Summer Guide 2026

Intro: An Alt-Patriotism Summer

Helping you celebrate America 250 with a bit of a twist.
By Scott Renshaw

Let’s face it: When it comes to the idea of “patriotism,” many of us have a relationship with it that could be described, charitably, as “it’s complicated.”

That terminology has been a challenge for decades, especially during eras of social upheaval, as one specific side of the American ideological spectrum attempted to equate progressive dissent with sedition. It has definitely been harder over the past year-plus of the current administration, however, for some people to feel pride at how this country behaves, both in the wider world and toward its own people. A big spectacle recognizing “America 250,” and the accompanying assumption that we’ll all be waving our flags, feels pretty ill-timed.

But one of the more encouraging visuals to emerge from recent protests has been the frequent appearance of American flags. It’s an unspoken message that the Stars and Stripes don’t just belong to one political party, and that there are ways to love your country that don’t fit inside one “God, guns and gold” box.

In that spirit, Salt Lake City Weekly’s 2026 Summer Guide encourages you to have an “Alt-Patriotism Summer,” one that takes a broader view of what it can mean to celebrate America’s landmark birthday. Embrace our diverse heritage by attending an ethnic or cultural festival; support the power of artistic freedom by attending an arts festival or a theatrical production; get out into the majesty of our wonderful landscapes. From baseball to concerts to farmers markets, Americana can be a many-splendored thing.

Nobody gets to tell you whether you’re a patriot or not. Join us on a summertime journey toward a definition of “patriotism” as sea-to-shining-sea expansive as America itself.

Scott Renshaw
Arts & Entertainment Editor

The 2025 installment of SLAC’s Summer Show - Courtesy photo

Summer Guide 2026: SLAC Summer Show

Realizing the patriotic power of satirical art.
By Scott Renshaw

The interesting thing about being an artistic rebel is that you might not even know right away that it’s what you are. For Cynthia Fleming—artistic director for Salt Lake Acting Company, as well as director and choreographer for the company’s satirical annual production, SLAC Summer Show—it was an awareness that was surprisingly long in coming.

“It was a few years ago, with everything going on in the world, I was thinking I wasn’t doing enough,” Fleming said. “Then I realized that with Salt Lake Acting Company, that’s what we’re doing. … I never articulated that that was what art was doing.”

That notion goes back, Fleming notes, to some of her favorite TV shows when she was growing up. “As a child, I was in love with variety shows, Laugh-In and The Smothers Brothers,” she recalled. “Growing up, I never realized how political they were. Now as an adult, I realize the struggles they had, and what they did get away with, and what they didn’t.”

An awareness of the power of art to shake things up came into focus for Fleming when she was an actor touring with a production of A Chorus Line, and its ahead-of-its time portrayals of a wide range of characters.

“I did realize then how powerful theater can be—like Paul’s monologue, talking about coming out as gay,” she said. “We were playing the Bible Belt, being aware of audience reactions. And we’d have sold-out audiences. For America at that time, in 1981, A Chorus Line was a really cathartic reaction; you could see yourself in at least one person.”

Still, it took some time for Fleming to fully appreciate the impact of what was then called Saturday’s Voyeur when she came to Salt Lake Acting Company, initially to choreograph that show. The show’s skewering of Utah institutions, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was also, like A Chorus Line, initially based on real-life stories, much of it from a culture Fleming—who grew up in Utah, but not as a member of the church—had to learn to understand.

“At first, this was just a job, figuring out the choreography,” she said. “Every time I would learn about all the Mormon references, I would have to learn just enough to figure it out and choreograph the piece. … Then, when I heard the history, I was surprised by the audience responses. I think art that comes from real-life stories is really powerful.”

A few years ago, Saturday’s Voyeur gave way to the SLAC Summer Show. But the format still continues the tradition of a musical revue with topical references to both local and national current events. The 2025 version, opening in June, bears the subtitle The Gaslight Zone, and takes as its inspiration several episodes of the classic TV series The Twilight Zone—which creator Rod Serling often used as a vehicle for delivering social commentary.

Directing a satirical show is a particular creative challenge, and Fleming talked about asking the actors to “lift what’s on the page.”

“Some of it is heavy lifting, and some of it is light lifting,” she said. “But they have to know what they’re lifting.”

And the essence of effective satirical art, according to Fleming, is pretty simple: It has to start with the truth.

“What makes it work is where you hit that beautiful space where it’s something we all know, but have never said out loud, but all recognize it,” she noted, “and then die laughing.”

Yet Fleming also recognizes that the harder things are in the real world, the harder it can be to navigate the space between acknowledging hard things and finding humor in them.

“This year was really challenging for the writers,” she said. “You have to go to the dark place before you can bring light to it. There also has to be that element of fun. If it’s not handled right—and I’ve experienced it on the SLAC stage—it can go into that horrible dark edge where you don’t want it to go.”

It’s still not easy for Fleming to think of satirical dissent as an act of patriotism, because as she put it, she is “100 percent confused by that word.”

“It has been so misconstrued, and used as a weapon,” Fleming remarked. “What really has saved me is the best thing you can do is take care of yourself and your community, what’s right in front of you. I hope all of us can find the love and care this country needs, and find it in our communities. I’ve had friends talking about, ‘Oh I’ve got to get out of this country,’ instead of finding what’s right and making your own circle the best it can be.”

And part of that is helping create the kind of provocative art that she definitely now recognizes can be a balm for people. “The first time Trump was President, I had to watch Stephen Colbert every night; his humor comforted me,” she said. “Trump realizes the power of art, and he’s trying control it. This is it: Art is about our soul, and he wants to control it.”

SLAC Summer Show: The Gaslight Zone
Salt Lake Acting Company
168 W. 500 North, June 24 – Aug. 16
saltlakeactingcompany.org

Summer Guide 2026: Utah Arts Festival and artistic dissent

Local artists discuss their work in the context of presence, participation and belonging.
By Zach Abend

This year, the Utah Arts Festival marks its 50th anniversary. For attendees, it offers more than a celebration of creativity. It’s a shared space for artists and audiences to come together to express themselves, to see and be seen, and to connect across divides.

“The magic of the festival is the ability of the community to see what brings us together,” said executive director Aimée Dunsmore. “It is quintessentially American to gather and express opinions through art.”

This kind of gathering reflects a broader idea of what patriotism can look like. It’s not just salutes and slogans, but presence, participation and belonging. In Utah, artists are exploring those ideas in ways that are often quieter, but no less powerful.

Photographer Cat Palmer (an occasional City Weekly freelance contributor) became famous for her viral, in-your-face political work, like when she had more than 100 protesters dressed in jumpsuits spell out “Go Home Trump” at the Utah Capitol, or when she photographed several hundred naked women for a piece called “Keep the Politicians Out of Our VAGINAS.”

For about 20 years, Palmer’s work was outspoken. She believes there is something “deeply patriotic about existing—that more people get to belong.”

