What’s new in Tempe this week?
Four Peaks Oktoberfest returns to Tempe Beach Park and Tempe Town Lake Friday, October 9 through Sunday, October 11, 2026, for its 53rd year. General admission starts at $18, admission is free for everyone on Sunday, and anyone 20 or younger gets in free all weekend. Closer in, Tempe’s Kiwanis Park celebrates the grand reopening of its rebuilt north play area with a free party on Tuesday, September 23.
By Dr. Kevin Shufford | September 13, 2026
If you’ve lived in the East Valley for more than a year or two, you already know the sound of fall around here. It isn’t cooler weather, because that takes its sweet time. It’s the polka stage firing up at Tempe Beach Park.
Here’s what’s on the calendar, and why it’s worth putting on yours now instead of the week of.
Four Peaks Oktoberfest takes over Tempe Town Lake October 9 to 11
This is the big one. KTAR reported in July that the Four Peaks Brewing Oktoberfest is back for its 53rd year at Tempe Town Lake and Tempe Beach Park, 80 W. Rio Salado Pkwy., and Tempe Tourism’s official event listing confirms the same three days: October 9, 10, and 11, 2026.
Fifty-three years is not a typo. This festival has been running in Tempe longer than most of the neighborhoods around it have existed, and it’s still the primary annual fundraiser for Tempe Sister Cities, the nonprofit that sends local high school students on study-abroad trips to sister cities around the world. You’re buying a pretzel and funding a kid’s passport stamp.
Hours: Friday, October 9 runs 5 p.m. to midnight. Saturday, October 10 runs noon to midnight. Sunday, October 11 runs noon to 10 p.m.
What you’ll pay: Super early bird presale general admission is $18. Single-day VIP Backstage Experiences start at $80, and a three-day VIP pass runs $195. VIP gets you a front-row stage viewing area, a private bar, private restrooms, band meet-and-greets when they’re available, and food and drinks included.
How to go for free: Sunday is free admission for everyone. Anyone 20 or younger gets in free all three days. Volunteers get in free too, and registration for that is open on the festival’s site.
The lineup is the usual mix of beer gardens, a polka stage, German food vendors, carnival rides, and kids’ activities. Live music is headlined by the Dirty Yachtin’ Scoundrels on Friday night, Wyves on Saturday, and Whiskey’s Quicker closing it out Sunday, with local acts filling in around them. The wiener dog races and the brat-eating contest are both back, which is genuinely the correct order of priorities.
One more thing worth knowing if you’re the type who likes to earn your beer: on Saturday, October 10, the Frank Kush Foundation hosts its annual “Runnin’ for the Brats” race around Tempe Town Lake, with 10K, 5K, and 1-mile options. Costumes are encouraged, and every race participant gets free festival admission for Saturday. Registration is open at oktoberfest.run.
Parking tip from someone who has learned the hard way: Tempe Beach Park sits right at Mill and Rio Salado, and that intersection does not get easier on an ASU home weekend. Take the light rail to the Third Street and Mill stop and walk the last few minutes. You’ll save yourself twenty minutes and a parking fee.
Kiwanis Park reopens its north play area September 23
Closer to home and a lot sooner, Tempe is throwing a free party for the grand reopening of the north play area at Kiwanis Park, near Guadalupe and Baseline roads. It runs Tuesday, September 23 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., and KTAR confirmed the date and details alongside the City of Tempe’s own Arts in the Parks listing.
The north side has been under construction for a while, and what’s coming back is a real upgrade: a renovated playground with new equipment, a large group ramada, a climbable art sculpture by artist Bobby Zokaites, shade structures, additional trees, a new restroom and concession building, and improved parking and ramps. Shade and restrooms are the unglamorous features that actually decide whether a park gets used in Arizona, so this matters more than it sounds.
The ribbon-cutting comes with live music from the Haley Green Band at 6 p.m. and Lunes at 7 p.m., watercolor and bag charm art activities, free water and sweet treats, and food trucks from Sho Lov, Habanero’s Tacos, and Pedaling Paletas. It’s free, it’s two hours, and it’s on a Tuesday evening, which makes it about the easiest family outing on this list.
Why this stretch of Tempe keeps getting more interesting
Put these two on a map and you get a decent picture of what’s happening in Tempe right now. The north end keeps drawing regional events to the lake, and the neighborhoods down by Guadalupe and Baseline keep getting real money spent on the parks people actually walk to.
That combination is a big part of why buyers keep circling back to Tempe even when inventory is tight. You’re not just buying square footage, you’re buying a short drive to a lake festival in October and a rebuilt playground two neighborhoods over. If you’re curious what it’s actually like to own here, or what these pockets are doing on price, that’s my world and I’m happy to talk it through.
Go eat a brat. Bring cash for the carnival rides.
Dr. Kevin Shufford holds a PhD in Communication and is a professor who teaches how to have healthy relationships, skills he brings to his real estate practice. As a licensed real estate agent and mortgage loan officer serving the Phoenix metro and Southern California, Kevin operates as The Property Professor under Real Broker and One Real Mortgage. Work with Kevin at thepropertyprofessor.blog or call 480-725-4658.
Sources: KTAR News, Tempe Tourism, Four Peaks Oktoberfest, and KTAR News on Kiwanis Park.
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