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Fall Happenings 2026: Sep/Oct

boyce-thompson arboretum rock formations + foliage

The Happenings List

This is my handpicked list of intriguing things I found going on throughout Arizona – as well as some you can enjoy anywhere – for the months of September + October!

  • *Stars highlight discounts, extras, and other goodies!
  • While the list focuses on Arizona events, I highlight several ways to participate ANYWHERE.

 

vultures
Vultures on Mt. Lemmon near Tucson, Arizona.

ANYWHERE

International Vulture Awareness Day

September 5

Happening annually on the first Saturday in September, this day is about educating the public on vultures + condors. These are often misunderstood but vitally important creatures.

 

Dragonfly sculpture
“Common Green Darner” sculpture by Alex Heveri at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.

Virtual Dragonfly Festival Events

September 8 + 16
Zoom

The Dragonfly Festival takes place throughout September in Southern Arizona. While many of the events include in-person visits to waterways in the region, there are a couple presentations that anyone can join via Zoom! Each talk focuses on a specific type of dragonflies and is given by a Pima County Conservation Lands and Resources naturalist.

  • Sep. 8, 7-8pm MST: Pond Damsels, the largest damselfly family in the world.
  • Sep. 16, 7-8pm MST: Skimmers, a colorful and common group of dragonflies that you can spot at ponds and streams.
  • Free, registration required

 

 

peace pole in Sedona
Peace Pole at Tlaquepaque in Sedona.

International Day of Peace

September 21
Worldwide

Under the theme “Invest in Peace: For Everyone, Everywhere, Every Day,” this year’s International Day of Peace honors the ‘everyday architects of peace’—people driving local action, laying the groundwork for stability, and building a lasting peace from the ground up.
Continue reading “Fall Happenings 2026: Sep/Oct”

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Summer Happenings 2026

The Happenings List

This is my handpicked list of intriguing things I found going on throughout Arizona – as well as some you can enjoy anywhere!

What to know…

  • *Stars highlight discounts, extras, and other goodies!
  • Pricing listed is typically the approximate price for 1 adult, single-day general admission.

$ = under $25
$$ = $25-74
$$$ = $75-149
$$$$ = $150-299
$$$$$ = 300 and up

  • While the list focuses on Arizona events, I highlight several ways to participate ANYWHERE.
progress flag
Progress Pride Flag stairs in Kenmore, Washington

Anniversaries and Commemorations

Continue reading “Summer Happenings 2026”

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The Art + Craft of Route 66

art 66

I happened to visit Flagstaff the year Route 66 celebrated its 90th anniversary.

View across Historic Route 66, west of Flagstaff
Historic Route 66 between Flagstaff and Williams, AZ

Now, a decade later, my mom and I will be returning for the famed road’s Centennial Celebration.

Mural in heritage square in flagstaff
Mural by Joe Sorren outside of Diablo Burger in Flagstaff

aRT 66

While we’re there, we’ll also be exploring the art and craft in Route 66 communities – like artisan ceramics, jewelry, food and beverages, sculptures, weaving, mixed media, and murals. We’re planning to visit community craft spaces, quilt shops, museums, artist studios and galleries, historic sites, and more!

Once we’re done, we’ll create a guide, so you’ll be able to visit our favorite spots too!

High Country Motor Lodge, Flagstaff, Arizona
High Country Motor Lodge, Flagstaff

We’re calling the project aRT 66.

And since I’m all about attainable goals, we’re going to start small, exploring the (roughly) 66 miles from Homolovi State Park in Winslow to the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff.

rugs from the Hubbel Trading Post on display at Tucson Festival of Books
Rugs from the Hubbel Trading Post on display at Tucson Festival of Books

If we’re able to, we’ll expand our project to visit more of the Route this year, but there’s a lot to see even in that comparatively small section of Northern Arizona.

Is there a place you’d love to visit on Route 66?

