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In a year of record drought, lighting off fireworks at home could present a substantial wildfire risk. The safest way to watch fireworks is at a show put on by professionals (especially since some cities are banning them even for the July 4 holiday). Americans have always had a penchant for blowing things up, it seems, but a fireworks show certainly isn’t the only way to celebrate, either. July 4 events of all stars and stripes are going on all across the state this weekend. These are just a few of them.

Wasatch Front July 4 Events

Fourth of July at The Gateway 

July 4, 2021 at 5 p.m.

The family-friendly event will feature live musical entertainment, food and games. Fireworks start at dusk. Entry is free.

Liberty Days at Heritage Park

July 5, 2021 at 10 a.m.

 This Is The Place is putting on an “old-fashioned” celebration at the Park that begins with a flag ceremony and includes a watermelon eating contest, candy cannon and parade. Tickets are on sale. 

Sandy City July 4 Celebration

July 3, 2021 at 6:50 a.m.

Activities for the event include: flag ceremony, Sandy Promenade, 5K, SpikeBall tournament, a scavenger hunt throughout Sandy City, food trucks at Sandy Amphitheater Park and fireworks at 10 p.m. Registration is required for Sandy Promenade. 

West Jordan Western Stampede

July 1-3, 2021, begins at noon on Thursday

The West Jordan celebration is three days of parade, rodeo and carnival, including rides and food and fireworks on Saturday at 10 p.m. Tickets for the carnival and rodeo are available. 

North Ogden Cherry Days 2021

July 3, 2021 (All day)

North Ogden City is sponsoring the Medallion Search, 5K Fun Run/Walk, Sunrise Ceremony and Fireworks Spectacular. Registration is required for some events. 

Freedom Festival

July 2-5, 2021

The annual Freedom Festival in Provo is one of the largest around, including the Freedom Days Carnival, Hot Air Balloon Fest, Colonial Heritage Festival and the infamous fireworks, live musical tribute to all things ‘Merica that is Stadium of Fire. There’s more information on all of these events on the Freedom Festival website. 

West Bountiful City Independence Day Celebration

July 3, 2021 at 8 p.m.

West Bountiful will sponsor a food truck and fireworks display at City Park. The festivities begin with a concert at 8 p.m. and fireworks at 10 p.m. Dessert food trucks will be available. This is a free event. 

Thanksgiving Point Firework Show

July 3, 2021 at 4 p.m.

Thanksgiving Point is hosting a fireworks show at Electric Park. There will be concessions and vendors there. Fireworks are expected to go off around 10 p.m. Organizers suggest bringing a blanket to better enjoy the evening’s festivities. Admission is free. 

Park City July 4 Events

Fourth of July in Park City Parade 

July 2, 2021 at 11 a.m.

Main Street will close to vehicle traffic at 9:30 a.m. for the Park City’s Fourth of July Parade. 

There will be a shuttle parking lot available at the Park City High School on Kearns Blvd/Hwy 248 offering free transportation to Main Street. More parade details are available here. 

Park City Restaurants Celebrate 4th of July 

July 2–3, 2021

Park City Area Restaurant Association (PCARA) member restaurants toast to independence day with craft cocktails, a classic neighborhood pig roast and live music. Deer Valley Resort’s Friday Afternoon Club on the bridge at Goldener Hirsch, which has partnered with Traeger Grills and Alpine Distillery to make sure you are fed and watered. There will be live music by Don Woodbury from 3–6 p.m. on Friday, July 2. 

Hearth and Hill will host a neighborhood pig roast on Friday, July 2, on their patio from noon–4 p.m. The price of a plate is $20 and reservations are available by calling the restaurant at 435-200-8840.

On Friday, July 2, O.P. Rockwell is hosting the Thieves Run Wild Album Release Party with guest performers Lee Rafugee and the J-Rad Cooley Band. Tickets start at $15 for this 21+ event. Doors open at 8 p.m. And on Saturday, Utah-born country music singer Steven Bosco performs as part of the Summer Nights Concerts series. Tickets start at $15 for this 21+ event. Doors open at 9 p.m. More information about PCARA 4th of July specials is available here. 

3rd of July Celebration at Canyons Village

July 3, 2021 at 4 p.m.

With the city’s celebration pared down this year, more Independence Day fun can be had a day earlier at the 3rd of July Celebration in Canyons Village at Park City Mountain. There will be live music, kids’ activities and live art activations by local artists but no fireworks this year. Admission to the event is free. 

Southern Utah July 4 Events

Fourth of July Celebration at Greater Zion Stadium

July 3, 2021 at 7p.m.

