Buckeye events, November 2026 to February 2027: Cotton Fest to the Air Fair

Buckeye's calendar fills up once the heat breaks. Between mid-November and the end of February the city stages its biggest street events downtown, the library and museum add smaller gatherings, and the season closes with airplanes over the municipal airport. Here is what is on, with the dates each organizer has published. Check the linked organizer pages before you go, since details can change.

November: a last movie and Cotton Fest

The fall Movie in the Park series wraps up on Saturday, November 14, with The Grinch at Windrose Park in Teravalis. Like the other screenings, it starts at 7 p.m., and the city's Community Services team brings food trucks, activities and giveaways. Pack lawn chairs or a blanket.

Two talks at the Buckeye Valley Museum suit anyone curious about the area's past. On Thursday, November 19, Kelly Wolff speaks about the history, natural resources and conservation of the Lower Gila River, and on Tuesday, November 24, Jim Turner looks at how the automobile reshaped American life. Both are listed on the library system's calendar.

Then comes the weekend the holidays officially begin downtown. Cotton Fest takes over the 6th Street Plaza and Monroe Avenue on Saturday, November 28, from 3 to 8 p.m. The street fair nods to Buckeye's farming roots with a look at the history of cotton, and mixes holiday shopping from local artisans and craft makers with a classic car show from 3 to 5 p.m., food trucks, inflatables, mariachi, carolers and dance performances. The city's tree is lit at 6 p.m., and Santa poses for free photos on the plaza from 6 to 8 p.m.

The same Saturday is Shop Small Saturday. The Buckeye Mainstreet Coalition will be at Benbow Park handing out shopping bags with goodies and information about downtown's shops and restaurants, first come, first served. Downtown's dining rooms make the day easy to stretch out: Casa de Leyva on Monroe, a family restaurant that the city featured in its Shop & Dine Buckeye video series in October, and Barbon Asadero, the mesquite-fired Mexican steakhouse inside the historic Ware Building, are both a short walk from the plaza.

December: lights, Santa and a parade on Monroe

From sunset on November 28 through January 1, downtown and Sundance Park are lit for the season. Downtown gets thousands of lights and photo stand-ins, and the 33-foot tree on the 6th Street Plaza runs a 15-minute music and light show every half hour from sunset until 10 p.m. At Sundance Park, a walkthrough based on Candy Land sets up themed stations such as Gumdrop Pass and Peppermint Forest beside the park's lake. If you would rather drive, the city's Hometown Holiday Lights map shows residents' and businesses' displays from November 16 to December 31.

The Friends of the Buckeye Public Library hold their Holiday Book Sale at the Coyote Branch from Wednesday, December 2, through Saturday, December 5, with a fill-a-bag sale on the Saturday; proceeds support the library. The libraries also host drop-in Holiday Fun with Santa open houses, with photos, cookies, hot chocolate, crafts and stories, from 4 to 7 p.m. on December 3 at the Coyote Branch and December 10 at the Downtown Library.

Santa visits Sundance Park on Saturdays, December 5 and 19, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Children who would rather write than visit can drop letters in the North Pole mailboxes at both libraries, the Bookmobile, the museum, the Dr. Saide and Sundance recreation centers and the Senior Center; letters left by December 16 with a child's full name and return address get a reply.

The highlight for many families is Glow on Monroe on Saturday, December 12. The free electric light parade steps off at 6:30 p.m. and travels Monroe Avenue from 2nd Street to Apache Road, with lit-up vintage vehicles, horse groups, work vehicles and school marching bands. Santa stays for pictures afterward. Cafe 25:35, the scratch-kitchen breakfast and lunch spot at 409 Monroe Avenue, sits right on the route for a meal earlier in the day.

On Thursday, December 17, Music in the Stacks brings an after-hours winter concert, "Winter Journeys," to the Coyote Branch.

January: runners, cowboys and a rodeo

The new year starts at the airport. On Saturday, January 9, 2027, the Buckeye Marathon, known as Race to the Runway, offers a marathon, half marathon, 10K, 5K and one-mile fun run. The marathon starts at Festival Foothills Elementary School and finishes on the runway at Buckeye Municipal Airport, where the shorter races begin and end. Donations go to the city's Youth Scholarship Fund. The night before, January 8, the Coyote Branch holds a pajama-friendly Great Winter After Hours Read-In for all ages.

Buckeye Days carries a tradition that goes back to the Helzapoppin Days the local chamber of commerce started in 1935. The 2027 edition centers on Saturday, January 23: the Cattle Drive Parade comes down Monroe Avenue at 9:30 a.m., followed from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Town Park by Dr. Buck's Wild West Show, pie-eating contests, a chuckwagon cookout with the historical society, a history display from the Buckeye Valley Museum, a petting zoo and kids' activities. The ticketed Helzapoppin' PRCA Rodeo runs that weekend at the Buckeye Equestrian Center on South Miller Road, with performances listed for Friday evening and Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

February: the Buckeye Air Fair

The season ends overhead. The Buckeye Air Fair returns to Buckeye Municipal Airport from Friday, February 26, through Sunday, February 28, 2027. Expect an airshow, vintage and military aircraft on display, an Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association fly-in, Aviation Academy exhibits, vendors and a Kid's Zone. More than 38,000 people came in 2026, so plan parking and arrival times from the event's own page.

Before you go

Every city event above has its own page on the City of Buckeye site, and the library and museum programs are listed on the Buckeye Public Library calendar. Look again the week of an event for weather changes, parking notes and vendor lists. Between them, these few months cover most of what a Buckeye winter is known for.