Where will the Tumbleweed Tree stand when Dr. A.J. Chandler Park is partly fenced off for construction? Chandler gets its answer this season. The tree lighting, the Parade of Lights, the Sugarland displays and Santa's House are all set to take place in a park the City has been rebuilding since January. The two sides of Arizona Avenue are on different construction schedules, so how your December goes downtown depends on which side you're standing on and which weekend you pick.
Two Halves of One Park, on Two Different Schedules
The park started as one large square. In 1941 Arizona Avenue, which is State Route 87, was built through the middle of it. According to the Chandler Arizonan, most of the activity has stayed on the west side ever since, because that's where most of the bars and restaurants are. The east side faces mostly office buildings.
This renovation covers both halves. The City hired Willmeng for phase one, which runs on both sides of Arizona Avenue between Buffalo and Boston streets. The City's downtown improvements page says the park was last renovated in 1986. Since then it has gone from a neighborhood green to a venue for more than 100 events a year.
The City expects the west side to be finished before the 2026 holiday season and the east side by early spring 2027. In its latest update, crews on the west side were still installing lighting and metal skin on the west canopy, putting tongue-and-groove wood and exterior louvers on the south canopy into mid-November, tiling and painting the new west restroom, and installing structural soils and irrigation through the end of November. Across the avenue, crews were setting the last steel trusses for the east canopy.
So the west side is aiming to be ready for the holidays. The east side will be an active construction zone for the whole season.
Where the Tree Is Supposed to Go
The tree is part of the redesign. As the Chandler Arizonan described the design, the south end of the west side gets a new community plaza just north of the existing parking lot, with a small shade building. That plaza is meant for major events, including the Tumbleweed Tree lighting. The plan puts the tree a little south of where it has gone up in recent years.
Visit Chandler describes it as nearly 1,200 tumbleweeds on a wire frame 33 feet tall and 18 feet wide. It's finished with paint, fire retardant and glitter, and lit with more than 1,200 LED lights.
The renovation also changes what surrounds the tree. The City's December 2025 announcement lists what phase one adds: event lawns, seasonal plazas, two pavilions, two restroom buildings, two large shade canopies, new seating and a new crosswalk signal at the Arizona Avenue pedestrian crossing. It also removes the park's old water features.
The Calendar, Mapped to the Park
Most of the season's events are on the west side or along Arizona Avenue, which lines up with the side the City expects to finish first. Here's the run from mid-November to early January, as the City of Chandler, the Downtown Chandler Community Partnership and Visit Chandler have posted it.
| Date | Event | Where | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu., Nov. 19 | Third Thursday: Girls' Night | 3 S. Arizona Ave. | 5–9 p.m. |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Small Business Saturday | Crust Lawn and district shops | Music 1–4 p.m.; stockings 11 a.m.–6 p.m. |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Prancer's Pajama Party, Sugarland kickoff | Dr. A.J. Chandler Park West | 4–6 p.m. |
| Nov. 28–Jan. 3 | Holiday Magic Featuring Sugarland | Dr. A.J. Chandler Park West and district | Ongoing |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Tumbleweed Tree Lighting | Downtown Chandler | 4:30–9 p.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Parade of Lights | Arizona Ave., Frye Rd. north to Erie St. | 6:45–8 p.m. |
| Dec. 5, 12, 15, 19 | Santa's House | Dr. A.J. Chandler Park | Posted hours |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | Sippin' Santas Pub Crawl, 21+ | Throughout downtown | Noon–6 p.m. |
| Thu., Dec. 17 | Third Thursday: Holiday Market | 3 S. Arizona Ave. | 5–9 p.m. |
The Third Thursday series came back on Oct. 15 with free admission and free parking. The Downtown Chandler Community Partnership lists a charm bar, a dance class and flash tattoos for the November edition.
The Partnership's holiday calendar places Holiday Magic Featuring Sugarland in Dr. A.J. Chandler Park West from Nov. 28 through Jan. 3. The Holiday Magic page lists the biggest photo setups: a light tunnel, a walk-through gift box, an oversized Santa sofa, a candy sleigh, giant gumdrops and oversized candy canes. Life-size Santa figures are spread through the rest of the district. Prancer's Pajama Party on Nov. 28 is the free kickoff, with reindeer games, character meet-and-greets, crafts and hot chocolate, and pajamas are encouraged.