The Greater Zion Stadium in St. George is hosting a July 4 event featuring country star Russell Dickerson. Come nightfall, there will also be a major fireworks display. Tickets are $15 and seating is limited.

St. George City’s Fourth of July Celebration

July 3, 2021 (all day)

This year, the entire celebration will take place at Town Square Park with events going all day long, from live music and food booths to slip-n-slides and a talent show. Admission is free. 

Kanab’s Small Town Independence Day Celebration

July 3, 2021 (all day)

The celebration starts bright and early with a cannon salute in the center of town at 6 a.m., followed by a hearty pancake breakfast hosted by the Kanab High School football team. The parade kicks off at 10 a.m. on Center Street. There will also be food, vendors, crafts, activities for the kids, live entertainment and more at Jacob Hamblin Park following the parade. After the sun sets and the bands have finished playing, expect a fireworks display. Admission is free. 

Cedar City July 4 Parade and Park Celebration

July 5, 2021 at 9:30 a.m.

Cedar City’s celebration starts at 9:30 a.m. with a parade. Spectators can line up along University Boulevard from 300 West to Main Street and down both sides of Main Street from Center Street to 400 North. Following the parade, family activities will be held at Main Street Park until 2 p.m. More information on the Cedar City parade can be found here. 

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To keep the family-friendly fun going all summer, check out our list of Utah city festivals going on across Utah. 

Looking out your airplane’s window as you approach Salt Lake International, please note a large number of trampolines dotting the yards of the little houses below. See the small black circles amid the small patches of suburban green and consider that a view from the same window, while arcing into the stratosphere above Phoenix or Las Vegas or Los Angeles, would yield crystal-blue, kidney-shaped pools—watery benefits of flatland climates and a special desert-dweller’s denial of resource limitations.

It’s doubtful you’ll be able to discern any jumpers from your lofty perch but, if school’s out and there are exasperated mothers inside the teensy homes below, you can be sure that a gang of neighborhood kids will be tramping and bouncing their stockinged feet on those little black circles. Know that they’re aiming grubby outstretched fingers to touch the cloudy trail your plane paints across the crystal blue sky. 

TRAMPOLINES ARE THE POOLS OF UTAH. 

They are not unique to our state. Anyplace, USA, is trampoline country. They sprout up wherever there are kids and yards and parents hoping for a little peace. But here in Utah, with our large families (one whole child more on average than the national average, 2.5) trampolines flourish like summer camps, Boy Scout Jamborees, public pools and, tragically, McDonald’s Playlands.

I met my best friend from age 5 to 10 based on access to a trampoline. His family sold trampolines—surely the path to enlightenment for a 5-year-old. We learned the requisite gymnastics: seat drops, back drops, tummy drops and the twin Holy Grails of front-flip and back-flip. We learned how to steal someone’s bounce (double jumping to take the spring out of an opponent) and to “super charge” by lending gravity to a partner, often with disastrous, too-high results. And, of course, there were the sleep outs, scared and huddled sleepless under the stars with the wind whipping through the trees. I was even involved in sales, got paid $12—an unheard-of amount at age 8—to demonstrate the wonders of the trampoline at an area mall while other boys endured shopping for school clothes with their mothers. 

But before all that, there was a waiver—“Mom! Can you sign this?” Parents of big families who sell trampolines are well informed of liability issues. But after this first encounter with our litigious society, I was free to bounce and darn near kill myself along with the rest of the neighborhood. 

Trampolines are dangerous. Consider the springs. Most of your finer backyard trampolines lack pads, cushy protection from the equally dispersed holes rounding the bouncy bed. On a good, windless day, you can “supercharge” an equally weighted partner into the sky twice your fourth-grade height and, with the right angle, it’s either the springs or the ground. A trampoline purchase is often reconsidered in the emergency room.

But still, we persist. Perhaps it’s the practical genes of the Mormon pioneers coursing through our communities. Pools are complicated, decadent and, well, what about all the leaves? Compared to this steel-springed pile of unleashed gravity, a pool—with its expense and effort—pales by the fact of its complexity. The hard-headed nature of our forebears doesn’t include considerations now commonplace to our helmet-wearing times. Potential injury is tabled in disdain for the vanity of a swimming pool. If great-great-grandma so-and-so walked across the Great Plains, surely we can survive the trampoline. What, are you bored? Go out and jump on the tramp.

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Carnivals, fireworks, hot Saturdays in the park—it doesn’t get more quintessentially summer. City celebrations, or “town days,” are big deals in Utah’s small towns, bringing the community together to take in summer (and eat a lot of snow cones.) Each town has their own signatures and quirks, but what’s comforting about these festivals is the tradition. You pretty much know what each celebration will look like, year after year, but after last year, we could all use a taste of “normal” summer.

