Updated October 31, keep reading, events have been added for November.
What a glorious time of year to be in the Valley of the Sun. The heat has been turned down, so let the festive fun of the fall season begin.
Photo from visitphoenix.com
It’s hard to know where to begin when planning things to do in beautiful October and gorgeous November. With holidays coming up, many festive events are planned for around the Valley. From spooky Halloween events to Dia De Los Muertos celebrations to harvest and heritage festivals, we have it all in the Valley of the Sun.
For family fun and frivolity, well worth your time, check out Phoenix on the Cheap’s best celebrations of October and November below.
Hocus Pocus Halloween Festival – Gilbert
For a not-so-scary family event, try the Hocus Pocus Halloween Festival in Gilbert. Choose from a spell book or a mini pumpkin to decorate. Also included in the ticket price of $15 for kids and $10 for adults is a trick or treat bag and a raffle ticket. Many other spooky attactions and delicious festive food opportunities are planned.
The Hocus Pocus Halloween Festival takes place on Sunday, October 23 at Rancho del Pacifico, 15225 East Riggs Rd., Gilbert, 85292 from 11 am to 3 pm. For tickets and more details, click here.
Trick or Treat at the Museum – Children’s Museum of Phoenix
Join the Children’s Museum of Phoenix for a day of spooktacular fun at Trick or Treat at the Museum. Ghosts and ghouls are invited to trick-or-treat through the Museum, monster mash on the dance floor, create a Spooky Tree in the Art Studio, take part in the fashion fright show, and explore three floors of imaginative exhibits. Costumes are optional but strongly encouraged.
This event is FREE with paid Museum admission of $16 per person for anyone 1 year + and FREE for Museum members. Trick or Treat at the Museum will be on October 29 from 9 am to 4 pm. The Children’s Museum of Phoenix is located at 215 North 7th Street, Phoenix, 85034.
Photo from Media File
Enchanted Halloween Festival-Hocus Pocus Party – New River
The exact same type of activities and offerings as previously listed above for the Hocus Pocus Halloween Festival in Gilbert will be taking place at the Enchanted Halloween Festival-Hocus Pocus Party in New River. If you missed Hocus Pocus in Gilbert join the one in New River. Cost is $15 for kids and $10 for adults.
The Enchanted Halloween Festival-Hocus Pocus Party takes place on Saturday, October 29 at 3Z Ranch, 48109 North Black Canyon Hwy, New River, 85087 from 11 am to 3 pm. For tickets and more details, click here.
Halloween Spook-Track-Ula at the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park – Scottsdale
Stop in for a spell as the Paradise & Pacific Railroad at the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park is transformed into a haunted park of fun for the Halloween Spook-Track-ula. This family-friendly event is perfect for kids of all ages. The event’s main feature, a spooky train ride created with younger children in mind…a bit spooky, but not too frightening.
The Spook-Track-Ula runs from October 7 through 31 beginning at 6 pm. Tickets are $15 per person and must be purchased in advance here. On select weeknights, tickets are $10 after 8 pm. Ticket fee is for a 90 minute time block of fun, which includes unlimited train and carousel rides. Time blocks run from 6 – 7:30 pm and 8 – 9:30 pm. The McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park is located at 7301 E. Indian Bend Rd., Scottsdale, 85250.
Fright in the Lights, Halloween Drive-Thru Light Show – Mesa
Grab family and friends and bring the Halloween Spirit to life with this family-friendly spooky drive-thru light show. The Fright in the Lights Halloween Drive-Thru Light Show promises perfectly lit, larger than life ghosts and goblins, pumpkins, spiders, and more.
Families will pay $30 to $36 per carload, depending on whether it’s a weekday or weekend, click here to purchase tickets in advance. Beginning October 11 and running through October 31. Open from 6 to 9 pm daily. The fun happens at the Thompson Event Center, located at 1901 North Alma School Road, Mesa, 85201
Halloween Stroll – Downtown Tempe
Calling all ghosts, goblins, and princesses of all ages to Tempe’s Halloween Stroll Downtown. Join the fun for a not-so-spooky Halloween. Events planned include games like Dart Boogie, crafts, a Kids-Only Costume Contest plus trick-or-treating with over 25 downtown merchants.
