Every Tlaquepaque Event This Season Falls on a Shuttle Day. That Changes the Trip From Chapel.
October 15, 2026
October 15, 2026
Tlaquepaque has five public events between now and the week before Christmas. Every day of them falls on a Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday, and those are the days Sedona Shuttle Connect runs. Connect is the City's on-demand van, and it has served the Chapel and Mystic Hills neighborhoods since November 6, 2025. Connect runs from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., and that window covers every event start time and every late set on the village schedule. If you live off Chapel Road or near Little Horse, you can plan the season around a $2 ride instead of a parking space on SR 179.
| Event | Date | Hours | Where in the village |
|---|---|---|---|
| Howl-O-Ween Pet Parade | Sunday, Oct. 18 | 10 a.m. to noon, check-in 9 a.m. | Calle Independencia to Tlaquepaque North |
| Marigold Mural Project | Thursday, Oct. 29 to Sunday, Nov. 1 | 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. | Calle Independencia |
| Día de los Muertos | Sunday, Nov. 1 | 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with music until 7:30 p.m. | Throughout the village |
| Tree Lighting and Santa Visit | Friday, Dec. 4 | 5 to 6:30 p.m. | Tlaquepaque North |
| Holiday Sweet Stroll | Saturday, Dec. 19 | 3 to 7 p.m., luminarias lit at 5 p.m. | Throughout the village |
Connect normally runs Thursday through Sunday all year. The Sedona Shuttle FAQ says it adds service on selected peak days and holidays, and it lists daily Connect service from November 19 to 29, 2026, except Thanksgiving Day. Every day on Tlaquepaque's calendar this season is a Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday, so nothing on the list depends on that extra service. The one exception to "no driving required" is a weekday shopping trip during Thanksgiving week, and the November 19 to 29 daily schedule covers that too.
The fares are the same for every event. A standard ride costs $2. Riders 60 and older, people with disabilities, veterans with ID, and Medicare and ACCCHS cardholders pay $1. Children five and under ride free with an adult. You book in the TransLoc app, which takes payment and shows where the van is. You can also call dispatch at 928-203-5152 and pay with exact cash. Rides can be booked up to 14 days ahead. That 14-day window matters most on December 4 and December 19, when demand will bunch up around one evening start time.
The City has named Tlaquepaque as an intended Connect destination. The FAQ also says the app decides whether both ends of a trip fall inside the service area. So before an event weekend, put your home address and the village into TransLoc and confirm the trip is offered.
The Humane Society of Sedona is running its sixth annual Howl-O-Ween Pet Parade on Sunday, October 18, from 10 a.m. to noon, with Tlaquepaque and BowWow Sedona as partners. Proceeds go to the Humane Society. Entry is $20 per category. Check-in is at 9 a.m. The parade starts on Calle Independencia and ends at Tlaquepaque North.
The village's own event page has the date right in the headline, but the description below it still says October 19 and calls it the fourth annual parade. That text was carried over from an earlier year. The Humane Society and a Sedona.Biz announcement from October 4 both give Sunday, October 18.
A 9 a.m. check-in is the earliest arrival of the season. Connect starts at 6:30 a.m. on Sundays, so there is plenty of room before it. Before booking, check whether a costumed dog fits the service rules for your ride.
The Marigold Mural Project opens on a Thursday, three days before Día de los Muertos. From October 29 to November 1, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, the artist Lovejoy leads visitors in painting tributes on a 26-foot community remembrance wall on Calle Independencia. All four days are Connect days. So Thursday or Friday afternoon lets you add a tribute to the wall before the Sunday festival brings in the biggest crowd of the fall.
On Sunday, November 1, Tlaquepaque's Día de los Muertos runs throughout the village from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be altars, large cultural installations, ofrendas, papel picado, calaca figures, music, dance and roving entertainment. The performers listed are:
The program also has sugar-skull decorating, face painting by Cindi, food vendors, and the final day of the Marigold Mural Project with Lovejoy.
The village schedule puts Gaetano and Friends at 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., after the event's listed 5 p.m. close. A 7:30 finish still leaves an hour before Connect stops at 8:30 p.m.
On a festival day, the trip home from the village depends on how you cross SR 179 as much as how you get there. Sedona Red Rock News reported in May that the City closes the at-grade crosswalk into Tlaquepaque with movable gates once Google Maps shows 18 minutes of travel time from the Village of Oak Creek to the Y roundabout. When the gates are closed, pedestrians are sent to the underpass.
City officials told the paper they have no plans to close the crosswalk permanently. Sedona Engineering Supervisor Jon Ebers said that "there's value in having it open, particularly when traffic is light," and that the City needs a second crossing in case a flash flood or repairs close the underpass. Public Works Director Kurt Harris told the paper the gates are only needed "a few times in the week."
The weekend afternoons that fill Tlaquepaque are also the times SR 179 traffic is most likely to reach that 18-minute mark. If you walk over from the Uptown side or park across the highway, expect to use the underpass on event days. A Connect drop-off inside the village avoids the question.
The May report also described work on a permanent median barrier and a possible automated or signal-based closure system. A plan between the City, ADOT and Tlaquepaque had no timeline at that point. We found no later update showing either change has been made. The movable gates and the 18-minute trigger are the most recent arrangement on record.
The holiday events start at dusk. On Friday, December 4, the free Tree Lighting and Santa Visit runs from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at Tlaquepaque North, with a 26-foot tree, Santa, children's activities and entertainment, according to Visit Sedona's event listing. The tree is the same height as the October remembrance wall.
On Saturday, December 19, the Holiday Sweet Stroll runs throughout the village from 3 to 7 p.m. New this year are luminaria-lined walkways and courtyards, and guests are invited to help light the luminarias at 5 p.m. There will also be Santa, Dickens-era carolers, the Grinch, galleries and shops open late, and homemade Christmas cookies.
The Sweet Stroll ends at 7 p.m., so riders have about 90 minutes of Connect service afterward. Last year the City ran expanded holiday shuttle service from December 18, 2025 to January 4, 2026. No 2026 holiday schedule has been published yet. December 19 is a Saturday, so regular Connect service covers it either way.
A few tenants have arrived since last holiday season. Dulce: Ice Cream, Churros, Candies opened in May. In September, the village announced that Good Juju Boutique & Gallery has a new home at Tlaquepaque and that Aura & Astrology had recently opened. The shop directory puts Good Juju at Suite A119 and Aura & Astrology at Suite A208. For Sweet Stroll gift shopping, those are the shops you won't have visited before.
The village's current food directory lists nine food and drink tenants.
El Rincon is the longest-running name on that list. The village's September feature on the restaurant covers its 50-year history and current owners Charley and Luis, with their daughter Jennifer.
Connect works in both directions. The November 2025 expansion that added the Chapel area also put Chapel of the Holy Cross in reach for riders. The City's transit page lists a pickup and drop-off at Mystic Trailhead for Chapel visitors. The Chapel has 45 parking spaces and is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Out-of-town guests staying with you can get to both the Chapel and the village in December without moving your car out of the driveway.
If you're planning a holiday season of visitors, or thinking about which Chapel-area streets put the Connect zone, Little Horse and SR 179 within easy reach, Kris Anderson and the team can walk you through it. Get Your Confidential Home Valuation and find out where your property stands this winter.
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