Mark your calendars for these city celebrations near Salt Lake:

Pleasant Grove Strawberry Days: June 12-20
Don’t miss: The strawberries, obviously! Vendors sell cups of sliced strawberries and cream throughout Downtown Park.

West Valley WestFest: June 17-20
Don’t miss: Lots of food, from carnival classics like funnel cake and shaved ice to local vendors including Sabor Colombiano, South of the Border Tacos and Taste of Polynesia.

Lehi Roundup Week: June 20-26
Don’t miss: Not one, not two, but three parades in a single week.

Fort Herriman Towne Days: June 21-26
Don’t miss: “Fun for the whole family” is usually the selling point for these celebrations, but Fort Herriman Towne Days also has an adult-targeted date night with free axe throwing and a live DJ at Butterfield Park. 

Syracuse Heritage Days: June 21-26
Don’t miss: If you’ve been waiting for your chance to throw bags of corn competitively, prove your skills in the cornhole tournament.

Taylorsville Dayzz: June 24-26
Don’t miss: A free performance of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture from the Utah Symphony—complete with cannons!

Clearfield 4th of July: June 25; July 2-4
Don’t miss: Literally paint the town; Clearfield’s 4th of July celebration begins with painting the Center Street Bridge.

West Jordan Western Stampede: July 1-3
Don’t miss: It’s a western stampede after all—the rodeo is a three-night event.

Layton Liberty Days: July 2-5
Don’t miss: A shortened “more fun less run” for those of us that don’t want to brave a 5K in triple-digit temperatures.

North Salt Lake Liberty Fest: July 2-3
Don’t miss: Show off your classic car at the Eaglewood Festival of Speed.

Riverton Town Days: June 25-26; July 2-3
Don’t miss: The pie eating contest, a county fair classic.

Murray Fun Days: July 3
Don’t miss: Fun Days is a Murray 4th of July tradition, so of course it wraps up with a big fireworks show. (Just don’t bring your own.)

Provo Freedom Days: July 3-5
Don’t miss: The huge Stadium of Fire concert, this year featuring country singers Lee Greenwood and Collin Raye

American Fork Steel Days: July 5-10
Don’t miss: A tea party with the newly crowned Miss American Fork, the closest thing you can get to meeting Disneyland princesses in Utah County.

Farmington Festival Days: July 6-10
Don’t miss: Show off the pickleball skills you picked up during quarantine in their tournament. 

Clinton Heritage Days: July 7-10
Don’t miss: After the (almost definitely scorching) parade, get hosed down by the Clinton City Fire Department.

Draper Days: July 9-17
Don’t miss: Celebrate your favorite ‘70s singers with a tribute concert to The Carpenters and Carole King.

Spanish Fork Fiesta Days: July 10-24
Don’t miss: Take home $1,000 if your chosen duck crosses the finish line first at the Adopt a Duck Race.

Butlerville Days: July 19-24
Don’t miss: Make the sidewalk is your canvas in the chalk art competition 

Midvale Harvest Days: July 27-Aug. 7
Don’t miss: Three words: baby goat yoga.

Lindon Days: July 31-Aug. 7
Don’t miss: Leave the fishing rod at home and go Huck Finn Fishing with your bare hands.

South Weber Country Fair Days: July 31-Aug. 7
Don’t miss: Support local growers and buy some veggies at the farmers market.

Highland Fling: Aug. 2-7
Don’t miss: Something called a baby celebration, which somehow involves a red carpet complete with paparazzi

Alpine Days: Aug. 6-14
Don’t miss: Serve and spike your way to victory in the spikeball tournament. (For the uninitiated, spikeball is basically foursquare meets volleyball.)

Salem Days: Aug. 7-14
Don’t miss: Sail away at the cardboard duct tape regatta. Bring a life jacket for obvious reasons.

Bluffdale Old West Days: Aug. 10-14
Don’t miss: Monster Truck Insanity Tour, which is exactly what it sounds like 

Payson Golden Onion Days: Sept. 3-6
Don’t miss: True to the name, the Flower and Art Show includes a competition for the biggest onion.

SoJo Summerfest: Sept. 17-18
Don’t miss: Prove your musical supremacy with South Jordan’s battle of the bands.

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While you’re here, check out our go-to guide on the perfect Salt Lake summer and subscribe to our print issue.

