Thousands of visitors are expected in Fountain Hills this weekend as the Chamber of Commerce plays host to the spring 2023 Fountain Festival of Fine Arts & Crafts.

This big event will take up the entire downtown area, with traffic restrictions expected to go into effect sometime Thursday and continue throughout the weekend. All of Avenue of the Fountains, as well as the connecting section of Saguaro Boulevard alongside Fountain Park, will be closed to all traffic for this event. Plan your weekend travels accordingly and remember to be on the lookout for extra vehicles and pedestrians in and around downtown.

The art show runs from Friday, Feb. 24, through Sunday, Feb. 26. All the action kicks off at 10 a.m. each morning and runs until 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 4 p.m. on Sunday. This is a rain or shine event, but hopefully Mother Nature will play nice this weekend.

As you’ll see in our 1A reporting, the famous balloon launch is returning after a long hiatus, with takeoff set for 8 a.m. Sunday morning. It’s been many years since the last balloon launch, so we encourage everyone to drop by Fountain Park Sunday morning to enjoy the show.