Must Attend March Events

Cactus League Spring Training
Feb 23 – March 26

If your perfect afternoon involves hot dogs and brews, sunny skies and plenty of MLB excitement, get ready for Cactus League Spring Training in Scottsdale! The 2012 World Champion San Francisco Giants take on the competition at Scottsdale Stadium, where laid-back lawn seating, reserved grandstand seats and the VIP Charro Lodge provide great views of the on-field action. Nearby, the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks take to the field at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community.

It’s Major League Baseball action at its finest – get your tickets today!

The 60th Annual Parada del Sol Rodeo delivers high-octane, PRCA-sanctioned rodeo action at its finest. You’ll see some of Arizona’s best bull riding, matching the country’s top bull riders with the orneriest bulls in all of rodeo. The 2013 Parada del Sol Rodeo line-up also includes specialty act “John Payne: The One-Arm Bandit and Company.”

This annual Heard Museum event is one of the Southwest’s largest and most prestigious marketplaces for American Indian art. You’ll have firsthand access to more than 700 outstanding jewelers, sculptors, painters, potters, weavers, bead workers, katsina doll carvers and basket makers. The Fair weekend also includes music and dance performances, artist demonstrations and Native foods, as well as full access to the Heard’s 12 exhibit galleries.

Rev up the excitement at Goodguys, which features more than 2,500 customs, classics, muscle cars and trucks built through 1972. Weekend highlights include the Goodguys AutoCross, featuring street rods and trucks, and All-American Sunday, which boasts late-model, American-made and/or -powered vehicles, as well as special cruises and parties.

The award-winning Scottsdale Arts Festival features 200 jury-selected artists from throughout the United States, top-notch live music and entertainment, and delicious fare from the Valley’s gourmet specialty food trucks. There also are fun activities for kids and families, and much more.

The EXPO unites an impressive gathering of 100 nationally celebrated and award-winning artists that passionately produce art in studios. They can be seen painting in all mediums, assembling mosaics, sculpting clay, carving wood, composing mixed media on canvas, welding, designing and sculpting jewelry, and sketching in pen and ink, pastels and pencil. Outside, artists can be found working in outdoor cabanas carving alabaster, etching stone, welding, patina finishing, glass fusing and more!

The Old West is alive and well at this wildly popular event. One of the largest events of its kind in the nation, Festival of the West is a family-friendly event featuring Western music, Western film and TV celebrities, cowboy poetry, a costume contest, action-packed arena events, chuck wagon cooking competition and over 200 exhibitors selling unique Western merchandise. Saturday night’s concert headliner is Chris Cagle.

These free noontime festivals explore Native American cultures of the Southwest through music, dance and storytelling. There also will be artisans on site creating and selling their work, as well as local merchants selling pre-packaged indigenous food items. Native Trails is held from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. most Thursdays and Saturdays at Scottsdale Civic Center Park. For your comfort, bring a blanket or lawn chair.