Gilbert Pulse for July 16, 2026: Gilbert Food Truck Thursday returns tonight, plus a week of school orientations

Good morning, Gilbert.

It's peak July, so plan the outdoor stuff for the evening and let the library AC handle the afternoons.

🌮 Gilbert Food Truck Thursday returns tonight. Dinner and dessert from a rotating lineup.
🤠 She's Country Ladies Night. Line dancing starts at 6 PM in the Heritage District.
🔬 Weekend library programs. Science Heroes, Saturday storytime, and a cookbook club at the Gilbert branches.
🏫 Back-to-school week ahead. Orientations at three campuses plus a GPS board meeting, all next week.
🏟️ Around the Valley. Cardinals at Chase Field, Les Misérables, and an arena night in Tempe.

Food Truck Thursday returns tonight

Gilbert Food Truck Thursday is back tonight, a walk-up dinner from a rotating lineup of trucks for the whole family.

Key facts:

What: a rotating lineup of food trucks, dinner and dessert.
Where: Gilbert. Check the listing for tonight's location.
When: Thursday evening.
Bring: a card or cash for the trucks, and camp chairs if you plan to stay.

It's an easy weeknight out when it's too hot to cook and the kids need somewhere to run. The lineup rotates week to week, so check who's parked before you head over.

See this week's lineup.

The weekend

Thursday

🤠 She's Country Ladies Night. Line dancing kicks off at 6 PM for a honky-tonk night out. Details.
🧩 Cube Club at Perry Library. A Rubik's cube meetup for tweens and teens, 5:30 PM. Details.

Friday

🦕 Science Heroes: Digging It. Hands-on science for all ages at Southeast Regional Library, 10:30 AM. Details.
🗣️ "Let's Talk" ESL group. Casual English conversation practice at Perry Library, 10:30 AM. Details.
🍳 Cookbook Club. Adults trade dishes and reads at Southeast Regional Library, 3 PM. Details.

Saturday

📚 Storytime on Saturday. Family storytime at Southeast Regional Library, 10:15 AM. Details.

Around Gilbert

🥐 A Gilbert bakery hits seven years. The shop is marking its seventh anniversary with a $2 cinnamon roll deal. Details.
🏠 The housing market. 351 homes sold in Gilbert last month. Details.

From the schools

All of next week's news is Gilbert Public Schools (GPS, the district covering most of the town), and it's orientation week.

🎒 Gilbert HS Bookstore Days. All grades pick up student IDs and pay course fees starting Tuesday, July 21. Details.
🎓 Gilbert Classical Academy 7th grade orientation. Incoming seventh graders and families, Tuesday, July 21, 8 to 9:30 AM in the GCA gym. Details.
🦅 Highland HS freshman orientation. Last names A through L report Thursday, July 23. Details.
🏛️ GPS Governing Board meeting. The board meets Tuesday, July 21 at 6 PM, 140 S Gilbert Rd. Details.

Around the Valley

A few picks worth leaving Gilbert for this weekend.

Arizona Juggernauts vs. Las Vegas Rockers. Saturday, 6:30 PM at Mullett Arena in Tempe. The closest arena night to Gilbert this weekend, right off Loop 202. Tickets.

Diamondbacks vs. Cardinals. Saturday, 1:10 PM at Chase Field in Phoenix. St. Louis only swings through the Valley a couple of times a year. Tickets.

Les Misérables. Saturday, 1:30 PM matinee at Phoenix Theatre in Phoenix. A downtown afternoon out of the heat. Tickets.