When the pandemic started, Palmer was no longer able to work with large groups of people, so she pulled back and started doing professional headshots. “There has been a shift in the last 10 years,” Palmer said. “It’s quieter now, but there is queer joy and visibility.”

In that lower-profile, less political work, Palmer has found something she loves.

“I love working with someone who wants to be seen,” she remarked. “We are able to be seen by the photographer.”

Palmer said that photography captures an essential truth, one that cannot be duplicated by other types of media. “You can’t fake that look in the eye,” she said. “There is something powerful about visibility, especially with marginalized communities.”

There is a photo of gay icon Stormé DeLarverie taken by Diane Arbus in 1961 that Palmer finds deeply inspiring, because it preserves a moment in queer, and American, history. “Patriotism for me isn’t about blind loyalty,” she said. “It’s about loving a place enough to question it, challenge it, and push it to be better.”

In addition to visibility, patriotism means participating in your community. Kim Martinez, a Professor of Painting and Drawing at the University of Utah—as well as a self-described “political painter”—believes that we all need to examine the divisions in our country.

“We need to acknowledge the faults of our country as patriots,” she observed.

Although Martinez said she sees a hesitation among her students to express political opinions that might offend, she believes that no stories should be obscured.

“Whose history are we remembering?” she asked. “As a patriot, we should be willing to listen to all history.”

For her, art isn’t necessarily about agreement. And by starting a conversation, art can address some of the divisions in our country.

“Whether you agree with it or not, it starts a conversation,” Martinez said.

For some artists, patriotism is rooted in something deeper—belonging. Nathan Eaglespeaks Sutherland, a Diné artist based in Monument Valley, noted a piece of petroglyph art he recently worked on using Navajo sandstone. He said sharing that and other works is deeply symbolic. “When you look at the petroglyphs, those are our stories, our words,” he said. “When I give that to you, it’s me giving you a small piece of our land.”

For Sutherland, that means celebrating cultures, no matter which culture you belong to. “Without the various cultures and nations, we wouldn’t have the rainbow,” he observed.

Across Utah, these ideas aren’t confined to studios or museums. The SLC public mural movement that started in 2018 has strongly influenced how the public consumes art, according to Shawn Rossiter, founder and editor of e-magazine 15 Bytes. Community members have no choice but to see and absorb that art.

“Artists do a job no one might pay them for,” Rossiter said. “Ones who are political feel like they are stewards of this place.”

That visibility shapes how people experience a space. For multi-disciplinary artist John Bell, public art like the murals done in the tunnels at the Salt Lake City Airport changes the mood and helps one feel “like you’re in a community.” Bell laments how our personal opinions used to be shaped by each other, but now are “being shaped by an algorithm, alone in a room with a screen.” Human dialogue, in and of itself, is “imperative” for Bell.

The Utah Arts Festival was launched half a century ago to “bring art to the streets of Salt Lake City,” according to Dunsmore, and to make it accessible and affordable. Like any dialogue, it means different things to different people. And the artists who bring it to life make that dialogue vital.

Utah Arts Festival
Library Square/City and County Building
250 E. 400 South, June 18 – 21
uaf.org

Living Traditions Festival - Courtesy photo

Summer Guide 2026: Ethnic and Cultural Festivals

Living Traditions, World Folkfest, Utah African Fest, Greek Festival and more
By Wes Long

The dilemma is a familiar one: The warm months approach, your peers prepare grand excursions, but you’re either at a loss for ideas, strapped for funds, or on the losing side of routine’s inertia. (And if you’re like this writer, usually a combination of all three.) Add in the urge to do something special this year for the country’s big 250th, and the dilemma becomes a vexing one indeed.

Fret not, dear reader, for there is a solution to this scenario—one that hardly requires a person to even leave the Wasatch Front. What could be more fitting to the season—and really, more American—than availing oneself of the many delightful ethnic and cultural events taking place in one’s own backyard?

“The business of patriotism is to open doors; the abuse of patriotism shuts them,” wrote Utah’s own Hugh Nibley in 1977. “Patriotism is devotion to the patria, the fatherland, one’s own people, the land of one’s birth. Thus the genius of patriotism is the sense of identification with others. And the greater the patriot, the wider is the circle of his familial affection.”

We here in Utah are fortunate to have so many different community groups and cultural backgrounds living together. Seeing as “summer’s lease hath all too short a date”—to quote William Shakespeare—a better and more patriotic way of filling these short months than opening doors and expanding one’s circle cannot be imagined.

May

To begin with, Utahns have the annual Living Traditions Festival (saltlakearts.org) to look forward to from May 15 to 17. Everything from dance and drums to powwows and puppets are part of the expansive programming taking place at the Civic Center (250 E. 400 South), with food, art and workshops aplenty to round out the fun. Those able to make their way down south to Ephraim on May 22 and 23 will also have the Scandinavian Heritage Festival (scandifest.org) to enjoy on Snow College’s campus and its surrounding environs.

June

Between June 5 and 6, the Brazilian Food Festival’s Festa Junina will take place at Braza Grill in Murray (5927 S. State), with dances, games and music to complement all the comida. June 6 will be a full day elsewhere, too: The Utah Asian Festival (utahasianfestival.org) runs from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the Utah State Fairpark (155 N. 1000 West), while the Festival of Colors (festivalofcolorsusa.com) gets underway at the Krishna Temple (965 E. 3370 South) from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Back at the State Fairpark, the Utah Scottish Festival and Highland Games (utahscots.org) run June 12 -14. Across those very same days will be the Latino Arts Festival (pcscarts.org) at Canyons Village in Park City, offering amazing art, food and music options.

The following weekend, on June 19, will be the sixth annual Salt Lake Juneteenth Celebration (saltlakejuneteenth.org) over at the Gateway, as well as the Filipino Festival (IG: @filfestut) on June 20 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Jordan Park (1060 S. 900 West).

July

From July 13 through the 18th, the Samoan Heritage Festival (alofafaasamoa.com) will be at Taylorsville’s Southridge Park (5051 S. 4015 West). Several events will be taking place throughout this month for the Days of ’47 celebration (daysof47.com), including music, a marathon and the annual parade.

Over at Liberty Park on July 24, the Uniting Communities Powwow, presented by the Utah Native American Chamber of Commerce (utncoc.com), will celebrate from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Finishing off the month from June 30 into Aug. 1 will be the World Folkfest (worldfolkfest.org) at the Spring Acres Arts Park in Springville. (Doors open nightly at 5:30 p.m., and tickets are required.)

August

Back at Liberty Park, two excellent events will be held during the month of August. The first is the Utah African Festival (theuau.org) on Aug. 8 from noon to 8 p.m. It will be full of music, dancing, fashion and family fun. The other event will be the seventh annual Indian Food Fair (indianfoodfairs.com), open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m on Aug. 15. Here, visitors will be able to enjoy the music, the crafts and, of course, the delicious cuisine of Utah’s many talented artists and entrepreneurs.

September

With the summer warmth winding down, you will still have excellent options to celebrate the diverse people who lend the Beehive State its sweetest qualities.