Let’s be honest: white Americans have a lot of gaps when it comes to Black history. Last summer, as the entire country reckoned with race in America, many white people learned about Juneteenth for the first time. This year, recognition of Juneteenth continues to broaden—the House of Representatives just voted to make it a national holiday.

A sort of second Independence Day, Juneteenth commemorates emancipation from slavery. On June 19, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger declared the end of slavery in Texas more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation and weeks after the American Civil War ended. (Texas was so far west that news didn’t travel quickly.) Since then, Juneteenth has spread from Texas-based celebrations to a holiday celebrated more widely by Black people across the U.S.

Here in Utah, there are lots of ways to celebrate Juneteenth while supporting Black artists, businesses and community leaders. 

Dee-Dee Darby-Duffin Quintet Juneteenth Celebration

June 19, 8 p.m., Gallivan Center

This free concert hosted by Excellence in the Community can be enjoyed live at the Gallivan Center or streaming at home. Vocalist Dee-Dee Darby Duffin has been a longtime Utah favorite for her interpretations of jazz, soul and blues standards like “Feeling Good” and “Strange Fruit.” (Plus she’s a playwright and actress too.) 

Juneteenth Festival: Solidarity and Unity

June 19, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Aggie Legacy Fields

Utah State University’s celebration will include a community BBQ and a Unity Kickball Game at 1 p.m. You’ll also be able to sign the petition to make Juneteenth a national holiday. USU is asking participants to park at the Big Blue Terrace or at the University Inn and look for the Juneteenth banner and signs to get to the event.

Juneteenth Freedom Day concert

June 19, 6 p.m., The Complex

The concert is promised to lean heavy on the dance music, featuring Icky Rogers,

The Pho3nix Child, Cherry Thomas and DJ Juggy. There will also be plenty to eat with a handful of food trucks, including Jamaica’s Kitchen, Shrimp Shak and Mas Gorditas.

Juneteenth Summer of Love 

June 19, 1 p.m.–3 p.m., march; 3 p.m.–7 p.m., market; 5 p.m.–9 p.m., block party; Washington Square

Juneteenth Utah, Strength of Shades and POC Market are celebrating Juneteenth with a march, pop-up market and block party. The event will begin with a march, then a market highlighting BIPOC-owned businesses and closes with live performances and music. This is the second celebration from Juneteenth Utah and the theme this year is Summer of Love. 

Sip + Vibe Juneteenth Gala from The Pyramid Company

June 19 at 7 p.m., 8 p.m.-10 p.m. cocktail and appetizers, 11 p.m. – 2 a.m. concert and dance Party; at The Leonardo 

The Gala promises to celebrate the history, tradition and contributions of African-Americans in Utah through art, music and live performances. 

Utah Juneteenth Festival and Father’s Day Tribute

June 19, noon-9 p.m.; June 20, noon-8 p.m.; Ogden Amphitheater

On June 19, Weber University’s Juneteenth festival will have musical performances, featuring national recording artist Young DRO, Kansas City Songbird, Zenobia Smith and many local and regional artists. The Mr. & Miss Juneteenth Scholarship Pageant and Juneteenth Essay Contest winners will also be announced. There is also the promise of a host of other activities for all ages in a safe environment. The June 20 Father’s Day Tribute will feature the 2nd Annual Willie Moore & Billy Mason “Golden Clipper” Barber Battle and, for the first time this year, the “Crowns” Braiding Battle.

Juneteenth: A Celebration of Black Voices

June 20, 7 p.m. at The Clubhouse

Support both Utah’s Black and queer communities at this fundraiser concert hosted by W.A.R. Gathering and sponsored by Utah Pride Center, Project Rainbow and SLUG Magazine. The concert features Shea Freedom, Wynter Storm, Honey and Early Sucessional. Part of the proceeds benefit BIPOC at the Front, which supports climbers of color in Utah, and GenderBands, an Orem-based nonprofit that aids trans people with gender-affirming surgery costs.

Black, Bold and Brilliant Film Screenings

Through June 22, Utah Film Center

Celebrate Juneteenth with a newly restored document of Black history and a celebration of the incomparable Queen of Soul. Utah Film Center is streaming the documentaries Nationtime and Amazing Grace for free this week. Nationtime, a 1972 film from legendary documentarian William Greaves, follows the National Black Political Convention in Gary, Indiana. The controversial film was considered too radical for TV back in the ‘70s, and the full version of the film was made public for the first time last year. Amazing Grace goes behind-the-scenes on a very different history-making 1972 event: Aretha Franklin’s recording of the classic gospel album also called Amazing Grace.

