Most of our other seasonal guides for this hub cover what to do here regardless of the calendar -- skiing, fishing, the fall color drive. This page is different: it's the list of dated, organized events actually happening across Pinetop-Lakeside, Show Low, Springerville-Eagar, Greer, and Whiteriver, verified against each event's own listing rather than assumed from a template. A few things surprised us in the reporting, including at least one widely repeated claim about Sunrise Park Resort that we could not confirm and have deliberately left off -- see the "What We Left Off" section below for why.
Twelve things make up the region's real annual calendar below, running from a June small-town festival through a December light parade. Most cluster around two weekends -- the Fourth of July and Labor Day -- when three or more events can be running on the same days in different towns. We cover what each one actually is, what's fixed and what moves, and where to confirm current dates before building travel around any of them.
Show Low Days (June — Date Unconfirmed)
Show Low Days is a long-running early-June community festival on the Deuce of Clubs -- Derby Down the Deuce (a soapbox derby fundraiser for the White Mountain Autism Foundation), an arts and crafts festival, a wiener dog race, kids' activities, and live bands into the evening at the sports field near Clark Road. It's a real, established event, but our research turned up plenty of past-year detail and no confirmable 2026 date, so we're flagging it rather than guessing.
Lowdown verdict: Worth checking for if you're passing through Show Low in June -- contact the Show Low Chamber of Commerce or check showlowaz.gov for the confirmed current-year date before you plan a trip around it.
Round Valley Rodeo & July 4th in Springerville-Eagar
The Round Valley Rodeo has run every year since 1912 -- always on July 4th, always in Springerville, making it as old as Arizona statehood itself. The rodeo runs at the rodeo grounds on Highway 180, with a morning parade at the Eagar stoplight, evening dances over the holiday weekend, and a fireworks show after dark. We could not confirm this year's gate time, start time, admission prices, parade time, dance dates and venue, or fireworks viewing spot against a published primary source -- the rodeo's own site currently posts only its 114th-consecutive-year milestone -- so confirm every one of those directly with the Round Valley Rodeo committee or the Town of Eagar before planning around them.
Lowdown verdict: The most historically rooted single event on this whole page, and reason enough on its own to base a Fourth of July trip in Springerville-Eagar rather than Pinetop-Lakeside or Show Low. Book Round Valley lodging well ahead -- it's a small town absorbing a big regional crowd for one week.
Show Low's Fourth of July Celebration (FreedomFest)
Show Low runs the biggest-production version of the three July Fourth options. The "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue" parade starts at 9 a.m. along the Deuce of Clubs, followed by a Splash Zone for kids at Frontier Park. FreedomFest itself runs 3 to 9 p.m. at the Show Low High School football stadium -- food trucks, live music, a KidZone with inflatables, a Superhero Stunt Show, and a Paul Bunyan Lumberjack Show -- capped off by fireworks around 9 p.m., billed locally as the largest fireworks display in the White Mountains.
Lowdown verdict: Everything is free, and it's the most kid-oriented option of the three. Expect the Deuce of Clubs to be closed for the morning parade and traffic to be heavy near the high school in the evening -- plan your driving around it rather than through it.
Pinetop-Lakeside July 4th Fine Arts & Crafts Festival
Pinetop-Lakeside's Fourth of July option skips the parade-and-fireworks format entirely. The High Country Art Association's Fine Arts & Crafts Festival runs July 4-6, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., at The Orchard at Charlie Clark's on East White Mountain Boulevard -- 2026 is its 51st consecutive year. Painters, sculptors, jewelry makers, potters, and mixed-media artists from across the Southwest set up booths under the ponderosa pines, many demonstrating their work live. Admission is free.
Lowdown verdict: The quieter, more considered Fourth of July option -- pick this one if your group would rather browse an art fair over three unhurried days than fight parade crowds. See our Pinetop-Lakeside basecamp guide for where to stay nearby.
High Country Hummingbird Festival (Late July)
A genuine outlier on this list -- a free, half-day wildlife festival at the Sipe White Mountain Wildlife Area, about seven miles south of Eagar off US-191 toward Alpine. The Arizona Game and Fish Department and the Round Valley Chamber of Commerce have run it for close to two decades; the 2026 edition is set for July 25, 8 a.m. to noon, with live hummingbird banding demonstrations, wildlife exhibits, a critter photo booth, talks, and kids' crafts. Food and drink vendors are cash-only.
Lowdown verdict: A low-key, genuinely distinctive morning if you're already in the Springerville-Eagar area in late July -- not worth a special trip on its own, but an easy add-on.
