Arizona: Mesa, MACFest Free Family Fun with No Extra Calories. 
Located only minutes from downtown Phoenix and Scottsdale, the City of Mesa has a variety of free fall festivals and exciting outdoor events geared to the spirit of the Southwest. The Mesa Storytelling Festival, el Dia de los Muertos Celebration, the Holiday Art & Music Festival, and MACFest are just some of the arts and cultural offerings ideal for families.
Framed by the fiery sunsets of the Sonoran Desert, the city of Mesa offers visitors comfortable arid weather, quaint and sometime trendy dining, and oodles of shopping opportunities within the thriving arts district. Mesa Arts and Culture’s (MACFest) menu of fall festivals and weekly events provides plenty of entertainment options.
Tell me a story. Featured by Cookie Magazine on Good Morning America as one of the top fall festivals in the nation, The Mesa Storytelling Festival is fun for the entire family. Join storytellers Bobby Norfolk, Motoko, Mary Gay Ducey, and Dovie Thomason as they take part in the Valley’s largest storytelling event celebrating the art of storytelling, a love of reading, and the power of the imagination October 23- 24, 2009 at Mesa Arts Center. The featured tellers will appear indoors on the beautiful stages at Mesa Arts Center.
Celebrate Dia de los Muertos. Don't miss out on this one-of-a-kind cultural festival. Mesa Arts Center hosts the third annual Dia de los Muertos Festival in conjunction with the Consulate General of Mexico in Phoenix, Friends of Mexican Art, and the Mesa Association of Hispanic Citizens. Dia de Los Muertos is a community celebration honoring the memory of departed loved ones. The event is complete with a community altar, live music and performances, food, and a Mercado featuring an assortment of Day of the Dead merchandise, jewelry, arts and crafts, children’s activities, entertainment, and more. The festival is from October 31- November 1, 2009.
Connect holiday shopping and family fun. This season, avoid lines at crowded shopping centers and do your holiday shopping outdoors on the beautiful Mesa Arts Center campus. The annual Holiday Art & Music Festival will feature original works of art for sale by several local and national artists, live entertainment on two stages, artist demonstrations in glassblowing, metals, and ceramics, children’s activities, and a variety of food from featured local restaurants. Come to Mesa Arts Center December 12- 13, 2009 to kick off the holiday season at this fun-filled arts festival.
Enjoy music, art, and food. Mesa Arts and Culture Festival (MACFest) is a free weekly event featuring unique artist creations, music, and fun for the whole family in downtown Mesa. The addition of a farmer’s market is planned to start Saturday, October 24. The festival takes place every Saturday, October 3, 2009 - April 24, 2010 (excluding December 26 and January 2) on Main and Macdonald Streets.
Three for free. (Oct 4, 2009 - May 2, 2010).Mesa Arts Center has expanded our free Sunday concert series with a new show on each Three for Free day. Now there’s even more reason to spend the first Sunday of the month in Mesa. Mesa Arts Center will sponsor free concerts on the first Sunday of the month from 1:00 PM – 4: 00 PM in the Wayne and Kathye Brown Sculpture Courtyard. Bring a snack and enjoy live music in a great setting.
Not to be missed: In May 2010 attend Todd Crowley's Musical Petting Zoo, an interactive opportunity to experience folk instruments.
Bonus points: Mesa Museums will be open for free on the first Sunday of every month thanks to Target. Through September 2010, Mesa Contemporary Arts, Arizona Museum of Natural History, and Arizona Museum for Youth will be free to the general public from 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM.
Share a play with your kids. Two of my favorite theatre companies are based with the Mesa Arts complex. Each excellent in their own way, both offer mini respites from stressful schedules and ideal additions to any family vacation in the Phoenix area. First, Southwest Shakespeare Company based within the Mesa arts complex offers spirited stage banter encouraging audience members of all ages to laugh-out-loud or become involved in the political intrigue of the moment. The staff and cast offer a distinctly "user-friendly" approach to Shakespeare (
www.swshakespeare.org). And second, for more than a decade the East Valley Children’s Theatre has been entertaining young audiences. They offer theatre for kids by kids and no two seasons will ever be alike but I can say for sure plays will always be well suited to families. All performances are at the Mesa Arts Center in the Nesbitt Elliott Playhouse. Bonus points: If theatre is your “family thing” checkout the spring and summer musical theatre camps – one or two week in intense acting, dancing, and singing courses with a performance on final day of camp (
www.evct.org).
About Mesa Arts Center. Arizona's largest arts campus is home to four theaters, five art galleries and fourteen art studios. Guests, patrons and students come to Mesa Arts Center to enjoy the finest live entertainment and performing arts performances, world-class visual art exhibitions, and outstanding arts education classes. The facility is an architectural showpiece and a destination for visitors to the Phoenix area. The Mesa Arts Center mission is to inspire people through impacting and engaging experiences that are diverse, accessible, and relevant; and that enhance the quality of life and vitality of the region. Mesa Arts Center One East Main Street Mesa, AZ 85201. (480) 644-6500 or
www.mesaartscenter.com
