Good morning, Queen Creek. It's a holiday week, and the town's Fourth of July plans stretch across the weekend.
- ⚡ A new battery is feeding the grid. SRP and Aypa Power's 250-megawatt Pediment storage system came online in Mesa as summer demand climbs.
- 🎆 Schnepf Farms throws its Hometown 4th. Food trucks, rides, a concert stage, and fireworks Saturday for the country's 250th.
- 🍔 The Queen Creek Feastival returns Friday. Food trucks at the town center to start the holiday weekend.
- 🐎 San Tan's trails stay busy through the heat. Night rides, a sunrise hike, and a monsoon-safety session this week.
- 🏠 A near-$2M sale lands in Cloud Creek Ranch. The week's Queen Creek market signal.
- 🌃 Worth a drive: Beauty and the Beast, Jinjer, and Diamondbacks baseball. Picks across the Valley.
A new battery backs the Valley grid
A new 250-megawatt battery is now feeding the Valley grid that Queen Creek draws from, online just as summer demand climbs.
Key facts:
- What: The Pediment Battery Energy Storage System, 250 MW / 1,000 MWh, built by SRP and Aypa Power.
- Where: The Elliot Road Technology Corridor in Mesa, just north of Queen Creek.
- Capacity: Enough to power up to 56,250 Valley homes for four hours.
- Status: Online and serving SRP customers now.
Batteries like this one store solar power during the day and release it in the early evening, when air conditioners run hardest and solar output fades. For SRP households across Queen Creek, that stored power is part of what keeps the grid steady through a July heat wave.
The real test comes over the next two months: summer peak demand and monsoon storms. Details.
The week
📚 The library keeps its summer slate going. Infant storytime Monday morning, teen stage combat Tuesday afternoon, and Tuesday night's deadline to submit to Teen Ink magazine. Details.
🍔 The Queen Creek Feastival runs Friday night. Food trucks at the town center, starting at 5:30 PM. Details.
🎆 Schnepf Farms hosts its Hometown 4th on Saturday. Food trucks, rides, a concert stage, water inflatables, and fireworks for the country's 250th. Free parking. Details.
🥬 The Pecan Lake Farmers Market opens Saturday morning. Local growers and makers at the Queen Creek Botanical Gardens, beside Pecan Lake, from 7 AM. Details.
🐎 Barrel racing returns Saturday night. BR Diamond Spur's Summer Nights series, 5:30 PM. Details.
🐴 Beat the Heat opens the arena Sunday. Public riding in the covered Chapman Automotive Group Arena, 6 AM to noon. Details.
Around Queen Creek
👧 A Queen Creek nine-year-old earned national recognition. The town girl was honored through the America250 Foundation's America's Field Trip contest, a fitting note heading into the Fourth. Details.
💼 A free five-week business series starts Tuesday. The Maricopa County SBDC and the Queen Creek Chamber are running Start Smart Grow Smart, a no-cost program for new and established owners, on Tuesday evenings. Details.
🏠 The week's market signal: a 2024-built home in the Cloud Creek Ranch area recently sold for $1.95 million, per county records.
🐎 Schnepf & Olive Mill
Queen Creek's agritourism backbone: the farm, the mill, and the trails. This week, San Tan Mountain Regional Park keeps the trails busy through the heat.
🚵 San Tan After Dark rolls Wednesday night. A casual, no-drop group mountain bike ride under the stars, 7 PM. Details.
🌅 A sunrise hike beats the heat Thursday. Ranger Nikki leads an early-morning walk as the desert wakes up, 5:15 AM. Details.
⛈️ Monsoon safety at the Nature Center Thursday. A drop-in session on staying safe through summer dust and downpours, 8 AM. Good timing as storm season ramps up. Details.
From the schools
📖 The QCHS summer reading deadline lands July 6. Queen Creek High's 60-day book review on the first 16 chapters of Wilfred McClay's Land of Hope is due Monday. Details.
Around the Valley
A few picks worth leaving Queen Creek for this week.
🎭 Beauty and the Beast at ASU Gammage. Tempe, Tuesday at 7:30 PM. The touring Broadway production, an easy family night out. Tickets.
🎸 Jinjer at Marquee Theatre. Tempe, Tuesday at 7 PM. Ukrainian groove-metal, loud and technical. Tickets.
⚾ Diamondbacks vs. Giants at Chase Field. Phoenix, Monday at 6:40 PM. A division rival in town for the series. Tickets.