< PreviousG.A.I.N. Night October 25 | 5:30 - 8:30 p.m. Mark Coronado Park, 15960 N. Bullard Ave. ‘Getting Arizona Involved in Neighborhoods’ Night brings neighbors together with Surprise Police and Fire- Medical teams for an evening of kids’ activities, safety tips, live demonstrations and trick-or-treating. Don’t forget your costume! surpriseaz.gov/GAIN SciTech Festival Surprise Party December 5 & 6 | 5 - 9 p.m. Surprise Community Park 16089 N. Bullard Ave. This hands-on educational event is all about discovery! Explore interactive exhibits and demonstrations in science, technology, engineering, art and math. From robotics showcases to exciting experiments, there’s something to spark curiosity in science enthusiasts of all ages. surpriseaz.gov/SciTech Visits with Santa, foam snow party, drone light shows, balloon glow, kid’s zone, roaming entertainment, food, a shopping village and more! The traditional tree lighting with Mayor and Council is December 5 at 6:30 p.m.! surpriseaz.gov/SurpriseParty November 22 | 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Surprise Recreation Campus 15960 N. Bullard Ave. 10 surpriseaz.gov | FALL 2025 Sparkling Surprise Book the Block Party Trailer MLK Jr. Day of Celebration & Service Bring the Party to YOU! December 5 - 28 | 5:30 - 10 p.m. Surprise Community Park 16089 N. Bullard Ave. January 17, 2026 | 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. Willow Canyon High School 17901 W. Lundberg St. Wander through our dazzling holiday light display! From Christmas tree light shows to lake features, photo spots and themed areas; you will be transported into a beautiful holiday dream. Bring your family and friends for an unforgettable night of lights. surpriseaz.gov/SparklingSurprise In honor of the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., this event features the opportunity to participate in meaningful service projects, a showcase representing the ways our community serves and a program highlighting exceptional organizations and individuals. Get details as they become available at surpriseaz.gov/MLK Connect with your neighbors these cooler months! The City makes it easy with the Block Party Trailer, packed with tables, chairs, games, sports equipment, music and more, delivered right to your street! Plus, you can snag up to a $150 reimbursement for food or entertainment - the perfect way to create community spirit and unforgettable memories. Book your get-together at surpriseaz.gov/BlockPartyYour is Granted Holidays! Business Wishlist for the Cactus Road & Loop 303 Corridor In-N-Out Burger | QuikTrip Black Rock Coffee | Dave’s Hot Chicken | EOS Fitness Fry’s Marketplace & Fuel Station | La-Z-Boy Sherwin Williams Paints | Slim Chickens | Someburros Take 5 Oil Change M ore new stores, restaurants and local businesses are opening their doors just in time for the festive, gift-giving season. From finding the perfect present to enjoying a hearty meal, these new additions are one more reason to shop local – keeping your tax dollars at home and our community merry and bright! Here’s a peek at what’s coming soon and what’s now open: Boot Barn | Nordstrom Rack Old Navy Aldi | DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse | Sierra Trading Post Sportsman’s Warehouse J. Crew | MINISO | Sephora Village at Prasada / Prasada North (Waddell Road & Loop 303) 12 surpriseaz.gov | FALL 2025 ed olidays! Just in Time Get ready to dash across our city and sprinkle some holiday cheer on your shopping list! Throughout Surprise Aldi – 13723 W. Bell Rd. Primrose Schools of Surprise – 13738 W. Waddell Rd. Express Oil Change – 14234 N. Litchfield Rd. Starbucks – 14290 N. Litchfield Rd. Dentists of Surprise – 16853 N. 145th Ave. Manny’s Pet Friendly Taproom & Wine Bar – Bell & Citrus roads Jimmy John’s – 17865 W. Bell Rd. Bell & Citrus roads: Swig | Wingstop | Action Behavior Centers | Baskin Robbins Angie’s Prime Grill – 14183 W. Bell Rd. Chipotle – 13610 N. Litchfield Rd. Fox Cigar Bar – Waddell & Litchfield roads Head Right Brewing Company – 14312 W. Waddell Rd. Uptown Cheapskate – 13856 W. Waddell Rd. Whataburger – 13611 N. Litchfield Rd. Academy Bank Baskin Robbins | Circle K Clean Freak Car Wash | Dip Nail Bar | Farmer Boys | First Watch Heartland Dental | Jimmy John’s Sprouts | Thai Chili | Valvoline Oil Change Asante /Asante Trails (Pat Tillman Boulevard & 163rd Avenue) Two