In Utah, June Is A Month For Festivals

It's June.  School is out.  Kids are excited (parents, maybe not so much).  The heat of the summer has yet to set in.  And all around Utah, cities and towns are holding celebrations and festivals.  It's really amazing how many different events take place in Utah in June.  Below, I've created a list of festivals going on this month.  I'm sure these aren't all of them, but they are fun, and most have free admission, though some specific events might have small costs.  I've included links to festival websites where available.  I'll also be writing about some of these in the coming weeks..


June 2, 2012- Utah Lake Festival, Utah Lake Marina

• Celebrate Utah Lake with free food (hot dogs and popcorn), crafts for kids, boat rides, sailboat regatta, and hay rides.  Since it is also free fishing day in the state (no licenses required on June 2), there will be instructions on fishing with local experts, as well a free use of fishing poles and bait to try your hand at fishing in Utah Lake.  The fun starts at 10 a.m. and goes until 2 p.m.

 June 2-9, 2012- Springville Art City Days, Springville

•   This week long festival celebrating the place that art plays in Springville has a little something for everyone.  Most are free to the public.  Parades, fireworks, hot air balloon festival, talent shows, hot dog eating contests, and of course art festivals.  Check the website for a day by day, detailed schedule of events.  Don't miss this event voted two years in a row as "Best of Utah County."

 June 6-9, 2012- Saratoga Splash, Saratoga Springs

•   Head down to Saratoga Springs to have enjoy this celebration that includes water fights (with the fire department using fire hoses), dances, monster truck rides (small fee), a pie eating contest, talent competition, and a free concert with Moosebutter.

June 8-9, 2012- Scottish Days & Highland Games, Lehi

•   This festival is held at Thanksgiving Point, just off I-15 in Lehi.  Admission to this event is $15, but kids 11 years old and under is free.  There are all sorts of events based on Scottish culture including athletic events, piping and drumming, and things for the kids.

June 8-9, 2012- Orem Summerfest, Orem

•   Held at Orem City Center Park, Summerfest includes an art festival, carnival rides, parades and fireworks.  And don't miss the car show and a chance to see the Air Med helicopter up close.  The Rotary Club will be serving breakfast on June 9th at 8 a.m. for $2/person or $10/family.

June 15-16, 2012- Chalk Art Festival, Gateway, SLC

•   Come to The Gateway in downtown Salt Lake to see some amazing chalk art drawing by both children and adults.  There are some truly incredible artists and you will be blown away.

June 16-23, 2012- Cedar Hills Family Festival, Cedar Hills

•   This is a family oriented festival in Cedar Hills that includes a movie in the park one evening and a concert in the park the next evening.  There is also a parade, children's games and buried treasure, and capping it all off, fireworks!  There are ticket purchases required for some events, such as for the Swim Night and Dinner at the Park.

June 17-23, 2012- Strawberry Days & Rodeo, Pleasant Grove

•   In Pleasant Grove there will be concerts in the park, free family swim, a carnival (costs extra), tours of the Pioneer Museum, a "mammoth" parade, fireworks and more.  This is also the venue for the PRCA Strawberry Days Rodeo (tickets required).

June 21-24, 2012- Westfest, West Valley City

•   Celebrating West Valley City's diversity, Westfest features a parade, multicultural entertainment,  a reptile show, the National Guard climbing wall, a West Valley Police K-9 demonstration, concerts and fireworks!  Held at Centennial Park, this a fun festival that grows each year.

 June 23-30, 2012- Lehi Round-up Celebration, Lehi

•   Movies nights in the park, a real live cattle drive down Main Street with Longhorns, Cowboy Poetry ($5 tickets), 1/2 price swim day, arts in the park, parades (yes, two of them), and a dirt dance at the rodeo grounds.

June 28-30, 2012- Taylorsville Dayzz, Taylorsville

•   I'll admit, since Taylorsville is my hometown, I'm a bit biased towards this festival, but I'm amazed at how it's grown and gotten bigger and better every year.  The Utah Symphony will be performing a patriotic concert on Thursday, June 28th and finish it off by playing the 1812 Overture, complete with cannons being fired by the Wasatch Cannoneers.  On Friday, June 29th, the Surf City Allstars will be performing with great summertime music.  On Saturday, June 30th, Jay White, a Neil Diamond impersonator will be making his third appearance at Taylorville Dayzz.  The last time he performed, nearly 30,000 people were in the park to listen.  Those people also came to see Saturday night's fireworks show.  It is synced to music and has become one of the best free firework shows in the state.  Don't forget the Saturday morning parade, the car show and burnout competition, the petting zoo, and the carnival (tickets cost extra for the rides and petting zoo).

There you have it.  Some GREAT festivals around the state, mostly free or with lost cost events as part of the festival.  Like I said, I know this isn't all of them.  If I haven't mentioned one that you really like or you think others should be aware of, let us know in the comment boards.  I'll do my best to get it added to the list.