Good morning, Chandler. An extreme heat warning runs through 8 p.m. Sunday, with afternoon highs from 103 to 116, so move the outdoor plans to the early hours.
- 🎸 Free Friday concerts are back downtown. JD Nash and the Rash of Cash, 7 p.m., 125 E. Commonwealth Ave.
- 🍅 Three farmers markets Saturday. Downtown Chandler, Merchant Square Antiques, and Chandler-Gilbert Community College.
- 🎤 Trace Adkins plays Wild Horse Pass. Saturday, 8 p.m., 5040 Wild Horse Pass Blvd.
- 🚗 Cars & Coffee returns downtown Sunday.8 to 11 a.m.
- 🏠 303 homes sold in Chandler last month. Median sale price, $520,000.
- 🎟️ Four Valley shows tonight. Tempe, Phoenix, and Glendale.
Free Friday concerts are back downtown
The city's free summer concert series starts its August run Friday night with JD Nash and the Rash of Cash.
Key facts:
- Friday, August 7, 7 p.m.
- 125 E. Commonwealth Ave., downtown Chandler
- Free. No ticket needed
- Runs Friday nights through August 21
- Next up: Medio Pinto on Friday, August 14
The series sits a short walk from San Marcos Plaza, which puts the downtown restaurants and patios in range before and after the set. With the heat warning holding through Sunday, a 7 p.m. start is about as early as an evening show gets this time of year.
What to watch: the August 21 lineup hasn't been posted yet. Series details. Friday's show.
The weekend
Today
📚 Two book groups meet at Chandler Public Library this afternoon. The Hamilton Fiction Group takes on The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules at 12:45 p.m. in the Hamilton Library program room, with registration required. The Book Lovers Group follows at 1 p.m. in the Downtown Library's Citrus Room, where everyone reads whatever they want. This month's thread: a book with a season in the title. Hamilton. Downtown.
✂️ Creation Station sets up in the Basha Library program room at 2:15 p.m. with washi tape bookmarks. Self-guided, aimed at tweens and teens, first and third Thursdays. Details.
Friday
🎧 Aji Sunset Floating Sound Bath runs Friday, August 7 at the Aji Spa pool, Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass. Details.
Saturday
🍅 Three markets, all morning. The Downtown Chandler Farmers Market runs at Dr. A.J. Chandler Park with produce and artisan vendors. Merchant Square Antiques hosts its market out front from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. And the Gilbert Farmers Market keeps its Chandler-Gilbert Community College location on summer hours. Three markets in one morning is a lot of parking lot for a 108-degree day, so pick one and go early. Downtown. Merchant Square. CGCC.
🎨 The Ocotillo Artists Group Summer Art Show is a one-day showcase of local work at the Holiday Inn in south Chandler. Indoors, which counts for something Saturday. Details.
🎤 Trace Adkins brings his 30th anniversary tour to Gila River Resorts & Casinos at Wild Horse Pass, 5040 Wild Horse Pass Blvd., at 8 p.m. George Thorogood & The Destroyers play the same room next Friday, August 14. Tickets.
🏭 Tech & Downtown Chandler
What's on downtown and across the city calendar over the next week.
🚗 Cars & Coffee is back downtown Sunday, 8 to 11 a.m. Early enough to beat the worst of it. Details.
👮 Chandler Police FIT Check starts at 6:30 a.m. Saturday at 3550 S. Dobson Rd. Details.
🖍️ Art Tots: Portraits runs Wednesday, August 12 at 10:30 a.m., 300 S. Chandler Village Drive. Details.
👽 Film Friday screens the 1953 War of the Worlds on August 14 at 6 p.m., same Chandler Village Drive address. It pairs with Medio Pinto downtown at 7 p.m. that night if you want to make a Friday of it. Details.
Around Chandler
🚌 EVIT says busing will improve this year. The East Valley Institute of Technology has promised better transportation for students heading to its campuses, which matters for the CUSD families who send kids out for career and technical programs. Details.
🧾 Two Thursday help desks at the library. An AZCEND coordinator takes SNAP, AHCCCS, and cash assistance applications at the Downtown Library, Room 138, every Thursday morning, and a City Outreach Navigator is at the Sunset Library from 10 a.m. to noon connecting people to valley resources. Both are drop-in. AZCEND. Outreach.
🏠 303 homes sold in Chandler last month at a median price of $520,000, down about 5% from a year ago, with a median 49 days on the market. Details.
Around the Valley
A few picks worth leaving Chandler for, all of them tonight.
🎸 OLE 60, Off the Grid Tour. Mullett Arena in Tempe, 7 p.m. Twenty minutes up the 101 for a country bill that isn't playing a casino ballroom. Tickets.
🤸 US Gymnastics Championships, junior men's day one. Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, 1 p.m. The national championships run eight days in the Valley this month. Tickets.
🎺 Calle 24, Eterno Tour. The Van Buren in downtown Phoenix, 8 p.m. A small room for a band on a national run. Tickets.
🎧 Don Toliver, Nitrous Octane World Tour. Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, 7:30 p.m. That's a full cross-Valley drive, so leave early. Tickets.