Best Of Tucson®

Best Annual Festival

Fourth Avenue Street Fair

Ah, the roar of the popcorn, the smell of the crowd! It's no wonder Tucson Weekly readers love the traveling circus that comes to Tucson twice a year. This is fun, fun, fun!

You'll see acrobats doing their stunts and stilt-walkers stumbling about high above the crowd. You'll amaze to jugglers tossing balls in the air. You'll delight to the antics of clowns who are there to bring a smile to your face. You'll even find the occasional refugees from the freak show. You'll learn your fortune from gypsies who can peer into the future through the stars, the cards and the palms. You'll hear musicians both local and traveling. You'll laugh; you'll cry; you'll never forget the experience of walking the sidewalks during the Fourth Avenue Street Fair.

Hungry? If it can be cooked up in booth, you'll find it here: cotton candy, hot dogs on a stick, tacos and gyros--all cheap, tasty and good for you. Thirsty? There's beer, soft drinks and healthy concoctions that will add years to your life. Looking for arts and crafts? You'll meet traveling merchants peddling wares from soap dishes to homemade candles, native crafts to hemp T-shirts, strange potions to body oils that promise to relax those aching muscles and restore romance to your life. The only thing this circus is lacking is the animals--other than the ones you can eat.

This is an industrial-strength festival. Just attending will make you stronger, smarter and good-looking, not to mention a better person inside, where it counts. The street fair will recharge, rejuvenate, reinvigorate. And don't be surprised if you see the value of your portfolio increase after a visit--stock watchers have noticed a bump in both the Dow Jones and the NASDAQ on Mondays after the booths have shut down.

Best of all, no animals are harmed in the production of this spectacular display! (Again, other than the ones you can eat.) Mark your calendars now: You must go to the next Fourth Avenue Street Fair.

Runners up:

2. Tucson Folk Festival

3. Tucson Rodeo