From the first Friday in November through the second Friday in December, Goodyear's public calendar is split between two places. Goodyear Ballpark, at 1933 S. Ballpark Way, is about 2.5 miles south of I-10 just past Yuma Road. Goodyear Civic Square, at 1900 N. Civic Square, sits at McDowell Road and 150th Drive and anchors the 150-acre GSQ district. The Ballpark books its off-season events through its own calendar, and the city runs Civic Square. On two weekends this season, the schedules land back to back, so one well-planned day can include both.
To get from one to the other, you cross I-10. GSQ fills most of the space between the freeway and Encanto Boulevard, from 150th Drive to Bullard Avenue, so the dinner stop between events is already on your route.
November 6 and 7 is the weekend to plan around
The first weekend in November is the busiest of the season, and it begins at the Ballpark. The First Friday Food Truck Show runs Friday, Nov. 6, from 5 to 10 p.m., with more than 30 food trucks and more than 100 artisan vendors.
Saturday, Nov. 7, uses three venues, starting in Avondale. Here's the day in order:
- 7:45 a.m., Estrella Mountain Community College, 3000 N. Dysart Road, Avondale. Warm-up for the West Valley Veterans Day Ceremony and 5K/1-mile Run/Walk. The 1-mile starts at 8 a.m., and the 5K follows at 8:15 a.m.
- 10 a.m., EMCC. The veterans ceremony and the announcement of race placements, according to the college's schedule.
- 3 p.m., Goodyear Ballpark. The Major League Drone Racing Grand Prix. The Ballpark lists general admission as free.
- 4 to 7 p.m., Goodyear Civic Square. The city's Veterans Day Tribute.
The run and the Civic Square tribute belong to the same thing. The city calls Nov. 2 through 7 "Veterans Week: Run. Remember. Celebrate." It starts with the Tribute Flag Garden, Patriotic Art Murals and the Banners of the Brave at Goodyear City Hall, continues with the EMCC run and ceremony, and ends at the Saturday tribute. The tribute is free and has live patriotic music, local artists, arts and crafts, veterans resource booths, food trucks and beer from Saddle Mountain Brewery. Every veteran who attends gets a complimentary meal.
The city also opened a call to Arizona artists for Branches of Honor, a temporary public art project. Its plan calls for six selected artists to each paint one 8-by-8-foot double-sided mural wall honoring one branch of the U.S. military. The back of each wall is set to serve as a Community Gratitude Wall where visitors can leave messages through the week and at the celebration.
The tight spot is mid-afternoon. The drone race starts at 3 p.m. and the tribute opens at 4 p.m. at Civic Square, on the other side of I-10. That hour is all the time you have between them. If you're doing both, park at the Ballpark knowing you'll leave early, and plan dinner around the free tribute meal for any veteran in your group.
The middle of November is quieter
The next two weekends have one event each, so they're easier to plan.
- Saturday, Nov. 14, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Chalk Art in the Park at the Goodyear Recreation Campus, 420 S. Estrella Parkway. APS sponsors it, and it has art stations, a live DJ and food trucks. Anyone in the community can draw, along with professional artists.
- Sunday, Nov. 15, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.: The Farmers Market at Goodyear Ballpark.
Both events are south of I-10 on consecutive mornings, so neither one needs the freeway crossing.
December puts the two venues on back-to-back days
The city's holiday programs and the Ballpark's winter market fall on the first weekend of December, one evening and the next morning.
| Date | Where | What | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri., Dec. 4 | Civic Square | Holidays on the Square: Yule Y'all | 5–8 p.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Goodyear Ballpark | The Fairytale Finds Winter Market | 9 a.m.–3 p.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Civic Square | The Rinq's first December skating night | 5–9 p.m. |
| Fri., Dec. 11 | Civic Square | Holidays on the Square: Jingle Jam | 5–8 p.m. |
Holidays on the Square has a different theme each week. Yule Y'all on Dec. 4 is country-themed, with Western-inspired entertainment. Jingle Jam on Dec. 11 is a sing-and-dance-along night built around holiday music. The Fairytale Finds Winter Market at the Ballpark the next morning brings in more than 200 small businesses, the largest vendor count on either calendar this season.
