The Sonoran Arts League gallery in Carefree reopens on Tuesday, October 13, at a new address on Easy Street. It has been closed since the end of January. The timing helps anyone in Sonoran Ridge planning the fall calendar. Two days after the reopening, Carefree Art Night starts its season. Five weeks later, the 30th annual Hidden in the Hills Artist Studio Tour opens across 38 studios. The fall art season had been missing its home base in Carefree, and it now has one again.
Why the Gallery Closed in January
The closing was about cost. CITYSunTimes reported that the Carefree gallery would close at the end of January "due to a significant rent increase." In the meantime, the nonprofit would show art in other places while it looked for a new space.
The space it left had been doing well. The same outlet had earlier reported that the gallery at 7275 E. Easy St., Suite A104, across from the post office, expanded into the suite next door. That doubled its floor area to 2,068 square feet for its rotating bi-monthly member shows. A gallery that had grown to that size still closed because of rent.
The League's new board took over during the move. Its 2026 executive board is president Nick Mancusi, a licensed architect who owns Mancusi Design, LLC; vice president Jo Gemmill, owner of The English Rose Tea Room in Carefree; treasurer David Shields; and secretary David Court. Mancusi described the move to CITYSunTimes in hopeful terms:
"The board views this relocation as an opportunity to focus on our vision and our mission, and to grow the League's membership experience."
He said the League would keep a small temporary office in Carefree and partner with the Desert Foothills Gallery to show members' original art until it found a new space.
Where the Art Went in the Meantime
While the gallery was closed, at least one League exhibition moved to a library. "Threshold: New Work by Juried Artists" was meant to open in January in Carefree. It opened in March instead, at the Desert Foothills Gallery inside the Desert Foothills Library at 38443 N. School House Rd. in Cave Creek.
The League's other building stayed open the whole time. The Sonoran Arts League Studio at Stagecoach Village, 7100 E. Cave Creek Rd., Suite 144, runs classes for adults and children Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. CITYSunTimes reported that veterans and first responders can take free classes on Thursdays, paid for by a grant from the Kiwanis Club of Carefree. What Carefree lost for most of this year was the League's exhibition space.
What Opens at 30 Easy Street
The new gallery is at 30 Easy Street, Suite A, Carefree. It is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and closed Sunday and Monday. It keeps the League's format of bi-monthly juried exhibitions featuring local and national members, from emerging to established Arizona artists.
The opening show is "The Artistic Kaleidoscope: A Symphony of Color." According to the League's exhibitions calendar, it opened October 2 and runs through December 3. The grand-opening ribbon cutting is Tuesday evening. The Carefree Cave Creek Chamber lists it from 5 to 6 p.m., and the League's own calendar lists 5 to 7 p.m.
The location matters for the rest of the season. The League's directory says the gallery holds special events alongside Carefree's Third Thursday Art Walk. The Town describes that walk as a stroll through Carefree Town Center. The new address keeps the League in the same Easy Street gallery district where most of the fall calendar happens.
The Order of the Season
Each date below either starts at the new gallery or depends on it.
- Tuesday, October 13. The grand-opening ribbon cutting at 30 Easy Street, Suite A.
- Thursday, October 15. Carefree Art Night opens its 2026–27 season. The Town of Carefree runs it on third Thursdays from 4 to 7 p.m., October through May, as a stroll through more than a dozen Town Center galleries, artist-run shops and studios. Some stops offer artist conversations and sometimes wine and snacks. The League's calendar lists a gallery reception at the new space for the October Art Night.
- Saturday and Sunday, November 7–8. Thunderbird Artists' 33rd Annual Fall Carefree Garden Art Experience takes over Carefree Gardens at 101 Easy Street. The featured artists are Sheko & Sarkis. The Chamber lists free admission and hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Carefree Sundial is inside the Gardens.
- Thursday, November 19. Carefree Art Night returns.
- November 20–22 and 27–29. Hidden in the Hills runs for its 30th year over two Friday-to-Sunday weekends.
