Utah
Grab the calendar – these are the major Utah food and drink events for the year ahead
The blustery start to this week’s weather might not indicate it, but stay strong, warmer temps are just around the corner; and with them – the Summer festival season. While we wait for the mercury to rise, now is the perfect time to pencil in a few dates for the months ahead. With that in mind, here’s a look ahead to a range of events with a strong food/drink component at their core:
Living Traditions 2024
May 17th – 19th
Washington Square / Library Park, downtown SLC
Free entrance
saltlakearts.org/programs/living-traditions-festival
This multi-day celebration of Utah’s cultural landscape always marks the start of festival season, and this year is no exception. As per usual, the event is anchored by a mix of food vendors showcasing the eclectic diversity of cuisine (pictured top) in our state. Here’s the complete press release on what to expect this year:
. . .
The Living Traditions Festival program has been announced and is now live at livingtraditionsfestival.com. Utahns are invited to enjoy the diverse multicultural offerings of food, live performances, and art from the many cultures that have made Utah their home. The event will be held on May 17-19 at Washington and Library Square. We will have hands-on workshops, food demos, kids activities, Sundance film screenings, and beer tastings by Bohemian Brewery. The program features live music, performing artists, craft artists, and food vendors, some of whom have been participating since the first festival in 1986! Admission is free for all event attendees.
On Friday, May 17th, festival headliner Geno Delafose & French Rockin’ Boogie will perform. A trailblazer in the genre, Delafose has pioneered the sound nouveau zydeco, blending traditional Creole music with influences from Cajun, country, and western genres. Notably, he received a Grammy Award nomination in the ‘Best Zydeco Or Cajun Music Album’ category for his acclaimed album, ‘Le Cowboy Creole.
The Living Traditions Festival supports diverse artistic traditions and perspectives through the presentation of both historical and contemporary customs. By facilitating thoughtful conversations around the unique qualities of various cultures and the similarities of the human experience, community bonds are created. Salt Lake City has supported Living Traditions for over 30 years. The contributions from the City and sponsors are essential to ensuring the festival remains free and accessible.
Summer Farmer’s Market
June 1st – October 19th, 8.00 a.m. – 2.00 p.m.
Pioneer Park, 300 South 300 West
Free
slcfarmersmarket.org/saturday-farmers-market
The Pioneer Park market is a showcase for “farmers and producers offer the freshest local fruits and vegetables as well as a wide variety of grass-fed meats, eggs, dairy, honey, and flora, along with the region’s best locally made sauces, spreads, baked goods and culinary accouterments.”
All vendors must operate within 250 miles of the market and alongside a mind-boggling slew of stalls – the market also offers a food alley of small businesses to help fuel your exploration. Here’s a look at what to expect when the market hits its stride.
Savor The Summit
June 22nd
Main Street, Park City
Price varies
parkcityrestaurants.com/savor-the-summit
One of the biggest Park City bashes of the year, this Main Street party of restaurants unfurls all along historic Main Street – top to bottom. Each business typically provided a unique menu for the evening with suitable drink pairings. To attend you’ll need to contact restaurants directly to reserve a seat at their al fresco table. Word to the wise: this one sells out exceptionally fast every year.
The following fifteen names are confirmed for 2024 so far: Bangkok Thai on Main, Courchevel Bistro, Deer Valley Resort, Dilécta Wines, Don Gallo, Firewood On Main, Flanagan’s Irish Pub & Restaurant, Fletcher’s Park City, KANEO, Purple Sage, Riverhorse On Main, Shabu, The Eating Establishment, The Mustang, Top of Main Brew Pub
Utah Asian Festival
June 8th, 11.00 a.m. – 8.00 p.m.
Utah State Fairpark
Free entrance
utahasianfestival.org
Back for the 47th year and headed back to last year’s venue. Here’s the full information from the organizers on what to expect.
. . .