Midway’s annual Swiss Days celebration (midwayswissdays.org) takes place over Sept. 4 and 5, while the Afro Utah Festival (afroutah.org) occurs on the 5th at the Salt Lake City Public Library.

The following weekend—Sept. 11 - 13—will be Salt Lake’s ever-delightful Greek Festival (saltlakecitygreekfestival.com), which now enters its 50th year. Closing out this remarkable run of events at the Gateway is the Italian American Civic League’s Festa Italiana (festaitalianaslc.com) on Sept. 19 and 20.

Note: Don’t sleep on the Polynesian Festival this summer, the dates of which had yet to be announced at the time of this writing.

Enjoying a bite and a ballgame at the Bees’ new home in Daybreak’s Ballpark at America First Square - Connor Sanders

Summer Guide 2026: Out to the Ballgame

Reconnecting to a love of the game with the Salt Lake Bees…or Utah Dirty Sodas
By Connor Sanders

After a particularly poignant moment in the movie Moneyball, Brad Pitt’s character poses the question, “How can you not be romantic about baseball?” The film is supposed to be an underdog story about how the small-market Oakland Athletics used spreadsheets to build a team that could stand toe-to-toe with the ultra-rich New York Yankees. Ain’t that sweet?

But in the era of same-game parlays, AI girlfriends and the Epstein files, that all feels like BS to me. In truth, it bums me out. I was a baseball crackhead when I was a kid. I watched the Atlanta Braves on TBS every day; I worshipped Andruw Jones. But now? Baseball feels like just another distraction to keep us from thinking about what’s eating away at our society.

It’s hard not to let all of this [waves arms wildly] consume you. But in my experience, your best shot is to go outside, put your phone down and take in Utah’s natural beauty. So to try and keep the demons quiet for just a few hours, I decided to take myself out to a ballgame (with my beautiful wife) and just be for a while—in the simple present tense of the word.

At first, I felt like a scorned lover, grousing about every little thing I saw that wasn’t “authentically baseball.” I thought I was too enlightened for the charms of the ballpark. But after a while, I came crawling right back.

I had to double-check our tickets when we deboarded from Trax, because it turned out that we didn’t have tickets to a Salt Lake Bees game after all. Apparently, we were there to watch the “Utah Dirty Sodas.” Yes, during Wednesday night home games, the Bees take on an alternate branding with the goal of—let’s be honest—selling you soda and soda-based merchandise.

As we walked into the stadium, I overheard a boy ask his father: “Dad, what is a dirty soda?” To me, that’s a perfect slice of Americana. Just a father and son trying to solve the mysteries of life at a baseball game.

Swiggy meets with ballpark fans - Connor Sanders

It’s hard not to roll one’s eyes at the sheer Utah of it all. A massive inflatable Swig cup sits proudly on the outfield promenade. Once we got to our seats, a toddler-aged girl sitting next to us kept anxiously pointing at the cup in the outfield, concerned that it would tear free from its tethers to fly and attack us. A giant pink soda cup mascot called Swiggy lollygags around the concourse, taking pictures with the kids. Every space around the stadium that could possibly house an advertisement on it, does—including the foul poles.

Let’s just say I was far from swept up by the moment when we first arrived. In fact, I was kind of pissed off. Like, I rode the train all the way out here. I’m freezing my butt off in the wind. And for what? To kneel at the altar of Utah capitalism’s finest?

Then, the national anthem started. Normally, this is another eye-roll for me. Do we really need to honor this version of America before the Dirty Sodas take the field? Puhhh-lease.

But when I looked at the jumbotron, a girl who couldn’t have been older than 10 stood tall at home plate with the mic in hand. She absolutely rocked the anthem, and the crowd loved it. It dawned on me that, while I was whining about brand identities, this was the biggest moment of that girl’s life. It sure seemed like she was having a good time, so why couldn’t I?

My inner curmudgeon was losing the battle fast. I couldn’t help but smile to myself after the loud pop of a fastball against the catcher’s mitt echoed through the stands. When an opposing player launched a home run into the upper concourse in right field, I let out a hearty, “WHOOO!”

An inning or two later, I sprang out of my seat in an attempt to catch a foul ball that was at least four sections away from me. I was spiraling. Heck, we even ordered two dirty sodas and a foot-long hot dog.

On our way back to our seats, my wife spotted a familiar face in the crowd. As we got closer, I recognized one of my best friends from high school. When I asked him where he was sitting, he pointed to seats that were literally in the same row, four seats away from ours. Do you call that a coincidence? Or divine intervention from the baseball gods?

Seeing this friend, and taking in the rest of the game with him, truly got me out of my head. All of the absurdity of the game, which I turned my nose up at internally, was allowed to manifest between us and be viewed as the comedy that it was.

All of this to say that the nostalgic, intimate feeling of attending a baseball game isn’t quite the same as it once was. Sure, you’re taking in the nation’s pastime, but it’s evolved. A pitch clock keeps the game flowing quickly. Batters and pitchers appeal to robots to challenge balls and strikes. Frickin’ Swiggy is here.

But once the pitcher locks eyes with the batter, it all goes quiet. In that moment, you—and everyone you’re there with—stop thinking about Gaza, ICE and Peter Thiel, and you focus completely on what will happen next. We enjoyed seven innings of baseball, a refill and great conversation with an old friend. When we walked back to the Trax station, I was sad to let it all go and get back to typing at my computer for work the next day.

Now, this is far from advocating using sports as a distraction from the tragedies of real life, especially if you’re using gambling to disengage even further. Instead, I think you should bring with you all that icky, nasty stuff in your mind that makes you want to doomscroll—but bring some friends, too. The ballpark might be a good place to let go of whatever it is that’s been eating at you, and to replace it with tangible pride in the beautiful community that we have built here.

So, if you get stuck in your head, on IG or (God forbid) talking to your AI chatbot, don’t let it trap you. Get outside of yourself. Admire the greatness of other people, enjoy our state’s natural and artificial beauty with those you love, and set aside a few hours at the ballpark to just be, simply, present. As you watch another stunning sunset and think about that girl putting her whole soul into the national anthem, maybe you’ll find yourself asking the same question I did: “How can you not be romantic about Utah?”

Mike Christensen (left) and members of SLURM board the California Zephyr in Provo. - Kyle Holland

Summer Guide 2026: Doing the “Provo Shuffle”

Rediscover America’s railway legacy with a ride on the California Zephyr.
By Benjamin Wood

America, and particularly the American West, was built with trains. Most of those old routes don’t carry passengers anymore, but the legendary California Zephyr—the longest route that Amtrak runs every day—stops in both Salt Lake City and Provo on its transcontinental path between San Francisco and Chicago.

This has given rise to something akin to a rite of passage among local rail fans, affectionately known as the “Provo Shuffle.” And to best explain this insider hack for riding the rails, City Weekly turned to Mike Christensen, executive director of the Utah Rail Passengers Association and the state’s unofficial (and sorta official) train mayor.

