Mesa Pulse for August 6, 2026: 130 films come to the Convention Center, plus a night market on Broadway

• 🎬 Mesa International Film Festival returns August 12. More than 130 independent films at the Mesa Convention Center downtown, running through the 16th.
• 🍜 Mesa Night Market is Saturday. Asian food vendors and an anime-heavy marketplace in a lot on West Broadway. Free.
• 🎸 Three shows at the Nile Theater. One Friday, two Saturday, all on Main Street downtown.
• 🚌 $2.52 million for bus stop work. Council votes August 17 on a deal with the regional transit authority.
• 🏛️ The Convention Center is getting an outside operator. A 62-month management contract goes to council the same night.
• 🌵 Around the Valley. Four picks worth the drive, from Mullett Arena to the Van Buren.

The Mesa International Film Festival is back downtown August 12 through 16 with more than 130 independent films.

Key facts:

• When: Wednesday, August 12 through Sunday, August 16.
• Where: Mesa Convention Center, in the downtown core.
• What screens: shorts, documentaries, and music videos, alongside feature-length independents.

Watch for the screening schedule to land ahead of opening night. Details.

Thursday

• 🎤 Powerful Voices open mic. Music, comedy, and poetry on one bill in Mesa. Details.
• 🧶 Learn to crochet, 1 PM. Beginner project with an instructor at THINKspot at Dobson Ranch. Beginners should register so there are enough supplies. Details.

Friday

• 🚚 First Friday food trucks and vendors at Cannon Beach, Friday. Public hours have not been posted. Vendors can register here.
• 🎸 Profanatica at the Nile, 7 PM. 105 West Main Street. Tickets.

Saturday

• 🍜 Mesa Night Market. All Asian food vendors plus a local marketplace leaning hard on anime merch, in the lot at 1920 W Broadway Rd. Free to attend. Details.
• 🏠 Buying or selling a home, 10 AM. A seminar walking through the steps at the Dobson Ranch library. Details.
• 🍿 Family matinee: Toy Story 4, 1 PM. Main library, free, indoors, and air conditioned. Details.
• 🎤 Two more at the Nile. Famous Friend with The Citie at 7 PM, then BabyChiefDoit at 8 PM. Tickets.

Next week at the libraries

• 👕 Recycled t-shirt tote bags, Monday 4 PM. Bring an old shirt, leave with a no-sew tote. Ages 12 to 18, Dobson Ranch. Details.
• 📓 Junk journaling, Tuesday 2 PM. Supplies provided at Dobson Ranch. Bring a blank notebook or use one of theirs. Details.
• 🖨️ 3D pen creations, Wednesday 4 PM. Teens draw in 3D with 3Doodler pens at the Main library. Supplies are limited. Details.
• 📖 Pop-up storytime, Wednesday 10:30 AM. Fifteen minutes of stories, songs, and rhymes at Mesa Express. Details.

• 🛞 A west Mesa tire shop can finally operate legally. Council cleared the San Antonio tire shop over opposition from the surrounding neighborhood, with Councilmen Rich Adams and Francisco Heredia in the middle of it. Details.
• 🚌 $2.52 million to fix up bus stops. Council votes August 17 on an agreement with the Regional Public Transportation Authority covering design and construction management for improvements to existing stops around the city. Districts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 are in scope, paid for with a federal grant, transit advertising revenue, and the Transit Fund. Details.
• 🏛️ An outside operator for the Convention Center and Amphitheater. Also on the August 17 agenda: a 62-month management contract with three five-year renewal options. The vendor would handle day-to-day operations, sales and marketing, booking and scheduling, the annual budget, and capital improvement investment. Worth watching if the film festival becomes an annual downtown fixture. Details.
• 🌱 Microgrants for young people with a conservation idea. The city is taking applications for the Mesa Youth Climate Action Fund, open to ages 15 to 24, for projects on conservation, sustainability, and community resiliency. Details.
• 🏠 546 homes sold in Mesa last month, at a median sale price of $452,500 and a median 55 days on the market. Details.

🎸 OLE 60, Off the Grid Tour. Mullett Arena in Tempe, Thursday at 7 PM. The shortest drive on this list. Tickets.

🤠 The Reba and Dolly Tribute Show. The Showroom at Casino Arizona in Scottsdale, Saturday at 7:30 PM. Two catalogs, one small room. Tickets.

🤸 Xfinity US Gymnastics Championships, Junior Men's Day 1. Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Thursday at 1 PM. The national championships, in town for the week. Tickets.

🎶 Calle 24, Eterno Tour. The Van Buren in Phoenix, Thursday at 8 PM. Tickets.