This story was produced by #ThisIsTucson for Tucson Meet Yourself, a fall festival that has celebrated Tucson's unique folklore, culture, communities for 42 years, check it out this year Oct. 13-15. Thank you for supporting the organizations that support us!
It might be officially fall for the rest of the country but for Tucson it's nothing but mild weather and beautiful sunny days. Since it's really hard to tell when summer ends in a place where almost every day is a good day for shorts and flip-flops, here are a few indicators:
1. Your AC kicks on some of the time instead of ALL of the time.
Air conditioning units are still pretty essential during the start of fall. Try these energy money saving tips and your October electricity bill will start looking like your February electricity bill in no time. Just don't go spending that extra dough on sweaters or Uggs, you won't need them here for a while.
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2. Your weekends get really busy.
With good weather and lots of events happening around town, you can't help but be out and about. Eat at one of many food festivals, pick a pumpkin or get the pants scared off you at a haunted attraction. Just get out there! If you can't decide where to start, check out This Is Tucson's To Do section filled with loads of great ideas.
For Jude Nenadovich, "pumpkin lifting" may as well be an Olympic event as he struggles to pick up a pumpkin while his family watches in the background at the Marana Pumpkin Patch and Farm Festival in 2014.
3. The smell of roasted green chiles waits for you in every grocery store parking lot.
It's pure magic to watch chiles spin around in a roasting drum this time of year. If you're lucky enough to bring some of these slimy, flavorful green gems home here are a few recipes to try out. Be sure to invite us over for the green chile mac and cheese.
4. Your fall outfits are the clothes you wore in the summer, minus the pit stains.
Don't pack up the shorts and tanks just yet. The average maximum temperature in Tucson for October is about 94 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
5. There's a sudden urge to tailgate and cheer on the Wildcats.
Take at look the UA football schedule for upcoming games and 🐻⬇️.
Kelly Presnell / Arizona Daily Star
6. The snowbirds slowly start to fly in.
And no, we're not taking about those animals with the feathers — brush up on your Tucson words here.
Spotting a snowbird also turns into your new favorite game, double points if you see one driving a golf cart on the road.
They’re active in early morning, are found at golf courses.
7. Pumpkin flavored everything hits the shelves.
In 2014 pumpkin spiced flavored items raked in about $361 million, according to Neilsen data. That's a lot of PSLs!
We all know however the real food MVP of the season is the pumpkin empanada. Our favorite are from La Estrella Bakery, but you can also learn how to make your own here.
8. Halloween stores suddenly appear on every corner.
Check out the Spirit Halloween Store website to find which one of their eight locations in town is closest to you. Secondhand stores including Goodwill Thrift Stores of Southern Arizona, Savers and Tucson Thrift Shop also turn into major costume hot spots this time of year.
Rachael Goddard, stocks some products at a Spirit Halloween pop-up store in Tucson in Sept 2010. Photo by A.E. Araiza / Arizona Daily Star.
9. The thought of Fall Break flusters every parent and brings joy to every teacher.
This year's Fall Break schedule—Amphitheater: Oct. 16-20, Catalina Foothills: Oct. 12-13, Flowing Wells: Oct. 19-20, Marana: Oct. 9-13, Tucson Unified School District: Oct. 9-13, Sahuarita: Oct. 16-20, Sunnyside: Oct. 9-13, Tanque Verde: Oct. 9-13, Vail School District (Pre-K through 8th): Oct. 9-13, Vail School District High School (High School): Oct. 2-6.
Here is a list of Fall Break camps you can send the kiddos to — scheduling crisis averted!
10. You swap the splash pad for the swing set.
No more hot playground equipment. 🙌
Melina Lujan, 9, crosses a plank and rope bridge on the museum’s playground.
11. You start reconnecting with friends who hid out all summer.
With Netflix, controlled air and ice cream you can buy online who can blame them?
12. Instagram posts from your out-of-town friends:
Your posts:
13. Pants with sandals anyone? How about shorts with flannel?
The "Tucson casual" look should never be sacrificed.
Yali Corea-Levy wears flip-flops with his dress clothes on Monday, August 8, 2005. Photo by Ron Medvescek/Arizona Daily Star.
14. You can't help but daydream about the All Souls Procession.
All Souls Procession Weekend begins Nov. 3, with the main event happening Sunday in downtown Tucson at 4 p.m. It's estimated about 150,000 people attended the non-motorized procession every year. For info about this year's route visit the All Souls Procession Website.
15. You trek up Mount Lemmon to find evidence of the season.
If you can't watch the leaves change, is it really fall?
Fall colors near Ski Valley on Mount Lemmon just north of Summerhaven.
16. You start every day feeling #blessed
Fall in Tucson means you survived another Arizona summer, and no one can take that away from you. Good Job!
Tucson Meet Yourself, the perfect fall festival
You know a folklife festival has really become part of the city when the community bestows it with an affectionate name. Tucson Eat Yourself happens every fall in downtown Tucson. This year's festival is Oct. 13-15, 2017 in Jacome Plaza and El Presidio park. And yes there is so much good food. But its mission is to research, document, interpret and present the living traditional arts and expressions of everyday life of the folk and ethnic communities of the multi-national Arizona-Sonora region. Get more info at tucsonmeetyourself.org
