Your guide to fall in Mesa
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Illustration: Maura Losch, Allie Carl/Axios
We survived summer. Now comes the glorious stretch of patio dinners, desert hikes and packed weekends.
Why it matters: Fall's a sprint in Mesa, so make the most of it.
Here's a list of events I marked on my calendar for October.
🌽 Get lost in a corn maze: Vertuccio Farms' Fall Festival runs through Oct. 31, with pumpkins, a petting zoo, a ropes course, a barrel train, a giant slide, mini golf and carnival games.
🛍️ Shop after sunset: The free Downtown Mesa Sunset Market is 5-9pm Friday at Main and Macdonald streets, with local vendors, food and live music.
🎸 Find your new favorite band: The free Mesa Music Festival brings three days' worth of emerging artists to downtown Oct. 15–17. I'm waiting for the lineup to be announced.
🌕 Hike under the full Moon: A ranger will lead a 2.2-mile sunset and full-Moon hike at Usery Mountain Regional Park on Oct. 24. Registration is required and space is limited.
🕯️ Spend an evening with Edgar Allan Poe: Southwest Shakespeare Company stages "Whispers in the Dark" Oct. 15–25 at Mesa Arts Center, using soundscapes and immersive staging to bring Poe's gothic stories to life.
🪦 Meet Mesa's dearly departed: The Mesa Historical Museum's Cemetery Tour is 8-10am Oct. 24. Walk the cemetery at your own pace as narrators recount the lives of pioneers, lawmen, civic leaders and World War II-era Royal Air Force cadets buried there.