Last month, people walking through Carefree Desert Gardens started seeing small colored flags on the trees and cacti. The Town explained them in an Oct. 15 notice. Each flag marks a spot where Christmas lights would go up. The same notice said the Easy Street string lights in Town Center were being replaced.
Those flags are the clearest sign of how Carefree is running the holidays this year. The season is concentrated in one garden and the pavilion across the street from it, and nearly every free event on the calendar from now through late December happens within a short walk of 101 Easy Street.
Why the fall festival didn't close Easy Street
The change was first visible last weekend. The 33rd Annual Fall Carefree Garden Art Experience took place Nov. 7 and 8 inside Carefree Desert Gardens. For 32 years before that, Thunderbird Artists ran its fall show on downtown streets. On its event page, Thunderbird says the move came after the Town of Carefree asked it to limit street closures to two per year. The winter and spring street festivals stay downtown as they were.
That means Easy Street's two closures now belong to the big festivals. The next one is the 34th Annual Winter Carefree Fine Art & Wine Festival, Jan. 15 through 17, 2027, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Everything between now and then fits inside the Gardens or the Sanderson Lincoln Pavilion.
The Gardens are big enough for it. Thunderbird describes them as a 4-acre desert garden with plant specimens from around the world, water features, fountains and the 62-foot Carefree Sundial, with sculpture already placed throughout.
The Town is putting its labor into the same block
The second change is behind the scenes. At its October meeting, the Carefree Town Council approved outsourcing holiday lighting and decorations to a local vendor. Public Works used to put the lights up and take them down. The Town's notice said that work pulled staff away from streets, drainage, traffic signs, public facilities and the Desert Gardens themselves. The vendor's installation is going on at the same time as the new Easy Street string lights.
So the Gardens are getting a professionally installed light display and a Town Center lighting refresh in the same season the Town asked organizers to stay off the street. For anyone who lives within a few minutes of Easy Street, that adds up to a holiday calendar that's easy to plan around. You can park once and walk to everything.
Saturday, Nov. 28 uses the whole block
The Saturday after Thanksgiving is when the arrangement shows best. Two events fill the same footprint from morning to night.
| Time | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 10 a.m. | Kiwanis Christmas for the Kids | Sanderson Lincoln Pavilion, 101 Easy Street |
| 5 p.m. | Carefree Lights Up! tree lighting | Carefree Desert Gardens, by the Veterans Memorial |
| 6 p.m. | Christmas concert with free hot chocolate | Sanderson Lincoln Pavilion |
The Kiwanis Club of Carefree lists Santa and Mrs. Claus, animals, hayrides, food, children's activities and bicycle giveaways for the daytime event.
That evening, Carefree Lights Up! starts around the 20-foot Christmas tree near the Veterans Memorial. The Desert Hills Presbyterian Church Bell Ringers will play, and Joyful Sounds, a local multi-community singing group, will lead carols. Mayor John Crane will share holiday wishes and then lead the countdown to light the tree.
After that, the crowd crosses the street to the Pavilion. Young string players from Jubilate Conservatory of Music will play while the Town hands out free hot chocolate, and the concert starts at 6 p.m. The lineup includes the Desert Cactus Kickers, a senior tap troupe, and POP, the Performing Outreach Project, an inclusive dance group. Young vocalists from Jubilate Conservatory of Music and Desert Hills School of Music round out the program. New this year, Desert Hills Presbyterian Church will present a retelling of the Christmas story with readings and carols sung by a combined local choir.
The weeks around it keep the same footprint
The rest of the calendar, before and after Nov. 28, is quieter but stays on the same block. That makes it easy to put together a plan.
- Nov. 13, 20 and 27, 9 a.m. Carefree Friday Farmers Market, according to the Town's November calendar.
- Nov. 19, 4 to 7 p.m. Carefree Art Night in Carefree Town Center. It runs on third Thursdays from October through May.
- Dec. 4 through 11, 5:30 p.m. nightly. Chanukah in Carefree marks its 10th anniversary with a menorah lighting every night at Sanderson Lincoln Pavilion. The Dec. 10 program features the Phoenix Holocaust Association and Dr. Mark Olsky.
- Saturdays, Dec. 5, 12, 19 and 26, 1 to 3 p.m. Sanderson Lincoln Saturdays brings free afternoon music to the Pavilion. The performers are Brian Grant of the Grant Brothers on Dec. 5, Nancy & Neil on Dec. 12, Darrell Doepke on Dec. 19 and Tyler Nielson on Dec. 26.
The Chanukah lightings at 5:30 p.m. run eight nights in a row, Friday, Dec. 4 through the following Friday. The Gardens' new lights will be on the whole time, so any of those evenings works for a walk through the Gardens with a stop at the Pavilion on the way.
Matching dinner to the event times
The Carefree Restaurant Association's Restaurant Week roster from Oct. 19 to 25 doubles as a guide to the kitchens a few blocks from the Pavilion. The Association describes the town's dining as independent and family-owned. Based on the hours the Association published, here's how they line up with the calendar.
Before the 5 p.m. tree lighting on Saturday, Nov. 28
- Athens on Easy Street, 121 Easy Street, is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Tox Bar / Speedy Burger Tavern, 100 Easy Street, is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- English Rose Tea Room, 201 Easy Street, #103, serves Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., which fits around the Kiwanis morning.
After the concert, or after a Chanukah lighting
- Keeler's Neighborhood Steakhouse, 7212 E. Ho Hum Road, serves dinner daily from 5 to 9 p.m. It's the option on this list for Sunday, Dec. 6, the only Sunday in the Chanukah week.
- Giordano's Trattoria Romana, 7275 Easy Street, is open Monday through Saturday from 5 to 9 p.m.
- Venues Café, 34 Easy Street, serves until 8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and until 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, with Sunday brunch from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
For a Friday market morning or a Saturday music afternoon
- Grind and Gears, 10 Easy Street, serves coffee, tea, espresso drinks, smoothies and snacks.
- Carefree Coffee Roastery, 7171 E. Cave Creek Road.
- Black Mountain Cafe, 7211 E. Ho Road, #23.
- Pizzacata USA in Spanish Village.
Holiday weeks can bring changes to regular hours, so it's worth a quick call before you go, especially on Thanksgiving weekend.
The building next door is the next piece
The same stretch of Easy Street has one more project underway. Los Portales, at 99 Easy Street, has new owners. The Cave Creek Carefree Independent reported in July that the building is being reimagined as Orchard Street Market. According to the Town's announcement, the project is led by co-founders Ken Martindale and Sharon Aulicino with operating partner Charlie Yamashita. The Town Council approved a sales-tax development agreement for it at its June 2 meeting.
The plan calls for a fresh market and artisan makers upstairs, with restaurants, wine bars and experiential businesses downstairs. The Town said it would work with existing Los Portales tenants on ways they might stay in Carefree. The Orchard Street Market site is currently recruiting founding purveyors. The plan adds evening food and drink to the address next to 101 Easy Street, the same block where the Gardens' lights are going up.
Living near Easy Street means the whole holiday season is within walking distance. If you're thinking about a move that keeps you close to Carefree Town Center, or one that puts you there for the first time, The Rider Elite Team knows these streets and can help you find the right fit. Start Your Move with Rider Elite.
