Phoenix has no shortage of ways to stay busy this week, which is either a blessing or a scheduling problem, depending on how much you enjoy pretending you’ll do everything. Here’s a quick run through the Valley events on the calendar for October 6-11.
1. Four Peaks Oktoberfest — October 9-11
This Tempe Town Lake celebration brings the usual crowd-pleasers: live music, games, carnival rides, dancing, German-style food and drinks, and Das 33rd Oktoberfest Runnin’ for the Brats. Proceeds benefit Tempe Sister Cities, so at least the beer-and-brat enthusiasm is doing some civic good.
2. Desert Design Week — October 6-11
The theme this year is Collected in Dialog, and the event is spread throughout Phoenix and Scottsdale. Organizers say it will look at design as a form of communication through exhibitions, design talks, artist collaborations, author conversations and curated culinary experiences.
3. Scottsdale Fashion Week — October 8-11
If runway art is your thing, this one is built for you. The week includes top models, renowned designers, trunk shows, workshops, retail events, celebrity appearances and after-parties, which is a lot of fashion vocabulary for people who still own the same black T-shirt in three colors.
4. Phoenix Pride Festival and Parade — October 11
The parade begins at 10 a.m., and festival gates open at noon at Arizona Center in Phoenix. The celebration includes live performances, an arts expo, a dance pavilion, plus food and shopping options, because even a parade knows better than to show up without snacks.
5. Pumpkin Days & Corn Maze — Through October 31
Tolmachoff Farms in Glendale is leaning all the way into fall with a pumpkin patch, petting zoo, jumping pillows, a tomato cannon, corn mazes and train rides. If that doesn’t say seasonal overcommitment, nothing does.
6. Dark Harvest — Through November 1
The Valley’s haunted-house season is also in full swing, and Dark Harvest is part of that lineup. The listing doesn’t get more specific here, which feels appropriate for something trying to scare you on purpose.
The nice thing about this week’s lineup is that it covers just about every mood the Valley can throw at you: beer, design, fashion, Pride and pumpkins. In other words, the calendar is doing what the weather usually does — offering a little bit of everything and expecting you to keep up.
— Bill Farr
