Sedona Events in 2026 and 2027

Most of the Sedona calendar happens close to the house. Posse Grounds Park, with its eight outdoor pickleball courts, is about five minutes away and hosts the Sedona Mountain Bike Festival, the Fest of Fall and the Turkey Trot, and the Sedona Community Pool on the same road holds the city's Fourth of July pool party. Sedona Red Rock High School and the Sedona Performing Arts Center share 995 Upper Red Rock Loop Road, also about five minutes away, home to the arts festival and Hummingbird Central. The film festival's venues are in West Sedona too, and the Mary D. Fisher Theatre, where the festival holds its year-round screenings, also hosts the Red Rocks Music Festival's May concert.

In Uptown, 10 to 15 minutes by car, the Sedona Arts Center on Art Barn Road hosts plein air week and the holiday artists market, the Sedona Heritage Museum on Jordan Road holds the Veterans Day tribute and the fall arts and crafts show, and the St. Patrick's Day Parade runs down Jordan Road. Tlaquepaque, the arts and shopping village on State Route 179, about the same distance away, has Day of the Dead, the tree lighting, the Sweet Stroll and Cinco de Mayo. The day-trip towns are in the table, with the events each one holds.

“The drive into town for restaurants and shopping was an easy 10-15 minute drive.”

Karen from Mesa, Arizona, August 2026

The calendar below holds the year's key dates. The fullest stretches are mid-October, with two art festivals and the Fest of Fall in two weekends; the turn of December, with four tree lightings in eight days; and February, with RunSedona, the film festival and the big events in the Valley (the Phoenix area). Enter your arrival and departure, and the calendar shows which events fall inside your stay.

The fall season opens on the second weekend of October with the Sedona Arts Festival, an outdoor fine-art show on the grounds of Sedona Red Rock High School in West Sedona, about five minutes by car. The 35th festival runs Saturday, October 10, 2026, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, October 11, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and it returns October 9 and 10 in 2027. Admission is $5 a day, marked down for the 35th birthday.

This year the same Saturday brings Wings & Wheels to the Sedona Airport on Airport Mesa, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Warbirds line the ramp, among them a P-51 Mustang, a T-6 Texan and a PB4Y-2 Privateer. An F-35 flies over at 12:30 p.m., the SOCOM ParaCommandos jump at 1 p.m., and the Sedona Car Club's MOPAR show hands out its awards at 3 p.m. Admission and parking are free; the organizers ask for a non-perishable food item or a suggested $2 per person for the Sedona Community Food Bank. Warbird and helicopter rides cost extra. The airport is about 10 minutes from the house, and our Airport Mesa Loop guide has a walk on the same mesa before the flyover.

Camp Verde shares the weekend with Fort Verde Days, about 35 to 40 minutes away: its 70th year runs October 10 and 11, 2026, and it returns October 9 and 10 in 2027. This year the parade runs down Main Street at 10 a.m. Saturday, the festival goes from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at Fort Verde State Historic Park and the Community Field, and the free Little Britches & Petticoat contest starts Sunday at 11 a.m. Parking is free, first come, first served.

Our plan for a group of eight: the arts festival when it opens Saturday, the airport for the flyover and the jump, and back to the house by late afternoon. The court is lit and air-conditioned, so an evening round-robin works well after a day outdoors, and the fire table on the covered deck is there for the stories afterward. Sunday is for Camp Verde or a slower second lap of the art. Our October guide has the hiking and fall color for the rest of the month.

1. 9 amArts festival opens at the high school
2. 12:30 pmF-35 flyover at Sedona Airport
3. 1 pmParaCommandos jump
4. 3 pmMOPAR car show awards
5. EveningRound-robin on the court, then the fire table

Plein air means painting outdoors, from life, and from October 16 to 24 the Sedona Plein Air Festival brings 26 invited painters to work around Sedona for the week. Home base is the Sedona Arts Center on Art Barn Road in Uptown, 10 to 15 minutes from the house, with paint-outs in Cornville and West Sedona. Many of the events are free.

Here are the days to plan around: a demonstration on the Arts Center grounds on Saturday, October 17, from 10 a.m. to noon; the D.A. Ranch paint-out in Cornville on Monday, October 19, a ticketed event like the private-home paint-outs; a second demonstration on Tuesday, October 20, from 1 to 3 p.m.; Awards Night on Friday, October 23, from 5 to 7 p.m.; and the Final Art Sale and a Community Paint Out on Saturday, October 24, with $15 registration for the paint-out. Our gallery walking guide fills in the rest of the art scene.

