Light Up Ahwatukee’s Holiday Festival is Back!
LIGHT UP AHWATUKEE HOLIDAY FESTIVAL PROVIDES MUSIC, ENTERTAINMENT, AND FOOD IN ADDITION TO PARTNERING WITH HOPE FOR THE HOMELESS AS THEIR CHARITY PARTNER
The 27th annual Light Up Ahwatukee’s Holiday Festival is just a week and 1/2 away as Desert Foothills Park transforms into a vibrant celebration of creativity, community, and festive wonder on Saturday, November 23. The free, family-friendly festival is a great way to kick off the holiday season and get into the Christmas spirit. The festival has become a cornerstone for the holiday season in Ahwatukee, inviting guests of all ages to experience live music, highlight local food and businesses, community performances, holiday-themed activities, and, of course, Santa.
The beloved event has become a cornerstone for the holiday season in Ahwatukee and community spirit, inviting guests of all ages to experience live music, community performances, holiday-themed activities, and the much-anticipated appearance of Santa Claus. The holiday festival is the perfect way to celebrate the season while supporting locals.
Set against the backdrop of the Ahwatukee Foothills skyline, one of the festival’s latest renovations over the past few years has been the Holiday Marketplace, transformed into a delicate focus on local artisans, providing a holiday arts and crafts shopping experience with local businesses, gifts, homemade goods, handmade ornaments, candles and more. The vibrant outdoor market brings local flair and festive cheer to the park, with rows of marketplace stalls lining Marketplace Street and scattered throughout the park.
“This year, over 75 local marketplace and service vendors have signed up to offer unique gifts, locally sourced handmade crafts, and delicious treats for our open-air market festival the community has come to love,” says Kimberly Bolton, Marketplace Chair. “Whether shopping for the perfect gift, local goods, or simply soaking in the festive holiday vibes, you can sip and snack on specialty food truck fare while you shop. This is the must-attend event.”
The LUA website features a variety of businesses signed up, including local artwork, woodworking home decor, artisan crafts, vintage goods, pet clothing and treats, jewelry, candles, boutique clothing, sand art, toys, plushie gifts, culinary treats, and live experiences. Pair that with live entertainment, holiday-themed activities, and a strong community spirit. It is the perfect way to celebrate the season while supporting local.
“More than just a market, LUA has created an enchanting holiday experience for locals to highlight all sorts of business offerings we have in the community,” says Bolton.
Functional art, jewelry, and handmade decor are always a hit. Guests can shop laser engraved ornaments, wood products for bars, flags, cornhole boards, cutting boards, pottery, and Redwood furniture.
With no need to stress about everyone on the gift list, LUA also has all the easy-to-shop vendors including soy candles, handmade gems, permanent jewelry, coffee and hot cocoa bombs, custom ornaments, bath and body products, sensory/animated toys, custom shirts and hats, and more.
We can’t forget the food. While the festival has almost 20 food trucks and snacks lined up, the marketplace will also feature specialty food vendors including Big Red’s Hot Sauce, homemade bakery items from Casa Flora Bake Shop, imported Italian noodles and sauces from DL Foods, Happy Time Kettle Corn, freeze-dried candy and snacks from Marttaville and Subzero Sweets and Treats, Asian snacks and candies from Neko Mart, German cottage bakery pretzels and nuts from Oma’s German Kitchen.
In addition to the holiday marketplace, the festival has brought back community service vendors which will be scattered throughout the park with a variety of games and activities as guests can interact and show their love for local community businesses.
Every year, Light Up Ahwatukee hosts two signature events and chooses a designated charity partner for each event.
LUA has selected HOPE for the Homeless as their designated charity partner for the Holiday Festival. HOPE stands for Humbling Offering Positive Encouragement for the Homeless and their mission is to make a lasting impact for the homeless throughout Arizona. They shine light in our community by feeding the homeless who are hungry, meeting the homeless in their recovery journey, and loving the homeless for who and where they are.
“We are thrilled to be selected as the partner charity for Light Up Ahwatukee and their Holiday festival this year,” says Tim Berry, Founder of Hope for the Homeless. LUA’s beloved event has become a cornerstone for the holiday season in Ahwatukee and community spirit, and their mission to light up all of Ahwatukee through their signature events by helping locally focused charities aligns very much with what we are here to do. Their organization and ours are looking forward to working together in many ways and we couldn’t be more excited about this partnership and the much-anticipated appearance of Santa Claus.