Celebration & Black Owned Businesses Expo

June 26, noon–9 p.m., The Gateway

This is a free, family-friendly community celebration, featuring a Black Owned Business Expo as vendors, plus an art exhibit, food trucks, music, entertainment, a kids’ corner, storytelling, roller skating, movie night and barber battle.

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While you’re here, subscribe to our print magazine.

It’s time to get excited about the Utah Jazz, folks. Perhaps you haven’t paid as much attention to your hometown NBA team the past couple of years, what with a pandemic and a protest or two to worry about. Start now.

The Jazz finished the 2020-21 regular season with a 52-20 record, alone at the top of the league for the first time in franchise history. They easily dispatched their first-round opponent, the Memphis Grizzlies, 4-1, and are favored to win their second-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers. That best-of-7 series starts this Tuesday in Salt Lake.

Win this round—not a given against the Clippers, led by perennial All-Star Kawhi Leonard—and the Jazz will return to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2007. Win there and Salt Lake City might host NBA Finals games for the first time since Michael Jordan sank his iconic jumper to defeat the Jazz in 1998.

These statements are not just blind optimism. The Jazz are currently the favorite to come out of the West and play in the NBA Finals (slated to begin July 8) according to oddsmakers. In fact, if you believe the prognosticators, only the Brooklyn Nets are more likely to win the Whole Freaking Enchilada. Gulp.

Utah basketball fans have been lucky—the team almost always makes the playoffs and has never suffered an extended downturn—but the current squad is the most loaded since the team’s late 1990s heyday when an aging John Stockton and Karl Malone carried the team to two unsuccessful but thrilling Finals against Jordan’s Chicago Bulls.

The current roster is led by much younger stars—guard Donovan Mitchell and center Rudy Gobert lead the team, supported by veteran point guard Mike Conley and a bevy of sharpshooting wings.

Mitchell is a gift from the basketball gods, a dynamic star who the Jazz chose with the 13th pick in the 2017 draft. The 6-foot-1 guard is not only a deadly accurate 3-point shooter but also a relentless driver, capable of bursting to the rim and banking in shots from unexpected angles. Squint your eyes slightly, and the best version of Donovan—who has elevated his game for the playoffs every year he’s been in the league—reminds one of all-time great Dwyane Wade, who coincidentally recently become a minority owner of the Jazz.

And Mitchell isn’t even the Jazz’ most valuable player if you believe the numbers. That would be dominating center Gobert, aka the Stifle Tower, now in his eighth year from France. Gobert is about to be named the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year for the third year. The strutting Frenchmen’s length and athleticism dissuades other teams from even trying to score at the rim, taking away their most efficient weapons. On offense, Gobert sets hard picks and then cuts to the rim for dunks and layups. 

All is not perfect in Jazzland: The team’s third key player, Mike Conley, is injured. He will likely miss at least the first game or two of the Clippers series with a mild hamstring strain. However, when healthy (knock on wood), Conley has been outstanding this year. He scores efficiently from 3 and via crafty floaters in the lane, while also initiating the team’s offense. Conley, who the Jazz acquired via trade two years ago, more than deserved his first-ever All-Star berth this past season.

The team is not just good, but deep: There’s Bojan Bogdanovic, aka Bogey, a sharpshooting Croatian forward. Royce O’Neale, the team’s best wing defender, drains open 3-point shots. A fan favorite is Australian wing Joe Ingles, a crafty shooter and chatty instigator who is one of the team’s best passers. And that’s not all! Gunner wing Jordan Clarkson was so good at scoring as a backup this past year he was named the league’s Sixth Man of the Year. Rounding out the rotation are Gobert’s backup, long-time Jazzman Derrick Favors, and wing Georges Niang, who is delightfully nicknamed “Minivan” for his workmanlike contributions to the team and his, uh, boxy physique.

When everything goes right—which it did most of this past year—the Jazz won games easily, thanks to a stifling defense led by Gobert and a high-scoring offense defined by both slashing drives from Mitchell, Conley and Clarkson and sharp passes that whip around the perimeter to wide-open shooters.

Let’s take a quick look at the numbers. The Jazz are the only team in the NBA this season with a top-5 offense (#3) and defense (#4) according to advanced efficiency stats. History tells us that teams that are that good on both ends of the floor compete for titles.

Fired up yet? You should be. However, the path to the Finals will not be easy.

Get past the Clippers—who feature not just former Finals MVP Leonard but also regular All Star Paul George—and the Jazz will face either the Phoenix Suns, who had the second-best record in the league, or the Denver Nuggets, led by this year’s presumptive league MVP, crafty center Nikola Jokic. Any of four teams may come out of the East to face the West’s best in the Finals, but the most likely opponent is the Brooklyn Nets, led by the terrifying trio of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden. 