The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

City Weekly: What is the Provo Shuffle?
Mike Christensen: The Provo Shuffle actually is something that I had done long before I ever heard it named the Provo Shuffle. You ride FrontRunner down to Provo, hang out for a little bit in Provo, and you ride back on Amtrak’s California Zephyr, which gives you a nonstop express ride from Provo back to Salt Lake Central.

CW: Why switch to the Zephyr?
MC: It is pretty much purely out of nerd-cessity. Right now, the California Zephyr is scheduled to get to Provo just after 10 p.m. and then is scheduled to get to Salt Lake Central at 11:20. That first time I did it, I got a really weird look from the Amtrak conductor. Now, when we’ve done it with SLURM [Salt Lake Urbanist Meetups] and we’ve had a group, we don’t get any weird looks.

A big reason why we do it is to give people who have never ridden Amtrak—especially Amtrak long-distance trains—the opportunity to experience it and go on board. We get coach seats, but we never actually sit in the coach seats because, by the time it’s coming through at 10 p.m. or so, a lot of the passengers are starting to want to go to sleep and, of course, we’re a talkative bunch. So we will go to the lounge car. Lately, we have sat at the tables and played card games while we ride.

We usually do it on a Saturday evening, because there are some later FrontRunner runs. If something happens to significantly delay the Zephyr, then you can always just take FrontRunner back.

CW: Does the California Zephyr ever run

significantly delayed?
MC: Yes. I have been on it when it has been eight hours delayed. There’s one trip that I remember fondly; I actually knew that it was going to be significantly delayed, because they had some really bad floods along the Missouri River near Omaha. That caused one of the bridges to be uncrossable, so Amtrak was having to detour.

There can be massively delayed trains. I’ve never been on one that’s been 24 hours late, but they have been 24 hours delayed where, basically, the next train caught up to them.

When we’re going to do the Provo Shuffle, we will start watching the progress of the train the day before, when it leaves Chicago. We will be tracking it through a day-and-a-half beforehand, and especially tracking it as it makes its way across Colorado and into Utah. Lately, it’s been fairly on time. In fact, I have ridden it a couple times in the last two years—just coming from Helper back to Salt Lake City—and one of those times it was actually slightly early.

CW: You mentioned a lounge car. How else is the Zephyr different from FrontRunner?
MC: Fortunately, FrontRunner does have tables, it does have toilets. I’ve been grateful for the toilets on many occasions, especially now that I’m a middle-aged man.

By that time of night [between Provo and SLC] the dining car is closed. But you can still peek in there and look. It would be one of those amenities [on longer trips].

There was one time when it was a little bit late and we were all getting a little bit sleepy. We sat down in the seats that face out toward the windows in the observation car, and we all just stared out into the darkness of the train.

It is an express trip from Provo to Salt Lake City. There are no intermediate stops, so you just blow past all the FrontRunner stations. (Editor’s note: Amtrak’s Provo station is near, but not directly at, the FrontRunner stop). You’re making a pretty good speed until you reach South Salt Lake and the Roper [rail] yard, then it slows down because Union Pacific has all the traffic slow down for the yard. You get plenty of time to leisurely gather your things together before you arrive at Salt Lake Central.

CW: What’s a good next step after someone conquers the Shuffle?
MC: The next step would be [riding the Zephyr] between here and Denver. The eastbound train leaves at around 3:30 in the morning. If that eastbound schedule is not appetizing to you, I would recommend flying to Denver and staying at least one night. Then I think the Zephyr leaves from Denver at about 8:30 a.m. and gets here to Salt Lake City about 11:30 p.m.

Scenery is always subjective, but the consensus among most people is that the section between Denver and Salt Lake City—especially between Denver and Grand Junction—is probably the most scenic-packed section on all of Amtrak’s network.

One time, I was going west from Denver and was having lunch in the dining car. There was this young kid from Chicago who had just started working for Amtrak, and this was his first time on the Zephyr. He’s there with trays full of food, and he stopped midway walking down the aisle and just stared out the window. We were almost worried he was going to drop these trays. And he says, “wow, I had no idea that stuff like this even existed.”

Utah’s Dead Horse Point State Park - Courtesy photo

Summer Guide 2026: Visiting Utah’s national and state parks

Rediscovering a sense of wonder in America’s remote places.
By Dainon Moody

Our country will be as old as it’s ever been this July. It begs both questions and questioning. For one, what do you get for a 250-year-old? Two, isn’t this moment in our history difficult? Does it really feel worthy of celebration?

Still, there are places that manage to feel patriotic, albeit without the fireworks and flags. Locales with earned places in history, enough years gone by to allow them a certain reverence, a quiet holiness, a long sigh. And you can gain that sense of perspective and timelessness while visiting our national parks. It’s akin to heading to the mountains and discovering you can still speak the language that only exists there, the kind that surfaces without using any words.

The parks are a solid choice to feel and observe, but first you have to find a way in. Ease is hardly a part of the experience.

A bizarre idea to consider: The beloved national parks we’ve grown up with, visited and formed core memories around could fade away entirely. Actually, maybe they won’t vanish—that seems too dire a prediction—but the notion they’ll become something vastly different than what many of us have grown accustomed to is there, and has been for a while.

The parks remain a staple of road-trippers worldwide, and over 323 million people visited them across the country in 2025 alone, according to the National Parks Conservation Association. But it says nothing of how they’re being maintained, and that they risk becoming shadows of what they once were.

Funding has been cut, threatening continued park preservation. Staffing has dropped off, too. The 2027 federal budget proposal released in April showed a $736 million reduction to park budgets, which would further strain operations, likely eliminating thousands of jobs in the process.

A couple weekends ago, I made a second unsuccessful attempt in as many years to visit a national park, mostly to see if it had become any easier. The last time I failed to gain entry was at Capitol Reef National Park. This time around, my friend Chris and I opted to pay our respects to Canyonlands. After all, we were just around the corner.

Unfortunately, a lot of others had the same idea. Once we learned we’d have to wait a half hour to gain entry, we opted to take a quick U-turn. We’d try our luck at Dead Horse Point State Park instead.

State parks are under threat for many of the same reasons our national parks are. Funds are dwindling and drying up, but the demand to experience them has not.

On a Sunday afternoon with a looming thunderstorm, however, it was hardly overcrowded. The entire experience could even be described as pleasant. From the three-miles-there-and-back hike along a towering ridge to stare at postcard-quality sights to helping wide-eyed tourists capture photo keepsakes, I’d do it again. Same park, even.

Sometimes, it’s not just about the natural sights, either. I saw a man wrapped in a tallit stand overlooking the 2,000-foot drop to the Colorado River while his wife took the opportunity to breastfeed their child on a nearby bench—and it, too, was a quick blip to hold onto, a scene in need of an unwritten movie.

As we strolled back to our truck, the thunderstorm arrived first. With it came the winds trying to grab hats. And the heavy fog. The drop in temperature. And running. And laughter. All of it was a thrill.

Not long ago, I asked my former bandmate Ed to share his thoughts on national parks, and he helped me gain a positive perspective. I knew he’d have one.