Saturday, October 17, stacks up well for a group. The City of Sedona's Fest of Fall fills Posse Grounds Park, about five minutes from the house, from noon to 6 p.m., with food trucks, vendor booths, pickleball and cornhole tournaments, a kids' zone, a skate-park ride jam, a gaming center and live music. Food and drink are for sale. Players can make a weekend of it, because the Sedona Fest of Fall Pickleball Rally runs at the same park from October 16 to 18; the pickleball chapter has the details.

One more for art lovers: the Fall Arts & Crafts Show at the Sedona Heritage Museum on Jordan Road runs Saturday, October 24, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., the same morning as the plein air sale. Fall color arrives in the same weeks: the cottonwoods at Dead Horse Ranch State Park in Cottonwood turn yellow in late October in a good year, and our fall colors guide covers Oak Creek Canyon's maples and when they turn. Our pick for this stretch is a Thursday-to-Monday stay, October 15 to 19: the Saturday demonstration, the Fest of Fall and the rally, with the house court for practice between rounds.

Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, and kids have two good choices. Uptown Trick or Treat fills Uptown Sedona from 5 to 8 p.m., free, about 10 minutes from the house. In Old Town Cottonwood, about 25 to 30 minutes away, the City of Cottonwood and the Cottonwood Old Town Association run a new combined event, Treat Street, from 5 to 7 p.m., with trick-or-treating at the Old Town businesses and decorated trunks on a heroes-and-villains theme. Our Old Town Cottonwood guide has the places to eat afterward.

For grown-ups, the Halloween Hoedown at Blazin' M Ranch in Cottonwood starts at 7 p.m. and costs $21.20. The ranch also runs its chuckwagon supper and western show Wednesday to Sunday, dinner at 6:30 and the show at 7:30, an easy family night on other dates of your stay.

Sunday, November 1, is Day of the Dead at Tlaquepaque, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Altars and large installations fill the village, with a map to find them all, and papel picado, the cut-paper banners, decorate the courtyards. Ballet Folklorico De Colores dances at 1 and 3 p.m. in Tlaquepaque North, flamenco and Latin music play in the patios, kids decorate sugar skulls, and food vendors set up. In the days before, the Marigold Mural Project is painted on Calle Independencia, from October 29 through November 1, so a Friday walk-through shows the mural in progress.

Our Tlaquepaque guide covers the village's galleries, shops and places to eat. After a long Halloween night, the bunk game room is where the kids wind down with a movie.

“The kids loved “movie night” in the bunkroom while we watched our stuff in the living room.”

Hannah from La Grange, Kentucky, May 2026

Riders get their own weekend this fall. The Sedona Mountain Bike Festival runs Friday to Sunday, November 6 to 8, 2026, at Posse Grounds Park, about five minutes from the house. It is three days of expo, demo bikes from brands such as Ibis, Evil and Rocky Mountain, shuttled rides, skills clinics and ladies-only group rides, with a beer garden, bands and food trucks between sessions. Festival shuttles run to nearby trailheads, so you can take a demo bike onto the trails without loading the car.

Demo rides are for pass holders, and pass prices are on the festival's ticketing page. If your group mixes strong riders and beginners, the skills clinics give everyone a way in. Our festival guide has more on the event, our mountain biking guide covers the trails, and the bike and e-bike rental guide lists where to rent if you would rather keep a bike all week.

The rest of the weekend fills out nicely off the bike. Friday evening is 1st Friday in the Galleries, when galleries in Tlaquepaque, Hozho, Uptown and West Sedona hold openings and artist receptions, free, roughly 4 to 7 p.m. with hours varying by gallery. Jerome holds its Artwalk on the first Saturday of every month, November 7 this time, from 5 to 8 p.m., with free parking and a free shuttle, about 40 to 45 minutes from the house.

At the house, a riding group has what it needs: a washer and dryer for riding kit, room for four cars in the driveway, two soaking tubs on the covered deck for tired legs, and an indoor court for a rest-day game. Our suggestion is to ride Friday and Saturday and keep Sunday morning for a relaxed match on the court.

Mid-November has a Veterans Day tribute in Uptown and a wine walk in Cottonwood. On Wednesday, November 11, at 11 a.m., the Sedona Historical Society and the City of Sedona present the Veterans Day Tribute in the fruit packing shed at the Sedona Heritage Museum on Jordan Road, about 15 minutes from the house: an Armed Forces tribute, patriotic music, speakers and an expo of veterans' service groups. It is free.