Flagstaff Heritage Square
Heritage Square in Flagstaff

More Route 66 Centennial Info

Flagstaff Route 66 Birthday Celebration

  • 6/6 at 10am
  • In Heritage Square (Historic Downtown Flagstaff)
  • Full day of festivities: sky writing, live music, craft stations, reenactments, a classic car show, interactive street murals, a photo booth
  • Activities for kids include balloon animals, face painting, bookmobile with storytelling area, and a coloring station.
  • At dusk, there will be an outdoor screening of the movie Cars

All Route 66

Find more Route 66 festivities and projects taking place throughout the year on the Route 66 Centennial site.

 

Route 66 mural outside Matador Coffee Roasting Company, Flagstaff
Matador Coffee Roasting Company, Flagstaff
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Spring Happenings: March – May 2026

The Happenings List

This is my handpicked list of intriguing things going-on throughout Arizona – as well as some you can join in anywhere!

view of purple lupine, Mexican gold poppies, and other desert wildflowers at Picacho Peak State Park

What to know…

  • *Stars highlight discounts, extras, and other goodies!
  • Pricing listed is typically the approximate price for 1 adult, single-day general admission.

$ = under $25
$$ = $25-74
$$$ = $75-149
$$$$ = $150-299
$$$$$ = 300 and up

  • While the list focuses on Arizona events, I highlight several ways to participate ANYWHERE.

Anniversaries and Commemorations

  • March is Women’s History Month.
  • April is National Poetry Month, Global Volunteer Month, and Arab American Month.
  • May is Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders Heritage (AANHPI) Month, as well as Jewish American Heritage Month.

For more Heritage and Awareness Months, check out the American Alliance of Museums list.

“An artery of transportation, an agent of social transformation, and a remnant of America’s past, [Route 66] stretches 2,400 miles across two-thirds of the continent.”

–National Park Service Travel Route 66: Essay Series

  • Route 66 Centennial – Route 66 turns 100 this year, and there are celebrations all along the iconic highway – some of which are on this List! We’ll also have more for you coming up on the art and local flavor along the so-called “Mother Road!”
  • U.S. Semiquincentennial – a.k.a. the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence or America250. Branching off of that are initiatives like Vote250, which encourages voter registration, as well as Trails250 and Birding250, which promote spending time outside.

 

Embroidery that says
Embroidery by Badass Cross Stitch

ANYWHERE

Intro to Embroidery Workshop with Badass Cross Stitch

online via Zoom
March 7, 12pm MST

Small group, no-pressure workshop where you’ll learn about embroidery materials, how to get set up, working with patterns or designing your own pieces, and how to backstitch.

  • Instructor: Shannon Downey a.k.a. Badass Cross Stitch
  • Register via Eventbrite
  • Fee is pay-what-you-can

 

“More Than Human World” Workshop Series with Miller

online via Zoom
March 9, 16, 23, 30 at 5pm MST

Interactive workshops over Zoom that will include both guided exercises within your own space and opportunities to share with the community. Specifically designed for LGBTQIA2S+ individuals, these workshops will offer ways to connect to elements of the natural world and feel more grounded when life seems overwhelming.

  • Free. Registration required.

Continue reading “Spring Happenings: March – May 2026”

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Quilt, Craft, and Sewing Festival: Part 2

Updated February 2026.
Originally posted March 2020.

While the Quilt, Craft, and Sewing Festival has great fabric and pattern vendors (some of which we featured in Part 1 of this post), that’s not all that’s there.

Quilt shop clock
Quilt shop cuckoo clock from Cheryl Ann’s Design Walls booth

You can find booths for guilds and organizations devoted to keeping handmade traditions alive. There also are lots of vendors selling tools, embellishments, and materials that go along with quilting and other types of crafting. It’s impressive how many of them have invented, made, or designed the products they’re selling!

Continue reading “Quilt, Craft, and Sewing Festival: Part 2”

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