Tri-in-the-Pines Triathlon (Current Status Unconfirmed)
Show Low has a well-documented history of hosting a USA Triathlon-sanctioned "Tri-in-the-Pines" race -- a swim at the indoor Show Low Family Aquatic Center, a bike leg on city streets, and a run on the paved trail through Show Low City Park, at roughly 6,500 feet of elevation, with a shorter Youth Tri-in-the-Pines run alongside it. What we could not confirm is that it's still running: the city's own event page for it currently 404s, and the most recent race listing we could find dates back several years, with no evidence of a 2024, 2025, or 2026 edition. What Show Low does currently and confirmably run is the Deuces Wild Endurance Festival, a USA Triathlon-sanctioned event from Mountain Man Events held over Memorial Day weekend at Fool Hollow Lake Recreation Area -- a different race, in a different month, at a different venue.
Lowdown verdict: Don't build an August Show Low trip around Tri-in-the-Pines without confirming directly with Show Low Parks & Recreation that it's still on the calendar this year. If you want a triathlon you can count on, Deuces Wild in late May is the one we could verify is current.
White Mountain Apache Tribal Fair & Rodeo (Labor Day Weekend)
This is the real headline event of the region, and it happens outside the four towns this hub otherwise covers -- in Whiteriver, the headquarters of the White Mountain Apache Tribe on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation, about 25 miles and 40 minutes from Pinetop-Lakeside via AZ-73. The Tribal Fair and Rodeo has run for more than 90 years and is scheduled for September 2-7 in 2026: an All-Indian Rodeo with junior and old-timer divisions, a carnival midway, traditional dances, live music, sports tournaments, vendors, and traditional foods.
The Fair is open to the public and no permit is required simply to attend, but it's worth remembering this is Tribal land and a Tribal cultural event first, not a tourist attraction staged for visitors. Confirm current access, parking, and any photography guidance directly with the White Mountain Apache Tribe (928-338-2492 or wmat.us) before you go.
Lowdown verdict: The single most distinctive event on this page and worth the short drive from any of the four hub towns -- go as a respectful guest, and expect lodging across the whole region to tighten up over the same weekend.
Check Cabin & Lodge Deals
Pinetop-Lakeside cabins and Show Low lodging both book up fast around July 4th and Labor Day weekend -- the two busiest weekends on this whole page.
Check Cabin & Lodge Deals →Affiliate link — we earn a small commission at no cost to you.
White Mountains 3-Day Itinerary
Lakes, the high country, and a scenic drive -- a base plan to build event days around.
See the 3-Day Plan →Pinetop Labor Day Arts & Crafts Festival
Back at Charlie Clark's Orchard for a second time each year, but as a genuinely separate show from the July event -- the Pinetop Labor Day Arts & Crafts Festival, typically the Friday through Sunday of Labor Day weekend (September 4-6 in 2026), features more than 50 artisans working in pottery, woodcraft, textiles, and gourmet foods, alongside live folk music, kids' craft workshops, and guided orchard tours.
Lowdown verdict: Don't skip this one assuming it repeats the July festival -- the artist lineup is different. A good complement if you're already making the trip to Whiteriver for the Tribal Fair the same weekend.
Pinetop-Lakeside's Fall Festival & Parade (Late September — Date Moves)
Pinetop-Lakeside runs a late-September community festival built around a parade down White Mountain Boulevard, with live music, food trucks, vendor booths, and kids' activities -- but worth flagging plainly: our research found this event listed under at least three different names across recent years (Fall Festival Parade, Autumn Fest, and Fall Artisan Festival), at more than one venue, with the exact weekend shifting each time. That's a real pattern, not an error on our part -- it reads like a town event that's been reorganized or rebranded more than once.
Lowdown verdict: Worth checking pinetoplakesideaz.gov's events calendar if you're visiting in late September, but treat the specific weekend and venue as unconfirmed until you see the current year's listing -- don't build travel around a date from a prior year's write-up, including ours.
Tour of the White Mountains (October)
A mountain bike event, not a spectator festival, but significant enough to affect lodging and trail traffic in Pinetop-Lakeside every October. Part of the Epic Rides series and running since 1997, the 2026 edition is set for Saturday, October 3, offering four distances -- roughly 14, 48, 56, and 80 kilometers -- on single-track through pine forest around 7,000 feet. It's capped at 1,250 riders and has sold out in past years. The event benefits TRACKS, the local trail-building nonprofit, and includes live music and a communal campfire at the on-site amphitheater even for non-riders.
Lowdown verdict: If someone in your group wants to ride, register well ahead of October -- this one fills up. If not, the weekend atmosphere is still worth knowing about if you're booking a Pinetop-Lakeside stay for early October.
