At 8 a.m. this Saturday, November 7, the produce tents go up on the City Hall surface lot at 3939 N. Drinkwater Blvd. Three hours later, a few steps away on Civic Center Plaza, the 11th annual Scottsdale Italian Festival opens its gates. At 6:30 that evening, the first Walter Productions fire show starts at the Scottsdale Waterfront. A year ago, none of those three things would have been happening in those places.
Two moves this fall shifted Old Town's daytime crowds onto Civic Center. The farmers market left Brown Avenue, and the Italian Festival left the Waterfront. Canal Convergence now has the canal to itself after dark. This weekend is the first time all three run together.
Two moves, one address
The Old Town Scottsdale Farmers Market had operated since 2009 and represents more than 100 local growers and specialty food producers. For years its home was the Parking Corral at First Street and Brown Avenue, which city case records list as 3806 N. Brown Ave., Lot 1. According to the Scottsdale Independent, the city cleared that lot to build a parking garage, a project the paper called highly controversial. The market moved to what it describes as a new, larger site at the City Hall parking lot. The 2026–27 season opened there on Saturday, October 3, and runs 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays from October through April.
The Italian Festival moved for a different reason. Its old spot was along the Waterfront, and it no longer fit there. The Daily Independent reported that this year's event will use the 24-acre Scottsdale Civic Center Plaza, listed at the same 3939 N. Drinkwater Blvd. address. About 60 vendors are expected, 12 of them Italian restaurants.
"It's our biggest and most exciting festival yet," Italian Association of Arizona board member Ron Pacioni told the Daily Independent.
The two events moved for unrelated reasons and ended up a short walk apart, on the same Saturday.
How Saturday, November 7 lays out
Put the posted hours side by side and you get a full day, split between two parts of Old Town.
| Time | Where | What's happening |
|---|---|---|
| 8 a.m. | City Hall lot, 3939 N. Drinkwater Blvd. | Farmers market opens |
| 10 a.m. | 7320 E. Indian Plaza | Holla Brunch Girl's Saturday rooftop brunch begins |
| 11 a.m. | Civic Center Plaza | Italian Festival gates open |
| 1 p.m. | City Hall lot | Farmers market closes |
| 3 p.m. | 7320 E. Indian Plaza | Rooftop brunch ends |
| 6 p.m. | Scottsdale Waterfront | Canal Convergence opens; Mario Why on the Herberger Stage; art tours and SRP canal history tours begin |
| 6:30 p.m. | Scottsdale Waterfront | First fire show |
| 7 p.m. | Civic Center Plaza | Italian Festival closes for the night |
| 7:30 p.m. | Scottsdale Waterfront | Smokestack Lightning, second fire show |
| 9 p.m. | Scottsdale Waterfront | Goldwax Revival |
| 10 p.m. | Scottsdale Waterfront | Canal Convergence closes |
The market and the festival are both open from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. If you want to shop the farm stands and then eat at the festival, that's the window. General admission to the festival is $14.99 at presale against a $30 regular price, and children 12 and under get in free. On Sunday the festival runs 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Holla Brunch Girl is one of Old Town's newest openings. Its rooftop brunch runs Saturdays only for now, it's 21 and over, and Old Town Scottsdale says a Sunday brunch is in the works.
The Waterfront takes the evenings
With the Italian Festival gone from the canal, the Waterfront is all Canal Convergence. This year's theme is "Western Nature," and the event runs November 6 through 15. It's free, lasts 10 nights, and is in its 15th year. Scottsdale Arts lists hours of 6 to 10 p.m. on the two Friday-Saturday pairs, November 6–7 and 13–14. Every other night, including the November 15 closing, it runs 6 to 9 p.m.