More than a couple of decades ago, we visited a lot of awe-worthy spots together, even camping a couple hundred feet from the Havasupai waterfalls in Arizona. He’d connect with his surroundings as we arrived by licking any semi-clean sun-warmed red rock he could find, and he kept an old beat-up copy of Desert Solitaire on our camping treks to read aloud from or to pass the downtime.

Yes, our parks are threatened, he agreed. Maybe they needed to build more to meet the demand, he said: “At the same time, part of me likes the masses being drawn to certain places, leaving others in a state of solitude. That’s my main reason for going.”

Ed spoke the truth. There’s still a lot of beauty in this state. Often, it’s just a few miles from the bigger, better-known parks charging hefty admission fees. The harder they are to gain access to, the more chances you have of completely bottoming out, the more quiet you’re able to enjoy.

I took a trek to Moab in April that allowed a dozen of us to enjoy a spot within the red rock countryside so remote, we had just one surprise visitor on an ATV in three days. It took a while to get to sleep my first night there, and I think I know exactly why: In my tent, the silence was deafening. Phones didn’t work. No late-night coyote howls, even.

That took getting used to. Staring up at stars and getting lost in thoughts, though, cares faded fast away. I felt lucky.

“Punk Rock Farmer” Aldine Grossi - Courtesy photo

Summer Guide 2026: Urban Farms and Farmers’ Markets

Learning the punk-rock perspective on keeping food hyper-local, plus where to find a farmers market.
By Aimee L. Cook

As America celebrates its 250th birthday this summer, meet a unique kind of patriot: the urban farmer. Leaders like Aldine Grossi, aka “Al Strychnine”—once a recurring face in Salt Lake’s punk-rock scene—are showing that real independence starts in our own neighborhoods, with hands in the dirt and seeds in the ground.

Grossi’s story is something of a local legend. In the ’80s and ’90s, he played in several punk bands, including Maimed for Life and Poisoned Idea. Today, however, people in Salt Lake City know him as the Punk Rock Farmer, a name given to him by his longtime friend and KRCL radio co-host Lara Jones. Together, they started Punk Rock Farmer Fridays, where they share stories and tips about growing food at home and encourage the do-it-yourself spirit in every garden row.

“I have always been a homesteader and grown stuff,” Grossi said. “And it is very punk rock to grow organic food within the city limits and feed people the best food you can.”

That punk attitude—which is anti-corporate, anti-consumerist and fiercely DIY—lives on in every tomato plant and row of escarole that Grossi grows. The movement for local food, food sovereignty and community gardening is just as rebellious and independent as punk ever was.

This season, you’ll find Grossi at The Farm in Millcreek, where he works an acre-and-a-third with a partner. He’s also at the Millcreek Farmers Market (when abundance provides) and the Downtown Salt Lake Farmers Market, where urban farmers trade stories, seeds and plenty of neighborhood pride.

The Punk Rock Farmer also supplies fresh produce to local restaurants like Roux, Facil Taqueria and Central 9th Market.

Farmers markets cut out bloated corporate supply chains and place power firmly back into neighborhood hands. In 2026, as the nation reflects on a quarter-millennium of liberty, that fierce spirit of self-reliance is alive and kicking in Utah.

During World War II, “victory gardens” symbolized self-sufficiency and solidarity, with neighbors banding together to grow their own food. Much like the victory gardens of the past, these modern urban farms embody resilience and communal effort.

Grossi noted that urban farming is not just a weekend hobby. It is a gritty, hands-in-the-ground commitment to feeding the community and defying the concrete sprawl of city life.

“The history behind the food means a lot to me; I am Italian,” Grossi said. “The food that people hold tight to, their traditions and culture, those are the things I really like to grow.”

This summer, the frontlines of this agricultural rebellion are the local farmers markets. These weekly gatherings are far more than just places to grab a quick bundle of kale. They are the community squares of the modern era. Every dollar spent at these stalls is a direct investment in local resilience.

As Grossi put it: “Eat loud, eat local. Be part of the agricultural revolution.”

Grab a reusable bag, head out and join the local food revolution. Here’s your guide to the markets that are keeping us wild, well-fed and independent this summer.

Wheeler Historic Farm

All the charm of a working farm with the added bonus of the market on Sundays. Find crafts, fruit, honey, baked goods and more.

Wheeler Farm
6351 S. 900 E.
May 17 - Oct. 11
Sundays, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Downtown Farmers Market

Salt Lake’s longest-running summer tradition takes place on Saturdays and supports local farmers and producers by offering a large variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, grass-fed beef, locally-made baked goods and other culinary goods.

Pioneer Park
June 6 – Oct. 24
Saturdays, 8 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Park Silly Sunday Market

The Park Silly market takes place on select Sundays on Park City’s Historic Main Street. Lining the street, you will find artisans, local foods, jewelers and local products. Note: this is a street festival, not a farmers market.

Historic Main Street
June 7 – Sept. 27
Sundays, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Daybreak Farmers Market

The Daybreak Farmers Market is a huge community hit with that neighborhood and beyond. Here you will find small producers, organic produce, wild seafood and many other vendors creating leather goods, pottery and more.

11274 Kestrel Rise Road
June - October
Saturdays, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Millcreek Farmers Market - Courtesy photo

Millcreek Farmers Market

Every Friday evening this summer and fall, Millcreek Common hosts the Millcreek Farmers Market. Browse more than 40 local vendors who grow, raise and craft their goods, with an abundance of fresh produce and artisanal foods. Stay for dinner and catch live music through the SoundBites lineup. On the third Friday of each month from 6 to 8 p.m., free hands-on workshops, from quick pickling to botanical printing on paper, give you something new to learn.

Millcreek Common
1354 E. Chambers Ave.
July 10 – Oct. 30
Fridays, 5 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Murray Farmers Market

The oldest farmers market in Utah, run by the Utah Farm Bureau, this weekend market is all about the food. Whether grown by farmers or crafted by a culinarian, this is the place to get the goods.

Murray Park
296 E. Murray Park Ave
July 31 – Oct. 31

Hayley Williams will be among the lineup for May’s Kilby Block Party - Zachary Gray

Summer Guide 2026: Music Preview

Kilby Block Party, Twilight Concerts, arena shows and more.
By Laney Hansen

The season is changing from rain and indoor reading sessions to days spent outside at the park and long walks at sunset. But also, nights full of music, booze and lots of laughter. It’s time to kick back on the lawn, throw on your flip-flops and a sun hat and check out the summer concerts and festivals happening right here, in Salt Lake City’s backyard. From Hayley Williams to Metric to Ringo Starr, there is something for everyone.

MUSIC FESTIVALS

Utah’s festival scene is vibrant, spanning genres from classic rock to blues to dream pop. And from national recognition, local favorites and anniversaries, each festival has its own moment to shine.

