Weekend guide: Here are the biggest events around metro Phoenix for Dec. 2-4

Dec 2, 2022, 4:35 AM | Updated: 7:17 am

(Butterfly Wonderland Facebook Photo/Getty Images)

PHOENIX — Holiday light displays, The Nutcracker and the Phoenix Zoo Lights are just a few things to do this weekend in the Valley.

Here are some of the biggest events around the metro Phoenix area.

Phoenix

Phoenix Suns vs. Houston Rockets
- Day: Friday
- Time: 6:30 p.m.
- Venue: Footprint Center (201 E. Jefferson St.)

2nd Annual Winter Artisan Market
- Day: Friday
- Time: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Venue: Holland Center (34250 N. 60th St.)

Candy Rush by World of Illumination
- Day: Each day
- Time: 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
- Venue: Diablo Stadium (220 W. Alameda Drive)

Holiday Pops
- Day: Friday through Sunday
- Time: 7:30 p.m.
- Venue: Symphony Hall

First Friday
- Day: Friday
- Time: 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
- Venue: Downtown Phoenix

CitySkate
- Day: Each day
- Time: 4 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
- Venue: Patriot’s Park inside CityScape (11 W. Washington St.)

Zoo Lights
- Day: Each day
- Time: 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
- Venue: Phoenix Zoo

34th Annual Festival of Lights
- Day: Saturday
- Time: 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
- Venue: Besh-Ba-Gowah Archaeological Park (1324 s. Jesse Hayes Rd.)

APS Electric Light Parade
- Day: Saturday
- Time: 7 p.m.
- Venue: Uptown to Midtown Phoenix

Zona Music Festival
- Day: Saturday and Sunday
- Time: 12:30 p.m. to 10:45 p.m.
- Venue: Hance Park (67 W. Culver St.)

Dinosaurs in the Desert
- Day: Each day
- Time: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Venue: Phoenix Zoo (455 N. Galvin Parkway)

Philip C. Curtis and the Landscapes of Arizona
- Day: Each day
- Time: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Venue: Phoenix Art Museum

Black Nativity – Black Theatre Troupe
- Day: Each day
- Time: Varies
- Venue: Helen K Mason Performing Arts Center (1333 E. Washington St.)

Modest Mouse: The Lonesome Crowded West Tour
- Day: Saturday
- Time: 8 p.m.
- Venue: The Van Buren (401 W. Van Buren St.)

Alice Cooper’s 20th Annual Christmas Pudding
- Day: Saturday
- Time: 7 p.m.
- Venue: Celebrity Theatre

Trans-Siberian Orchestra
- Day: Sunday
- Time: Varies
- Venue: Footprint Center

Mesa

Arizona Lights in the Night
- Day: Each day
- Time: 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
- Venue: Thompson Event Center (1901 N. Alma School Rd.)

Mesa Temple Christmas Lights and International Nativity Display
- Day: Each day
- Time: 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
- Venue: Mesa Temple Visitors Center (101 S. LeSueur)

Lights at the Farm
- Day: Each day
- Time: 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
- Venue: Vertuccio Farms (4011 S. Power Rd.)

Downtown Mesa Farmers Market
- Day: Saturday
- Time: 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
- Venue: Mesa Arts Center (1 E. Main St.)

Pratt Brothers Christmas and Holiday Spectacular
- Day: Each day
- Times: Various
- Venue: Bell Bank Park (6321 S. Ellsworth Rd.)

Glendale

Glendale Glitters
- Day: Each day
- Time: 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
- Venue: Downtown Glendale and Murphy Park

Skate Westgate
- Day: Each day
- Time: Varies
- Venue: Westgate Entertainment District

8th Annual Dirt Expo
- Day: Saturday and Sunday
- Time: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Venue: State Farm Stadium (1 Cardinals Drive)

Enchanted Safari by World of Illumination
- Day: Eachd ay
- Time: 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
- Venue: Desert Diamond Casino and Entertainment (9431 W. Northern Ave.)

Rockin’ Christmas by World of Illumination
- Day: Each day
- Time: 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
- Venue: Six Flags Hurricane Harbor (4243 W. Pinnacle Peak Rd.)

Under the Mistletoe
- Day: Sunday
- Time: 7 p.m.
- Venue: Desert Diamond Arena (9400 W. Maryland Ave.)

