Annual Events at Tempe Beach Park You’ll Want on Your Calendar
Category TEMPE TOWN LAKE
Tempe Beach Park stays busy in the best way. Throughout the year, it flips from music festival grounds to cultural celebrations to holiday traditions, all right along the lake.
If you’re the type who likes to plan ahead (or just wants a running list of what’s coming up), here are some of the annual events that consistently take over the park—and are worth showing up for.
Innings Festival
Spring training meets music festival...Innings Festival brings big-name artists to the waterfront alongside baseball-inspired experiences like batting cages, player appearances and interactive activations. Past lineups have included names like Fall Out Boy, The Killers, The Black Keys and Incubus, giving it a strong mix of rock, alternative and throwback energy that pulls in a wide crowd each year.
Extra Innings Festival
When one weekend isn’t enough, Extra Innings keeps things going. Taking place right after Innings Festival, this follow-up weekend leans into country, folk and Americana while keeping that same lakeside setup and festival feel. Artists like Chris Stapleton, Kacey Musgraves, The Lumineers and Sheryl Crow have all taken the stage here, so it draws a slightly different crowd but delivers the same kind of all-day, settle-in-and-stay-awhile energy.
Four Peaks Oktoberfest
A longtime Tempe tradition that shows up big every year. Oktoberfest transforms the park into a full festival grounds with beer gardens, live music, carnival rides and rows of food vendors serving up all the classics that keep us all coming back year after year.
Arizona Aloha Festival
For a slower, more relaxed pace, the Arizona Aloha Festival brings island culture to the desert with live Polynesian performances, cultural demonstrations and a lineup of delicious local food vendors. It’s easy to wander, easy to spend a few hours, and has a completely different feel from the rest of the event lineup at the park.
Reggae Rise Up Arizona
Reggae Rise Up brings multiple days of music to the waterfront with national artists, immersive art and a strong lineup of food vendors that keeps people there from start to finish. Past lineups have featured artists like Slightly Stoopid, Rebelution, Dirty Heads, SOJA and Stephen Marley, creating a high-energy, feel-good festival atmosphere that carries all weekend long.
Fantasy of Lights Boat Parade
Each December, Tempe Town Lake lights up for the Fantasy of Lights Boat Parade, a free, family-friendly tradition that brings thousands to the waterfront. The evening builds with a holiday market, live entertainment and seasonal eats before boats covered in twinkling lights and over-the-top displays take over the lake—wrapping up with a fireworks show that closes out the night in the best way.
Make a Day (or Night) of It
The park might be the main event, but the day doesn’t start—or end—there. Downtown Tempe’s restaurants, bars and shops are all right up the street, making it easy to grab a bite before you head in or keep things going after.
Come early, stay late, and make the most of it while you’re here.