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From Mesa’s Gardens to Phoenix’s Most Talked-About Tables Agri-Tourism Offerings Give New Meaning to Fine & Fresh Ingredients

In Mesa, our bountiful harvest is one that we proudly share with our visitors. Here, fresh experiences and a treasured heritage of family farms and long-standing festivals make for lasting memories. Serving as a culinary gateway to the Valley of the Sun, the neighboring farms in and around Mesa are providing a continuous bounty of seasonal goods for visitors to enjoy – along with tailored experiences that will keep visitors coming back for more. From dinners down a 300-acre organic peach orchard to elaborate showcases of the Phoenix area’s culinary talent in the middle of a dairy farm, there is no shortage of countryside experiences when visiting our flourishing desert.

National Geographic Traveler has recognized Mesa, Arizona as offering one of the best “Food Drives” in the nation for all the citrus groves we boast within our city limits.

Arizona was founded on the citrus industry and you can still experience the joys of the harvest at Orange Patch, one of Mesa’s original citrus growers. Here, they have stood the test of time as other orchards across the Metropolitan Phoenix area have closed and been forgotten. Located north of the city, the Orange Patch is 110 acres of citrus and 30 acres of sweet corn and passersby can enjoy the fragrant orange blossoms each spring when temperatures begin to rise. Peak season for orange production is January and February. Guests visiting are welcome to watch the picking and production process with special tours offered for groups. Blossoms are blooming every March and April and you can see folks drive by with windows wide open to take in the pleasant fumes. Each spring, visitors to Cubs spring training games flock here out of tradition and desire to shop the produce stand and take their pick of fresh oranges, lemons, limes and grapefruit. The store also has fresh squeezed orange juice, fresh honey, ice cream and other gift- items for sale.

If you ever colored outside the lines, enjoyed playing with mud or spent hours looking through a kaleidoscope then the Mesa Arts Center is the place for you! As part of the center’s new Corporate Discovery program, groups can sign up for whirlwind discovery courses and take team building to new artistic heights. Serving as the largest arts and culture complex in the Southwest, groups can participate in 2 to 4 hour classes taught by the center’s top instructors on a variety of art forms. Classes can be on mosaics, jewelry making, ceramics, printmaking, and painting. Attendees love that they can discover an unknown talent, refine their craft and escape through the visual arts leaving with a new perspective or approach to business. The campus is truly an art piece in itself. Groups can also sign up for an in-depth 90 minute tour that covers the inner workings of 4 theaters, 14 artist studios, a 5-gallery visual arts museum and numerous public spaces throughout the property. “Planners love when they can pull off an experience that is completely tailored to their group,” said Pam Williams, convention sales manager of the Mesa CVB. “The discovery programs at the arts center are crafted to meet the needs of the attendees. Timing is flexible, the activity can be easy or complex, the mediums can vary from painting and drawing to glass blowing and print-making. Options are endless and the planner can take the reins and avoid the typical pick a package type of programming that is wrought with limitations.”