You can find HOPE for the Homeless at Santa’s Village this year. The group will be decorating Santa’s Village and assisting the big man himself throughout the day by taking complimentary photos with festival guests. Every month HOPE for the Homeless packs 3000 HOPE bags filled with essentials for life on the streets for a few days. On Saturday, November 23, HOPE will be collecting new socks on-site by Santa’s sleigh as new socks are a crucial necessity for this community.
BEER/WINE AND COCKTAILS
This year, Light Up Ahwatukee has partnered with local brewery and pub, Wren Südhalle (South Hall); the latest concept from Arizona-based award-winning Wren House Brewing Co. that celebrates traditional European beer styles, culture, and food. Südhalle, which just celebrated their one-year anniversary.
Wren Südhalle and Scout Distribution will be collaborating as the festival’s primary beer sponsor for the event. Wren will have 3-4 different beers on tap throughout the day for guests to purchase drink tickets.
The popular wine pouring stations will be located in both the 21+ Tavern and the new for 2024, and an extra wine pouring station will be in the 21+ Lush Winter Cocktail Garden with a variety of wines, bubbly, and seltzers. A Winter Cocktail Garden hosted by Lush Café and Lounge with craft cocktails available for purchase.
FOOD
Guests will not go hungry, that’s for sure. Light Up Ahwatukee has just about 20 food trucks and vendors for festival goers to nosh at. New for 2024, Zzeeks Pizza will be on-site selling both full-size pizzas and slices. Zzeeks also will be providing every volunteer on-site a slice of pizza as a thank-you meal for volunteering.
“As a long-time Ahwatukee resident and business owner, we’ve always wanted to be a part of this special annual event, says Jody Pectol, owner of Zzeeks. “Being asked to be a participant this year is a wonderful privilege and one we are looking forward to and take great pride in. We can’t wait to see and visit with some familiar faces along with making some new friends along the way,” says Pectol.
Other food/drink/snack vendors include Hot Bamboo, Cuties Lemonade, Parlor Donuts, I Dream of Weenies, Chick-fil-A, Food Love featuring a variety of fair food items, Fried Agee Rolls, Wok This Way, Chris’s Water and Ice, Jakes Treat Trolley featuring Mini Donuts, Yoasis Frozen Yogurt, Mangled Foods showcasing breakfast burritos, Beccarra’s Kitchen with burgers and BBQ, Gus’s Gyro, and Eddy Dee’s featuring nachos, wraps, churros, mac and cheese, turkey legs and more.
ENTERTAINMENT
As far as entertainment, LUA has quite the impressive line up set for the stage all day from 10AM to 10PM.
“One of the things I like best about playing at the Light Up Ahwatukee Holiday Festival is seeing so many familiar faces,” says Dennis Lambert from Lil’ Debbie Band & Contents May Shift. “This is by far our most looked forward event to play at. Playing for our neighbors and such a great community gathering is such a great privilege and a rush,” says Lambert.
“I am particularly blown away to have students that I once taught as small children come up to me, now as adults to say hello to me,” says Debbie Lambert of Lil’ Debbie Band & Contents May Shift.
Community Stage Performances
10AM – Welcome from Board President, Maria Reyes-Smith
10:15-11AM – Dance Connection 2
11AM-12PM – Ahwatukee Children’s Theatre
12-12:30PM – Brandon Riggs / My Special World
12:30-1:00PM – Mariachi Estrella de Cobre
Live Band Performances
12:30-1:45 – Sunday Night Friends Club
2:15-6:15PM – Contents May Shift and Lil’ Debbie Band
7:00-10:00 PM – Iconic / Voyager
Dance Connection 2 – Dance Connection 2 is an award-winning dance studio/school in Chandler that has been serving the community for over 35 years training in Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Ballroom, Lyrical, Hip-Hop and Contemporary. They offer various classes & programs for children 2 years and over. For more information head to https://www.danceconnection2.com.
Brandon Riggs and My Special World – Brandon was the selected charity receipent from LUA earlier this year for the April Beer and Wine Gala. Brandon’s achievements include starting a non-profit My Special World, successful performances, auditions for America’s Got Talent, and seven years of showcasing his dance talents in school talent shows.
As the Executive Director of My Special World, Brandon Riggs continues to inspire change, leading with a genuine passion for making a lasting impact on the lives of special needs children through dance, motivation, and unwavering dedication. Brandon will take the stage to perform his dance moves for holiday festival attendees.