Stroll on over, on Sunday, October 30 from 2 to 5 pm to Downtown Tempe, in the area of 1 West Rio Salado Pkwy, Tempe, 85281. No entrance fee is listed on the website.
Dia De Los Muertos Phoenix Festival
Dia De Los Muertos is a day when homage is paid to ancestors with prayers, offerings of food, and the building of altars to the beloved departed. Each region has its unique style of celebration.
In Arizona, the annual Dia de los Muertos is a Celebration of Life. Making appearances at Dia de los Muertos this year will be Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent, La Llorona looking for her children, skeletons looking for dance partners, and La Procesión, a celebratory procession in which the audience joins performers in a candlelit, joyful burst of music, dance and remembrance.
Join this FREE, fun, festive, and uniquely southwestern cultural experience on Sunday, October 30 from 2 to 7 pm at Steel Indian School Park, located at 300 E Indian School Rd, Phoenix 85012.
Dia De Los Muertos – Mesa
The Mesa Arts Center is the location for another FREE celebration of of Dia De Los Muertos. Experience over a dozen cultural performances and live music and entertainment. The community is invited to participate in the memories of the deceased with a community altar. There will also be altar contests with submissions by the community. Artist demonstrations are also planned.
Join this celebration of rememberance October 22 and 23 from 10 am to 5 pm each day. The Mesa Arts Center is located at One East Main St., Mesa, 85201. This is a free event. Interested in volunteering, click here, as long as you’re 16 or older.
Dia de Muertos Celebration at Rising Youth Theater
Honor your departed loved ones at the Rising Youth Theater’s (RYT) Dia de Muertos Celebration. This event is FREE. Food will be provided, so registering for the event in advance is necessary.
Here is a list of items participants can bring to celebrate their loved one’s memory: 1. Photos of loved ones who have passed away (4×6) 2. Plates of loved one’s favorite food to share (not mandatory). 3. Titles of loved one’s favorite songs. 4. A candle to light in loved one’s honor.
The RYT’s Dia de Muertos Celebration takes place on Wednesday, November 2, from 5:00 – 8:30 pm at the Phoenix Center for the Arts, 1202 North 3rd Street Phoenix, 85004. Click here to register in advance.
Fall Rail Festival at the Arizona Railway Museum
If anyone in your family loves trains, the Fall Rail Festival at the Arizona Railway Museum is just for them and it’s FREE. Enjoy the season’s festivities while you leisurely stroll through 12 antique passenger cars. Music, food, and fun add to the celebration.
The Fall Rail Festival takes place on Saturday, November 12 from 9 am to 4 pm. The Arizona Railway Museum is located at 330 East Ryan Road, Chandler, 85286. Click here for this event’s flyer. No advance tickets are needed.
Harvest Festival at Enchanted Island – Phoenix
Don’t miss the Harvest Festival at Encanto Park’s Enchanted Island in Phoenix. Pony rides, corn box, petting zoo, pumpkin golf and bowling are planned, not to mention carnival games and bouncy houses. The climax of this Harvest Festival is a hayride through the historic Encanto Park neighborhood. Point of Phoenix history–the Enanto Park neighborhood was the first community development in the Valley, going back to 1939.
The Harvest Festival will take place on November 19 and 20 from 11 am to 6 pm at Encanto Park, located at 1202 West Encanto Blvd., Phoenix, 85007. Families will pay $15 per person for unlimited access to the Harvest Festival and $30 per person for unlimited access to the Harvest Festival and amusement park rides. 55 and over pay only $8 for the Harvest Festival.
American Heritage Festival at Schnepf Farms – Queen Creek
The American Heritage Festival at Schnepf Farms provides an interactive and educational presentation of historic American life from Colonial Days and continuing all the way until the present day. Experienced actors come from across the country to bring the best reenactments in the Western United States.
Experience anything from everyday life to amazing reenactments of the American Revolution, Civil War, Old West and Vietnam era among many other dramatic reenactments as well. Enjoy an 18th Century style church service and a fashion show as well.
The American Heritage Festival takes place on November 19 from 10 am to 4:30 pm. The Festival costs $20 at the gate, children 3 and under are free. Schnepf Farms is located at 24810 South Rittenhouse Rd., Queen Creek, 85142.
Please check back with this post as Phoenix on the Cheap will be adding more events throughout October and November.
For additional FREE Fall Events, click here.
For local Halloween Pumpkin Patches, click here.
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