Our event benefits all Utahns, offering a glimpse at how traditional practices have been preserved and upheld in our state. This festival not only connects new Americans, immigrants, and refugees to the more historic ethnic groups in our state, but also brings our diverse ethnic communities together.
Our celebration is an opportunity for all to reunite with old friends; build new friendships; meet our various communities, leaders, and elders; and seek new opportunities to be involved and support our diverse Utah Asian communities.
This year’s festival will honor our communities through traditional and modern performances, children’s activities, and spotlights on cultural, nonprofit, and commercial organizations. As always, food trucks and food booths featuring local businesses will be on site serving delicious food and refreshments. We’ve listened to your feedback and are actively working to bring you the best event possible!
Mega Peruvian Festival
July 26th – 27th
Millcreek Common
Free
facebook.com/fiestas.delperu
Back again, this year moving on from the downtown library location of last year. There’s little information on precise details beyond the date and destination as I write, but organizers confirm, “FREE ADMISSION!! The 2024 Peruvian Festival, Let’s celebrate the Peruvian Culture with folklore, arts, live music and arguably the best food in the world; The Peruvian cuisine is held in high esteem for their anomalous and complex dishes that give visitors a taste of this unique culture.”
Indian Food Fair
August 5th, 11.00 a.m. – 8.00 p.m.
Liberty Park Salt Lake City
Free admission
indianfoodfairs.com
2024 will be the fifth iteration of this particular event. Specific details have yet to be released but the event always features multiple food vendors to enjoy.
Greek Festival
September 6th – 8th
Holy Trinity Cathedral
$5 admission, kids 5 and under free
saltlakecitygreekfestival.com
A Utah institution, and of course, back again this year. The three-day festival has a solid food offering celebrating Greek culinary tradition, gyro through galaktoboureko. The organizers write:
. . .
The Salt Lake Greek Festival is the 2nd largest cultural festival in Utah and the largest Greek Festival West of the Mississippi. Experience Hellenism and Orthodoxy as we showcase our delicious food, spectacular dancers, hospitality and our Orthodox faith through beautifully guided tours of our amazing Cathedral and museum. It is my hope that this years festival will be the biggest and best ever! So, as we say in Greek, Kalos-orisate (welcome,) and Kali-dia-ske-tha-si, (have a great visit.)
City Weekly Beer Festival
August 17th – 18th, 2.00 p.m. 8.00 p.m.
The Gateway
Prices vary
utahbeerfestival.com
This one surely needs no introduction. Utah’s biggest beer bash heads to The Gateway again for 2024. This year’s event reprises its 2023 location over at The Gateway.
Eat Drink SLC
September 11th – 12th
Tracy Aviary
Price TBA
eatdrinkslc.com
This year will mark a decade for EDSLC, again being held over two different evenings (separate tickets required for each night), with each night featuring different local restaurants; ably supported by a raft of wine markers, brewers, and distillers. I don’t believe tickets are live for this one yet, but they typically sell out very quickly indeed. Be sure to join the email list on their site to avoid missing out.
. . .
Eat Drink SLC raises awareness about Salt Lake’s finest culinary and cultural opportunities. Our vision is to engage patrons with the marriage of food and drink, and share stories about how it evolves, adapts, and innovates. Filled with tastes, art, people, and joy, Eat Drink is a welcoming, inclusive event for all the senses.
Eat Drink is hosted by nonprofit partnership between Tracy Aviary and SB Dance. These two organizations represent, respectively, a place and an arts-maker that contribute to the unique character of our community. 33% of net proceeds supports these two organizations. 66% of proceeds is contributed to a third local nonprofit that works with underserved communities. This community beneficiary has included Women of the World, Neighborhood House, and Race Swami.
By supporting place, arts-making, and community service, Eat Drink SLC’s mission is to honor the entire industry, from customers, business owners, managers, and servers to purveyors and agricultural workers. Since inception, Eat Drink has contributed over $100,000 to Salt Lake County nonprofits.
