Good morning, Eastmark.
Sunny and near 103 today, with more of the same into the weekend, so save your energy for Saturday night.
- 🎆 Eastmark's 250th birthday party. Ceremony, live music, a watermelon contest, and fireworks Saturday night.
- 🥬 Eastmark Farmers Market. Back Saturday morning at the Great Park.
- 🎲 Game Day at The 'Mark. Board games Friday afternoon.
- 🎓 BASIS Mesa tour. Tuesday morning on Eastmark Parkway.
- 🛒 Still tracking. Sprouts, Apple, Liv at Eastmark, and Brakes Plus.
A hometown Fourth at the Great Park
Eastmark marks the country's 250th birthday Saturday night with a ceremony, live music, and fireworks.
Key facts:
- When: Saturday, July 4. Arrive by 7 PM to catch the whole program.
- Where: the multipurpose field at the southeast corner of Inspirian Parkway and Point Twenty-Two Boulevard, just north of the baseball fields and dog parks.
- The night: a patriotic ceremony, a watermelon eating contest hosted by Rise Real Estate Group, live music from Groove Machine, and fireworks to close.
Two holiday notes worth planning around. The 'Mark closes at 7 PM on the Fourth so its Ambassador team can be at the show with their families. And every Mesa library, including the Gateway branch, is closed all day for the holiday.
The field fills up right at 7. Get there early, stake out a spot, and settle in. Details.
The weekend
What's on before and after the fireworks.
Thursday
- 🎮 Teen Gaming Tournament. Super Smash Bros at Gateway Library, 3 PM. Ages 12 to 18.
- 💃 DanceFitness at Gateway Library. A dance-based workout for all levels, 5:30 PM.
Friday
- 🎲 Game Day at The 'Mark. Board games at the Bus Stop, 11 AM to 5 PM.
- 🏀 USA Basketball U.S. Open Championships. Tournament play at Arizona Athletic Grounds on Ellsworth.
- 📚 Summer Reading at the natural history museum. A children's author reads Fridays in July, 10 AM to noon, in downtown Mesa.
Saturday
- 🥬 Eastmark Farmers Market. 8 AM to noon in the Great Park lot, south of Gateway Library.
Around Eastmark
🏢 261 apartments and new retail head for Signal Butte. A project called Homestead at Eastmark went to the city Planning and Zoning Board on June 24 with a staff recommendation to approve. The plan puts 261 apartments and 2.2 acres of retail and commercial space on 11.7 acres at the southwest corner of Signal Butte Road and Rubidium Avenue. Details.
🌯 A new restaurant is coming to Ellsworth. Zeitouna, a sit-down spot serving lunch and dinner, is setting up at 3515 South Ellsworth Road, Suite 101. It picked up its city restaurant license this spring. Details.
🏛️ Residents committee meets Wednesday. The resident-led ERA Transition and Nominating Committee gathers in the Classroom at The 'Mark on July 8 at 6 PM. Details.
🏠 Rent check. Typical rent in Mesa is about $1,555 a month, down 1% over the past year.
Still tracking
A quick check-in on things covered in past editions:
- 🛒 Sprouts at EastMarket (Ray and Ellsworth). Construction underway. Building wraps up around August, Sprouts opens Q4 2026.
- 🍎 Apple manufacturing on Signal Butte. Council votes on the Foreign Trade Zone agreement Monday, May 18.
- 🏢 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
🎓 Tour BASIS Mesa on Tuesday. The K-12 charter on Eastmark Parkway runs a campus tour July 7 at 9:15 AM for families weighing enrollment. Details.
📖 Reading deadline at Eastmark High. The 60-day book review at EHS closes Monday, July 6, covering the first 16 chapters of "Land of Hope." Details.
