The Best Fall and Holiday Events in Scottsdale and Phoenix for 2026
There is something about fall in the desert that feels like the real beginning of the year.
As temperatures finally begin to cool, Scottsdale and Phoenix come back to life with gallery openings, outdoor dinners, design events, concerts, art festivals and some of the Valley’s most anticipated social events of the season.
For anyone returning to Arizona for the winter, or simply looking forward to spending more time outside again, fall 2026 has an especially good calendar of art, design, food and cultural events.
Here are a few I am putting on my calendar.
September: Vintage Finds, Art, Dining and the Start of the Season
September is still warm, but it marks the beginning of Scottsdale’s cultural season and offers a few very good reasons to start venturing out again.
One event I always think is worth exploring is Junk in the Trunk Vintage Market, returning to WestWorld of Scottsdale September 18 through 20. More than 160 vintage curators, small businesses and handmade artisans fill over 120,000 square feet with antique furniture, vintage finds, architectural pieces, art, accessories and one of a kind objects for the home. There is also live music, food and drinks throughout the weekend.
For anyone who loves interiors, it is a particularly fun place to hunt. I am always drawn to pieces with some history because they keep a newly remodeled home from feeling overly new or predictable. An old table, unusual piece of art, vintage vessel or architectural fragment can often become the thing that gives a room its personality.
Friday evening offers VIP shopping from 4 to 9 p.m., followed by early entry and general admission Saturday and general admission Sunday. Tickets are already available.
Junk in the Trunk Vintage Market information and tickets
Fall Arizona Restaurant Week runs September 18 through 27, with restaurants throughout Scottsdale, Phoenix and the Valley offering special prix fixe menus. Current pricing is $33, $44 or $55 at participating restaurants, making it an easy excuse to revisit an old favorite or try somewhere new.
It is also a good way to discover restaurants that may have opened over the summer while many seasonal residents were away.
Explore Fall Arizona Restaurant Week
Art lovers should also save Friday, September 25. Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art will hold its Fall Opening Celebration at 7 p.m., celebrating three new exhibitions and immersive installations. Admission to the opening celebration is free with RSVP.
One of the new installations, What Keeps the Earth Still, explores relationships between land, ecology and cultural memory, themes that feel particularly relevant to the way we live and design in the desert.
Explore the SMoCA Fall Opening Celebration
October: The Month for Design
If you are interested in interiors, architecture or art, October may be the best month of the entire fall.
Desert Design Week returns October 6 through 11, with events throughout Scottsdale and Phoenix. The citywide program brings together architects, designers, artists and collectors for home tours, studio visits, exhibitions, conversations and curated gatherings. Tickets are scheduled to be released in early September.
This is one I am particularly looking forward to because it goes beyond simply looking at beautiful spaces. It is an opportunity to see how other people are thinking about architecture, art and design in the Southwest right now.
Beginning October 9, Desert Botanical Garden is also introducing something completely new.
Super Bloom by Graphic Rewilding will transform 21 locations throughout the Garden with enormous botanical illustrations, colorful glass structures and immersive floral installations. During the day, the pieces interact with the desert landscape. After dark, the installations transform through light, color and shadow.
Super Bloom opens as part of the Garden’s Great Fall Kickoff Festival, October 9 through 18, with music, seasonal food, activities and evening programming. Super Bloom itself will remain on view beyond the festival.
For anyone who loves landscape design, color or the relationship between art and nature, this sounds particularly worthwhile.
Explore Desert Botanical Garden fall events
November: Scottsdale at Its Best
This is when the season really gets underway.
From November 6 through 15, Canal Convergence returns to the Scottsdale Waterfront. The free ten night event brings large scale contemporary public art installations to the canal along with live music, dance, workshops, tours, food and a beer and wine garden.
The 2026 theme is Western Nature, exploring the environmental and cultural landscapes of Arizona, the Southwest and the American West.
