20 Years of Local: Arizona’s Certified Local Fall Festival Returns to Downtown Phoenix

Local First Arizona celebrates two decades of community, entrepreneurship and all things Arizona at its signature Fall Festival on November 7.

There is something special about discovering a business that feels distinctly Arizona.

Maybe it is the coffee shop you recommend to everyone who visits. The neighborhood bookstore where you always find something unexpected. The local maker whose products become your go-to gifts. Or the restaurant you have supported long enough to remember when hardly anyone knew its name.

On Saturday, November 7, Local First Arizona is bringing hundreds of those stories together for one of the state’s biggest celebrations of local business.

The Certified Local Fall Festival returns to Margaret T. Hance Park in downtown Phoenix for its 20th anniversary, transforming the park into a gathering place filled with Arizona entrepreneurs, food, drinks, shopping, entertainment and experiences designed to connect people with the businesses that make the state feel like home.

And admission is free.

A Celebration 20 Years in the Making

For two decades, the Fall Festival has given Arizona residents an opportunity to meet the people behind some of the businesses they see throughout the Valley and across the state.

More than 250 Arizona businesses are expected to participate in this year’s festival, offering everything from artisan goods and locally made products to food, beverages, gifts and services.

But the festival is about more than shopping.

It is also an opportunity to put faces and stories behind the word “local.”

Every purchase from an independently owned Arizona business has the potential to ripple outward, supporting entrepreneurs, employees, families and communities. The Fall Festival brings that idea to life by putting local businesses directly in front of thousands of Arizona residents in one place.

Come Hungry

Food and drinks are a major part of this year’s celebration.

The expanded Beverage Garden will feature more than 30 Arizona breweries, wineries and distillers alongside curated food offerings from local restaurants.

Festivalgoers can grab something to eat, discover an Arizona-made beverage and listen to live music without leaving the park.

Longstanding Arizona businesses will also join the celebration, including Spinato’s Pizzeria, which will be serving pizza slices and offering attendees opportunities to win prizes throughout the day.

And yes, Harkins Theatres is bringing the popcorn.

This Is Not Your Average Vendor Market

While shopping local remains at the heart of the event, Local First Arizona is adding plenty of reasons to wander around and stay awhile.

The Localist Activity Zone, presented by Vantage West Credit Union, will bring a little nostalgia to the festival with activities including kite making, bubble soccer and musical chairs.

Visitors can also help create a 24-foot community mural led by Mr. Downtown Phoenix, giving festivalgoers an opportunity to literally leave their mark on the celebration.

Cowtown Skateboards will bring skating demonstrations and education to local skate ramps throughout the day, while the Bark Park will create a space just for four-legged festivalgoers with a hydration station, treats, photo opportunities and dog adoptions from local rescue organizations.

A Marketplace That Looks Like Arizona

One of the best parts of a festival like this is stumbling across a business you did not know existed five minutes earlier.

This year’s Festival Marketplace will include a mix of familiar Arizona favorites and businesses waiting to become your newest discovery.

Confirmed participants include Changing Hands Bookstore, Stinkweeds Record Store, OHSO Brewery, Arizona Distilling Co., Cowtown Skateboards, the Children’s Museum of Phoenix, Wren House Brewing Co., Fairytale Brownies, Arizona State Parks and Trails, Liberty Wildlife, Phoenix Center for the Arts, Samurai Comics, Arizona Broadway Theatre, Zia Records and SanTan Brewing + Distilling, among many others.

The festival will also include ¡Bienvenidos al Mercado!, a special pop-up from Fuerza Local and Amor Collective highlighting Latino entrepreneurs, culture, food and community.

And Arizona’s youngest entrepreneurs are getting their own spotlight too.

A children’s entrepreneurship zone will showcase approximately two dozen businesses owned by young Arizonans, proving that the next generation of local business owners may already be getting started.

Finding Local Beyond the Festival

Local First Arizona is also introducing a new way to continue discovering independent businesses long after the festival ends.

The organization plans to launch the LocalistAZ App, designed to help users find locally owned businesses, products and services without sorting through national chains and corporations.

For anyone who has ever searched for a locally owned restaurant, coffee shop, gift store or service provider and wondered where to start, the tool could make shopping local a little easier.

Why Local Still Matters

Twenty years is a milestone worth celebrating.

But perhaps the bigger story is what those 20 years represent.

Arizona has grown tremendously, and with that growth comes the constant arrival of national brands, chains and development. Local businesses help make sure our communities do not all begin to look and feel the same.

They give neighborhoods personality.

They introduce us to flavors we cannot find everywhere else. They turn hobbies into storefronts, family recipes into restaurants and creative ideas into companies. They create places that become part of our routines and, eventually, part of our memories.

That is what makes an event like the Certified Local Fall Festival worth exploring.

You may arrive looking for lunch, a holiday gift or something fun to do on a Saturday.

You might leave having discovered your next favorite Arizona business.

Know Before You Go

Certified Local Fall Festival
Saturday, November 7, 2026
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Margaret T. Hance Park, Downtown Phoenix
Admission: Free

Bring the family, bring your friends and, yes, bring the pup.

Most importantly, leave a little room in your bag for something local.