So, probably not time quite yet to diagram the parade route in Salt Lake City. But, don’t sleep on this team either. The NBA’s best during the regular season resided here in Utah, and it’s not insane to dream of our state’s first-ever title team. 

Go Jazz!

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Matt Pacenza teaches English at Judge Memorial Catholic High School. He is a long-time writer, editor and teacher.

For more Utah activities, check out Salt Lake magazine’s city life section and our latest print issue.

The Utah Pride Center’s Pride Week (June 1-7) is here. We’ve never had a Pride like this before and probably never will again. While we’ll miss the raucous celebration of summer loving that takes over downtown with its parade and festival, this year’s events provide an opportunity to reflect on and explore LGBTQ+ stories and identity. 

Pride Story Garden

The Story Garden, a maze-like art experience at Washington Square, is wholly unique to this year’s Pride. Artist Caitlyn Barhorst is making one of the sculpture’s for the Story Garden. The statue is of a butterfly, about four or five feet wide, made of reclaimed wood, with a bench at its base. “Someone can sit on the bench in front of it to take a picture with the wings behind them,” says Barhorst.

Butterflies have long had symbolic meaning for those who have come out as LGBTQ+, and Barhorst hopes their choice of materials helps translate that meaning. “This lumber that was otherwise at the end of its life has found a new function in a sculptural piece,” they say. Reclaimed wood features heavily in Barhorst’s other work as well, influenced by their master’s degree in historic preservation. “I just relate to it a lot better—of having that sort of story. The pieces have this history. You might not actually know where these things have been and what might have happened in their life.”

It doesn’t hurt that recycling materials is also a little more eco-friendly. 

For Barhorst, an introvert, the Story Garden offers an opportunity to participate in Pride in a way that is more their speed than a big parade might be. “I think making this garden piece is more along my personal interest in what I enjoy doing,” they say. And, with a Pride Week unlike any other, more people are finding new ways to take part. “It’s an opportunity to have community, connection and understanding. It’s a time to be a part of the places we live and share stories with people who might not live it day to day,” says Barhorst.

The Story Garden will provide the opportunity to tell those stories in a new way. “I’m excited to see what it is going to be like,” says Barhorst. “I think it will bring a calming kind of joy. Sculptural gardens are intended to be a reflective type experience.”

Barhorst’s work is on Instagram @alabasterandstone, and they have a pop up event at the Madewell in City Creek on June 15. You can also see them at Craft Lake City in August. 

The Story Garden opens Thursday, June 3 and runs through Monday, June 7 at Washington Square. 

Back to Roots

In a year with an onslaught of legislation targeting LGBTQ+ people, particularly transgender members of the community, Pride is returning to its protest roots this year. The Rainbow March and Rally will be one of the focal points of Pride Week. The rally will begin at the Utah State Capitol on Sunday, June 6 at 10 a.m. The march will take place after the rally, carrying the 200-foot rainbow flag down State Street through rainbow colored balloon arches, which will join together to create a massive balloon arch with over 1000 balloons. The march will take a turn heading East on 9th Street and end at Liberty Park. 

A staple from previous years as well, the Pride Interfaith Service is a virtual event where many faiths and traditions come together to celebrate and unite for a service of song, prayer and inspiration. It starts at 7 a.m. on June 2, with special guest speaker Angie Rice. You’ll need to register to receive access to the Zoom event. 

Keep the Party Going

There won’t be any food vendors at this year’s Pride events, so, instead, brunch or lunch at one of restaurants supporting Pride this year by offering discounts to Story Garden attendees. While downtown, you can check out Handle Salt Lake or Green Pig Pub for a meal and get dessert at Doki Doki. Or, skip down to the lower 9th neighborhood for lunch at Laziz Kitchen or Proper Burger. 

If you don’t want the party to stop, keep it going with a beer or cocktail and dancing at one of Salt Lake City’s gay bars. Starting the weekend of June 6, Sun Trapp is holding a Wet & Wild Party every Friday and Saturday. Club Try-Angles has Pride-centered events happening all week.

Maybe a drag show is more your thing. If so, you can usually catch your fill of fabulous at venues like The Urban Lounge, which is hosting a Pride Party on June 3, or Metro Music Hall, with its parade of drag shows. The Loading Dock is also hosting a Pride Kick-Off party on June 3, so partying all night is definitely still an option, whether there is a festival this year or not. 

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Tickets for the Story Garden can be purchased online at utahpridecenter.org along with more information on official Pride Week events.

