Photos: First of 2 weekends of 35th Chandler Ostrich Festival

By Jason W. Brooks
Mail | X: @JasonWBrooks2

Tens of thousands of people walked into Tumbleweed Park over the weekend for the first of two three-day stints of the 35th Chandler Chamber Ostrich Festival.

While some rain, wind and cooler temperatures seemed to affect traffic the first day, Friday, March 14, the next day was a mostly-sunny Saturday with huge crowds.
Music fans filtered in and out of the concert venue March 15 until the headliner, The Fray, drew a young-adult, millennial-heavy crowd for the last music set of the day.

Those who took advantage of the Hamilton High School parking lot shuttle didn’t have to contend with some awkward on-site parking arrangements, due partly to ongoing construction at Tumbleweed Park. With no crosswalk at Germann Road and South Pioneer Parkway and a pickleball court under construction, Chandler Police routed pedestrians and those who parked onto the McQueen Road side of the park through an unlit temporary dirt lot, even at night.

Among the new attractions this year, the Paul Bunyan Lumberjack Show seemed to have large performance attendance on March 15. The returning All-Alaskan Racing Pigs and BMX Pros continue to draw large crowds as well.

Festival organizers will provide complimentary shuttle services for all ticket holders during the two-weekend event, which wraps this weekend, March 21-23 at Tumbleweed Park in Chandler.

The shuttle service aims to provide convenient and safe travel options. The lot location will be at Hamilton High School, 3700 S. Arizona Avenue in south Chandler; parking is free at this location.

Shuttles will run every 15 minutes.  The festival drop-off location will be at the west gates at McQueen and Ryan roads.

On  Friday, March 21, the shuttle will run from 5 p.m. to  1 a.m.  Saturday, March 22, it will run from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m., and on Sunday, March 23, the hours will be 4 p.m. to midnight.

Pre-sale parking is available for $10, plus a $1 processing fee. Pre-sale parking passes can be purchased here.

On-site parking will be available for $15 on the day of the event.

Headlining acts announced for this weekend at the festival include Los Rieleros del Norte on Friday night, American Authors and Natasha Bedingfield on Saturday night and Tyler Hubbard, formerly of Florida Georgia Line, on Sunday night.

Tickets are on sale now at OstrichFestival.com and at select Bashas' and Food City locations. A full list of locations can be found here. Ticket prices are subject to applicable taxes and fees.

Keep up-to-date with the Ostrich Festival by following the latest news on Instagram, Facebook, or X.

We invite our readers to submit their civil comments on this topic. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.  

Jason W. Brooks
News Editor | Chandler Independent

Jason W. Brooks joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in July 2021 as an associate editor. After a year covering Buckeye, he has covered Chandler since the fall of 2022, in addition to assisting the Daily Independent throughout his time at INI.

Education: University of New Mexico, bachelor of arts in journalism and mass communication, print emphasis, English minor.

Random Fact: He and his siblings witnessed a Space Shuttle launch and landing in the same year in person, on opposite coasts.

Hobbies: Karaoke, bicycling and American Sign Language.

Community: He supports animal shelters.