Annual Events and Festivals - Salt Lake City Utah
July
July 24th Pioneer Day
Statewide
www.daysof47.com
July 24, 1847, is the day the Mormon pioneers first entered the Salt Lake Valley. It is a state holiday, and many businesses and government agencies close. The following three events are the ones you'll want to see.
Days of '47 All Horse Parade
Downtown Salt Lake City
www.daysof47.com
More than 1,200 horses parade through downtown Salt Lake City streets in a dazzling display of equine finery and acrobatics. This all-horse parade, one of the largest in the country, has been a Salt Lake tradition since 1960. It happens on the Saturday before the 24th and traditionally kicks off Utah's Pioneer Days celebrations.
Days of '47 Parade
Downtown Salt Lake City
www.daysof47.com
This parade is one of the largest and oldest in the United States, with hundreds of floats, bands, horses, clowns, and other entries. Since the parade commemorates Utah's pioneer heritage, you'll see a lot of gingham dresses, bonnets, covered wagons, and the like.
The entire downtown area shuts down while this parade goes by. It's televised throughout the Intermountain West on a number of local television stations. A crowd of up to 150,000 people lines the parade route early in the morning for the best viewing spots, so get there early, real early! It can be brutally hot in Utah in July, so bring a hat, sunscreen, and drinking water.
Days of '47 World Champion Rodeo
Downtown Salt Lake City
www.daysof47.com
You'll be hollering "Ride 'em cowboy!" at this huge rodeo and we do mean it's a big 'un. Every big-name bronco buster shows up to test some of the orneriest stock in the country. Bull riding, calf roping, bronco busting, steer wrestling, and wild cow milking are all part of the show.
Independence Day Festivities
Various sites in and around Salt Lake City
As in any city, Salt Lakers love to celebrate the fourth with oodles of food, marching bands, booths, fireworks, parades, dancing, and what have you. The Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret Morning News list all of the events in he area with complete details, so you can choose the level of celebration you want - from huge, stereophonic fireworks shows to small-town breakfasts and parades. Most of the smaller cities in the Salt Lake Valley put on some kind of show. In years when the fourth falls on a Sunday, all events take place on Saturday.
Obon Festival
Downtown Salt Lake City
www.slbuddhist.org
For Buddhists, the Obon is a time of welcoming souls to the living world, as well as a memorial service for the dead and an acknowledgment of the power of the dead ancestors over the living. The highlight of this festival is the Bon Odori, or Bon Dancing, performed by women dressed in traditional kimonos. Many of the dancers use round fans, folding fans, kachi kachi (finger clickers), and special Japanese towels. In addition to dancing, you'll find exhibitions of Japanese drumming, along with Japanese and American food. Members of the temple give tours of the Hondo (main temple) and explain the temple's symbolism. The Salt Lake Buddhist Temple was built in 1912 and offers services in the Jodo Shinshu sect of Buddhism.
Salt Lake City International Jazz Festival
Downtown Salt Lake City
www.slcjazzfest.com
Here is another festival of great proportions. The Salt Lake City International Jazz Festival gets bigger and better every year. Main events take place on an outdoor stage at the City and County Building, with a beer garden nearby. All over town, at venues like the Grand America Hotel, there are jam sessions and additional concerts.