What to know about The Rinq
The Rinq is a synthetic-ice skating rink at 1900 N. Civic Square, and it's the one event on either calendar that runs for weeks. The city lists it from Dec. 4, 2026, to Jan. 3, 2027, from 5 to 9 p.m. In December it's open Friday through Sunday starting Dec. 5, holidays excluded. In January it's open Saturday, Jan. 2, and Sunday, Jan. 3.
The details that matter at the door:
- Admission and skates are free for everyone, residents or not.
- Bring socks.
- Sessions last 30 minutes and start at 5, 6, 7 and 8 p.m. Entry is first come, first served, and there's no preregistration.
- Everyone signs The Rinq waiver before skating.
- Skate sizes run from toddler 7 and youth 8 up to adult 15.
Sessions start on the hour, so the time you arrive decides when you skate. On Jingle Jam night, Dec. 11, get to Civic Square by 5 p.m. and you can skate in the first session and still have 2½ hours of the themed program left.
GSQ is where you eat between the two ends
Both weekends need a meal somewhere in the middle, and GSQ is between the Ballpark and Civic Square. Its restaurant list has grown since summer, but some of the places that were announced aren't serving yet.
Open now:
- Firebirds Wood Fired Grill, along McDowell Road near Trader Joe's. KTAR reported that it opened the week of Sept. 10.
- Kura Revolving Sushi Bar and First Watch, both listed as open on the city's GSQ page.
Still coming soon:
- Magdaleña is a new restaurant built on Latin American flavors and live-fire cooking. It will sit between High Tide and Over Easy, and KTAR reported a fall or winter debut. Its website still said "coming soon" in late October.
- Flower Child, at 1830 N. Bullard Ave., is expected by the end of the year. Its Goodyear location page still said "coming soon" on Oct. 23.
- V's Barbershop, at 2015 N. Globe Drive on GSQ's north side next to Spitz and The Yard, was announced for October 2026. Its GSQ directory listing still said "coming soon" in late October.
For the Dec. 4 and Dec. 11 holiday nights, check Magdaleña and Flower Child the week of your visit before you build a dinner plan around either one. Firebirds, Kura and First Watch are the open options on McDowell today.
The 2027 openings are farther off
AZ Big Media listed the next round of GSQ tenants. Sephora and J.Crew Factory are planned as neighboring 5,000-square-foot stores in 2027. Postino is also planned for 2027. Lovesac is due in spring 2027 between CAVA and California Fish Grill, and Miel de Agave is due that spring along Goodyear Way near Fogo de Chão. KTAR adds Spinato's Pizzeria, Qdoba, Berry Divine Acai Bowls and Petfolk to the 2027 list.
RED Development's Mike Ebert told KTAR that Sephora, Postino, Flower Child and Spinato's Pizzeria all ranked in the top 10 of a city survey asking residents which retailers and restaurants they most wanted to see.
Two other October milestones show where Civic Square is headed. Avila University Arizona held its campus ribbon-cutting at Goodyear Civic Square on Oct. 8. West Valley View reported that the school welcomed its first students in 2025 and now has more than 300. Four days later, ground broke on a 135-room AC Hotel by Marriott at GSQ, with an opening targeted for early 2028.
None of that affects this December. The dates that do are Nov. 7, Dec. 4 and Dec. 5. Each of them involves the drive between the Ballpark and Civic Square, and GSQ is in the middle of it.
I keep a close eye on how Goodyear's calendar and GSQ's tenant list change from month to month. If you'd like a straight read on which of these openings has actually happened, or what the new activity around Civic Square means for nearby streets, reach out to Laura Lee Cahal. Let's Connect.
