Where do you take the kids after work when Edinborough's amphitheater and pickleball courts are closed? That's the question quietly making the rounds among Edina parents and pickleball regulars this week, because the answer isn't obvious anymore. Edinborough's amphitheater and both pickleball courts, east and west, are listed as closed from August 31 through September 11, 2026. That's not a quiet week. It's a busy stretch for events at Centennial Lakes Park.
Centennial Lakes Park is at the center of this busy stretch, hosting the last stretch of its Thursday farmers market, the closing days of summer entertainment, and the buildup to the single biggest weekend on Edina's civic calendar over the next two weeks. With one of the city's two large indoor gathering venues offline, almost everything that would normally be split between two addresses lands on one.
A September overlap of events
Edinborough Park's amphitheater usually sits idle in early September anyway. Its entertainment series doesn't formally start until October and runs through mid-May, handing off from Centennial Lakes' outdoor summer performances, which run June through September. So the amphitheater being quiet right now isn't unusual on its own.
What's different this year is that the closure listed on the city's calendar covers more than just the amphitheater. Both pickleball courts at Edinborough, the ones adults use year-round regardless of season, are also marked closed for the same August 31 to September 11 window. That takes an indoor option off the table for a group of regulars who don't care what month it is, right as Centennial Lakes needs its plaza, walkways, and lawn to absorb the farmers market crowd, the last of the outdoor performers, and the vendors setting up for a festival that draws thousands.
For this stretch, Centennial Lakes Park brings the farmers market and festival events together, while Edinborough's amphitheater and courts are closed.
Here's what actually happens along that stretch:
| When | What's happening | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Thu, Sept 3 | Farmers Market, 3-7 p.m., live music by Jack Werner | Centennial Lakes Park |
| Mon, Aug 31 – Fri, Sept 11 | Amphitheater and both pickleball courts closed | Edinborough Park |
| Thu, Sept 10 | Farmers Market, 3-7 p.m., live music by Richard Keller (Sweet 70s Songs) | Centennial Lakes Park |
| Sat, Sept 12 | Fall Into the Arts Festival, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. | Centennial Lakes Park & 7601 France Ave |
| Sun, Sept 13 | Fall Into the Arts Festival, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. | Centennial Lakes Park & 7601 France Ave |
The market that keeps running through it
The Centennial Lakes Farmers Market doesn't pause for any of this. It runs Thursdays from 3 to 7 p.m. all the way through October 1, and the two Thursdays inside our window, September 3 and September 10, are business as usual on paper. In practice they're busier than a typical September Thursday, because Edinborough regulars who'd normally split their evenings between the two parks only have one option this fortnight.
The market itself is more layered than a produce stand list suggests. Edina Liquor pours beer and wine in Hughes Pavilion from 3 to 6:30 p.m., the Edina Art Center runs a pop-up Art Cart for kids, and the market donates surplus produce to VEAP, the local hunger-relief organization, rather than treating unsold inventory as waste. None of that changes because a building two miles away is closed for two weeks, but it does mean the crowd showing up on those Thursdays is pulling double duty: grocery run, kids' activity, happy hour, and now, for some, the only indoor-adjacent gathering option left standing.
The festival that closes it out
The two Thursdays are a warmup for what comes next. The 22nd Annual Edina Fall Into the Arts Festival runs September 12 and 13, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, and it doesn't just use Centennial Lakes Park. Its footprint extends to 7601 France Ave, a separate address adjacent to the park itself, which tells you something about scale before you even look at attendance. Roughly 245 artists are expected, showing everything from photography and pottery to wearable art and sculpture, and proceeds benefit the Edina First Responders Fund.
The festival's own site calls Centennial Lakes "one of the most scenic art fair locations in the Midwest," and whether or not you'd rank it that high yourself, the setting does real work for a two-day event of this size. Paved paths that wrap the ponds give organizers a natural flow for foot traffic that a flat parking lot or straight street grid doesn't offer. The event benefiting first responders has run here for over two decades.
If you've been to the market on a normal Thursday, picture that same footprint with roughly ten times the vendor count and two full days instead of four hours. That's the scale shift happening the weekend after the closure ends.
One route through the two weeks
If you're deciding how to spend an evening or a Saturday between now and September 13, here's a sequence that touches all three events without fighting the crowds twice.
- Thursday, September 3 or 10, early evening. Arrive at Centennial Lakes before 5 p.m. for the farmers market. Parking near Hughes Pavilion fills up as the live music starts, so earlier beats later.
- Any weekday morning through September 11. If pickleball is part of your routine, confirm your usual Edinborough courts before heading over. Both are closed through the 11th, so this is the fortnight to find an alternate court or shift the schedule.
- Saturday, September 12, mid-morning. Fall Into the Arts opens at 10 a.m. Going early avoids the midday peak and gives you a full loop of both the park and the 7601 France Ave section before the afternoon crowd builds.
- Sunday, September 13, afternoon. The festival runs through 5 p.m., an hour shorter than Saturday, so treat Sunday as the calmer day if crowds aren't your thing.
How events come together in early September
In early September, several public events converge along this stretch of France Avenue. Centennial Lakes Park hosts the farmers market, the tail end of its outdoor entertainment season, and the arts festival, while Edinborough's amphitheater and courts are closed.
That concentration is useful context when considering daily life near the corridor. For a design-led brokerage that pays attention to how neighborhoods function day to day, it is one detail to consider alongside the range of options in the area. During this stretch, Centennial Lakes is a focal point for several Edina events.
If you're weighing what it's actually like to live near a corridor like this, not just what the listing photos show, that's the kind of on-the-ground read Your Home By Design builds into every neighborhood conversation. Start Your Home By Design — schedule a free market and staging consultation, and let's talk about what daily life actually looks like in the Edina neighborhood you're considering.