The Puzzle Shop Next Door, Fall Dates That Sell Out
Heading north for a cooler Labor Day weekend? While the Valley is still hanging on to summer heat, Prescott usually delivers that first real hint of fall — more shade on Courthouse Plaza, more time to wander downtown, and a better reason to turn a long weekend into an actual outing.
This year, the timing is especially good. The Prescott Labor Day Arts & Crafts Show takes over the Yavapai County Courthouse Plaza on Saturday, September 5 from 9 AM to 5 PM and Sunday, September 6 from 9 AM to 4 PM. It’s a downtown favorite: handmade goods, local artisans, food vendors, and unhurried shopping in the heart of historic Prescott. Admission is free. Learn more on the Prescott Chamber of Commerce Arts & Crafts Shows page.
If you’re coming up from Scottsdale or the greater Phoenix area, make it a two-stop day. Start on the Plaza. Then walk next door to The Puzzle Shop in the Hotel St. Michael Alley Shops at 110 South Montezuma Street. We’d love to say hello.
The Puzzle Shop is the downtown home base for Puzzle Rides Prescott — a place to browse unique jigsaw puzzles, brain teasers, and gifts, and a place to ask about booking a guided puzzle adventure on golf carts. If you’ve never tried a Puzzle Ride, this is an easy weekend to peek in, talk with the team, and plan something for later in the season.
That’s the real connection: Labor Day is when Arizona starts looking for things to do together again. The weather is shifting. Families want a shared outing. Friends are planning fall trips. And downtown Prescott is at its best when the Plaza is busy and the air is cooler.
While you’re here, think one month ahead. Ghost Riders is our nighttime puzzle tour through historic streets — local ghost stories, landmarks, and clues your team solves while rolling from stop to stop with a Puzzlemaster. Each version is customized to its city. Ghost Riders is rated PG-13 in Prescott because of Old West subject matter. The Scottsdale version is tailored to Old Town and does not carry that same rating.
Ghost Riders is available year-round, but it sells out in October in both Prescott and Scottsdale. October is when visitors, locals, and groups all want the same thing: a slightly spooky, highly social outing that still feels like the city itself.
If Ghost Riders is on your list — for a date night, a friends’ weekend, a birthday, or a small team outing — Labor Day weekend is the moment to book it. The Plaza show is this Saturday and Sunday. Fall dates disappear after that.
You don’t have to do everything in one day. A strong plan looks like this:
- Spend Saturday or Sunday on Courthouse Plaza at the Arts & Crafts Show.
- Walk over to The Puzzle Shop and say hello.
- Book your October Ghost Riders date before the calendar fills.
Puzzle Rides are guided golf-cart adventures through real neighborhoods and landmarks. Teams solve clues, explore local history, and finish with a shared story they actually remember. That’s the same reason people come to Prescott for Labor Day: they want a weekend that feels like something.
Fall in Arizona is short and popular. The Plaza will be full this weekend. The Puzzle Shop will be open. And Ghost Riders will be the first October date many groups try to lock in. If you’re already heading north, use the weekend to do more than shop. Make the next outing official.
Labor Day Arts & Crafts Show
Saturday, September 5, 9 AM–5 PM
Sunday, September 6, 9 AM–4 PM
Yavapai County Courthouse Plaza, downtown Prescott
The Puzzle Shop
110 South Montezuma Street, Hotel St. Michael Alley Shops, open daily 10-5.
Book Ghost Riders now for October in Prescott or Scottsdale before those dates sell out.