The Saturday after, November 14, Old Town Cottonwood holds the 20th annual Walkin' on Main, a street festival from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. that honors Veterans Day. Verde Valley wineries pour along Main Street, among them Page Springs Cellars, Arizona Stronghold, Caduceus and Oak Creek Vineyards, and there is a classic car show, live music, local artists and dog adoptions. Entry is free. The wine tasting is $20 early-bird or $25 at the door for six tickets, and veterans get two extra tickets. Our Verde Valley wine guide has the tasting rooms for the other days of your trip.

Two more dates close out the weeks before Thanksgiving. The Leonid meteor shower peaks on the night of November 16 to 17 with a crescent moon that sets in the evening, so the hours after midnight are dark. And Arizona Snowbowl in Flagstaff, about 1 hour 20 minutes from the house, plans to open on Friday, November 20, snow permitting. Lift tickets start at $9 on select dates, and kids 12 and under ski free with the Power Kids Pass. A ski day on the San Francisco Peaks and an evening on the court make an easy pairing, and our November guide has the rest of the month, from late foliage to crisp trail days.

Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26, and Sedona starts the day with a run. The Sedona Turkey Trot 5K starts and finishes at Posse Grounds Park at 9 a.m., about five minutes from the house. Entry is $40, or $20 for kids 13 and under, with a finisher medal and shirt and a $300 cash purse for the overall winners. Prices rise after October 31, so sign the family up early.

Then the kitchen takes over. The house has a full kitchen with an oven, stove, dishwasher, microwave and the cooking basics, a round dining table, and a BBQ grill and a picnic table in the fenced yard, so a group can cook the whole meal at home. Natural Grocers in West Sedona takes turkey reservations, so order your bird before you drive up. Our Thanksgiving to New Year's guide goes deeper on the holiday season, from the meal to the lights.

“The house was so comfortable for all 8 of us.”

Erin, a guest in July 2026

Red Rock State Park opens at 8 on Thanksgiving morning and Slide Rock at 9, both until 2, so there's time for a walk before the turkey. The sun sets at 5:17 p.m., so the evening starts early, with dinner and the fire table on the covered deck.

The long weekend keeps going. On Saturday, November 28, Williams holds its free Christmas Parade, Tree Lighting and Santaland: Santaland from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., the "Cruising Into Christmas" parade at 6:30 p.m., then the tree lighting and photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus. Williams is about 1 hour 20 minutes away; pair Santaland with the 5:30 Polar Express, or stay in town for the parade and the tree lighting.

The holidays in Sedona center on Tlaquepaque, 10 to 15 minutes from the house. The season starts on Friday, December 4, with the Sedona Tree Lighting at Tlaquepaque North from 5 to 6:30 p.m.: a 26-foot tree lit with thousands of lights, Santa's arrival, kids' activities, free hot chocolate and local performers, presented with the Sedona Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Bureau. The sun sets at 5:16 p.m. that day, so the tree comes on in the dusk.

The same evening, the Sedona Arts Center Holiday Artists Market opens with a free reception from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Arts Center's upper parking lot during Celebrate Sedona, with music, food trucks, wine and beer. Up to 40 regional artists sell painting, ceramics, jewelry, fiber, glass and woodwork through Sunday, December 6, and it is a 1st Friday gallery evening too, so an early start lets you take in all three. On Sunday, December 6, Tlaquepaque holds its Lighting of the Menorah on Patio del Norte from 5 to 6:30 p.m., the third night of Hanukkah, which runs from sundown on December 4 to nightfall on Saturday, December 12.

This year Tlaquepaque lights its luminarias at the Holiday Sweet Stroll on Saturday, December 19, and at 5 p.m. you can help light them; the sun sets at 5:19 p.m., so the lights come up as the sky darkens. The Sweet Stroll runs from 3 to 7 p.m., and the galleries and shops stay open late with chocolates, hot spiced cider, eggnog, hot chocolate and seasonal liqueurs, plus holiday discounts and giveaways. Santa visits, Dickens-era carolers stroll the village, the Grinch turns up for photos, and kids get free face painting and ornament painting. Our December guide has more for the month.

