Utah loves its festivals. Our small towns started throwing harvest celebrations like Melon Days, Peach Days, and Golden Onion Days generations ago.
Whether you’re looking for live music, a new way to experience Utah’s unique landscapes, or just a carnival ride and a corn dog, Utah’s summer festival season won’t disappoint.
Utah Shakespeare Festival
When: Through Oct. 3
Where: Beverley Taylor Sorensen Center for the Arts, 195 W. Center St, Cedar City
Cost: From $16
The Utah Shakespeare Festival launched in 1962 with a cast of amateur actors who performed the bard’s work on a rickety homemade platform. Now based on the campus of Southern Utah University, it attracts directors and actors from all over the globe. This season features productions of “Troilus and Cressida,” “Hamlet,” and “Twelfth Night.” In addition to the stage plays, the festival offers a free green show, backstage tours, play orientations, and more.
Wasatch Wildflower Festival
When: July 11-19
Where: Brighton, Solitude, Snowbird, and Alta Ski areas
Cost: Free
The Wasatch Mountains are famous for their powdery snow, but the four Cottonwood Canyons are just as remarkable in summer. In mid-July, they explode with colorful wildflowers with equally colorful names: leopard’s bane, bog candle, blooming Sally, butter-and-eggs. Wasatch Wildflower Festival volunteers will give you a formal introduction to all of them during hikes designed for all skill levels.
American Fork Steel Days
When: July 18-25
Where: 51 E. Main St, American Fork
Cost: Free
Now dubbed Steel Days, this 80-year-old festival’s former incarnations include Timber Day, Liberty Day, and Poultry Day. The 2026 theme is “Super Neighbors, Everyday Heroes,” and the week’s events include a drone show, a team puzzle competition, and a talent show dubbed “American Fork’s Got Talent.” On Saturday, things wrap up with a marathon, a grand parade, and fireworks.
World Folk Festival
When: July 28-Aug. 1
Where: Spring Arts Park, 700 S. 1300 E., Springville
Cost: Starting at $15
The World Folk Festival has been bringing ethnic dance troupes from nearly 80 countries to Utah since the late 1980s. In addition to the live dance performances, the festival offers food and craft booths, kids’ activities, and an opportunity to meet dancers and musicians from all over the globe.
Lindon Days
When: Aug. 1-8
Where: 25 N. Main St, Lindon
Cost: Free
This year, Lindon Days begins with a morning horse trail ride up Provo Canyon, followed by a week’s worth of activities, including yoga in the park, a “cowgirl clinic,” an ice cream social, a star party, a junior rodeo, and a pickleball tournament. The festival wraps up with a grand parade, a concert, and fireworks.
Santaquin Orchard Days
When: Aug 1-8
Where: Santaquin
Cost: Free, with some ticketed events
The full festival name is “Orchard Days and Summer Nights,” and there are indeed lots of family-friendly activities scheduled for both day (photo scavenger hunts, a parade, sports competitions) and night (rodeos, theater productions, and fireworks).
Celebrating the People Pow Wow
When: Aug. 15
Where: Utah Cultural Celebration Center, 1355 W. 3100 S, West Valley City
Cost: Free
The 13th annual Celebrating the People Pow Wow welcomes all singers and dancers and includes contests for all age groups, from kids to seniors. There will also be a drum contest and a Miss Native American Princess Pageant. This is a lawn venue, so spectators are encouraged to bring their own seating and canopies.
Dinah SOAR Days Hot Air Balloon Festival
When: Aug. 28-30
Where: Vernal
Cost: Free, with some ticketed events
You can watch balloon launches every evening during Dinah SOAR Days, but there’s a lot more to do besides that—you can listen to live music, watch the dinosaur costume dash, take in a car show, sample food, sip some brews in the beer garden, or go up in a balloon yourself. Bonus: a wonderfully goofy fun run, where all the runners wear dinosaur costumes.
Portals Music Festival
When: Aug. 28-30
Where: Strawberry Pinnacles Resort, 39981 W. Strawberry River Rd, Fruitland
Cost: Starting at $30
Portals Music Festival, also known as “Cult of the Traveler,” is a three-day desert musical festival featuring all-local bands. This year’s lineup features FIIG, Lord Vox, Say Hey, Brutalust, Musor, The Lingo, Seeking the Sun, What’s Nots, Mortigi Tempo, Jill Whit, Ethylcat, Jacob T. Skeen, The Squirms, Self Myth, Mowth, MTK, and Sylverine, a collection of acts one Instagram commenter described as “the ‘99 Coachella of the Salt Lake music scene.”
This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
