongside the long-time fans.
This is a friends' weekend more than a family one. A group renting Wild West Estate, minutes from the hotel and Old Town, can walk back to a pool and a well-stocked kitchen at the end of the night.
Scottsdale Film Festival
The Scottsdale Film Festival started in 2001 with eleven films, nine of which sold out immediately. It has grown into a multi-day festival of forty to fifty films from around the world, programmed in themes that have included documentaries, LGBTQ spotlights and work by women directors, with screenings historically at the Harkins Shea 14 theater.
The festival has been held in the fall in some years and in April in others, so check the current schedule before planning around it. Whatever the month, the format is consistent: screenings across several days, Q&A sessions and panels with filmmakers, an opening night reception with a red carpet, and plenty of chances to talk to directors and other film lovers between shows.
Tickets come in every shape, from single-screening seats sold at the box office during the festival to multi-film passes and opening night packages. A membership adds VIP passes and supports the festival's growth. Panel sessions are inexpensive and often the most memorable part of the week.
Where to stay for a Scottsdale festival weekend
Most of these events sit on or near the Civic Center in Old Town, which makes Wild West Estate the natural base. Seven bedrooms, sleeps 16, and short enough to Old Town that the group can split up and regroup without anyone needing to drive.
For a larger party, or one that wants to make the house the main event, Casa Palacio brings eight bedrooms, a grotto pool and a tennis court to a festival weekend, and Valley Vista Estate in Paradise Valley sleeps 30 across eleven bedrooms. Book early for the April weekends, which stack the Culinary Festival, the Jazz Festival and Tiki Oasis inside a few weeks.
- Sundays, January to early April: Sunday A'Fair, free, Civic Center Mall
- February: Arizona Strong Beer Festival, Hance Park, Phoenix
- April: Scottsdale Culinary Festival, Civic Center Mall
- Late April: Scottsdale Jazz Festival, Civic Center
- Late April: Arizona Tiki Oasis, Hotel Valley Ho
- Fall or spring, varies by year: Scottsdale Film Festival
Questions we get asked
Are the Sunday A'Fair concerts really free?
Yes. The Sunday afternoon concerts on the Civic Center Mall are free, and the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art opens free from noon to five on those days. Food vendors are on site, or bring your own picnic.
When is the Scottsdale Jazz Festival?
Late April, timed to UNESCO's International Jazz Day, on the Civic Center grounds. Confirm the exact date with the festival each year.
Where is the Arizona Strong Beer Festival held?
At Margaret T. Hance Park in Phoenix, in mid-February. It is a short drive from Scottsdale. Plan a ride home.
When is the Scottsdale Film Festival?
It has moved between fall and spring in different years, so check the current schedule. Screenings have historically been at the Harkins Shea 14 theater.
Which estate is closest to the Civic Center festivals?
Wild West Estate, which sleeps 16 near Old Town. The Civic Center, Hotel Valley Ho and the Arts District are all minutes away.