Kilby Block Party, May 15 - 17
Kilby Block Party is Utah’s biggest and fastest-growing indie music festival, going into its seventh year of production. Hosted at the Utah State Fairpark, the festival is ready to take on the crowds of early Tumblr days with headlining acts from Lorde and The xx taking the main stage. Other acts will include Hayley Williams, Magdalena Bay, Father John Misty, American Football and Feeble Little Horse, as well as local sets performed by Dad Bod, Wilbere, Gonk and Pixie and the Partygrass Boys.

The three-day weekend will also be full of fun and frenzy with a nearly sold out run. So bring on the glitter, digital cameras and near-empty sunscreen tubes. You can find out more about the festival and get your tickets at kilbyblockparty.com.

Utah Blues Festival, June 12 - 13
What could better define the summer vibe than a little country blues and endless banjo-picking? Back for another year at the Gallivan Center, the Utah Blues Festival is proud to be in Salt Lake City with acts like Victor Wainwright & the Train and Danielle Nicole taking the stage. A two-day festival, this is bound to get your heartbeat pumping, feet tapping and smiles cheesing. The festival is a celebration of blues, keeping it alive and well in the heart of Salt Lake City. And in its 10th year, it’s proving to be doing just that. You can find tickets online at their website at utahbluesfest.org

Fork Fest, June 12 - 13
Celebrating local tunes and Utah’s vast array of small, artistic businesses, Fork Fest is American Fork’s indie music festival. Since its 2019 revival, the festival has seen acts from local musicians like Beeson, Drusky, Cardinal Bloom, Ritt Momney, as well as national treasures like The Aquabats and The Aces. This year, Neon Trees will be headlining with supporting acts throughout the weekend from Joshua James, The Mighty Sequoyah, The Mellons, Cove Grove, Book on Tape Worm and so many others. Celebrate the summer like a neighbor and enjoy some live and local music at Art Dye Park. Find your tickets online now at their website at forkfest.org.

Das Energi Festival, Aug. 7 - 9
If you’re looking for a change of pace and to share the final days of summer with like-minded concertgoers, Das Energi Festival might be the thing for you. Hosted at The Great Saltair, this music festival is an incredible lineup of more than 100 artists in the EDM spectrum, including Zedd, Broken Hill, Westend, Me n ü and so many others. From small beginnings in 2012 as a place for EDM fans to congregate in Salt Lake, Das Energi is expanding to a three-day weekend for the first time ever. So be the first to experience it and find your tickets now through their site at dasenergifestival.com. More acts are to be announced.

Park City Song Summit, Aug. 27 - 29
Park City Song Summit has an all-new motive for sharing music with festival goers, and your mental and physical well-being is at the forefront of all. At this neatly-curated festival, audiences can dive into the mountainside and join for yoga and other guided exercises, sharing a new listening experience with like-minded people. With an initiative for mental wellness and recovery, this music festival is one of a kind. Past years have featured sets performed by Goose, My Morning Jacket, Nathaniel Rateliff and others, with more on the way. This year’s lineup was still to be announced at press time, but you can find more festival info at parkcitysongsummit.com.

SEASONAL CONCERT SERIES

Each summer gets a new vibe from touring bands passing through and internet trends taking over the soundwaves. And with longtime concert series from Red Butte Garden to new additions like the Music Elevated State Tour, you might just find your new favorite band, song or friend.

Red Butte Garden Concert Series
As the sun sets, glazing the nearby foothills with its rays, this summer will see a return of the Red Butte Garden Concert Series. Begun in 1987, the festival turns to a wide landscape of musicianship from acts such as Ziggy Marley, John Craigie, Maren Morri, Alabama Shakes, Interpol, Ani DiFranco, Jesse Wells, Toad the Wet Sprocket, The National Parks and several others. Arguably their most genre-spanning lineup in a while, this year’s slate of performers is a must for all patrons. Red Butte Garden Concert Series kicks off on May 31 and will run through September. Tickets are going fast, so be sure to get yours through their website at redbuttegarden.org/concerts.

Ogden Twilight Series
For over a decade, Ogden Twilight has redefined how Utahns listen to music with artists spanning the folk, EDM and indie spectrums, diversely curated for audiences in Downtown Ogden to enjoy. Going into its 11th year, Ogden Twilight is back for another round with headlining acts Gregory Alan Isakov, Wet Leg, Sofi Tukker and several others. Ogden’s summer concert series kicks off on June 9 and will continue into early October. Several shows are sold out, but you can still find tickets online at their website at ogdentwilight.com/lineup.

Catch Suki Waterhouse during Salt Lake’s Twilight Series - Courtesy photo

Salt Lake Twilight Series
Beginning in the middle of July, the Salt Lake Twilight Series brings audiences an eclectic mix of music, with headline sets performed by Old Crow Medicine Show, Suki Waterhouse, MUNA and others. Hosted at two venues in downtown Salt Lake City—Library Square and the Gallivan Center—the Salt Lake Twilight Series has long been a must-see event for music fans up and down the Wasatch Front. Tickets are almost sold out, but you can find yours now at their website: 24tix.com/p/twilight-concert-series.

Utah Symphony & Opera

Music Elevated State Tour
For the first time ever, and in celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary, the Utah Symphony and Opera will be taking their season on tour around the state. Beginning June 30, they’ll travel to cities starting in Wellsville and ending in Bryce Canyon, performing outdoor concerts for all patrons in the surrounding area. Acts will include scores by John Williams, Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein and more. Find a city near you on their website at usuo.org/music-elevated-state-tour. Tickets are free and an RSVP is strongly encouraged.

OTHER SUMMER CONCERTS

Major concert venues like the Eccles Theatre, Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre and Maverik Center open up their stages for touring musicians to play for large audiences and fan bases. Happening all summer and continuing year-round, fans of all types can enjoy their favorite artist on home turf.

Live at the Eccles
Every year, the Eccles Theatre on Main Street hosts a downtown summer concert series with bands traveling to Salt Lake from around the world. And this year, there are some big names and comebacks performing in the Beehive State. Utah audiences can enjoy sets performed by some of the industry’s most beloved stars, like the Indigo Girls and Ringo Starr. And along with the music come renowned Broadway touring acts and comedians from all spectrums of entertainment. If that sounds like something you’re looking for or need an excuse to escape the summer heat, Live at the Eccles has the solution for you. Find music and ticket info through their website at live-at-the-eccles.com.

Sandy Amphitheater
Bring on the summer nostalgia and join Sandy Amphitheater for its summer concert series. Bringing classic touring bands like ZZ Top and Cheap Trick plus newer acts to the stage, the amphitheater has something for all audiences to look forward to. With additional dates for acts like Metric, Watchhouse and Death Cab For Cutie, you’ll want to come prepared with a shoulder to lean next to and old flannels at the ready. Starting May 30, early summer evenings are curated for millennials and the cool dads in your neighborhood. You can find your tickets at sandyamp.com.

Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre
In the shadow of the Oquirrh Mountains, Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre (previously USANA) is coming back this summer with an A-list lineup to send you back to the year 2000. From Pitbull, Kid Cudi and Hilary Duff to Evanescence, 311 and Jack Johnson, the amphitheatre’s summer concert series is curated perfectly for your high school Pinterest board. Get in on the memories now, find a group to dress up for and head out for an evening of hit tunes. You can find out more about each show and get tickets at utahfirstamp.com.

See Weezer at the Maverik Center - Courtesy photo

Maverik Cente
The Maverik Center may not be hosting Grizzlies hockey games, but it will continue its concert series, featuring bands like The Avett Brothers, Joji, Olivia Dean, Weezer and so many more. From internet sensations to reunion tours, the Maverik Center has it all. Find out more about the concert series and tickets at maverikcenter.com.

Onstage Ogden
If you’re interested in classic mountain town music, Ogden is the place for you. Along with the Ogden Twilight Concert Series, the Ogden Amphitheater will feature sets performed by local and touring musicians—including Shawn Colvin & Marc Cohn, Blind Boys of Alabama and Steep Canyon Rangers—hosted by Onstage Ogden. Each show will take you away into the acoustic sounds of the mountainside. If summer begins to drag and you find yourself needing something to unwind and let go of the workday blues, Onstage Ogden has it covered with fine backseat listening. The series features shows year-round. For more information and to find tickets, you can visit their website at onstageogden.org.

The Soldier Hollow Sheepdog Classic - Courtesy photo

Summer Guide 2026: Utah Summer Festivals

Soldier Hollow Sheepdog Classic, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Utah Beer Festival, FanX Salt Lake and more.
By Scott Renshaw

Beyond the events already showcased, Utah summers are generally filled to bursting with big multi-day events around which you can plan a weekend (or sometimes even a week). Here are just some of the things you can put on your summer activities calendar.

Soldier Hollow Sheepdog Classic (May 22 – 25): Every year, the gorgeous hillsides of Midway become the venue for an event that feels pulled from another time, as dog handlers from around the world showcase their long-distance commands, guiding sheep through gates and into pens in a remarkable display of human-animal connection. Four days of competition lead up to the finals on Monday, but all four days also feature a variety of family-friendly activities, including dog agility displays, animal encounters, bagpipe performances, face-painting, sheep-shearing and more. All this, plus product and food vendors, including the Bohemian Beer Garden. Tickets are $18 - $24, with family pass options. Visit website for full schedule.
2002 Soldier Hollow Lane, Midway, soldierhollowclassic.com

Utah Pride (June 6 – 7) & SLC Pride (June 27 – 28): Having more than one local Pride celebration doesn’t need to be a competition; it’s just evidence of how strong a presence the LGBTQ+ community has here. The Utah Pride Festival kicks things off on the first weekend of June with a Saturday rally and march, youth dance and the opening of the festival, with the annual parade taking place on Sunday. The relative newcomer SLC Pride festival closes out the month at The Gateway with live performances and a full roster of vendors, and an open invitation for community members to participate in the Saturday evening Variety Show. Details for both events can be found at their respective websites, utahpride.org and slc-pride.org.

Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theatre (June 12 – July 11): You don’t need an excuse to visit the lovely Cache Valley, but the theatrical festival hosted in Logan each summer offers a good one. The 2026 season of shows includes 1776, The Last Five Years, Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat, The Pirates of Penzance and the one-act double-feature Scalia/Ginsberg: Trial By Jury. Each season also includes special events like the Late-Night Cabaret and silent movies at the newly-renovated Utah Theatre (with Wurlitzer organ accompaniment). Tickets range from $20 - $75 based on venue and performance, with “build your own season” packages also available.
Ellen Eccles Theatre / Utah Theatre, Logan, utahfestival.org

Utah Shakespeare Festival (June 18 – Oct. 3): Cedar City’s pride and joy, the annual Shakespeare Festival offers a chance to experience some of the greatest plays ever created in the English language, in a setting that’s not too far from what Elizabethan audiences knew. The outdoor Engelstad Theater provides the venue for this season’s offerings of Hamlet, Twelfth Night and Troilus and Cressida, while the indoor theaters also include productions of See How They Run, She Loves Me, Something Rotten, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and The Book Club Play. Beyond the shows themselves, you can take backstage tours, learn more about the shows in seminars and orientations, or catch free shows on the green. Tickets begin at $20 for the Shakespeare shows. Visit the website for full schedule and ticketing.
Various Cedar City venues, bard.org

City Weekly Utah Beer Festival (TBD): At press time, CW publisher Pete Saltas offers the following update: “City Weekly normally hosts the Utah Beer Festival every August. This year may be a little different. After the 2023 storm evacuation, the 2024 liquor violation, and whatever 2025 was, we must focus on structuring the event to benefit City Weekly, our attendees and participating vendors alike. We don’t know exactly what we will do with the festival and now we’re on the clock. We may do a beer tour in support of our local breweries, we may do a summerfest style event, but at this point, we’re not 100% sure of the direction. Stay tuned here and on our newsletters for any updates.”

Timpanogos Storytelling Festival (Sept. 10 – 12): For more than 35 years, ever since it was launched as a fundraising initiative for the Orem Children’s Library, the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival has been a local celebration of the art of sharing stories orally. In 2026, a dozen gifted, award-winning storytellers from all over will gather at Thanksgiving Point’s Ashton Gardens, along with magicians, musicians and other live entertainers. Special categories include “Bedtime Stories” for younger children, and “Shivers” for those who enjoy a well-told scary tale. For those unable to attend in person, an online version of the festival will be available beginning in October for three months. Event tickets are $35 - $55 single-day for Friday and Saturday, $45 - $75 full event, with special “sneak peek” Thursday rate.
3900 Garden Dr., Lehi, timpfest.org

FanX Salt Lake (Sept. 24 – 26): Thousands of fans fill the Salt Palace annually for our local showcase celebrating pop-culture fandoms. The big draw, understandably, is the roster of guests from the worlds of movies, television, comics, video games, animation and books, with the (at press time) announced guest lineup including Helen Hunt, Giancarlo Esposito, Juliette Lewis, Alan Tudyk, Amy Smart, Keith David, Jodi Benson, Paige O’Hara and Brandon Mull. Whether you go all-out with your favorite cosplay or come as you are, you can check out guest showcases, roam the vendor floor, visit the gaming area, buy original art or attend the topic panels with experts in a wide range of subject areas. Tickets start at $20 per day, with multi-day and VIP options; autographs and photos are extra.
100 S. West Temple, fanxsaltlake.com

Park City Kimball Arts Festival - Courtesy photo

Summer Guide 2026: Summer Visual Arts

Queer Spectra Arts, Park City Arts Festival, Craft Lake City DIY Fest, Urban Arts Festival and more.
By Genevieve Vahl

MAY

Queer Spectra Arts Festival 2026:

Troubling the Lines
May 14 - May 16
Sorenson Unity Center (1383 S. 900 West)
Representing a broad range of queer narratives outside of the mainstream discourse, this three-day festival spotlights a variety of voices, backgrounds, experiences, cultures, mediums to celebrate queer artistic expressions. The festival is donation-based and features a wide array of events and activities across the three days. Workshops, discussions, keynote conversations, gallery receptions, interdisciplinary performances, dance parties and artist panels with artists of all identities will bring queer voices to the fore, creating queer community rooted in the arts. This year marks the 8th annual iteration of the festival, themed as “Troubling the Lines.”