- Thursday, December 3. "The Artistic Kaleidoscope" closes.
- Thursday, December 17. The last Carefree Art Night of the calendar year.
Hidden in the Hills at 30
This year's tour has about 150 artists at 38 studios across Cave Creek, Carefree and North Scottsdale. CITYSunTimes puts the count at 151, while the League's directory lists 150. The tour is free and self-guided, and every studio is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both weekends, according to CITYSunTimes. The same report calls it Arizona's largest and longest-running artist studio tour, and says it draws both collectors and holiday shoppers looking for original gifts.
Studio 1 is the tour's information headquarters, at the League's studio in Stagecoach Village. It also hosts an exhibition of student work and a hands-on art activity, and visitors can pick up maps and the directory there. The directory also points to the new gallery. The 164-page guide costs $10 if picked up at the Carefree gallery during its Tuesday-to-Saturday hours, or $30 by mail. Picking it up at 30 Easy Street any Tuesday-to-Saturday afternoon in late October or early November gives you the full directory before the first tour weekend, without a stop in Cave Creek.
Six of the 38 studios have Carefree addresses:
| Studio | Host artist | Medium | Address |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4, Virginia Brooks Studio | Virginia Brooks | Oil, mixed media | 7402 E. Sundance Trail |
| 5, Toni Perrin Studio | Toni Perrin | Oil | 36633 N. Sidewinder Road |
| 6, Tree Loft Studios | Dena Johnson | Acrylic, gourd, mixed media | 7600 E. Long Rifle Road |
| 8, Meandering Paths Studio | Scarlett Fiona Reed | Encaustic, ceramic, assemblage | 35655 Meander Way |
| 9, Lucy Dickens Fine Art | Lucy Dickens | Oil | 34820 N. Whileaway Road |
| 26, Painting Bauer Studio | Steph Bauer | Acrylic, encaustic, ceramic | 34779 N. Los Reales |
Studio 15 is the anniversary's headline stop. Jeanne Bonine's oil painting "Welcome to My World" is on this year's directory cover. CITYSunTimes quoted HITH co-chair Gail Haire on why the committee chose it: "There's a calm, dreamlike quality to Jeanne's art." Bonine has painted professionally for more than 60 years. At 6240 E. Quail Track Drive in Scottsdale, she is showing more than 65 originals and limited-edition giclées, along with hand-painted heirloom ornaments, greeting card sets and her book, "Inspirations of Timeless Beauty." The League's tour page adds that guest artist Bela Fidel will join her there.
The rest of the route covers a wide area. Glass, ceramic and jewelry studios fill the North Scottsdale stretch from Studio 10, Mark Lewanski's glass studio at 31611 N. 69th Street, to Studio 13, B. Gullwing's The Images Studios on E. Windstone Trail. At the far north end of the map, Studios 33 and 34 sit out on Spur Cross Road. The official map says it is not to scale and warns that GPS and Google Maps may not show the area accurately. The directory says to follow the yellow lizard signs and to call a studio if you need directions. The League links the map PDF, a Google Map and the online 2026 directory from its tour page.
A Guest Weekend Built Around Easy Street
If you have guests in town for the first tour weekend, the order of the calendar works in your favor. A Thursday-to-Sunday visit starting November 19 begins with Art Night in Carefree Town Center from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday through Sunday then cover the first three tour days, with studios open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. If you picked up the directory at 30 Easy Street ahead of time, Studio 1's student exhibition can be part of the route rather than a required first stop.
For the first time since January, the League's gallery is part of that Thursday-night walk, now from its new address at 30 Easy Street, Suite A.
Linda has been part of this community for 29 years, and she enjoys this season in the foothills as much as anyone. If you are thinking about how the North Scottsdale and Carefree calendar fits into the way you use your Desert Mountain home, or what that home might be worth this season, Linda Salkow would be glad to talk. Request a Home Valuation and start with a conversation.
