Tucson's Fall Home Show Costs $2 If You Show Up Late
Southern AZ Fall Home Show, Oct. 16-18, 2026, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Tucson Convention Center: $8 adults, $2 the last two hours, free Lot B parking.
Three days, more than 200 exhibitors and a Sunday session on permitting a casita, held under a state law that changed what a Tucson backyard is allowed to hold.
Eight dollars gets an adult through the doors of the Tucson Convention Center from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, October 16 to 18. From 3 p.m. on each of those days, it costs two. That is the Southern AZ Fall Home Show, which its producer, Marketplace Events, bills as the region's largest: more than 200 professionals in home improvement, interior design, landscaping and outdoor living, under one roof at 260 S. Church Ave. Parking in Lot B is free. For anyone weighing a remodel, a turf-to-gravel yard or a backyard casita before the cooler months, it is a weekend when the contractors come to you.
- Oct. 16-18
- Three show days, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each
- $8 / $2
- Adult admission, and the price in the last two hours
- 200+
- Home improvement, design and landscaping exhibitors
- $0
- Parking in Lot B during show hours
Who Gets In Free, and When
Children 12 and under are free every day. Friday is free for anyone 65 or older, and Sunday is free for active military, veterans, police, firefighters, first responders and teachers with valid ID. Everyone else can cut the price in half before leaving the house: a short form on the show's website produces a coupon for 50% off one full-price adult admission, presented at the box office on any show day. Between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. there is no need to scan the QR code or register a vehicle in Lot B, and the show warns that the convention center will not refund anyone who pays anyway. Pets stay home; service animals are welcome.
The Casita Session Is the One to Plan Around
At noon on Sunday, AZ Construction Pros is scheduled on the Fresh Ideas Stage to walk through planning a casita: local requirements, permits, budget and layout. The same company runs The ADU Experience on the show floor, a display of accessory dwelling units built for guests, work or rental income. The session sits on top of a state rule change. Arizona's HB 2720 requires every city and town of more than 75,000 people to allow at least one attached and one detached accessory dwelling unit on any lot where a single-family home is allowed, capped at 75% of the main home's floor area or 1,000 square feet, whichever is smaller, and bars those cities from requiring extra parking for one.
Tucson's Mayor and Council adopted amendments to comply on October 22, 2024, and the city says they took effect November 21, 2024. They raised the number of ADUs allowed per lot, changed how maximum size is calculated, adjusted height limits, removed minimum parking and amended setbacks. Two more provisions of the state law matter to anyone pricing a casita as an investment. A covered city cannot stop the main house and the ADU from being leased separately as long-term rentals. But an ADU built after the law took effect and used as a vacation or short-term rental requires the owner to live on the property. The mandate covers incorporated cities and towns over the population line, not unincorporated Pima County, so the parcel's jurisdiction, not its mailing address, decides which code applies. Bring the parcel number and the questions get specific fast.
Yards, Brisket and a Xeriscape Hour
Matt Blashaw, a contractor and real estate expert known from HGTV's Yard Crashers, is on the Fresh Ideas Stage from 1 to 2:30 p.m. on Friday and again on Saturday with "Live, Love, Landscape," a session on designing an outdoor space. Pitmaster Sloan Rinaldi follows on the Culinary Showcase Stage at 2:30 p.m. both days with "All Things Brisket." For a desert yard, the more practical hour may be the Tucson Cactus and Succulent Society's "Water-wise landscaping and Sonoran Xeriscaping Tips," at 4 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday. Suzanne Droubie opens the stage at 11 a.m. Friday with "Know Your Home's Value."
The Rest of the Floor
At 11 a.m. Saturday, adoptable dogs from Pathways for Paws walk the Strut Your Mutt runway. PETopia gathers pet products and four rescue groups, the Artisans Aisle on the 1700 row sells handmade goods and gourmet foods, and Alla Herbs runs a table where visitors bundle their own eucalyptus. Food trucks park in the fire lanes outside. The Save Your Faves program rewards note-taking: scan the QR codes at three or more booths, leave an email address, and the show sends two free tickets to its next edition.
Quick reference (October 8, 2026): Southern AZ Fall Home Show, Friday-Sunday, October 16-18, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Tucson Convention Center, 260 S. Church Ave. Adults $8; $2 in the last two hours; 12 and under free; seniors 65+ free Friday; military, veterans, police, firefighters, first responders and teachers free Sunday with ID; 50% off one adult ticket with the website coupon. Free parking in Lot B. Casita planning session: Sunday, noon, Fresh Ideas Stage. Schedules change; confirm at southernazfallhomeshow.com before you go.