Funky mountain grooves and the aroma of hot grills and delectable foods fill the air. Local artisans are peddling their wares and nonprofits are raising awareness for a myriad of causes. People are converging on an area to do something fun. Tip your head back. Take a deep breath. The Park Silly Sunday Market is back. 

After a lengthy hiatus due to that pesky pandemic that upended normal life for the past year and change, one of Main Street’s signature events is triumphantly returning. If everything goes to plan—I realize that statement probably has you tensely holding your breath—the Silly Market will run Sundays from June 6 to September 26. 

“Hopefully it won’t look too much different than we’ve experienced in the past,” says Kate McChesney, Executive Director of the Silly Market. “In talking to the Summit County Health Department, we need to get our county 70% vaccinated, and we’re also continuing a mask mandate and limiting the number of people within the venue. But, we’re optimistic, flexible and can make adjustments right down to the wire.”

The Silly Market’s absence last year was felt not only by revelers who had to find something else to do on Sundays, but also acutely by all the vendors making food, performing music and selling art and other goods. To help vendors weather the storm during the lost summer of 2020, organizers made an online directory of the small businesses that have been the backbone of the event for many years. That directory is still available on the Silly Market’s website so people can find and support their favorite vendors even on days the Market isn’t taking place. 

In 2019, the Silly Market featured more than 150 non-profit organizations, 116 stalls given to local farmers, 210 musicians and buskers, 14 local artists and 14 local Main Street merchants. If that’s not enough variety for you, the Silly Market swaps things around with a unique vendor lineup each week. Come on out and get silly. Just remember to bring a mask along and do your best to maintain social distancing so Park City can keep the party rolling all summer long.

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Visit the Silly Market website for full details and updates. This story is part of our May/June 2021 issue.

Nextdoor.com has opened up the ability for neighbors to communicate and connect without actually communicating and connecting, IRL. (Cuz. Yuck.) For example, it has helped me track down the owner of a stray rooster or to deliver a misdelivered package so Carl could have his resoled Birkenstocks before the Fourth of July. But mainly…Nextdoor is a pit of rage, bile, pettiness, paranoia, self-righteousness, self-congratulatory smugness and weaponized nosiness. These are the rules of the Nextdoor Neighborhood.

Be Sure to Let Everyone Know What a Good Neighbor You Are.

I shovel my sidewalks in the winter and ensure that the cleared path is the exact width as the sidewalk, nice clean lines. I follow it up with a thin layer of ice melt to ensure my sidewalks are safe for all to walk upon. I do my part and make sure everyone who doesn’t gets my attention on Nextdoor.com.

What’s That Noise?

It is one of the most important principles of engaging on Nextdoor: When you hear something, post something. Was that a gunshot? No. It was a car backfiring. Was that a gunshot? No. It was fireworks for Chinese New Year. Perhaps Nextdoor could create a “different loud sounds” feature for its app and allow users to test and grow their loud sound knowledge. Dog barking or gunshot? Garbage truck or AK-47? Door slamming or sniper?

What To Do If Your Package Was Stolen.

Let everyone know on Nextdoor, immediately. In ALL CAPS. Later, after I discover it misdelivered on my porch, I’ll return it to you and post about it on Nextdoor.

Somebody Parked In My Spot.

It is not your spot. Street parking is public. Now instead of posting on the Nextdoor App about that car blocking your driveway, you could take action. You could try to find the owner, contact parking enforcement (there’s an app for that). Or you could slash the tires. Me, I don’t actually slash the tires, but I dream about slashing the tires and live out my fantasy on Nextdoor. It makes me feel better.

Please Note the Poop.

Do you think that when the comments on a dog poop thread exceed 50 rants, that a magical poop fairy visits the irresponsible dog owners to force them to clean it up? No, there is no poop fairy and the owners won’t do it, they are not responsible citizens and do not use Nextdoor.com. Just try not to step in it.

A Suspicious Person Is Wearing A Hoodie.

You are a racist.

More Bird Pictures.

We can all be better neighbors. It can start with posting relevant and important information to the Nextdoor App. Also, post pictures of birds. I love those, especially the owls.

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This story is included in the May/June issue of Salt Lake magazine. Read the whole magazine here.

Summer sun, something’s begun / But, oh, oh, the summer nights.”
With John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John as your personal soundtrack, here is a quick guide to SLC Open Streets, what is happening in downtown Salt Lake City this summer, and how you can make the most of it. 