I always like events that allow you to experience art outside the traditional gallery setting, and Canal Convergence has become one of Scottsdale’s most interesting examples.
On Saturday, November 7, the Bentley Scottsdale Polo Championships return to WestWorld for their 15th anniversary. Polo is obviously the centerpiece, but the event has evolved into a much larger Scottsdale lifestyle gathering with fashion, luxury automobiles, food, wine and elaborate hospitality experiences alongside three polo matches.
It is one of those events that feels distinctly Scottsdale.
Bentley Scottsdale Polo Championships
Also on November 7 and 8, the Kierland Fine Art & Wine Festival takes over Kierland Commons. More than 100 local and national artists are expected, along with live music and a Willcox Wine Country tasting experience featuring Arizona wines. General admission to the art festival is free.
This is a particularly nice event if you are furnishing a home, looking for original artwork or simply want to spend an afternoon outside once our beautiful November weather finally arrives.
Kierland Fine Art & Wine Festival details
The Holidays Begin in Scottsdale
By late November, Scottsdale transitions surprisingly quickly from fall into the holidays.
Christmas at the Princess begins November 20 and continues through January 2. The Fairmont Scottsdale Princess transforms its 65 acre resort with more than 17 million lights, an outdoor ice skating rink, fire tables, holiday characters, a 120 foot Ferris wheel and miles of lights throughout the property.
Even without children in tow, there is something wonderful about walking through the resort, having a cocktail and enjoying the lights.
For those looking for a more elevated experience, the resort also offers upgraded admission and hospitality options in addition to general admission.
Christmas at the Princess 2026
December: Art, Music and Holiday Traditions
December brings together some of the Valley’s best arts events and holiday traditions.
A favorite for anyone who enjoys collecting original art is the Tempe Festival of the Arts, December 4 through 6. The long running Downtown Tempe festival brings together artists from around the country with fine art, handmade work, food, live entertainment, beer and wine. Admission is free.
Even if you are not actively shopping for art, it is an enjoyable way to spend a December afternoon outdoors and an opportunity to find something original rather than mass produced.
Tempe Festival of the Arts information
The Phoenix Symphony Holiday Pops Spectacular runs December 4 through 6 at Symphony Hall, with the Phoenix Symphony Chorus joining the orchestra for a festive program of holiday music.
Holiday Pops Spectacular tickets and information
Another Arizona holiday tradition worth putting on the calendar is Ballet Arizona’s The Nutcracker, performed December 11 through 27 at Symphony Hall with live music by The Phoenix Symphony.
Whether it is an annual family tradition or something you have not attended in years, The Nutcracker is one of those performances that immediately feels like the holidays. Afternoon and evening performances run throughout December, and tickets are already available.
Ballet Arizona The Nutcracker tickets and dates
Later in the month, Holiday Baroque runs December 18 through 20 at the historic Orpheum Theatre. The Phoenix Symphony will perform music by Bach, Charpentier, Torelli, Scarlatti and Gabrieli in one of downtown Phoenix’s most beautiful historic venues.
Phoenix Symphony Holiday Baroque
A Season to Enjoy Home Again
One of the things I love most about this time of year in Arizona is how quickly our relationship with home changes.
Doors open again. Patios become living rooms. Friends stay longer after dinner. We begin entertaining outside, pulling out serving pieces we have not used all summer and thinking about the small details that make a home feel welcoming.
It is also when design inspiration seems to be everywhere. A color combination at an exhibition, landscaping at the Desert Botanical Garden, a beautiful table at dinner, a vintage find or an unexpected piece of art can become the beginning of an entirely new idea for home.
If you are returning to Scottsdale for the season, remodeling a home or simply ready to make your spaces feel fresh again, fall is a wonderful time to start thinking about what you want your home to feel like for the months ahead.
Victoria King Design creates thoughtful, highly personal interiors for homeowners who want their homes to feel collected, comfortable and distinctly their own. If you are ready to get started on your own design journey, schedule a consultation today to begin.