Go With a Measurement, Not a Wish List
A home show pays off for the visitor who arrives with a tape-measure number and a parcel in mind. Whether the project is a casita in a midtown backyard or a front yard trading turf for gravel and agave, a few hours on this floor can put several contractor conversations, a permit question and a water-wise plant list into one afternoon, and the late window keeps the cost of that research at $2. Sellers have a reason to go too: pricing the upgrades before deciding which ones to make ahead of a listing is easier with the people who quote them in one room. The convention center sits on the edge of downtown, a short walk from Barrio Viejo, Armory Park and El Presidio, which makes the visit an easy excuse to walk those streets afterward.
Sources
Southern AZ Fall Home Show — "Southern AZ Fall Home Show" — southernazfallhomeshow.com — accessed October 8, 2026 (for the October 16-18, 2026 dates at the Tucson Convention Center). Southern AZ Fall Home Show — "Show Info" — southernazfallhomeshow.com/attendee-info/show-info — accessed October 8, 2026 (for the 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. hours each day; $8 adult admission; free admission for children 12 and under; $2 tickets for the last two hours; free Friday admission for seniors 65+; free Sunday admission for active military, veterans, police, firefighters, first responders and teachers with valid ID; the no-pets, service-animals-welcome rule; and the 260 S. Church Ave. address). Southern AZ Fall Home Show — "Parking" — southernazfallhomeshow.com/attendee-info/parking — accessed October 8, 2026 (for free parking in Lot B courtesy of Marketplace Events, no need to scan or register between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., and no refunds for anyone who pays). Southern AZ Fall Home Show — "Savings Coupon" — southernazfallhomeshow.com/savings-coupon — accessed October 8, 2026 (for the 50% off one full-price adult admission, presented at the box office on any show day). Southern AZ Fall Home Show — "Stage Schedule" — southernazfallhomeshow.com/show-features/main-stage-schedule — accessed October 8, 2026 (for Suzanne Droubie's 11 a.m. Friday "Know Your Home's Value"; Matt Blashaw's 1 to 2:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday "Live, Love, Landscape"; Sloan Rinaldi's 2:30 p.m. "All Things Brisket"; the Tucson Cactus and Succulent Society's 4 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday xeriscaping session; the 11 a.m. Saturday Strut Your Mutt show; and AZ Construction Pros' noon Sunday casita session on local requirements, permits, budget and layout). Southern AZ Fall Home Show — "Show Features" — southernazfallhomeshow.com/show-features/all-features — accessed October 8, 2026 (for The ADU Experience by AZ Construction Pros; PETopia and its four rescue groups; Strut Your Mutt hosted by Pathways for Paws; the Artisans Aisle on the 1700 aisle; The Eucalyptus Escape hosted by Alla Herbs; food trucks in the fire lanes; and the Save Your Faves two-free-tickets offer for scanning three or more booth codes). Downtown Tucson Partnership — "Southern AZ Fall Home Show at the Tucson Convention Center" — downtowntucson.org/do/southern-az-fall-home-show-at-the-tucson-convention-center — accessed October 8, 2026 (for more than 200 professionals in home improvement, interior design, landscaping and outdoor living; the region's-largest description; Matt Blashaw as a contractor and real estate expert from HGTV's Yard Crashers; Sloan Rinaldi as a barbecue pitmaster and outdoor living expert; and free parking in Lot B). Arizona House of Representatives — "HB 2720: accessory dwelling units; requirements" (transmitted summary) — azleg.gov/legtext/56leg/2R/summary/H.HB2720_051524_TRANSMITTED.DOCX.htm — accessed October 8, 2026 (for the 75,000-population threshold; at least one attached and one detached ADU as a permitted use where a single-family dwelling is allowed; the 75%-or-1,000-square-foot size cap; the bar on requiring additional parking; the bar on prohibiting separately leased long-term rental use; the owner-residency requirement for newer ADUs used as vacation or short-term rentals; and the January 1, 2025 deadline). City of Tucson Planning & Development Services — "Accessory Dwelling Units Code Amendment" — tucsonaz.gov/Departments/Planning-Development-Services/Planning-Initiatives/Accessory-Dwelling-Units-Code-Amendment — accessed October 8, 2026 (for the October 22, 2024 adoption, the November 21, 2024 effective date, the link to HB 2720, and the changes to ADUs per lot, maximum size, height, parking and setbacks). All details are current as of October 8, 2026; hours, prices, speakers and stage times change without notice, so confirm with the organizer before making plans, and confirm ADU rules for a specific parcel with its jurisdiction before designing or budgeting a project. This post is for informational purposes only and is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to purchase real estate. Kyle Berglund and Tierra Antigua Realty fully support and comply with the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act.
Topics
- Events
- Home Show
- Tucson Convention Center
- Downtown Tucson
- Casitas
- ADU
- Xeriscaping
- Remodeling
- Tucson