1. Dec 4, 4 pmHoliday Artists Market opens at the Sedona Arts Center
2. Dec 4, 5 pmTree lighting and Santa at Tlaquepaque North
3. Dec 6, 5 pmLighting of the Menorah on Patio del Norte
4. Dec 19, 3 pmSweet Stroll begins
5. Dec 19, 5 pmLuminaria lighting through the village

Luminaria nights are a long Tlaquepaque tradition, and our Festival of Lights guide tells the story; the Tlaquepaque events page has the latest. The next chapter covers the tree lightings in Flagstaff and Cottonwood and the Polar Express in Williams.

For families with young kids, our pick of the season is The Polar Express from the Grand Canyon Railway depot in Williams, behind the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel, about 1 hour 20 minutes from the house. The 2026 season runs from Friday, November 6, through Sunday, January 3, with departures at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. on select nights, and over Christmas week the trains run every night from December 18 to 24 and December 26 to 30. Before boarding there are photos with Mr. Claus and story time with Mrs. Claus; on board, in 1923 Harriman-style Pullman cars with bench seats for two, come hot chocolate and a cookie, the story read aloud, and Santa at the North Pole. The ride takes about 90 minutes round trip. Train-only fares per person before tax run from $64.99 for adults and $49.99 for children 2 to 15 on value nights to $84.99 and $69.99 on holiday nights.

The train sells out early. New for 2026, reservations made on or after August 10 are fully refundable up to 14 days before departure and half refundable after that, and parking around the hotel and depot is free.

Flagstaff, about 55 minutes up Oak Creek Canyon, lights its tree on Saturday, December 5, at Winter Wonderland in Heritage Square: live music, games, crafts and free hot cocoa from 2:30 to 7 p.m., with Santa helping light the tree at dusk, listed for 6:15 p.m. Little America Hotel puts up its Holiday of Lights from November through January. Riordan Mansion State Historic Park runs Christmas Twilight Tours lit by luminarias in the week before Christmas (December 20 to 23 in 2025), and reservations are recommended. Our Flagstaff day trip guide fills in the rest of the town.

The same Saturday, Old Town Cottonwood holds its 33rd Chocolate Walk from 3 to 7 p.m. Check in at the Civic Center from 3 p.m. for your tickets and a bag, then sample chocolates and holiday treats at the Old Town shops, tasting rooms and restaurants; the Old Town tree lights up with carolers at 5:30 p.m. Pick up your tickets by 6 p.m. With Flagstaff and Cottonwood lighting trees the same evening, pick one; Cottonwood is the closer drive, about 25 to 30 minutes.

If the kids want a daytime train as well, our Verde Canyon Railroad guide has the scenic ride near Clarkdale.

Christmas Day falls on a Friday this year and New Year's Day on the Friday after, so the holidays come as two three-day weekends. For New Year's Eve, Flagstaff's Great Pinecone Drop at the Weatherford Hotel on Leroux Street is the big night out, a tradition since 1999. The pinecone is lowered from the hotel's third-floor balcony at 10 p.m. and again at midnight, followed by a brief fireworks display. The street celebration is free; the hotel's own parties are ticketed or have a cover charge, and the hotel is 21 and over that night.

Families can go earlier. The pinecone also drops at noon, and the free Noon Year's Eve in Heritage Square runs from 10 a.m. to noon, so you can drive up after breakfast, count down with the kids and be back at the house by mid-afternoon. Then New Year's Eve at home: dinner at the round table, the soaking tubs on the deck, and a late game on the court, which is heated and lit for any hour.

Williams has a newer tradition. The New Year's Eve Car Drop, in its second year, lowers a restored 1928 Ford Model A from above the town's vintage gas station at midnight, with a party from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Railroad Avenue, about 1 hour 20 minutes from the house.

On New Year's Day, Arizona's state parks hold First Day Hikes; on January 1, 2026, Red Rock State Park led a 10 a.m. guided nature walk, Slide Rock a 1 p.m. walk on the paved, level Pendley Homestead Trail, and Dead Horse Ranch a 10 a.m. ranger-led hike. The Polar Express makes its last runs on January 2 and 3, and Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday, January 18, brings another long weekend later in the month.

“The game room with bunkbeds was a dream come true for our kids and our family had a blast playing pickleball on the indoor court.”

Victoria from Corona, California, June 2026

February's big race is RunSedona on Saturday, February 6, 2027, with a half marathon at 8 a.m., a 10K at 8:10 and a 5K and 5K walk at 8:20. The course is rolling and hilly, on Dry Creek Road in West Sedona, about five to ten minutes from the house, and a free race shuttle is included. The 5K is the one distance that allows strollers, which makes it the family pick, and mixed groups can split up by distance and meet back at the house for lunch.

