The 4^th annual Grand Avenue Festival is this Saturday, October 20^th
and community involvement is a huge component!

The focus for this year’s celebration is the vibrant culture, art, history and adaptive re-use of the Lower Grand Avenue Arts and Small Business District and adjoining neighborhoods.

Opportunities abound!

Coffee, Cookies & Crafts

Hanging Gardens & Woven Fences & Trashy Sculptures

Grand Trashy Hat Promenade

Bands on Grand Performances (free)

Food

Free tours of the Historic Commercial Building and Adaptive Reuse, begin at 8 am and continue hourly until 11 am, courtesy of the Phoenix Revitalization Corporation (PRC), followed by Free screenings of “The Greenest Building,” shown at the conclusion of the tour.

Check out the Festival on Facebook

Official Festival Flyer [download, print, share!]

With widespread attention and growing support for a trolley on the Grand Avenue Rail Project to boot and a Final Report from Greening America’s Capitals, Grand Avenue is poised to bust open in a big way this year…but we need community support…your support to make it happen!

Recent developments along Lower Grand Avenue reveal an emerging, grassroots effort to revitalize the area. In 1998, a federally funded Weed and Seed project, which aimed to reduce violent crime by “weeding” out offenders and “seeding” community services, kick-started a partnership between city, federal, and state agencies, as well as the local faith community, residents, businesses, and nonprofits. This partnership has led to a 40 percent reduction in violent crime over the last 10 years. Artists have colonized the street, taking advantage of inexpensive vacant and underused warehouse and shop spaces.” ~ Greening America’s Capitals

(Greening America’s Capitals selected Phoenix in 2011 as one of five nationwide cities.)

“[Phoenix] asked for assistance to improve the Lower Grand Avenue streetscape, making it more environmentally, pedestrian-, and bicycle-friendly while also maintaining the neighborhood’s artistic character. The EPA design team will explore options that use green infrastructure techniques suitable for arid climates to capture and treat stormwater runoff. Design options might also include improvements to pedestrian crossings, transit shelters, bicycle paths, and trolleys.”

The Grand Avenue Festival is sponsored in part by the Grand Avenue Merchants’ Assoc.; Phoenix Revitalization Corp.; Oasis on Grand; Glass Lab Metal Lab; Abromovitz Grand Avenue Partners, LLC; Arizona Pedal Cabs; Phoenix New Times; Dunlap & Magee Property Management.

October is a great month to live in Phoenix. Not only is the weather beautiful, excluding this week of course, but there are great things going on all month long in every corner of town.

October 15^th

• Oktoberfest is upon us. Pull on your Lederhosen or Dirndls and head down to Margaret T. Hance Park. Of course there’s more than just beer and sing-a-longs. There will be mouthwatering sausages, authentic strudel, and German products to boot. You can find out more about tickets and times on their website.
• The Makers Faire is a One day DIY festival celebrating all things art, food, science, music and more. The festival will be held downtown between 3^rd and 5^th on Roosevelt Row from 11am to 7pm. http://www.makerfairephoenix.com/
• Tour de Fat is an annual bike ride held at various time of year across the country.  Tomorrow at 10 am is the official Tour de Fat parade where bike and Fat tire beer enthusiasts will mount wild bikes and ride Tempe beach park followed by a beer pour from 11-4 all in the name of fun and local cycling nonprofits.  

Other things happening this weekend. How about the Arizona State Fair, the Arizona taco festival, or the  The TASTE Chandler Culinary Festival. It might seem like a very foodie weekend, but what wrong with that?

Oct 20^th is our next Get Your PHX Event from 5:30pm – 8:30pm at the Nina Mason Pulliam Rio Salado Audubon Center. Come by and have a beer while you learn about their efforts in habitat restoration and education.

Oct 22^nd

• For those of you who want to feel a little more artists and a little less bloated,there is the  The Humanities Festival. The Humanities festival is a day of cultural, educational, and artistic activities from internationally known groups, authors and artists. The festival runs from 10am to 6pm at the new Civic Space Park Downtown next Saturday.
• The Grand Avenue  Festival is a celebration of Phoenix’s drive to revitalize and renew its downtown.  Come Celebrate Downtown’s vibrant culture, art, history and adaptive re-use of the Lower Grand Avenue arts and small business district and adjoining neighborhoods The 3rd Grand Avenue Festival will be October 22nd from 3 – 11 pm.
• The Food Truck Festival is rolling into town thanks in part to the Roosevelt Row CDC and Phoenix Street food Coalition. A ticket gets you inside to sample from each of the food trucks at your leisure. More than two dozen food trucks and carts are expected to be on hand for the event, providing hungry patrons an opportunity to taste the latest food trend popping up all over the nation.

What else is coming up that weekend, Chandler’s Day of Play, The Arab American Festival, The TBAG Zombie Bike Ride, and more!

And that’s just the next two weeks! With all the events going on this month, there’s something for everyone. Get out there and be a part of Phoenix’s growing community.