New Hotels! NOW OPEN Dual Marriott Hotel – Loop 303 & Waddell Rd. COMING SOON Livaway Suites Hotel – Mountain View Blvd. & Grand Ave.YOUR GUIDE TO Post-holiday Clean-up Christmas Tree Disposal Visit any of our tree drop-off locations December 26 - January 11. Please make sure to remove all decorations before arriving. A limit of two trees is accepted per household; place trees in designated areas only. Learn more at surpriseaz.gov/TreeDisposal. Free Holiday Drop-off Recycling & Shredding ELECTRONICS RECYCLING Includes flat screen TVs, computers or laptops and cell phones. Bi-Centennial Park 16705 N. Nash St. (south end of the parking lot) Surprise Recreation Campus/Youth Baseball Complex 15795 N. Parkview Pl. (across from Valley Vista High School) Dick McComb Softball Park 17894 Westpark Blvd. (parking lot on the corner of 180th Ave. and Westpark Blvd.) Asante Community Park 16763 W. Vereda Solana Dr. (library parking lot) DETAILS: December 26 - 27, December 29 - 31, and January 2 - 3 | 8 a.m. - 3 p.m. Public Works North Yard, 17274 N. Litchfield Rd. LARGE CARDBOARD PACKAGING Drop off your flattened cardboard boxes for recycling. Make sure to remove all plastic wrap or Styrofoam. FREE PAPER SHREDDING Limit: Up to three banker’s boxes (15” x 12” x 10”) per household. City staff will oversee secure, lockable bins for residents to deposit paper. The bins will be transported off-site for shredding by our vendor. LITHIUM ION BATTERIES 14 surpriseaz.gov | FALL 2025 Surprise customers can request an appointment for Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) collection pickups right from their driveway. Pick up appointments are available February through November. The collection of materials is split into two types and scheduled separately. One type of pick-up is electronic HHW for items including flat-screen TVs, computers and cell phones. The other type of pick-up is for all other HHW, ranging from rechargeable or lithium batteries to gas cylinders. All scheduling is based on availability and is first-come, first-served. Residents can make an appointment through the My Surprise mobile app or by calling 623.222.1920. Find more details at surpriseaz.gov/HHW. The easiest way to know if something should not be thrown in your trash is if you see these warning words on the label: POISON, DANGER, TOXIC, WARNING, CAUTION, FLAMMABLE or CORROSIVE. Cooking Oil Disposal Instead of risking clogging your pipes, you can collect and bring your kitchen oils to the City’s permanent yellow oil disposal drums located at: FIRE STATION 303 15440 N. Cotton Ln. FIRE STATION 305 15517 N. Parkview Pl. Don’t Risk It... Know Before You Throw! Both stations are open year-round, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but must be used for kitchen oil disposal ONLY. Find a list of accepted kitchen oils at surpriseaz.gov/FOG. It may seem harmless to throw away items like batteries, cleaning chemicals or even an old laptop. However, these discarded hazardous materials have ignited fires inside trash cans and garbage trucks in our city. Very quickly, these fires can grow, threatening your family’s safety and the lives of the City of Surprise crews who serve our community. These common items have the potential to combust or even explode if they are thrown in your garbage bins: 9Rechargeable or lithium batteries 9Pool chemicals 9Pressurized cylinders (including small oxygen tanks, camping fuels and fire extinguishers) 9Grilling coals and hot ashes 9 Cleaning chemicals 9 Vehicle fluids (motor oil, antifreeze and transmission fluid) 9 Flammable and combustible liquids (gasoline, lighter fluid or kerosene) 9 Garden chemicals (pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers and insecticides) Don’t throw these items in your trash! Learn how to safely dispose of hazardous items below. Household Hazardous Waste Pickups REMINDER:On October 6, 2025, trash and recycling collection for Surprise customers in Rancho Mercado living east of 147th Avenue will switch to Mondays. FALL 2025 | surpriseaz.gov 15IN SURPRISE, COMMUNITY IS A TWO-WAY STREET. A place where neighbors can find support when they need it most and give back when others are in need. The City offers a variety of opportunities to both receive help through vital programs and resources, and to give help by volunteering, donating or lending a hand. Together, these efforts ensure