In just a few short months, the blistering summer heat will begin to wane, high school football will be in full swing and pumpkin spice lattes will return to the menu.

And with them, a new community event will make its debut: Maricopa First Fridays Downtown.

The monthly event promises the experience of strolling through Maricopa’s Heritage District on a weekend night, with music, food trucks, art, games and vendors spread across a 1½-mile route.

The brainchild of Councilmember Amber Liermann, the event is expected to launch this fall and, as the name suggests, will take place on the first Friday of every month from 6 to 10 p.m. The route will stretch from Roots Eatery to Duke’s Roadhouse, over to Stagestop Marketplace and Heritage Park, and finally north to Honeycutt Coffee.

“This type of event will draw people with sights, sounds and smells,” Liermann told InMaricopa.

Those sights, sounds and smells will come from local restaurants, vendors, performers and organizations, with each zone organized around a theme and hosted by a business or nonprofit.

For example, one zone near Carniceria Sonora will feature a monthly car show, while another near Duke’s will center on yard games and late-night entertainment.

It’s an ambitious project, so Liermann is partnering with Duke’s Roadhouse, the City of Maricopa, the Greater Maricopa Business Alliance and Maricopa Friends of the Arts. Organizers are also seeking local sponsors, vendors and performers.

The idea grew out of two ongoing developments: construction of the pedestrian bridge parallel to the John Wayne Parkway overpass, and continued conversations about the Heritage District.

“I’ve been thinking about the pedestrian bridge and the transformation I think it’s going to bring to that space in town,” Liermann said. “I also kept seeing on social media people asking, ‘Where is our downtown, why don’t we have a downtown?’ We do have a downtown, and it is the historic Heritage area.”

Construction on the pedestrian bridge is expected to be completed by the end of August.

That downtown is the Heritage District, Liermann said, pointing to its role as the city’s historic core — where Maricopa first grew before master planners reshaped it into a bedroom community without a clearly defined downtown. And while plans to revitalize the Heritage District have been discussed for years, little has materialized.

Still, Liermann said she is hopeful the event will grow into something larger — not only expanding organically but also supporting locally owned businesses.

“People pack up their kids on a Friday night and leave town for dining and entertainment. That takes away the opportunity for community connection,” she said. “This is an opportunity to stop that and have people want to stay in Maricopa on a Friday night.”