Sign up by Saturday, November 28, for the lowest price; it goes up November 29, January 3 and February 5, with each step on the registration page.

Arrive by Thursday if you can: Sedona sits at about 4,350 feet, and a spare day lets you shake out the drive with an easy walk and a quiet dinner at the house. The night before the race is a 1st Friday, February 5, with gallery openings for an easy evening before an early night. Our February guide covers the rest of the month, from cool-weather hikes to the film festival.

After the race, soak in the two tubs on the deck and trade race stories around the fire table. Sunday suits a light game on the heated indoor court, or Red Rock State Park's daily 10 a.m. guided nature hike (adults $10), before the drive home.

“We loved sitting outside on the covered deck with a beautiful firepit and others used the bathtubs.”

Mark, a guest in May 2026

Two weeks after RunSedona, the Sedona International Film Festival opens its 33rd year with nine days of independent film, from Saturday, February 20, through Sunday, February 28, 2027. Its venues are in West Sedona, about five minutes from the house, and the festival also screens films year-round at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre and the Alice Gill-Sheldon Theatre, so a stay in another season can include a film night too. Watch the festival's site for 2027 passes.

A four-night stay from Thursday to Monday covers one weekend of screenings with time for a hike each morning, and the full nine days suits a group that wants to see as much as it can. Staying the whole winter? The house also takes monthly stays of 28 nights or more, and our snowbird guide explains how.

A good rhythm for a festival week: a morning walk or hike, an afternoon block of screenings, then dinner at the house and a game on the court while you argue about what you saw. The bunk game room has its own TV, so a second movie can run while the living room watches the first.

“For our family, the highlight was the indoor air conditioned pickleball court. Our family had so much fun being able to play whenever we wanted to.”

Karen from Mesa, Arizona, August 2026

If you want homework before you go, our list of westerns filmed in Sedona makes a good first movie night, our guide to Sedona's Western movie years tells the story of the town's Little Hollywood era, and the film locations driving tour turns a free afternoon into a visit to places you have seen on screen. Our film festival guide explains how the festival works.

From January through March the Phoenix area hosts several big events, and a few are worth the drive from Sedona for a day.

The Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction runs nine days, January 23 to 31, 2027, at WestWorld of Scottsdale: live collector-car auctions over two weekends, aiming for well over 2,000 vehicles, after a Rock the Block concert on Thursday, January 21. Car lovers in the group will want a full day there.

The WM Phoenix Open plays its tournament rounds Thursday to Sunday, February 11 to 14, at TPC Scottsdale, with the final round on Super Bowl Sunday. Presidents' Day follows on Monday, February 15, which makes a natural long weekend: a day at the golf, then three days in Sedona. Our golf and pickleball trip post pairs the two sports.

Cactus League spring training is scheduled from Friday, February 19, through Tuesday, March 23, 2027: 229 games for 15 MLB teams at ten ballparks in the Valley, including Salt River Fields, Scottsdale Stadium and Camelback Ranch, with tickets sold through each team. Pickleball fans can add the Carvana Mesa Cup, February 15 to 21, and the pickleball chapter has the details.

The Arizona Renaissance Festival in Gold Canyon, east of Mesa, usually runs Saturdays and Sundays for about nine weeks from early February, plus Presidents' Day Monday. If you live in the Valley, flip the trip around: our Phoenix getaway page plans the two-hour drive north for a weekend at the house.

March opens the spring season with a parade. Sedona's St. Patrick's Day Parade steps off at 10:30 a.m. on the Saturday before St. Patrick's Day, March 13 in 2027, and runs down Jordan Road in Uptown, from Jordan Historical Park south to Mesquite Avenue, about 15 minutes from the house. It is free, City of Sedona Parks and Recreation runs it, and 2026 was its 53rd year.

The next weekend, March 20 and 21 in 2027, Camp Verde's Pecan & Wine Festival fills the Community Field on Hollamon Street, about 35 to 40 minutes away. In 2026 it drew 15 Arizona wineries plus Verde Brewing Co., pecan vendors, local makers and live music, with free admission and wine tasting at $20 early-bird or $25 at the door for a glass and six tickets, open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Easter Sunday is March 28, 2027. The Chapel of the Holy Cross, built into a red-rock butte, is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with last entry at 4:45, and its gift shop is closed on Easter Sunday. Weekend masses are held at St. John Vianney, and the chapel holds weekday masses on Wednesdays and Fridays at 3 p.m. The on-demand Sedona Shuttle Connect serves the Chapel from West Sedona and Uptown for $2 a ride, or $1 for seniors 60 and over, with pickup and drop-off at the Mystic Trailhead.

