Good morning, Eastmark. The heat has settled in for the season, so the early mornings and the air-conditioned afternoons are where this weekend lives.
- ⚽ World Cup matches on the big screen at Gateway Library. Free, family, running through the weekend.
- 🎲 Game day at The 'Mark. Board games Friday from 11.
- 🎤 Karaoke at The 'Mark Saturday night. Doors at 6.
- 🥕 Eastmark Farmers Market Saturday morning. 8 to noon at the Great Park.
- 📋 Still tracking. Sprouts, Apple, Liv, Brakes Plus.
- 🎟️ Around the Valley. Four downtown picks worth the drive.
The World Cup comes to Gateway Library
Gateway Library is putting 2026 World Cup matches up on a giant screen, free and open to anyone, with games today, Saturday, and into next week.
Key facts:
- Where: Gateway Library, on Inspirian Pkwy just north of the Great Park
- Today: Canada vs. Qatar, 3 PM
- Saturday: Netherlands vs. Sweden, 10 AM
- Next week: France vs. Iraq (Monday, 2 PM), England vs. Ghana (Tuesday, 1 PM)
- Cost: free, family event
The tournament is being co-hosted across North America this summer, and the library has handed its big screen over to the group stage. Bring the kids and beat the heat for a couple of hours.
What to watch: the slate runs deep into next week. Full schedule at the Gateway branch listing.
The weekend
Today
Friday
- 🎲 Game day at The 'Mark. Board games at the Bus Stop, 11 AM to 5 PM. Details.
- 🎬 The Princess Bride at Gateway Library. Free family movie, 2 PM, part of the America 250 classics series. Details.
- 🏀 Section 7 girls basketball at AZ Athletic Grounds. Tournament play in Fieldhouse B, off Ellsworth south of Pecos. Details.
Saturday
Around Eastmark
- 🏠 Mesa home values. The typical Mesa home is worth about $436,000, down 2% over the past year.
- 🍷 Target on Signal Butte is adding beer and wine. The store on South Signal Butte applied for a license, which went before Mesa council last month. Details.
- 🌳 Landscape Advisory Committee meets Tuesday. Residents can sit in on the monthly landscaping meeting at The 'Mark, 9 AM on June 23. Details.
Still Tracking
Where the projects worth watching stand right now:
- 🛒 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.
Around the Valley
A few picks worth leaving Eastmark for, all downtown Phoenix this week.
- ⚾ Diamondbacks vs. Twins. Friday, 6:40 PM at Chase Field. Interleague under the roof, AC included. Tickets.
- 🧅 Shrek The Musical. Valley Youth Theatre at the Herberger, Friday 7 PM. Good for the kids who've memorized the movie. Tickets.
- 🎙️ The Moth: American Dream. True stories told live with no notes, Crescent Ballroom, tonight at 8. Tickets.
- 🔊 3BallMTY. The Monterrey crew that put tribal guarachero on the map, at The Van Buren tonight. Tickets.