Eleven artworks are listed for this year, among them:
- PERIGEE by Chalk River Labs
- Desert Choir by Ottomata
- KaKtos by Amigo & Amigo
- grandmother turtle by In Theory Art Studios with Laura Tohe and Nora Naranjo-Morse
- Prairie Fire by True North Absurdities
- The Way The West Was Sold by Jolly Productions
- Western Fire Garden by Walter Productions
Here is the first weekend, night by night:
- Friday, November 6: Mare at 6 p.m., Space Traveler's Union at 7:15 p.m. and Cameron Jeong at 8:30 p.m. on the Herberger Stage. Fire shows start at 6:30, 7:30 and 8:30 p.m.
- Saturday, November 7: Mario Why at 6 p.m., Smokestack Lightning at 7:30 p.m. and Goldwax Revival at 9 p.m.
- Sunday, November 8: The Melroses at 6 p.m. and DORSTEN at 7:30 p.m., with the shorter 9 p.m. close.
On all three nights, one-hour art tours start at 6 p.m. and cost $6. The SRP Canal History Tours start at the same time and are free with an RSVP. If the first weekend doesn't work, the hands-on programming is mostly on weeknights. Scottsdale Arts lists natural-pigment painting with the Center for Imagination in the Borderlands on November 9, beading with Maxica Colectivo on November 10, and an ASU FIDM student fashion show plus a Jeremy Arviso fashion show on November 12. Scottsdale Community College Dance performs at 7 and 8 p.m. on closing night. The November 9 art tour is ASL-translated, and the November 11 tour is in Spanish.
Thursday night is on Marshall Way
The weekend actually starts tonight, Thursday, November 5. Scottsdale ArtWalk runs in the Arts District every Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m. Two of the newest businesses on Marshall Way are on that route. French Crêperie announced an October 24 grand opening at 4225 N. Marshall Way, Suite 2. It serves sweet and savory crêpes and café fare and also teaches classes. A few doors north, Mavericks Hat Bar is open at 4251 N. Marshall Way. Old Town Scottsdale promoted a celebration there on October 24.
A little east, General Admission began a soft opening on October 8 at 3737 N. Scottsdale Road, in the space RnR Gastropub used to occupy. Forking Scottsdale reported on October 15 that it was still in its soft-opening phase. Between Marshall Way, Scottsdale Road and Drinkwater, all of these spots are walkable from Civic Center. That makes it easier to eat in Old Town before an evening at the canal.
Parking around both halves
The old market lot on Brown Avenue was itself parking, and the garage replacing it isn't finished. This weekend, the drivers who would have used it go elsewhere. For market visitors, Scottsdale Progress reported that visitor parking is across the street at One Civic Center. The Canal Convergence map from Scottsdale Arts lists public parking at the South Bridge Underground Garage, the 5th Ave. Garage, the Galleria Garage and the Brown Parking Garage. The embedded map is labeled 2025, so check the event page for road closures before you head out.
Since the daytime events are at Civic Center and the evening ones are at the Waterfront, you can keep one parking spot all day and walk between them.
Civic Center stays busy after this weekend
Next weekend, Civic Center has another event. The Civic Center Library's Fall Book Sale starts Friday, November 13, and runs for two days in the library lobby. That same Friday and Saturday, Canal Convergence is back on its 10 p.m. schedule, and the market is back on the City Hall lot Saturday morning. Scottsdazzle runs November 28 through December 31 across Old Town, starting with a tree lighting on November 28. Experience Scottsdale says more event details are coming.
A few Old Town restaurant changes are still pending. Drake's Hollywood is slated for the former Buca di Beppo at 3828 N. Scottsdale Road, with only "fall" given as a timeframe. BOA Steakhouse is planned for the Scottsdale Waterfront, but no opening day has been announced. Sel Bistro has closed after a decade in Old Town, PHOENIX magazine reported. Every Saturday through April, the market will be on the City Hall lot from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Old Town is home for a lot of my clients, and I like knowing where their Saturday mornings happen as well as what their homes are worth. If you're thinking about a home within walking distance of Civic Center and the canal, or wondering how the new garage on Brown Avenue might shape your block, I'm glad to talk it through. Reach out to Francine Dinh, and let's connect, maybe over a crêpe on Marshall Way.