Our March guide has spring break ideas and warm trail days. For the parade weekend or the pecan festival, a Friday-to-Sunday stay works, with Saturday lunch off the BBQ grill at the picnic table in the fenced yard and Sunday morning on the court.

Spring brings a birding festival in Cottonwood and the Sedona Yoga Festival. The Verde Valley Birding & Nature Festival runs Thursday, April 22, through Sunday, April 25, at Dead Horse Ranch State Park in Cottonwood, about 30 minutes from the house. Friends of the Verde River runs it, with guided birding trips around the Verde watershed, talks and exhibits. The free Family Nature Day is Saturday, April 24, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with nature walks and live animals. In 2026 a day registration was $20 and a presentations-only pass was $5. Our April guide is built around peak hiking season, for the days between.

A week later, the Sedona Yoga Festival runs Thursday, April 29, through Sunday, May 2, 2027, with yoga classes, Ayurveda, keynotes, sound healing, kirtan and excursions. Venues include the Hilton Sedona at Bell Rock in the Village of Oak Creek, about 25 minutes from the house, and 2027 passes are on sale on the festival's pass page.

The first Saturday of May adds a fiesta. Cinco de Mayo at Tlaquepaque is Saturday, May 1, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., free: mariachi, flamenco and folklorico dancers around the village, face painting and a pinata for the kids, and Mexican food from local vendors. It falls inside the yoga festival weekend, which makes for an easy afternoon off the mat.

1. Apr 22-25Verde Valley Birding & Nature Festival, Cottonwood
2. Apr 24Free Family Nature Day
3. Apr 29-May 2Sedona Yoga Festival
4. May 1Cinco de Mayo at Tlaquepaque
5. May 15Red Rocks Music Festival concert

On Saturday, May 15, the Red Rocks Music Festival plays a 4 p.m. chamber concert at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre in West Sedona, about five minutes from the house, with a classical and klezmer program in its 25th season.

By June the high country an hour north fills its calendar, and Flagstaff and Williams make easy day trips from the house. The Flagstaff Pro Rodeo, once promoted as the Pine Country Pro Rodeo, runs Thursday to Saturday, June 3 to 5, 2027, in the Fort Tuthill County Park grandstands, about 50 minutes away, with three evening performances: gates at 5 p.m. and rodeo from 7 to 9. Tickets are on the rodeo's website.

That same weekend, Williams holds its Historic Route 66 Car Show on the first Friday and Saturday of June, June 4 and 5 in 2027, about 1 hour 20 minutes from the house. Later in the month, Flagstaff's Pride in the Pines is held on a Saturday in mid to late June; in 2026 it marked its 30th anniversary at Thorpe Park, free with tickets reserved online.

The last full weekend of June, June 25 to 27 in 2027, brings the Heritage Festival of Arts & Culture to the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff, about an hour away. It centers on a juried Native art market with artists from the Colorado Plateau tribes, plus dances, music and food, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday after a Friday members' preview. In 2026 adults paid $20 for one day or $25 for the weekend, youth 10 to 17 paid $10 or $15, and kids 9 and under got in free.

The same weekend, Williams hosts the Arizona Cowpunchers' Reunion Rodeo on the last weekend of June, June 26 and 27 in 2027; its 48th edition in 2026 held performances daily at 1 p.m. A Friday-to-Monday stay holds both: the Heritage Festival on Saturday, the afternoon rodeo on Sunday, and the air-conditioned court and the soaking tubs in between.

The Fourth of July falls on a Sunday in 2027, with the federal holiday on Monday, July 5, so the weekend runs long. Sedona celebrates with a free afternoon pool party, the City of Sedona's Summer Splash at the Sedona Community Pool on Posse Ground Road, five minutes from the house (noon to 4 p.m. in 2026). For fireworks, Cottonwood's 9 p.m. show at Cottonwood Kids Park is 25 to 30 minutes away, with parking for $1.

Williams makes a full day of its Fourth of July: on the 2026 schedule, an All American Block Party opened at 10 a.m., the parade stepped off at 6 p.m., and fireworks went up at 9 p.m. at Cureton Park, about 1 hour 20 minutes from the house.

Flagstaff's Fourth of July, about 55 minutes up the canyon, brings a Greater Flagstaff Chamber parade through downtown, Art in the Park over the holiday, and a 9 p.m. drone show at Foxglenn Park with free family activities from 4 p.m.

