Marana is the place to be in Southern Arizona for all things fall!
Marana's Top Annual Events
Will you be attending some of Marana's top events this year?
Well-known for outdoor activities like hiking, cycling, and golf, Marana also offers a calendar full of exciting festivals and events! These top events are great to plan your trip to Marana around, and there’s something to enjoy for every season.
Black Friday Shopping
If shopping on Black Friday is a holiday tradition in your family, then you’ll want to check out the expansive outdoor shopping bliss at the Tucson Premium Outlets at Marana Center. The Tucson Premium Outlets bring designer brands and deep savings to Marana. In addition to the savings on the top brands, you can also grab a bite to eat at the Market Hall and enjoy the outdoor areas with plenty of shade, seating, a kids’ play area, nursing lounges, and device charging stations.
Marana Holiday Festival & Christmas Tree Lighting
Make the holidays magical in and around Marana with a variety of holiday events! On the first Saturday in December, Marana kicks off the holiday season with its annual Holiday Festival and Christmas Tree Lighting at the Ed Honea Marana Municipal Complex in Downtown Marana. The family-friendly festival features festive music and dance performances from local groups, a meet-and-greet and free photos with Santa, a local craft market, and dozens of local food trucks. The highlight of the show is the lighting on the 45-foot-tall Town Christmas Tree, the largest municipal tree in Arizona! The tree and over 150,000 lights in the surrounding landscape are synchronized to holiday music, in a show that continues nightly throughout December.
Gem & Mineral Show Season
In late January and early February, the Tucson area plays host to over 50 shows featuring gems, minerals, fossils, beads, jewelry, and a variety of other geologic artifacts from around the world. Thousands of people converge on Southern Arizona each year to enjoy the amazing weather and see the unique gem, mineral, and fossil offerings.
Check out the Miner’s Co-Op Rock Show, Marana’s exclusive gem and mineral show. It takes place starting at the end of January through the middle of February every year at Sports Park Tucson in Southern Marana. Browse and buy artifacts and creations from all over the world, and talk to the vendors – many of whom mined the very rocks and minerals they’re selling out of the ground themselves.
Desert Bluegrass Festival
In early March, some of the best Bluegrass musicians and most passionate fans in the southwest come to Marana for a weekend-long celebration. Enjoy Bluegrass music performances, instrument and songwriting workshops, a band scramble, jamming sessions, crafts, kids’ activities, and local food. Friday afternoon at the festival is always free, and you can camp at the festival grounds for the weekend.
Founders' Day Parade & Festivities
Celebrate Marana’s birthday on the third Saturday of March at the Marana Founders’ Day Parade & Festivities in Downtown Marana! The day kicks off with “The Biggest Little Parade in Arizona” down Marana Main Street and Civic Center Drive, and then features an entire day of live music and dance performances, local food trucks, historical exhibitions, inflatables and other kids’ activities, a car show, and more, all celebrating the culture and heritage of Marana.
Star-Spangled Spectacular
Celebrate the 4th of July at Crossroads at Silverbell District Park! In the late afternoon and evening, enjoy live music from local bands, fun kids’ activities including the park’s splash pad, a car show, over 30 local food trucks, and more. It’s all capped off by the largest fireworks display in Southern Arizona, which starts at 9 PM. Bring your lawn chairs and celebrate America’s birthday with your family, friends, and neighbors.
Southeast Arizona Birding Festival
Southern Arizona is one of the top locations for birding in the United States, owing to its location at the intersection of several bird migration routes. Every August, the Tucson Bird Alliance (formerly the Tucson Audubon Society) hosts the Southeast Arizona Birding Festival, with four days of expert-guided field trips, workshops, demonstrations, an expo, and many more things related to the birding hobby.
One of the locations visited is Marana’s El Rio Preserve, an oasis along the Santa Cruz River, whose lush, green, wetland environment supports 260 species of birds.
Marana Fall Festival
Enjoy an evening on the farm at Marana Heritage River Park in mid-October! There will be carnival rides, live music, a sunflower field, dozens of food trucks and vendors, an arts & crafts market, rodeo demonstrations, a beer garden, spooky Halloween activities, and a family movie as part of the Movies in Marana series. Don’t miss the Mutton Bustin’ competition! It’s all a big celebration of Marana’s agricultural past and present.
Marana Pumpkin Patch
Nothing says “fall” quite like a trip to the pumpkin patch! Spend a day on the farm with activities for the whole family, including the quarter-scale diesel train ride, bakery & restaurant, pedal tractors, jumping pillows, a themed corn maze, pig races, petting zoo, and of course, hunting for the perfect pumpkin! Enjoy a zipline, rock wall, pumpkin/apple cannons, and a paintball shooting gallery for a small extra charge.
Terror in the Corn
Southern Arizona’s scariest attraction is right here in Marana! Brave a variety of “haunts” and Halloween fun including zombie paintball, axe-throwing, and an escape room, all connected by a totally-immersive and totally-terrifying cornfield. When darkness falls and the moon comes out, so do the screams and surrounding terror!
Nightfall at Old Tucson
A haunted house meets an old western town at Nightfall at Old Tucson! Experience 20+ acres of terrifying haunts, mazes, scare zones, magic shows, musical theater performances and stunt shows that are equal parts hilarious and terrifying, family-friendly attractions, and delicious food and drink.