Festa Italiana
Another Gateway-hosted event is back again this year. Vendors are still to be confirmed, but lovers of all things Italian won’t want to miss this September festival.
September 14th – 15th
The Gateway
Free entrance
festaitalianaslc.com
Park City Wine Festival
October 3rd – 5th
Park City
Price varies
parkcitywinefest.com
Bookmarking the end of the festival season, one for the wine lovers out there. Here’s the official presser from the organizers about the three-day extravaganza.
. . .
The highly anticipated Fifth Annual Park City Wine Festival, the ultimate food and wine festival that brings wine experts and epicurean lovers together every year in beautiful Park City, returns October 3-5. After its inaugural smash success last year, Wine is Blind is returning and the festival is introducing another brand new event – Rarities & Reserve – which brings exclusive, hard-to-find wines to attendees. Due to the popularity of the all-inclusive wine tastings, Park City Wine Festival is continuing to host a second Grand Tasting session on Saturday. Tickets for the Grand Tastings, Best of Fest, Wine Is Blind and Rarities & Reserve are on sale now via Eventbrite. Paired wine lunches and dinners, somm-led hikes, and other add-on experiences will be announced in June.
Park City Wine Festival allows imbibers to sip, swirl, and savor wine from more than 100 international wineries from California to France at the Grand Tastings, while taking in breathtaking views of Park City’s fall beauty. Mix and mingle with winemakers and vintners, immerse yourself in the world of wine during expertly paired lunches and dinners throughout the weekend, add some adventure with a paired wine hike, and participate in events like Wine Is Blind, a new collective experience that reveals your favorite wine without preconceived notions.
“Every year, visitors show off that they’re hungry – and thirsty – for more Park City Wine Festival activations. We’ve added on new sessions and large-scale events to accommodate the growing demand. As always, the event does sell out, so we recommend buying your tickets ASAP,” said Park City Wine Festival Events Director Kristen Slater.
Not happening this year?
Salt Lake City Wine & Dine – This Instgram post by the Tribune-backed food and wine explains the event has been postpooed until 2025.
Taco Fest 2024 – According to this Eventbrite listing, the 2024 edition of this one has been cancelled.
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Hi, I’m Stuart, nice to meet you! I’m the founder, writer and wrangler at Gastronomic SLC. I’m a multiple-award winning journalist and have written in myopic detail about the Salt Lake City dining scene for the better part of seventeen years.
I’ve worked extensively with multiple local publications from Visit Salt Lake to Salt Lake Magazine, not least helped to consult on national TV. Pause those credits, yep, that’s me! I’m also a former restaurant critic of more than five years, working for the Salt Lake Tribune. I’m largely fueled by a critical obsession with rice, alliteration and the use of big words I don’t understand. What they’re saying about me: “Not inaccurate”, “I thought he was older”, “I don’t share his feelings”.
Want to know more? This is why I am the way I am.
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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah football’s first official visit weekend of the 2027 recruiting cycle has already produced a payoff, as Morgan Scalley has landed the commitment of three-star offensive lineman Sire Stewart.
Stewart, a 6-foot-5, 255-pound offensive tackle out of Chandler High School in Arizona, became one of the key names to watch coming into the weekend.
Utah hosted several offensive line targets as part of its first official visit group, and Stewart leaving Salt Lake City committed gives the Utes a tangible recruiting win at a priority position.
A Fast Win For Utah’s New Recruiting Operation
Utah’s first official visit weekend under Scalley was always going to be about more than hosting prospects. It was the first major chance for the new regime to show recruits and families what the program looks like with Scalley as head coach and D’Orazio helping guide the roster-building operation.
Stewart’s commitment gives Utah an early return from that effort.
The Utes need momentum in the 2027 class, and official visit weekends are where that momentum often starts. Landing an offensive lineman from Arizona also reinforces one of Utah’s most important recruiting priorities: continuing to build regionally while identifying prospects who fit the program’s developmental model.
Stewart had official visits scheduled to Washington State and Boise State but elected to give his pledge to the Utes instead.