On Small Business Saturday, the partnership is handing out free holiday stockings and shopping guides on the Crust Lawn from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. while supplies last.
The Saturday farmers market still lists Dr. A.J. Chandler Park West at 3 S. Arizona Ave. as its home, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., so Saturday mornings in December will share the west side with the Sugarland displays.
Dec. 5 Is the Day the Construction Shows Most
The tree lighting and the Parade of Lights are both on Saturday, Dec. 5. That's the day the construction affects the most people at once.
Start with parking. The City's event page lists the P2 lot as closed for construction. On the event parking map, P2 is the lot by Arizona Avenue and San Marcos Place, usually reached from Boston Street and San Marcos Place by way of Dakota Street. It's the lot right next to the southwest corner of the park, where the tree plaza is planned.
The City recommends carpooling and arriving early, and lists these options with entrances:
- Overstreet Parking Garage, P1: enter from Chandler Boulevard and California Street to Buffalo Street.
- Oregon Street Parking Garage, P3: enter from California, Oregon or Chicago streets.
- City Hall Parking Garage, P4: enter from Frye Road and Washington Street.
- Alexander Parking Structure, P9: enter from Chandler Boulevard to Delaware and Boston streets.
- Jonathon Parking Structure, P11: enter from Chandler Boulevard and Washington or Colorado streets.
- Folley Park, supplemental: enter from McQueen and Frye roads or from Pecos Road and Hamilton Street.
The surface lots at San Tan Regional Court, the City lot and the police department lot, P5 through P8, all use the Dakota, Chicago and Frye entrances. The Downtown Library lots, P10, are reached the same way as the Alexander structure.
Closures begin early in the afternoon, so plan to arrive before them:
- 2–8:30 p.m.: Arizona Avenue closed between Frye and Pecos roads
- 2–10 p.m.: Arizona Avenue closed between Chandler Boulevard and Frye Road
- 6–8:30 p.m.: Frye Road restricted from Washington Street to California Street
- 6–9 p.m.: Chandler Boulevard restricted from Delaware Street to California Street
- 6–9:30 p.m.: Arizona Avenue closed between Galveston Street and Chandler Boulevard
Some construction changes run through the whole season. The southbound Arizona Avenue bike lane is closed through about Dec. 5 for sidewalk work in the south part of the park. Arizona Place runs northbound only between Boston and Buffalo streets while the east side is under construction. A few angled spaces along San Marcos Place and Arizona Place are also unavailable.
Two smaller details help with timing the evening. Santa's House, run with the Chandler Lions Club, closes from 6:30 to 8 p.m. while Santa rides in the parade. Chandler Fire's "Stuff the Truck" toy drive will park its engine on the east side of Arizona Avenue north of Boston Street from 4:30 to 9 p.m. and collect new, unwrapped toys.
The Storefronts Around the Park Are Changing Too
Three restaurants by the park won't be open for the holidays. YourValley reported that The Uncommon, at the southeast corner of Arizona Avenue and Boston Street, Tipsy Egg, just south of it, and Recreo Cantina, on San Marcos Place across from the park, all closed after business on Aug. 29. A manager told the outlet that new concepts are planned for the three spaces in late 2026 or 2027.
Those are the storefronts closest to the tree's planned new spot and to the closed P2 lot. That puts the south end of the park, which used to be one of the busiest dining corners on event nights, in a transition period this season.
A short walk north, Greenwood Brewing announced in February a taproom at 55 N. Arizona Place in The AJ, with indoor-outdoor seating, beer and wine, light bites and picnic baskets.
What Spring Adds
Once the east side is finished, which the City expects by early spring 2027, the side of the park facing the offices gets the second large shade canopy and its own restroom building. The east and west sides will also be connected by a signalized crosswalk where the existing Arizona Avenue pedestrian crossing is now.
The design the Chandler Arizonan described adds a gathering lawn and a small stage at the northeast corner. South of those come a flex lawn and a market plaza laid out for events like the weekly farmers market.
That makes this December the last season the park hosts its biggest night with one side still under construction. The City's project hotline for construction questions is 480-898-4060.
When a public space like this gets rebuilt, it changes how the blocks around it are used day to day, and that can show up in nearby home values. If you own near Downtown Chandler and want to see where your home stands as the park and the storefronts around it change, Gina Wilkerson can walk you through a valuation built on comparable sales. Get Your Instant Home Valuation to start.