Scottsdale

Christmas at the Princess
- Day: Each day
- Time: All day
- Venue: Fairmont Scottsdale Princess (7575 E. Princess Drive)

The Immersive Nutcracker
- Day: Saturday and Sunday
- Time: Starts at 10:30 a.m. each day
- Venue: Lighthouse Artspace (4301 N. Scottsdale Rd.)

World’s Largest Bounce Park
- Day: Each day
- Time: Varies
- Venue: Salt River Fields (7330 93rd St.)

Luminarias Holiday Market
- Day: Friday
- Time: 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
- Venue: Andaz Scottsdale Resort & Bungalows

Christmas in the Rainforest
- Day: Each day
- Time: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Venue: Butterfly Wonderland

Winter Wonderland at OdySea Aquarium
- Day: Each day
- Time: Varies
- Venue: OdySea Aquarium (9500 E. Via de Ventura)

Enchant
- Day: Each day
- Time: 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
- Venue: Salt River Fields

Sacred Spaces Exhibition
- Day: Each day
- Time: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Venue: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin (12621 N. Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd.)

Phillip K. Smith III: Mirrorworks
- Day: Friday and Saturday
- Time: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Venue: Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art

Emerson String Quartet
- Day: Friday
- Time: 8 p.m.
- Venue: Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts

ZZ Top: Raw Whiskey Tour
- Day: Friday
- Time: 8 p.m.
- Venue: Talking Stick Resort

Tempe

Tempe Festival of the Arts
- Day: Friday through Sunday
- Time: 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
- Venue: downtown Tempe

Driftwood Quintet
- Day: Friday
- Time: 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.
- Venue: Tempe History Museum

Interactive Improv Comedy Show
- Day: Each day
- Time: 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.
- The Bridge Improv Theater (937 E. Broadway Rd.)

Lucha Libre Worldwide
- Day: Saturday
- Time: 7 p.m.
- Venue: Mullet Arena (411 S. Packard Drive)

Social Distortion – Balcony Section
- Day: Saturday
- Time: 6:30 p.m.
- Venue: Marquee Theatre (730 N. Mill Ave.)

Jeremy Piven
- Day: Friday and Saturday
- Time: Varies
- Venue: Tempe Improv (930 E. University Dr.)

Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons
- Day: Sunday
- Time: 7 p.m.
- Venue: ASU Gammage

Apache Junction

Annual holiday event and light parade
- Day: Saturday
- Time: 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
- Venue: Flatiron Park

Avondale

WinterFest
- Day: Saturday
- Time: 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
- Venue: Avondale Civic Center Complex (11465 W. Civic Center Drive)

Buckeye

Cotton Fest
- Day: Saturday
- Time: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Venue: Downtown Buckeye

Cave Creek

Ugly Sweater Bar Crawl
- Day: Saturday
- Time: 6 p.m. to 2 a.m.
- Venue: Cave Creek

Chandler

Ballet Etudes presents “The Nutcracker”
- Day: Friday through Sunday
- Time: Varies
- Venue: Chandler Center for the Arts (250 N. Arizona Ave.)

Picturing Home: Dust Bowl migrants in Chandler
- Day: Each day
- Time: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Venue: Chandler Museum (300 S. Chandler Village Drive)

Fountain Hills

Christmas Market and Stroll in the Glow
- Day: Friday
- Time: 10 a.m.
- Venue: 16858 E. Avenue of the Fountains, Suite 103

Fountain Hills Farmers Market
- Day: Sunday
- Time: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Venue: 16729 E. Avenue of the Fountains

Gilbert

Santa Claus is coming to town
- Day: Saturday
- Time: 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
- Venue: Gilbert Community Center (130 N. Oak St.)

Goodyear

Holidays on the Square
- Day: Friday and Saturday
- Time: 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
- Venue: Goodyear Civic Square

Litchfield Park

Holiday Nights in Lights
- Day: Each day
- Time: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
- Venue: The Wigman (300 E. Wigman Blvd.)

Peoria

Peoria Jolly Holiday Outdoor movie, PJ Party, Night Market
- Day: Saturday
- Time: 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
- Venue: Centennial Plaza Park (9875 N. 85th Ave.)

Queen Creek