Living in Time with Light Panel Discussion
May 14, 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Utah Museum of Contemporary Art (20 S. West Temple)

JUNE

Explorations by Sophia Esterman,

opening reception
June 3, 5:30 p.m. - 7 p.m.
Exhibit runs from June 1 - 27, 2026 at the Marmalade Branch Library (280 W. 500 North)

Leicester Productions

Student Fellowship Showcase
June 5, 6 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Main Library Auditorium (210 E. 400 South)
Leicester Productions is a non-profit organization based in Salt Lake City that supports local filmmakers to create documentaries about their communities.

“We are intensely focused on showing how incredible our city is,” Leicester’s website states. “And if the lake dries up and we all die, then our work will be proof to the aliens that not everything was terrible.”

This event will present two works from Leicester Productions’ Student Fellowship Program, which supports early-career filmmakers and journalists in sharing short documentaries on local stories, followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers.

Fisher Art Market

June 10, 6 p.m. at Fisher Brewing (320 W. 800 South) and every second Wednesday from April through September, 21+ with a valid ID
When local artists customarily sought a beer after selling at nearby markets, many came to Fisher for a chat and to wind down from the hullabaloo of selling their goods. The Fisher staff asked if the artists would ever be interested in hosting a market at Fisher itself, and thus the Fisher Art Market was born.

With a rotating cast of artists tabling the event, a variety of local and handcrafted goods will be set up in Fisher’s newly renovated event space at the west-side brewery, selling items ranging from soap to ceramics to leather goods and prints.

Every year, the market partners with a local non-profit to help promote and raise money for them; this year, vendor fees will be donated back to the Food Justice Coalition, which supports food security through free nutrient-dense meals and food sovereignty education and advocacy.

Support your local artists and their market to support the larger community!

IN THIS MANILLA ENVELOPE THE RESULTS OF MY INSANITY, paintings by Isaac Cuevas, opening reception
June 17, 5 p.m. - 6 p.m. at Day-Riverside Branch Library (1575 W. 1000 North)
Exhibit runs from June 8 - Aug. 7, 2026

Utah Arts Festival
June 18 – 21 at Salt Lake City’s Library Square (210 E. 400 South).

The All-State Utah High School Art Exhibition, opening reception
June 20, 4 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Main Library Gallery (4th floor, 210 E. 400 South)
Exhibit runs June 18 - July 24
The Salt Lake Public Library, in partnership with Utah Arts Festival and sponsored by Springville Museum of Art, hosts the All-State Utah High School Art Competition on the 4th floor of the Main Library downtown. The show is a part of Utah Arts & Museums’ Traveling Exhibition Program, giving students a professional experience in applying for the juried competitions that await in their future after high school. Springville Museum of Art also awards an outstanding arts educator from a Utah high school for their dedication to their students and craft. The competition is open to 11th and 12th grade students from both public and private high schools throughout the state of Utah.

Flowerhood Chapter of Life, photos by Lisa Zamora, opening reception
June 29, 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. at Glendale Branch Library (1375 Concord Street)
Exhibit runs from May 29 - July 3, 2026.

JULY

52nd Annual Utah Quilt Show
July 18 - September 26
Springville Museum of Art (126 E. 400 South)
The Spring Salon shan’t be the only event that brings you to the Springville Museum of Art. The 52nd Annual Utah Quilt Show is a juried exhibition of exclusively quilts—of all sizes and colors, techniques and styles by some of Utah’s most refined quilters. From traditional patterns to contemporary designs, the show highlights exceptional artistry, intricate stitching and beautiful detail that reflect the diverse voices and stories of our quilting community. In partnership with Utah Valley Quilt Guild and with support from Corn Wagon Quilt Company, this event draws quilters and fiber artists alike. The hanging tapestries and geometric symbology of the craft clearly has not lost its cultural impact over the centuries.

2026 Ogden Arts Festival

July 18 & 19, 11 a.m. - 8/6 p.m.
Ogden Union Station (2501 Wall Avenue, Ogden)
Featuring more than 100 local and regional artists both inside and outside of Ogden’s historic Union Station, the Ogden Arts Festival will feature works across a wide range of mediums. The festival is designed to highlight Ogden’s creative community, economy and spirit while giving a platform to artists to connect with their audiences and share their work. Live music and local food vendors will make the atmosphere of the event, while family-friendly activities will engage everyone in attendance. Take the FrontRunner from Salt Lake and you only have an eight-minute walk south to reach the event. Bring your bike and it will take no time at all!

AUGUST

Craft Lake City DIY Festival
Aug. 7 - 9
Utah State Fairpark (155 N. 1000 West)
Hosted at the Utah State Fairpark, it’s not Kilby Block Party or the state fair: It’s the 18th annual Craft Lake City DIY Festival. Craft Lake City hosts the event with their mission to elevate Utah’s creative community through year-round programming. Presented by Harmons, the DIY Fest is Utah’s largest local-centric art, music, science and technology festival, celebrating all things handmade in Utah. There will be more than 500 local artisans, including vintage vendors, foodies, youth entrepreneurs, performers and STEM exhibitors. This is a ticketed event that will be held both inside and outside of the buildings on the Fairpark grounds, so dress accordingly.

2026 Park City Kimball Arts Festival
Aug. 7 - 9
Historic Main Street (Park City)
Started in the patchouli-scented bygone era of 1969, the Kimball Arts Festival has evolved while maintaining its open-air celebration of the arts along the historic Main Street in Park City. The local philanthropist and eponymous Bill Kimball, who helped bolster this festival, went on to make a more permanent home in the city for Park City arts with the Kimball Arts Center. The aim of such effortsd was to imbue Park City—already a bustling ski resort during the winter—with cultural offerings in the summer months. Now in its 57th year, the Kimball Arts Festival in partnership with Park City Municipal Corporation is Utah’s longest running visual arts festival, creating a dynamic outdoor promenade of art with activities for all ages and local food vendors along the way.

Urban Arts Festival
Aug. 22, 12 p.m. - 10 p.m.
The Gateway (400 W. 200 South)
Hosted on Rio Grande Street within The Gateway, the 16th annual Urban Arts Festival will bring together more than 100 artists across many disciplines showing their works in the dog days of summer. Hosted by Utah Arts Alliance, it’s the largest free community arts festival in Utah. “Rooted in the social and cultural life of the community, Urban Arts Festival provides a platform for cultural art, music and performance,” per the website. There will be art vendors and demonstrations, low-rider exhibits, family-friendly activities and more! This one-day event should not be missed.

Contemporary Portraiture, a photo exhibition opens at Springville Museum of Art
Aug. 26 at Springville Museum of Art (126 E. 400 South, Springville)