Utah Got In Early
Utah’s pursuit of Stewart did not begin this weekend. Offensive line coach Jordan Gross offered Stewart in early February, with the Utes becoming his 10th offer and third Power Four opportunity behind Duke and Arizona. Since then, Stewart has added offers from Oklahoma State, Baylor and Cal, while also making an unofficial visit to Arizona State.
Utah was not late to the evaluation. The Utes identified Stewart early, prioritized him and then got him on campus for the first official visit weekend of the cycle. In modern recruiting, that kind of early relationship-building is important.
Gross may be new to college coaching, but this is a good first recruiting win. He gives Utah a unique offensive line pitch. He played at Utah, became one of the program’s best examples of development translating to the NFL, and now gets to sell that same path to recruits. For a prospect like Stewart, Utah can offer both a developmental plan and a real example of what that plan can become.
Building The Class Up Front
Stewart’s commitment also continues a clear early theme for Utah. The Utes are prioritizing the trenches, particularly from the high school ranks.
Utah has long built its program around line-of-scrimmage play, and that identity is not expected to change under Scalley. If anything, it appears to be one of the first pieces of the roster construction plan being emphasized in the 2027 class.
Stewart gives Utah a developmental offensive line prospect with the frame to grow into a Big 12 lineman. Listed by 247Sports at 6-foot-5 and 255 pounds, he still has room to add strength and mass, but the foundation is there.
This commitment gives Utah momentum, but particularly with the offensive linemen they’re in pursuit of. Utah will continue to push for fellow offensive linemen Lincoln Mageo, Ian Aloisio, Tye Kennedy, Damian Anyasodo, Gecova Doyal, and Amaziah Siale.
Mageo and Doyal were also part of the visit with Stewart, giving Utah an added presence to recruit those two. Kennedy and Anyasodo will officially visit the Salt Lake City this weeend, while Siale has been a big priority for Utah and will visit at the end of the month.
The Bottom Line
Sire Stewart’s commitment is not just another name on Utah’s 2027 board. It is the first real proof point from the Utes’ opening official visit weekend under Scalley.
Utah identified him early, got him to campus and closed. That is what good recruiting operations are supposed to do.
For Stewart, the commitment gives him a clear developmental home in a program that has long valued offensive line play. For Utah, it adds another piece to a 2027 class that needs to reflect the new regime’s roster-building vision.
The Utes have always believed in winning up front. Stewart’s commitment shows that message is still central to how Utah plans to build.
Steve Bartle is the Utah insider for KSL Sports. He hosts The Utah Blockcast (SUBSCRIBE) and appears on KSL Sports Zone to break down the Utes. You can follow him on X for the latest Utah updates and game analysis.
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SALT LAKE CITY — Lucas Horns points over a fence on Main Street toward an empty lot with a blue shipping container on it, tucked between downtown Salt Lake City’s tallest buildings.
That container, he explains, will serve as a makeshift bar on Thursdays and Fridays through the remainder of summer, set up next to a live music stage and a space that will be dedicated to various lawn games for people of all ages. The Utah Museum of Contemporary Art will provide some art as part of an outdoor sculpture and food and drink venue combination aimed to liven up an otherwise dead space.
“Our hope is just to add to the ecosystem,” said Horns, program director for the Blocks, a joint venture between Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County to develop arts and culture programs within the downtown area.
The Blocks is launching what it calls the “Art Garten” in the lot of the old Utah Pantages Theater, 144 S. Main, beginning this week. It’s a free event that blends a beer garden with live music, art and games for all ages.
A DJ will be spinning hits from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, while live music from the steps of the Eccles Theater across the street will fill the air during the same hours on Friday. A rotating list of DJs and live bands will fill in the space during the same hours twice a week for the next few months.
The event will include a rotating food truck lineup, along with cornhole, giant chess and other lawn games for people of all ages. The Blocks didn’t want to compete with bars and restaurants, so the hours hit around happy hour, while also being friendly for people with families, Horns said.
