Celebrate Mesa, a free family friendly party in the park, returns to mark the arrival of the fall season with a wide variety of games, carnival rides, entertainment and more.

The Celebrate Mesa Fall Festival will be 5-9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 16, at the Red Mountain Soccer Complex, 905 N. Sun Valley Blvd. in Mesa, according to a release.

Adults and children of all ages can check out the police and Fire vehicles, visit the many booths that will offer give-a-ways and see a free showing of the movie The Croods New Age at 7:30 p.m.

New this year will be MABEL — Mesa Arts Center’s Mobile Art-Based Engagement Lab — which is a pop-up community center on the go. It will host a cyanotype printing activity every 30 minutes starting at 5:30 p.m.

Celebrate Mesa will include live music from Awake at Midnight and Arizona Blacktop. Battle of the Bands returns featuring youth bands competing for a grand prize of a studio recording at Stem Recording.

Other fun activities for children include a petting zoo, bounce houses, archery tag and kids games. For $5, you can buy a wristband to give you unlimited use of the carnival rides (age and height restrictions may apply). You can also get your photo taken with princesses and superheroes including Mandalorian and Boba Fett.

An expanded food court will feature food trucks selling lots of yummy goodies including popular Korean and Mexican dishes.

Arizona Disabled Sports will be selling water and glow items to support upcoming competitions for athletes with disabilities.

Mesa encourages attendees to capture their moments by using #CelebrateMesa on Facebook and Instagram. There will be a snapchat Geofilter to add designs, words and logos to your photos. City staff will survey attendees about the event. Participants will have the opportunity to win a $50 Amazon gift card.

Although masks are optional at city facilities, and the event is outdoors, Mesa encourages visitors to continue to exercise precautions, including getting vaccinated, wearing masks if unvaccinated and staying at home when not feeling well. The date of the event is subject to change.

Celebrate Mesa is made possible by the city of Mesa; Mesa Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities; Mesa Recycles; The Foundation for Mesa Parks and Recreation; Mesa Convention Center; Mesa Amphitheatre; SRP; Desert Sun Pediatric Dentistry; Fry’s Food Stores; Vantage West Credit Union; Parent Partners Plus, AFC Physical Medicine and Chiropractic Centers; Whataburger; In-N-Out Burger, Legacy Traditional School; and Dental Depot.

Go to celebratemesa.com.