Sedona sits at about 4,350 feet and runs about 10 degrees cooler than Phoenix by day and 15 to 17 degrees cooler at night, and our summer temperature check has the numbers. A Fourth at the house fills the day: lunch off the BBQ grill at the picnic table in the fenced yard, an afternoon round-robin on the air-conditioned court, then the soaking tubs on the deck or the drive to the Cottonwood fireworks. Our July guide has Slide Rock and other summer days out.

Midsummer brings two festivals that suit families and groups. Camp Verde's Cornfest fills the third Saturday in July, July 17 in 2027, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Hollamon Street and in the Community Center gym, about 35 to 40 minutes from the house. The draw is roasted sweet corn from Hauser & Hauser Farms, with vendors and music, and the Verde Valley Farmers Market opens at 8 a.m., so go early and bring produce home for a cookout on the house grill.

The week after, the Sedona Hummingbird Festival runs Friday, July 23, through Sunday, July 25, 2027, presented by the International Hummingbird Society. Hummingbird Central is at the Sedona Performing Arts Center on Upper Red Rock Loop Road, about five minutes from the house, and admission there is free; talks and off-site activities are ticketed. The program includes talks, banding demonstrations, garden tours, birding trips, a Kids Day and a marketplace, and up to eight hummingbird species are around Sedona at that time of year. Pre-festival workshops start Thursday, July 22.

The Grand Canyon Music Festival plays all its concerts at the Shrine of the Ages on the South Rim, from late August through the Sunday before Labor Day, about August 20 to September 5 in 2027. Concerts are ticketed one by one, and park entry is also required. The South Rim is about 2 hours 15 minutes from the house, and our Grand Canyon day trip guide plans the day around it.

On the last weekend of August, August 28 and 29 in 2027, Flagstaff hosts the Hopi Arts & Cultural Festival, running since 2010, with Hopi artists selling their work directly, social dances and cultural talks. It is free, and in 2026 it was held at the Flagstaff Mall, about an hour from the house.

September starts in Flagstaff. The Coconino County Fair fills the Fort Tuthill Fairgrounds over Labor Day weekend, September 3 to 6 in 2027, with livestock, agriculture and family entertainment, and Art in the Park runs in Flagstaff the same weekend, with Labor Day on Monday, September 6. Pickin' in the Pines, the nearest bluegrass festival to Sedona, brings bluegrass, jamgrass and roots music to the Pepsi Amphitheater at Fort Tuthill on the third weekend of September, September 17 to 19 in 2027; 2026 was its 20th anniversary.

The Flagstaff Festival of Science runs ten days from the last Friday of September, about September 24 to October 3, and in 2026 a free star party at Buffalo Park followed it. At the Grand Canyon, painters set up along the South Rim in late September for the Celebration of Art, with a show and sale at Kolb Studio; work from the 2026 event is on sale there and online through March 31, 2027. October opens in Jerome with the Jerome Historical Society's Ghost Walk on the first Friday and Saturday, October 1 and 2 in 2027; our Jerome day trip guide has the rest of the town.

Back in Sedona, the arts festival returns October 9 and 10, 2027. Plein air week usually follows, about October 15 to 23.

The holidays follow. Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 25, 2027, with the Turkey Trot that morning and the Williams parade on Saturday, November 27. The Polar Express runs on select nights from early November through late December. Tlaquepaque lights its tree on the first Friday of December, December 3 in 2027, the same weekend as the Arts Center's Holiday Artists Market. Christmas is a Saturday, observed on Friday, December 24, and Flagstaff's Pinecone Drop comes back on December 31, as it has every year since 1999.

For players, the season starts close to home. The Sedona Fest of Fall Pickleball Rally runs Friday, October 16, through Sunday, October 18, 2026, on the eight outdoor hard courts with permanent nets at Posse Grounds Park, about five minutes from the house. City of Sedona Parks and Recreation runs it with Pickleball Is Great, tied to the city's Fest of Fall on Saturday, October 17. Registration is $45, and the rest of the year the court at the house is yours, day or night.

The pros come to Arizona in February. The Carvana Mesa Cup runs February 15 to 21, 2027, in Mesa, about 2 hours 15 minutes from the house. It's the Arizona stop of the PPA Tour, the professional pickleball tour: watch the pros in Mesa, then drive up and play your own games on the court. Its last two days overlap the film festival's opening weekend in Sedona. Our Arizona tournament guide tracks the state's events and where to stay for them, and our list of courts near Sedona shows where else to play.

