Scottsdale's 75th Birthday Year Ends Under the Scottsdazzle Tree

Scottsdale was incorporated on June 25, 1951, with 2,032 residents. The city has marked that milestone all year. A documentary premiered, a book collected memories from 75 people, and a wire horse took on fabric scraps at Old Town events. Now the anniversary is moving into the holiday calendar. This year's Scottsdazzle opens on November 28 with a tree lighting renamed "Celebrating 75 Years of Scottsdale." On four Saturdays starting that same day, a $75 spend in Old Town gets you a commemorative souvenir.

So Scottsdazzle is also the anniversary year's last chapter, and the city has built that chapter around two activities: shopping in Old Town and exploring its own archives. Both lead to December 12.

Same Canal Bank, Different Name

The setting hasn't changed. As the Paradise Valley Independent reported in September 2025, last year's season opened with "Jingle & Jazz: Tree Lighting Spectacular" on November 29 at the Scottsdale Waterfront Canal Bank. This year's free event runs from 7 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, November 28, at the same spot, 7135 E. Camelback Road. The new name ties it to the anniversary, and the city promises "a few special surprises to honor Scottsdale's 75th anniversary."

Arizona's Family anchor Jamie Ceretta hosts. The 10-piece band Phat Cat Swinger plays holiday music, and Toyland gives younger kids a hands-on play area. Santa and Mrs. Claus will be there, Old Town vendors will have sweets and treats, and The Merchantile Market runs a pop-up of local makers. The night ends with the lighting of the 36-foot Scottsdazzle tree.

That Saturday starts much earlier. Santa visits the Old Town Scottsdale Farmers Market for free from 9 a.m. to noon, and the first Shopper Appreciation Day runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. So the first day of Scottsdazzle covers the farmers market in the morning, Old Town shops at midday and the canal at night.

The $75 Receipt

Shopper Appreciation Days are the most anniversary-specific part of the season. The number matches the birthday, and the rule is simple. Spend $75 in Old Town Scottsdale between November 28 and December 19, 2026. Then bring your receipts, which can be combined to reach the total, to an Old Town Information Cart and collect a commemorative souvenir.

Here's how it works:

1. Shop anywhere in Old Town from November 28 through December 19. Several smaller receipts can add up to $75.
2. Go to a cart on a Saturday. Old Town Ambassadors hand out souvenirs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on November 28 and December 5, 12 and 19.
3. Choose a cart. One is at Brown Avenue and Main Street, and the other is at Fifth Avenue and Stetson Drive.
4. Don't wait for the last Saturday. Souvenirs are given out only while supplies last.

The $75 counts as spending at Old Town businesses, not as an admission price. The city frames the program as a thank-you for shopping local, which makes it the season's clearest link between the anniversary and the shops that line Main Street and Fifth Avenue. Free parking is available in the garages and surface lots throughout Old Town, including the Waterfront and Civic Center garages.

Four Saturdays, and What Fills Them

The cart hours give each Saturday a shape. The rest of the Scottsdazzle calendar fills in around them, mostly on weekend evenings and on a few weeknights for ticketed events. Here's the published lineup from November 28 to December 19, grouped by date, with prices where the city has listed them.

The ticketed events are small and mostly built around food or drink: coffee and pastry at Experiment, pancakes with Santa, cookies, and Snowflake Sips. The large free gatherings are anchored at the Waterfront and the Civic Center. A Saturday that pairs a free Waterfront event with a cart stop costs nothing extra if your Old Town shopping is already done.

December 12, Where the Two Calendars Overlap

Most of the anniversary programming is now finished. The "Diamond in the Dust" documentary premiered to a sold-out crowd at Western Spirit: Scottsdale's Museum of the West. On September 10, the city unveiled "Hands-On History: Residents Reflect on Scottsdale's Years," a collection of memories from 75 prominent residents. Scottsdale Arts' "Desert Diamonds: Scottsdale's 75th Anniversary" exhibition closed at the Civic Center Public Gallery on June 30.

The last event on the city's Celebrate 75 calendar is Scottsdale Heritage Connection Saturdays, at 1 p.m. on Saturday, December 12, at Civic Center Library. It isn't a lecture. Visitors drop in and library staff help them explore the local history collections, including yearbooks, maps, oral histories and archives. The listing is for ages 12 and up, runs 120 minutes and has limited space, and tickets are picked up 30 minutes before the start.

That afternoon falls in the middle of the third Shopper Appreciation Day, which runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. that Saturday. Pancakes & Pajamas with Santa, Holly Jolly DIY Décor and the Jingle Belles showcase are on the same Scottsdazzle calendar that day. Civic Center Library sits inside the same Old Town core as both information carts. That makes December 12 the one day when you can browse the city's archives and collect the anniversary souvenir on the same afternoon.

The Hunt That Keeps the Year Going

The Scottsdale 75 Picture Scavenger Hunt offers the most to do without a ticket. It covers 75 locations "representing the people, places and history that have shaped Scottsdale," from Taliesin West to the Mustang Wall at Mustang Library. Players use the Seeker app to check in at each stop, take selfies and earn points. Along the way they collect Western-themed stickers, one for each decade since the 1950s.

The points show how much of the city the hunt covers. A small Scottsdale swag bag unlocks at 1,000 points and a large one at 3,000. Finishing all 75 locations is worth 6,200 points. Players who complete every stop and the bonus activities are entered to win grand prizes. Signing up for an account is free on the city's scavenger hunt page.

Scottsdazzle already brings people to Old Town on these Saturdays. Several of the hunt's stops are public art, historic sites and local businesses, so a Waterfront evening or a cart visit can also pick up some points.

Watching and Reading the Year at Home

Two pieces of the anniversary work without a trip downtown. "Diamond in the Dust", the documentary about Scottsdale's growth from a small desert community into a world-class city, is free to watch on YouTube. The "Hands-On History" collection is sold online, not at the library. The city's history booklet, "Honor the Past, Imagine the Future," is a free PDF.

The Celebrate 75 page also links to Speak Up Scottsdale, where the city is still collecting residents' memories of growing up, living or working here. The anniversary logo explains the year's timeline. It shows a spur with eight points, one for each decade since incorporation. The 2026 tree lighting celebrates the year that spur stands for.

The full Scottsdazzle schedule is on scottsdazzle.com, and the tree lighting details are on its event page.

If the anniversary has you thinking about your own next chapter in Scottsdale, Clayton Wolfe would be glad to talk it through with you. Request a Private Consultation.