Scottsdale's big birthday party took place in June. The rest of the anniversary is happening on foot. On June 25, the 75th anniversary of the city's 1951 incorporation, the City hosted a breakfast at Scottsdale Stadium. The program included a documentary premiere, a choir, timeline exhibits and a historic police car, and ABC15 covered the celebration that day.
The anniversary's final weeks are built into the holiday season, in places a short walk apart. There's a souvenir you get by shopping in Old Town, a wire horse that people cover with fabric and memories, a tree lighting with anniversary surprises, and a drop-in afternoon in the city's local history archive. If you live here and plan December around two Saturdays, you'll see nearly all of it.
Four Saturdays Hold the Anniversary Together
The best-designed piece of the finale is also the easiest to miss. The Scottsdale 75th Shopper Appreciation Days give a commemorative souvenir to anyone who spends at least $75 in Old Town Scottsdale between November 28 and December 19, 2026. Receipts can be added together to reach $75. Bring them to one of two Old Town Information Carts, at Brown Avenue and Main Street or at 5th Avenue and Stetson Drive.
Old Town Ambassadors give out the souvenirs only on four Saturdays, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., while supplies last:
- Saturday, November 28
- Saturday, December 5
- Saturday, December 12
- Saturday, December 19
Spending $75 for a city that started with 2,032 residents in 1951 fits the occasion. Those four Saturdays also line up with almost everything else on this list. Two of them, December 5 and December 12, hold enough on the same day to plan around.
The Pieces You Can Still Go See
Some of the anniversary has been on display all year, and two pieces are worth a stop while you're in Old Town or at Civic Center.
Sonora the Horse. The City commissioned a 75-inch by 75-inch wire horse designed by Scottsdale Artists' School. Through an activity called Pony Expressions, Old Town visitors add pony-colored fabrics such as leather and cotton to the frame, each one a personal memory of Scottsdale. As more people add to her, Sonora goes from a bare frame to a finished horse made of the community's contributions. She moves around Old Town, and the Old Town Scottsdale site tracks where Sonora appears next.
Scottsdale Through the Decades. Artist Kayla Newnam designed a temporary installation at Scottsdale Civic Center. Its oversized figures are based on the Old Town cowboy, and each one marks milestones from the 1960s through the 2000s. The City suggests finding the decade you were born or last visited Scottsdale.
The Scottsdale 75 Picture Scavenger Hunt. The city's 75-stop hunt connects these pieces. Stops include public art, historic sites, local businesses, parks and city facilities. Players take selfies for points, collect Western-themed stickers for each decade since the 1950s, and earn city-themed prizes at milestone point levels. Finishing all 75 stops plus the bonus activities enters you in a grand-prize drawing. Sign-up is through a free account linked from the City's Celebrate 75 page.
The anniversary logo, a spur with eight points, one for each decade since incorporation, carries the same idea. Most of the celebration is meant to be added to by residents, not just watched.
November 28 Starts the Season and the Countdown
The first souvenir Saturday is also the night the holiday season begins. The Tree Lighting Spectacular, Celebrating 75 Years of Scottsdale runs from 7 to 9 p.m. on the Scottsdale Waterfront Canal Bank at 7135 E. Camelback Road, and it's free.
Arizona's Family anchor Jamie Ceretta hosts. The 10-piece band Phat Cat Swinger plays holiday music, Toyland has hands-on play for kids, Santa and Mrs. Claus will be there, and The Merchantile Market runs a pop-up of local makers. The 36-foot Scottsdazzle tree is lit along with what the organizers call special festivities for the 75th anniversary.
The lighting begins Scottsdazzle, the city's holiday program, which runs November 28 through December 31. If you shop Old Town that afternoon and drop your receipts at a cart before 4 p.m., you can pick up the souvenir and stay for the lighting the same day.
December 5 Is the Densest Day of the Season
The second souvenir Saturday has more going on within walking distance than any other day on the calendar. All four events are free to attend, and the souvenir still takes $75 in Old Town receipts.
- 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Ultimate Family Play Date, outdoors at Scottsdale Civic Center, with interactive art, science, literacy and building activities.
- 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Souvenir pickup at the Old Town Information Carts.
- 6 to 9 p.m. Winter at the Waterfront on the Scottsdale Waterfront Canal Bank, with holiday lights, live music, seasonal refreshments and local boutique pop-ups.
- 7 to 9 p.m. Starlight Movie Night at the Civic Center East Bowl, showing Elf.
The evening events overlap, so you'll have to choose between the canal bank and the movie. The rest of the day connects easily. A morning at Civic Center, lunch and shopping in Old Town, a stop at a cart with your receipts and a visit to the Decades figures all fit in one day before dark.
The Hanukkah events follow right after. Scottsdale Quarter's annual Chanukah celebration on Sunday, December 6, at 5 p.m. includes a giant menorah lighting, music and treats. On Thursday, December 10, the city's Public Hanukkah Celebration runs from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at Soleri Plaza, 4420 N. Scottsdale Road, with a public menorah lighting, music, singing and children's crafts.
December 12 Takes the Anniversary Into the Archive
The last event on the City's Celebrate 75 list happens in a library, and it's the best fit for an anniversary about memory. Scottsdale Heritage Connection Saturdays at Civic Center Library begins at 1 p.m. on December 12. It's a drop-in introduction to the city's local history collection, including yearbooks, maps and oral histories.
December 12 is also the third souvenir Saturday, and the library is part of the same Civic Center campus as the Decades installation. If you missed the souvenir on November 28 or December 5, this is the most rewarding day to get it. The cart is open until 4 p.m., so you can browse old yearbooks at 1, stop by the cart afterward and still be home before dark.
For background before you go, the City published Hands-On History: Residents Reflect on Scottsdale's 75 Years, compiled by Joan C. Fudala and Bruce N. Wall from residents' own recollections. The City is also collecting memories through Speak Up Scottsdale, whether you have a few words or a long story about growing up, living or working here.
The Ticketed Nights Around It
Two longtime holiday traditions run alongside the anniversary events. They charge admission, so they work best on the weeknights between the Saturdays.
Holiday Lights at McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park, 7301 E. Indian Bend Road, runs November 27 through December 30, from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. It's closed December 24 and 25. Admission is $15 per person for ages 3 and older and free for children 2 and younger, and it includes rides on the Paradise & Pacific Railroad and the carousel. Wristbands are required for all rides. S'more Land sells $8 s'more kits by a fire next to the tracks. Confirm a specific night with the park before you go.
Christmas at the Princess at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess, 7575 E. Princess Drive, opens Friday, November 20, and runs through January 2, 2027. It has millions of lights, a 6,000-square-foot ice rink and a 120-foot Ferris wheel. General admission starts at $35 per person, premium admission starts at $70, and VIP tables start at $250. New this year is a S'mores Chalet with lounge access, cocoa and a s'mores bar.
The final souvenir Saturday is December 19. After that, the 75th anniversary programming is over, and the Old Town carts stop handing out a keepsake from the year Scottsdale turned 75.
At Vanessa Roark, we think a home's story is part of its value, and in Scottsdale that story now covers 75 years. If you're planning to list in the new year, Book a complimentary Home Marketing & Strategy Session and we'll talk about how to present your home's place in Scottsdale's history, from the street it sits on to the neighborhood around it.