“We were interested in adding something new to downtown,” he told KSL. “There aren’t a lot of spaces where families can go, and the parents can grab a beer and hang out while their kids play lawn games. That’s kind of a rarity in Utah, and especially downtown, so I think we’re filling an important niche.”
At the same time, it livens up a piece of Main Street that’s been lifeless for years.
The Utah Pantages Theater was demolished in 2022, amid a last-second effort to preserve the century-old building. Salt Lake leaders approved a $0 sale of the building to international real estate firm Hines and local developer Joel LaSalle in 2019, setting the stage for a proposed 31-story residential high-rise on Main Street.
However, the project stalled with the market. “Unprecedented market changes,” such as record inflation, emerged at approximately the same time as the theater was demolished, making it difficult to secure financing for the project off the ground, a spokesperson for Hines told KSL in 2024.
The situation hasn’t changed much since then, leaving Main Street with a vacant lot blocked off by a large wooden board for years. Some of the lessons from “Open Streets” and other downtown activation events helped piece together an event to use the space while it remains vacant.
“We’re excited just to be able to do a pop-up park like that in that location on Main Street, with programming unlike anything else we’ve done on Main Street,” said Dee Brewer, director of the Salt Lake City Downtown Alliance. “I’m really excited to see how the public responds.”
Hines cleared the space for the event, which will continue on Thursdays and Fridays through the end of September. Horns and Brewer say they expect the venue to return next year and potentially longer, depending on how long the tower project remains on pause.
It may not be the perfect solution to a development holdup, but they believe it’s an upgrade from the current situation.
“A blank, empty wall is never good for walkability or for the urban environment,” Horns said.
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
SALT LAKE CITY — A law designed to prevent so-called “dumpster babies” is now 25 years old — and one of the individuals it was designed to save is now close to the same age.
Utah‘s Newborn Safe Haven law was designed to give pregnant moms a safe alternative where they could leave a baby they could not or would not be able to care for. The original sponsors of the bill say they don’t know how many children have been saved over the years, but one of them, Sam Peterson, was on hand to mark Monday’s special anniversary.
He said the law means everything to him.
“It is something that has given me my life! It’s my privilege to be a part of this law,” Sam said.
He stood next to his mother, Heather Peterson, who said she gets emotional talking about the law allowing her and her husband to adopt Sam.
“We feel like a miracle happened. We feel like you came to us in the most amazing way and you have an amazing story and we think it’s important that other people hear it,” she said.
Heather and Sam agreed that the Newborn Safe Haven allowed them to become a family.
It was a bill originally sponsored by former Utah Senator Patrice Arent a quarter century ago. Arent said she felt compelled to act after hearing too many stories about so-called “dumpster babies.”
“Babies that had been left to die in unsafe places like dumpsters or public toilets,” Arent explained, “Or even someone who left their baby in a drawer in their bedroom in Cottonwood Heights. I heard these stories and I just knew I had to try to find a way to provide a safe alternative.”
So Arent, a Democrat, worked with former Republican lawmaker John Valentine to sponsor and help pass Utah’s Newborn Safe Haven law.
Arent said it was a true bipartisan collaboration.
“It allows our birth parents to legally give up custody of an infant. It’s anonymous and it’s in a hospital. There will be no questions asked, and the baby then ends up in a safe, loving home,” she said.
Less than a year after the law went into effect, Sam’s birth mother left him at a Utah hospital. Heather said she and her husband adopted him three days later. Sam is now 24.
“We are living proof that Safe Haven works, because we didn’t know anything about his birth mom… It was like he just dropped out of heaven,” Heather said.
Sam said he is eternally grateful.
“It’s given me a family, it’s given me friends, it’s given me an opportunity to go to college. Day three, I was with my mom, and so she will always be my mother, and I will always cherish that,” he said.
Sam said he will be graduating next year from BYU with an engineering degree.
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