that Surprise continues to be a city where everyone has the chance to thrive. Surprise Community & Resource Center The walls are going up, and the future is bright for the new Surprise Community & Resource Center (SCRC) coming to Hollyhock Street and Santa Fe Drive, in the heart of the Original Town Site of Surprise. The 35,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art facility will serve the entire Northwest Valley by bringing an array of community services under one roof. Construction is expected to be completed in May, with staff moved in and programming operational by the summer of 2026. The new SCRC will provide our community and neighbors with access to health and wellness programs, Head Start classrooms, workforce development, housing and homeless assistance, benefits assistance, veteran services, senior services, after-school youth programs, summer youth programs and expanded library services. Once the new building opens, it will bring together all the support and programming currently offered at the Surprise Resource Center and Surprise Senior Center. As staff prepare for the move to the new space, they are already adding new hours and offerings. Learn more at surpriseaz.gov/SCRC. New Senior Center Hours Senior programming has been shifted to an hour earlier on weekdays to better accommodate members. The Senior Center now opens at 7 a.m. and closes at 3 p.m., Monday through Friday. The daily Congregate Meal Program is still offered at noon. For more information about program times or to learn about getting a free day pass or annual membership to the Senior Center, visit surpriseaz.gov/SeniorServices. SERVINGOUR GROWING COMMUNITY TOGETHER Interested in touring the construction site? Registration is required and tours are limited to 20 participants. Dates: Oct. 15, Nov. 12 & Dec. 17. Visit surpriseaz.gov/SCRC for details. 16 surpriseaz.gov | FALL 2025 OF THE BADGES There was friendly, but competitive, rivalry between our Police and Fire-Medical teams during the Battle of the Badges Community Blood Drive on September 11! The community joined in, donating blood on behalf of the team of their choice, and Surprise Fire-Medical came in as the winner by generating the highest number of total donors during the four-hour event. While their team gets bragging rights, our community really walked away the winners by helping our partners at Vitalant Blood Donation meet a desperate need for blood donations. Thank you to everyone who participated! Affordable Healthcare & Essential Resources Need help securing affordable healthcare and essential resources? Local families can now get help applying for AHCCCS health insurance, food stamps and financial assistance at the Surprise Senior Center on Saturdays from 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. with the help of nonprofit Helping Families in Need. Walk-ins are accepted. This is in addition to programs and services currently at the Surprise Resource Center that provide limited temporary assistance with utility and eviction prevention for qualifying residents. Learn more at surpriseaz.gov/ResourceCenter. Legal Help Kiosk Through a partnership with Community Legal Services, a self-service legal kiosk is available inside the Surprise Resource Center. The kiosk offers an easy-to-use portal that helps users learn about civil legal issues, find court information and forms, access legal aid providers by appointment and locate community resources. To schedule an appointment to use the kiosk, please call the Surprise Resource Center at 623.222.1600. Diaper Hub A free diaper support program for qualifying families with children is available at the Surprise Resource Center in partnership with Maricopa County’s Human Services Department and Wildfire Arizona. Eligible families can receive up to 150 diapers per child each month, while supplies last. Email earlychildhood@surpriseaz.gov for more information. GED Classes In partnership with the Dysart Community Center’s adult learning program, students can now take classes to prepare for their General Education Diploma (GED) test. The classes are offered Saturdays from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at the Surprise Senior Center. Registration is required. Learn more at DysartCommunityCenter.org. NEW RESOURCES FALL 2025 | surpriseaz.gov 17OCT Speaker Series October 22 “Cantando Con Tata” by Jim Zarco Guerrero focuses on the music of Arizona legend Lalo Guerrero. Surprise City Hall Council Chambers. 