Founders' Day

Next: March 15, 2025

Celebrate Marana's birthday and its heritage with the "Biggest Little Parade in Arizona" and a day of fun for the whole family in Downtown Marana!

CreditMarana Parks & Recreation

Marana is more than just a town. It’s a community with a story to tell. And what better way to tell it than with a parade and a festival? Join us for the Marana’s Founders’ Day Parade & Festivities, a celebration of our Western heritage and our future.

A Celebration of All Things Marana

Each year on the third Saturday of March, the community comes together in Downtown Marana for this free event to mark the town's founding in 1977. It all kicks off with a parade down Marana Main Street, dubbed "The Biggest Little Parade in Arizona"! It features more than 50 entries, including floats, bands, horses, classic cars, farming machines, and community groups.

The parade is followed by a festival at the Marana Municipal Complex, where guests enjoy live music, cultural dance performances, food trucks, artisan vendors, historical exhibits, and more.

The next event is set for March 16, 2024, and mark your calendar for the 50th Anniversary, on March 20, 2027!

Additionally, the Marana Founders’ Day Parade & Festivities event was a recipient of the 2022 “Best of the Best” Award for Outstanding Cultural Program Award from the Arizona Parks and Recreation Association.

Plan Your Day at the Marana Founders' Day Parade and Festivities

The festivities begin at 10 AM with the “Biggest Little Parade in Arizona”! Come early to reserve your spot along Marana Main Street and Civic Center Drive, as the best spots will fill up quickly. Don’t forget to bring your own seating! The intersections into Downtown Marana will be closed at 9:45, so make sure you’re parked before then. The Copper Cafe at MHC Healthcare will be open for breakfast from 8-10 AM as you arrive.

After the parade, enjoy a full afternoon of fun for the whole family, featuring live music by the ROH Band, traditional folk music and dance performances from local dance troupes, delicious food and drinks from dozens of local food trucks, an artisan market, a car show, history-related exhibits, kids' activities including crafts and inflatables, and more. The festival runs until 3 PM.

Centuries of Heritage to Celebrate

Marana was incorporated on March 21, 1977 by a group of "founding" families, and since that humble start, it has since grown to be the second-largest and fastest-growing community in Southern Arizona. But, our town's history goes back much further than that. Archaeologists have discovered evidence of more than 4,000 years of human occupation in what is now Marana.

PicturedPre-Hohokam and Hohokam-Era (200-1450 AD) petroglyphs on a rock in the Tortolita Mountains.

Native Americans, European settlers, and early Americans lived in and passed through Southern Arizona. What is now Marana became and established community In the 1880's. In 1890, workers building the Southern Pacific Railroad named the community "Marana" on a map, which comes from the Spanish “maraña”, meaning "thicket or bush". For the next 90 years, Marana steadily existed as a small agricultural community, which was a popular location for Western movie shoots.

PicturedAn overview of what is now Northwest Marana in the 1950s, prior to the construction of Interstate 10.

These days, Marana is synonymous with quality of life in the Sonoran Desert. With over 60,000 residents, 126 square miles of area, all of the amenities of a modern suburb, and strong economic growth, Marana's future continues to look bright.