AZ ACT / Ahwatukee Children’s Theatre – AZ ACT is a gem here in the Ahwatukee community, where performers learn and learners perform. AZ ACT was created to encourage confidence through competence and performance. It is a special place where youth and the young-at-heart can be creative, laugh, cry, sing, dance, take chances, make mistakes, fail, succeed, and be who they are. This December marks the 25th Anniversary of their magical production of “A Christmas Carol”. AZ ACT offers a wide variety of programs for local Ahwatukee youth including Show Choirs, Acting/Studio series, musicals, and more. For more information on AZ ACT visit https://azact.org.
Mariachi Estrella de Cobre (Copper Star) – Mariachi Estrella de Cobre (Copper Star), is a mariachi youth group created for young musicians to celebrate Hispanic + Mexican culture and cultivate their musical abilities to showcase the rich culture of mariachi music. In recognition of the great state of Arizona, in which each member was born and raised, the group was named after an Arizona icon, the Copper Star. When translated to Spanish, Copper Star means Estrella de Cobre. The group was founded in 2022 but most of the members have 5+ years of experience performing throughout the valley. All members of the group are taught traditional music theory in addition to mariachi music theory and work to further develop Spanish as a second language. They have won a talent show contest at South Mountain Community College and performed at multiple notable events across the Valley. You can find them on social media by searching mariachiestrelladecobre on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube or their website at https://www.estrelladecobre.org.
Sunday Funday Friends Club – Sunday Night Friends Club is a band from Ahwatukee, AZ. Members Alyssa Hattula, Vance Monyer, and Gaelica Zoe Lopez Mora, make up the Midwest Emo/ Shoegaze Rock trio. Established in June 2024, they have released their debut ep, “Live From The “Live From The Oven.” They perform at multiple mic nights, Sozo Coffeehouse and many other house shows. You can follow them on instagram and tiktok at @sundaynightfriendsclub.
The Lil’ Debbie Band and Contents May Shift have many things in common. First, the members of each band call Ahwatukee their home. Second, all have been members of the Lil’ Debbie Band in the past…and some still are! The Lil’ Debbie Band has been together for 24 years. During this time they have played throughout the Valley at some of its top venues and events, including headlining the Tempe Town Lakes 4th of July Festival, playing casinos, for the Suns, Cardinals, Mercury, and in opening for national acts, Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show, and Donnie Iris. They have happily volunteered their time and talent for nearly every Light Up Event/Festival. Wanting to mix up the music variety and the frequency they play out, two years ago a few of the members of the Lil’ Debbie Band formed a new band, Contents May Shift. Reunited with long-time guitarist Jill Fortunato, the band has caught on and is an active part of the Valley music scene.
Both bands report they are happiest when playing in their home turf, Ahwatukee!
HEADLINER Iconic Band / Voyager – Experience ICONIC – A Hi-Energy Pop & Rock showcase featuring something for everyone with hits from the 60s to today performed by the members of the Journey tribute band Voyager. Guests at the Festival can dance to every song or sing along to the chart-topping hits. Chuck Berry to Cheap Trick, The Beatles to The Bee Gees, Bon Jovi to Bruno Mars, Journey to Justin Timberlake, Def Leppard to DNCE, and so much more. You’ll know every song, they’re all ICONIC! Their alter ego band is the Journey tribute band, Voyager.
LUA’s popular Santa’s Village, sponsored by San Tan Ford, as guests enjoy personal one-on-one time with Santa for complimentary family photos from 12pm-5:30pm. Candycane Lane will operate inflatables and bounce houses from 10am-8pm. An Arizona Humane Society dog adoption will take place from 11am-3pm.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:
- 10:00AM – Doors open – Admission to the festival is free.
- 10:00AM-11:00PM – 21+ Wren Tavern/Beer Garden, Live Entertainment on stage
- 10:00AM-8:00PM – Candy Cane Lane/Inflatables (All day wristbands available for a fee)
- 10:00AM-CLOSE – Food Truck Trail
- 12:00-5:30PM – Santa’s Village
- 10:00AM-CLOSE – Marketplace Street Village
- 6:15PM – Motorcycle Parade
LUA is still seeking community volunteers, accepting event sponsors and Motorcycle Parade participants.
Sponsors committed for the 2024 Light Up Ahwatukee Holiday Festival include San Tan Ford for Santa’s Village, Wren Sudhalle sponsoring the Tavern, Big O Tires sponsoring the tavern and game area, Lush Lounge sponsoring the Winter Cocktail Garden, supporting sponsors include Holiday Lights Phoenix, Zzeeks Pizza, Philly’s Sports Grill, Concerts in the Park, Vero Chicago Pizza, PostNet as the Print Sponsor, and Ahwatukee Foothills News.
For questions or further information about Light Up Ahwatukee, please visit lightupahwatukee.org. Article written, Morgan Vanderwall.
