Seasonal Events

Events for All Seasons

Here's to four seasons of entertainment in Tucson. You can't miss with these local favorites. For an expanded search, check out our Tucson Events Calendar and our Signature Tucson Events long-running top picks.

Winter in Tucson

Our scenic Boston-qualifier, the Tucson Marathon, is a best-kept secret among runners while the Oro Valley Festival of the Arts is one of Southern Arizona’s largest community arts celebrations in December. On New Year's Eve, the NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl is a party with college football, food, concerts and a street fair. The Tucson Jazz Festival and Tucson Desert Song Festival ring in musical diversity in January. And February is packed with pro soccer excitement during Major League Soccer Preseason Training; at La Fiesta de los Vaqueros-Tucson Rodeo & Parade real cowboys and cowgirls show-off Old West ways while at the Cologuard Classic-PGA TOUR Champions Event pro golf legends mingle with fans. In February, the 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo zany mountain bike endurance race sells out fast, and the famous Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase hosts an international marketplace of nature's treasures.

Spring in Tucson

Along with the bright blooms of desert wildflowers, March brings one of the best literacy festivals in the Southwest, the Tucson Festival of Books, to the University of Arizona while over at San Xavier del Bac Mission, a National Historic Landmark, the annual Wa:k Pow Wow dazzles as the Fourth Avenue Spring Street Fair entertains. April ushers in the USA's longest-running festival of Spanish-language films, Tucson Cine Mexico, followed by the global showcase of independent films, the Arizona International Film Festival, and a display of local cultural heritage, food and music at Agave Heritage Festival, Tucson International Mariachi Conference, and Tucson Folk Festival. In May, the Mt. Lemmon Hill Climb, a 100-mile ride up Mt. Lemmon Scenic Byway, is rated by experts as among the top 25% of toughest hill climbs in the USA and offers conditions similar to Tour de France in terms of distance, difficulty and height.

Summer in Tucson

In June, events such as Ha:san Bak Saguaro Festival demonstrate the Tohono O'odham tradition of harvesting saguaro cactus fruit. On Father's Day weekend, some of the best Mexican food available on this side of the border is served at The Tucson 23: Mexican Food Festival. In July, Sonoita Vineyards in Elgin hosts wine tastings and wine-and-food pairings, a grape-stomping contest, and horse-drawn wagon tours at HarvestFest while, in Tucson, top resort hotels host Independence Day fun with poolside entertainment and fireworks displays. And August, with its monsoon rainstorms, brings two Summer Birding Festivals that are perfect for family adventures in our great outdoors.

Autumn in Tucson 

Well-known for its brilliant 40+ shows in February, Tucson also hosts the smaller (and growing) Tucson Fall Gem Show, which features over 200 international vendors and exhibitors in early September while, later that month, Tucson Pride, Arizona's oldest LGBT organization, founded in 1977, presents one of the nation's longest running, (right behind New York City and San Francisco) wackiest Pride events ever at Tucson Pride in the Desert Festival & Parade. In October, there's always a party in the stands at Tucson's bilingual Mexican Baseball Fiesta just as everyone is glued to their seats during Film Fest Tucson. And the Patagonia Fall Festival in October is one of the most well-attended rural art festivals in Arizona for many cool reasons.  In November, we take to the streets on two feet for All Souls Procession Weekend, our salute to All Souls Day and Dia de los Muertos, and on two wheels for El Tour de Tucson, a multi-event ride favored by both amateur and pro cyclists.

All year round, Tucsonans cheer our hometown Wildcats at University of Arizona sports events. Join us any time!