Show Low Film Festival (October)
An independent film festival showcasing features, shorts, documentaries, and screenplays, run every October in Show Low -- the 2026 edition is set for October 15-18. Unlike everything else on this list, it's ticketed: attendees buy individual or VIP passes covering screenings, networking events, workshops, and an awards ceremony, though the opening night gala itself is open to the public (dinner is optional and separately priced).
Lowdown verdict: A different kind of White Mountains event -- indoor, evening-oriented, and a genuine shoulder-season reason to be in Show Low once the summer crowds have thinned out. Budget for tickets, unlike almost everything else on this page.
Show Low Shines Christmas Light Parade (December)
Show Low closes out the year with an evening light parade -- lit floats running from Central Avenue to White Mountain Road, typically the first Saturday of December around 6 p.m. (the 2025 edition ran December 6). Floats line up at Show Low City Hall afterward for the annual Christmas tree lighting at 7 p.m. Confirm the exact date on showlowaz.gov as the holidays approach, since "first Saturday" isn't a promise.
Lowdown verdict: Small, free, and cozy rather than a visitor draw on its own -- winter is already the region's quietest, cheapest season outside of ski weekends, so a light-parade visit pairs naturally with off-season lodging rates. See our winter guide for what else is running that time of year.
What We Left Off This List
A few things worth mentioning that didn't make the calendar above, and why. Several low-quality aggregator and newsletter pages describe a winter "Snow Fiesta" at Sunrise Park Resort with fireworks and torchlight parades -- we could not confirm this anywhere on the resort's own site, which currently lists only a mountain-bike downhill race series (the Sunrise DH, four rounds running June through September) among its named events. Rather than repeat an unverified claim, we're leaving it off; check sunrise.ski directly for any current-season events before assuming a winter festival exists.
Some of the same sources also describe "Apache Sunrise Ceremony reenactments" staged at the resort. The actual Apache Sunrise Ceremony is a private, sacred four-day coming-of-age ceremony held by the White Mountain Apache Tribe for young women in the tribe -- it is not a resort event, not staged for visitors, and not something we'd present as tourist programming even if we could verify a specific instance of it, which we could not. We're flagging this explicitly because it's the kind of claim worth being skeptical of anywhere you see it repeated.
We also found no evidence of a dedicated annual studio tour or gallery walk distinct from the two Charlie Clark's Orchard festivals above and the region's year-round galleries, no confirmed named fishing derby or tournament tied to Big Lake, Show Low Lake, or the other Rim lakes (fishing here runs on stocking schedules -- see our fishing guide rather than a tournament calendar), and no organized trail-running race based in Arizona's White Mountains -- the one candidate that turned up in searches, the Jigger Johnson Ultras / "White Mountain Endurance" series, is actually held in New Hampshire's White Mountains, a naming collision rather than a local event. Greer's aspen and oak color is real and spectacular but isn't a scheduled festival either -- see our fall colors guide for timing and viewpoints instead of checking this page for a date. And the Apache County Fair, held each August in St. Johns, is a genuine regional fair, but St. Johns sits outside the four towns this hub covers -- roughly 25 minutes from Springerville-Eagar if you want to add it to a trip.
Confirm Before You Book
The pattern worth internalizing from this page: four separate small towns each run their own volunteer- and municipal-supported calendar, and that shows up as real inconsistency in the record -- Pinetop-Lakeside's late-September community event having cycled through three different names is the clearest example, and Show Low Days' exact June date was genuinely unconfirmable at the time of writing. The Fourth of July events and the Tribal Fair and Rodeo are the most dependable dates here, since all of them are tied to a fixed federal holiday weekend. For everything else, go straight to the organizer: pinetoplakesideaz.gov's events calendar, showlowaz.gov, the Springerville-Eagar Regional Chamber of Commerce (springervilleeagarchamber.com), and wmat.us for the Tribal Fair are the sources that update in real time -- check them directly rather than trusting this page's specific dates once you're more than a few months out.
Building a Trip Around One of These Events
If you're choosing one, the White Mountain Apache Tribal Fair and Rodeo is the strongest pick -- it's the region's most distinctive event by a wide margin, it's free to attend, and Labor Day weekend's cooling temperatures make it a comfortable time to also be exploring Greer or the Show Low lakes. Just remember it means booking lodging across the whole region further ahead than a typical September weekend, since both the Tribal Fair and the Pinetop Labor Day Arts & Crafts Festival draw extra visitors on the same dates.
If July 4th works better for your schedule, pick a town rather than trying to catch all three celebrations -- Springerville-Eagar for rodeo history, Show Low for the biggest kids' production, or Pinetop-Lakeside for a quieter art fair. See our 3-day itinerary for how to sequence a trip around lakes, hiking, and a scenic drive regardless of which event you build around, and our cabins guide for lodging that books up fastest around these same weekends.