11 a.m.-noon. Free. Registration required: surpriseaz.gov/ArtsSignUp AZ Fall League Baseball Begins October 6 Find the schedule of games at surprisestadium.com and purchase game tickets at mlb.com/Arizona-Fall-League Outdoor Art Sketching Tour October 9 Explore and sketch public art outside at City Hall with teaching artist Rae Wilson. Details on page 8. Surprise Fiesta Grande October 11 Festival with Mexican Food, live music, car show, lucha libre wrestling and more! Details on pages 9-11. Water Workshop October 11 Learn the science-based approach of Integrated Pest Management. 10-11 a.m. Register: surpriseaz.gov/WaterWorkshops Aspiring Firefighters “On Deck” Program October 16 Join Surprise Fire-Medical for this no- pressure way to learn about a career in the fire service. Ages 18 and older. Fire Station 308, 13771 W. Cactus Rd. 6-8 p.m. Registration recommended: surpriseaz.gov/OnDeck Fire First Fridays Community Safety Class October 3 Free class that teaches CPR and AED use. Must be 12 or older. Public Safety Building Auditorium. 9 a.m., 1 p.m. & 4 p.m. Registration required: surpriseaz.gov/ FireFirstFridays COMING THIS FALL Water Workshop October 18 Learn 10 tips for gardening in the low desert with a Master Gardener. 9-10 a.m. Register: surpriseaz.gov/WaterWorkshops See our special events calendar, pages 9-11. Other events are available throughout the magazine! G.A.I.N. Night October 25 Join Surprise Police & Fire- Medical for kids’ activities, displays and safety information. 5:30-8:30 p.m. at Mark Coronado Park. Details on pages 9-11. Water Workshop October 25 Learn how to monitor, repair and maintain your irrigation system. 9-11 a.m. Register: surpriseaz.gov/WaterWorkshops Spring Training Ticket Sales Begin October 28 2026 Spring Training group tickets, season tickets and mini plan packages go on sale for the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals at 10 a.m. Individual tickets go on sale November 18. Schedule & ticket info: surprisestadium.com 18 surpriseaz.gov | FALL 2025 NOV DEC Day of Service December 13 Show your community pride by volunteering to help those in need. Register to volunteer: surpriseaz.gov/DayofService Sparkling Surprise December 5 - 28 Enjoy a holiday light display across the entire Surprise Recreation Campus, with magical family-friendly photo opportunities at every turn! Details on page 11. Veterans Day Thanksgiving Christmas NOV 11 NOV 27 & 28 DEC 25 Speaker Series November 19 “Seeing The Desert” by Gregory McNamee focuses on the desert as a place of abundant life, beauty and possibilities. Asante Library, 6-7 p.m. Free. Registration required: surpriseaz.gov/ArtsSignUp Holiday trash & recycling schedule in effect. HOA Summit November 12 Expert information for HOA board members, property management teams and homeowners. Public Safety Building Auditorium. 6 p.m. Register: surpriseaz.gov/HOAacademy Veterans Day Celebration November 11 See pages 6-7 for details! SciTech Festival November 22 Celebrate science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics at this free, fun-filled and educational event. See pages 9-11 for details. More info: surpriseaz.gov/SciTech Xeriscape Garden Tour November 1 Learn about native and desert- adapted plants in a fun and informal setting. 9 a.m. Register: surpriseaz.gov/WaterWorkshops Water Workshop November 8 Learn how to program your landscape irrigation controller with a step-by-step hands-on activity. 9-11 a.m. Register: surpriseaz.gov/WaterWorkshops Surprise Party December 5 & 6 A holiday party with Santa, food, drone light show, music and more! See pages 9-11 for details. Fire First Fridays Community Safety Class December 5 Free class that teaches CPR and AED use. Must be 12 or older. Public Safety Building Auditorium. 9 a.m., 1 p.m. & 4 p.m. Registration required: surpriseaz.gov/FireFirstFridays Fire First Fridays Community Safety Class November 7 Free class that teaches Narcan & Stop the Bleed techniques. Must be 12 or older. Public Safety Building Auditorium. 9 a.m., 1 p.m. & 4 p.m. Registration required: surpriseaz.gov/FireFirstFridays Water Workshop November 15 Learn basic tools and techniques to prune and shape your trees and shrubs. 9-10 a.m. Register: surpriseaz.gov/WaterWorkshops FALL 2025 | surpriseaz.gov 19Next >