Best Annual Festival

Fourth Avenue Street Fair

Through its success over the years, the biannual Fourth Avenue Street Fair has remained a diverse local affair. From school-age kids busking on the sidewalks and folklorico troupes intertwining their colors to vendors offering varied crafts, there is always something on display. If the kokopelli kitsch or meat-on-a-stick food offerings have worn you out, you can still watch the parade of Tucsonans of all shapes and sizes making the rounds. Best of all, though, is the feeling that at least twice a year, ol' Tucson shows off some hustle and bustle, a vibrancy just beneath the surface that no amount of grandstanding urban planning has yet been able to tap.

Runners up:

2. Tucson Meet Yourself, tucsonmeetyourself.org

3. All Souls Procession/Dia de los Muertos, allsoulsprocession.org