Good morning, Eastmark.
- 🎸 Bourbon Strut plays the Great Park Friday. The free First Friday Concert starts at 7 PM, with food and drinks nearby.
- 🏐 Three tournaments fill AZ Athletic Grounds. Volleyball, soccer, and baseball begin Friday at the complex across Pecos.
- 🏨 A 174-room hotel opens at Gallery Park. The new building combines Tempo by Hilton and Homewood Suites.
- 🔥 Eastmark High School teams have a busy weekend. Flag football plays Thursday, with volleyball and football away Friday.
- 👀 Three neighborhood projects remain on the watchlist. EastMarket, Liv at Eastmark, and Brakes Plus are still being tracked.
Bourbon Strut at the Great Park
The concert runs from 7 to 8:30 PM Friday, October 2, at Eastmark Great Park.
Key facts:
- When: Friday, October 2, from 7 to 8:30 PM.
- Where: Eastmark Great Park, 5115 S. Inspirian Parkway.
- Bring: Low-back chairs or blankets for the lawn.
- Food: Food truck row and Steadfast Diner will be available before the music.
- Leave home: Pets and glass containers.
The First Friday Concert puts the music near the Orange Monster and the Great Park paths, right in Eastmark’s usual gathering spot. Dinner nearby makes it possible to skip another drive along Ellsworth or Signal Butte.
What to watch: Arriving before 7 PM leaves time for food and a lawn spot. Details.
The weekend
Friday
- 🏐 Nike volleyball fills Fieldhouse B. The Tournament of Champions begins Friday at AZ Athletic Grounds. Details.
- ⚽ ASA league games take the fields. Soccer begins Friday at the AZ Athletic Grounds Fields Complex. Details.
- ⚾ Perfect Game starts its fall championship. Tournament baseball begins Friday at the AZ Athletic Grounds Diamonds Complex. Details.
All three competitions share the 320-acre complex at Ellsworth and Pecos, just south of Eastmark. Expect more tournament traffic around that corner throughout the weekend.
Saturday
Gateway Library assigns registered children a reading time by email. The branch sits on Inspirian Parkway, just north of the usual Eastmark Farmers Market location.
Around Eastmark
🏨 Gallery Park has a new 174-room hotel. Tempo by Hilton and Homewood Suites recently opened together, adding short-stay and extended-stay rooms in southeast Mesa. Details.
🎡 Celebrate Mesa returns October 10. The free event runs from 5 to 9 PM at Red Mountain Multiuse Fields South with rides, wrestling, dinosaurs, a petting zoo, and Literacy Lane. Details.
🏠 Mesa homes are taking about 55 days to sell. That is the city’s median time on market. Details.
Still Tracking
Quick check-in on stuff covered in past editions:
- 🛒 Sprouts at EastMarket (Ray and Ellsworth). Sprouts opens Q4 2026.
- 🏢 Liv at Eastmark (NE corner Ellsworth and Ray). 208 apartments across 12 buildings, recently approved. Construction next.
- 🔧 Brakes Plus Mesa (Ellsworth and Elliot). Auto shop still working through council site plan tweaks.
From the schools
Eastmark High School’s Firebirds have three varsity dates across Thursday and Friday.
- 🏈 Flag football hosts Deer Valley Thursday. The varsity game starts at 6 PM at Eastmark High School. Details.
- 🏐 Varsity volleyball enters the Desert Sunset tournament. Tournament play is scheduled Friday. Details.
- 🏈 Firebirds football visits Mesquite Friday. The varsity game starts at 7 PM. Details.