Summer Days

Once again, the city is blocking off downtown Main Street to traffic to host SLC Open Streets, back for 2021. Promenade with your pod Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from noon to close this summer, starting the last week of May. Restaurants, bars and shops will extend their service onto the sidewalks between 400 South and South Temple on Main Street and Regent Street.

The Downtown Alliance says 150 businesses will participate in Open Streets this year. Along the Main Street Corridor, you’ll find some perfect places to take lunch al fresco. Eva’s Bakery offers a light fare of salads, flatbreads, sandwiches and soups. Or, if you’re in the mood for something a bit heartier, try some solid German cuisine at Siegfried’s Deli.

Not that you need more reason to attend, but the SLC Open Streets inaugural event last year helped keep downtown businesses afloat in the pandemic. Several of those businesses experienced a 30% increase in sales as a result of the efforts. So shop it up! You can find high-quality second-hand clothes at Uptown Cheapskate, vinyl records at the Heavy Metal Shop, reggae-themed gifts at Twisted Roots and souvenirs at Salt Lake Souvenir & Gift.    

Downtown Alliance’s website as a full list of businesses participating in Open Streets. And, remember, even though the CDC says we may not have to wear masks outside anymore, some bars, restaurants and retailers might still require them, so don’t leave your mask at home!

If you’re looking for more to do downtown during SLC Open Streets, you can check out the Farmer’s Market on Tuesdays and Saturdays all summer. For a bit of culture, the Gateway Art Stroll is happening on the third Friday of every month from 6-9 p.m. The Living Traditions Festival will have live, traditional, culturally diverse performances by dancers and musicians going on all day at Washington Square on June 26. And Pride Week is happening June 1-7 with events at the Utah State Capitol Building and Washington Square. 

Summer Nights

The show really begins with live performers taking to the streets from Gallivan Center and Exchange Place to City Creek Center between 6 p.m and 10 p.m. It’s part of a partnership with the Salt Lake City Arts Council’s Busker Fest (May 27-29 downtown with more events around Salt Lake City throughout June). A busker is a performer who typically entertains in a public space for donations, so make sure to bring cash to tip the buskers for a job well done!

When you’re ready for dinner, London Belle Supper Club is right there on the Main Street drag, offering small plates to share and sporting one of the best namesakes of any Salt Lake establishment. Who doesn’t want to eat at a place named for a notorious madam? While not named for a madam, Eva has some of the most satisfying small plates around. Enjoy a few of those with a friend, along with a glass of wine or two, on their patio.

Afterward, you can make your own fun by challenging your friends to some old-school arcade games at Quarters Arcade Bar. Loser buys the next round of cocktails. 

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For more to do downtown, check out our story on mainstay summer events returning to Salt Lake City and these day trips guaranteed to cure your cabin fever. While you’re here, you can also check out the latest issue of Salt Lake magazine.

Haley Batten has punched her ticket to the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo. The budding mountain bike superstar and Park City native met USA Cycling’s automatic qualifying criteria after finishing in second place at the Nové Mesto XCO World Cup race on Sunday, May 16. This followed Batten’s win in the short-track cross-country mountain bike race two days earlier and a third-place finish in the World Cup XCO race at the season’s first race in Albstadt, Germany.

Batten has skyrocketed up the rankings as a first-year elite racer with two consecutive podium finishes against the world’s best, but her Under-23 XCO National Championship in 2017 and her Under-23 XCO gold medal at the Pan American Championships in 2019 foreshadowed what the Parkite could achieve. “I honestly didn’t know what I was capable of. So to start the season like this is pretty incredible,” she told Cycling News following the Nové Mesto event. Joining Batten on the U.S. squad is former World Champion Kate Courtney who has also shown strong form to begin the 2021 season with a fourth place in Albstadt. The U.S. Women are a force to be reckoned with as the Olympics approach.

Park City athletes are no strangers to Olympic success, with the likes of Ted Ligety, Joss Christensen, Sage Kotsenburg and more winning gold medals in prior years. Unlike those names, however, Batten will be competing for hardware on sweltering ribbons of dirt singletrack instead of snow-covered slopes. There is also one spot up for grabs on the men’s side, with another Utah local, Keegan Swenson, vying for a spot in Tokyo. Undoubtedly, growing up in a cycling-obsessed community with an endless supply of trails has prepared these Beehive State riders for the world stage.

The final Olympic Team will be announced on June 10, and hopefully we can add Swenson to the list of Utah-based athletes who will be representing the United States. Until then, we’ll keep track of Batten as she makes Park City and all of Utah proud battling at the top of the World Cup standings.

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Check out more outdoor and sports coverage as we get ready for Tokyo. Featured image from USA Cycling