Good morning, Scottsdale. Highs run 106 to 108 through Wednesday with an afternoon storm chance building midweek, so keep the errands early.
- 🏠 555 new homes hit the Scottsdale market. Fresh listings piled up last month as the year's slower summer selling stretch sets in.
- 🅿️ Construction starts on the Old Town parking expansion. The voter-approved Brown Avenue garage project is now underway.
- 🎨 Old Town's art calendar picks back up. SMoCA hosts a temporary public art celebration Thursday.
- 📚 A full week at the libraries. Storytimes, a LEGO build challenge, and an Emmy-nominated historian on Arizona true crime.
- 🍸 Trivia and live music around town. Three trivia nights, a 90s bar crawl, and Sunday music in Old Town.
- 🥁 Around the Valley. Evanescence, Young the Giant, Dear Evan Hansen, and drum corps in Mesa.
555 new homes hit the Scottsdale market
555 new listings came on the market in Scottsdale last month, adding to what buyers have to choose from heading into the year's slower stretch.
Midsummer is the locals' season here: seasonal residents are gone, showing traffic thins, and sellers who list now compete for a smaller pool of buyers. Whether that pushes on prices or just stretches out the time it takes to sell is the open question as the fall season and the snowbird return get closer.
What to watch: how quickly those listings move once cooler weather and out-of-town buyers come back. The market data.
The week
- 🎬 Free spy thriller at Mustang Library. The branch screens "Blackbag" (2025) Monday afternoon. Rated R, 93 minutes. Details.
- 👻 Arizona true crime at Mustang Library. Emmy-nominated historian Jarrod Riddle shares chilling state history Monday evening. First come, first served. Details.
- 🧒 Summer kids' programming. Storytimes, a craft hour, and a LEGO build challenge run at the Mustang and Arabian branches early in the week.
- 🧠 Trivia runs three nights. The Rack on Scottsdale Road (Tuesday), Arena Sports Grill on Bell Road (Thursday), and House Rules in Old Town (Sunday).
- 🕺 90s vs. Y2K bar crawl. The decade showdown runs Saturday out of Boondocks Patio & Grill. Details.
- 🎸 Sunday music in Old Town. James Mills of People Who Could Fly plays an intimate set at Wayward. Details.
Around Scottsdale
🅿️ Old Town parking expansion is under construction. The city has started work on the voter-approved Brown Avenue parking structure, adding spaces to a corner of Old Town that fills up fast. A public art component comes with it (see below). Details.
🌊 WestWorld drainage project breaks ground. The city broke ground on a drainage project at the Bell Road event grounds that host Barrett-Jackson and the Arabian Horse Show, aimed at flood protection for the site. Details.
💧 Water rebates are back. Scottsdale Water reopened its conservation rebate program, so residents can again apply toward water-saving upgrades. Details.
🍽️ A Scottsdale chef in the spotlight. The Progress profiles chef Cory Oppold and the culinary creativity coming out of his kitchen. Details.
🛍️ How the indies built Old Town. A "Remember When" column traces how independent retailers gave Scottsdale its historic cachet, from Fashion Square's early days to the Arts District. A good read on why Old Town looks the way it does. Details.
🌃 Old Town & Nightlife
Galleries and public art this week in the Arts District.
🎨 Temporary Public Art Celebration. SMoCA marks its rotating public-art installations Thursday, July 16, at 5 p.m. Details.
🖼️ Meet the artist for the Brown Avenue project. The artist behind the public art for the Old Town parking-structure expansion appears at the Mezzanine Gallery, Center for the Performing Arts, Tuesday, July 21. Details.
From the Schools
🏈 Coronado football tryouts begin. The Dons open fall football tryouts Monday, July 27. Details.
Around the Valley
A few shows worth leaving Scottsdale for this week.
🎤 Evanescence, with Spiritbox and Nova Twins. Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre in Phoenix, Wednesday. A heavy triple bill in one of the Valley's bigger outdoor rooms. Tickets.
🎸 Young the Giant, Cold War Kids, and KennyHoopla. Arizona Financial Theatre, downtown Phoenix, Tuesday. Two 2010s indie-rock headliners sharing one night. Tickets.
🎭 Dear Evan Hansen. Phoenix Theatre, Wednesday. The Tony-winning musical in an intimate downtown house. Tickets.
🥁 Drum Corps International. John D. Riggs Stadium in Mesa, Monday night. The national marching circuit makes a one-night East Valley stop. Tickets.