Between rounds, the house court is your practice room. It is a private indoor court in its own steel building on the property, air-conditioned, heated and lit, so you can drill before breakfast on match day or replay the day's points late at night with no one waiting for the court. Paddles and balls are provided; bring court shoes.

“If you are a fan of pickleball you will really enjoy the indoor court that has AC blasting a cool 68 degrees.”

Erin, a guest in July 2026

Posse Grounds is the public option in town, and our private court versus Posse Grounds comparison explains when each makes sense. For a group of eight, a round-robin, the format where partners rotate from game to game, fits the court and the house; our round-robin guide has the rotation, and our drills post has practice you can run on a private court.

Sedona was named an International Dark Sky Community in 2014, joining Flagstaff, so the night sky belongs on this calendar too. The moon decides how good each meteor shower is, and the American Meteor Society's calendar lists every peak.

In 2027 the darkest skies come with the Quadrantids in January and the Eta Aquariids in May. The Quadrantids peak on January 3 to 4, about 25 an hour under dark skies with a thin crescent moon; the peak is short, so the hours before dawn on January 4 matter most. The Eta Aquariids peak on May 5 to 6 under a moon only 2 percent lit, at 10 to 30 an hour in the hour before dawn. The Perseids follow on August 12 to 13, at 30 to 50 an hour from rural sites; watch after the moon sets in the early morning.

This fall and winter, the Orionids peak on the night of October 21 to 22, 2026, at 10 to 20 an hour in a normal year, best after moonset and before dawn, and the Leonids on November 16 to 17 after midnight, once the crescent moon has set. The Geminids on December 13 to 14, usually the strongest shower of the year, peak with the moon only 15 percent lit. December nights in Sedona average a low of about 33 degrees, so bring layers.

International Dark Sky Week falls in April around the new moon, which comes on April 6 in 2027; in 2026 Flagstaff marked the week with Starlight in the Square in Heritage Square.

For a guided night, the Grand Canyon Star Party runs on the South Rim from May 29 to June 5, 2027, over Memorial Day weekend. Amateur astronomers set up dozens of telescopes behind the Grand Canyon Visitor Center each night from sunset, with talks on the plaza at 8 p.m., constellation tours from 9 to 10 and the best viewing after 9. It is free with the park entrance fee, which is good for seven days, and no tickets are needed; park in Visitor Center lots 1 to 4, and the last shuttle runs at 9:30 p.m.

On a clear night you can watch from the yard; for the darkest skies, our stargazing guide lists spots a short drive away.

Most Sedona events take a day or an evening, and the rest of the trip is yours to fill. Our rule of thumb is two nights for a one-day event and four for a festival. For the Fest of Fall, the Sweet Stroll or the St. Patrick's Day Parade, come Friday to Sunday; for Tlaquepaque's Friday tree lighting, arrive Thursday. For plein air week, the bike festival or a film festival weekend, four nights from Thursday to Monday give you the main days plus a hike and a slow morning at the house.

Holiday and festival weekends are the first dates to go, so pick your dates early and hold the house before you buy passes, race entries and train tickets; the Polar Express sells out early, and race prices rise on set dates. Check-in is after 4 p.m. and checkout is before 10 a.m., so for an early start, like RunSedona at 8 a.m. or the arts festival's 9 a.m. Saturday opening, arrive the day before.

The house sleeps eight: two king rooms (one with its own bath), a queen room, and a bunk game room with twin-over-twin bunks, foosball and a TV. Three couples can take the king and queen rooms while two friends or kids share the bunks. Guests must be 25 or older to book. The house is no-smoking and no-pets, and it isn't for parties.

Getting around is easy from West Sedona. The free Sedona Shuttle runs its trailhead routes Thursday through Sunday, year-round, to the Mescal, Dry Creek, Soldier Pass, Cathedral Rock and Little Horse trailheads, and in the 2025 holiday season it ran daily from mid-December into early January, except Christmas Day. The driveway holds four cars, so a group of eight fits easily, and our getting around guide covers parking and passes for the rest of town.

“Leave the house and drive a mile or so on 89A to a free shuttle at the high school to take us on hikes.”

Mark, a guest in May 2026

Last, plan the court into each day. It works in any weather and at any hour: a game before breakfast, a round-robin when the festival closes for the evening, a rematch on the last morning. Our month-by-month guide to the best time to visit helps if your dates are still open, and the room planner below sorts out who sleeps where.