SUMMER FESTIVITIES GET ROLLIN’

COMMUNITY FUN • Parades, car shows, carnivals, theater and seasonal food are just the tip of the corn dog.

As the skies clear up and warm weather filters in, Utah’s festival season is kicking into gear.

This weekend has seen the Utah Pride Festival and Ogden Music Festival, and both Salt Lake City’s Twilight Concert Series and Ogden Twilight shows have begun. Across Utah, cities and towns have their own unique festivals throughout the summer and into early fall.

Here are some of the festivals worth visiting around Utah.

Orem Fest

June 5-10, Orem

Formerly called Summer Fest, Orem Fest is a miniature version of the Utah State Fair, except it’s in Orem over a course of a few days. Activities at Orem Fest include a rev road rally on Monday, pool party on Tuesday, family day on Thursday, and a grand parade and firework show on Saturday night. A complete list of events, with dates and starting times, can be found at oremfest.org.

Strawberry Days

June 10-18, Pleasant Grove

Pleasant Grove’s Strawberry Days is the longest-running such celebration in Utah, marking 102 years this year. The theme for the 2023 edition of the eight-day event is “Strength Lies in Our Roots.” Last, but certainly not least since the eight day event clocks in at 102 years — making it the longest running celebration in Utah — is the Strawberry Days festival, set in Pleasant Grove. The 2023 theme is “Strength Lies in Our Roots.” A schedule is yet to be released, but the event traditionally offers something for everyone, from a rodeo to a carnival.

Utah Shakespeare Festival

June 21-September 9, Cedar City

The Utah Shakespeare Festival needs no introduction. This year, the festival will showcase seven different plays. Four are by Shake-speare: “Romeo and Juliet,” “A Mid-summer Night’s Dream,” “Timon of Athens” and “Coriolanus.” The oth-ers are a musical version of Jane Austen’s “Emma,” Lorraine Hans-bury’s drama “A Raisin in the Sun,” and the farce “The Play That Goes Wrong.” There’s also the ever-popu-lar Greenshow. Tickets can be pur-chased at bard.org.

Utah Festival Opera & Musical theatre

July 5-August 5, Logan

The Utah Festival Opera & Musi-cal Theatre’s summer schedule of-fers a wide range of mainstage opera and musicals from which to select — Richard Wagner’s “Lohengrin,” Li-onel Bart’s musical “Oliver!,” Gui-seppe Verdi’s “Aida,” Elton John and Tim Rice’s “Aida,” Steven Lut-vak and Robert L. Freeman’s “A Gen-tleman’s Guide to Love and Murder,” and Ned Rorem’s musical version of “Our Town.” There’s also a slate of concerts to be performed. A full schedule and ticket packages can be found at utahfestival.org.

Melon Days

Sept. 15-16, Green River

This year marks 117 of Melon Days, celebrating the varieties of mel-on grown in the small town of Green River. While the celebration happens in September, melon stands along Main Street sell their goods during harvest season from July into late October. If you go to the festival’s parade, you might catch a glimpse of the great watermelon float. A full schedule of events can be found at melon-days.com

Park City Wine Festival

October 5-7, Park City

Park City isn’t exactly a small town, but the Park City Wine

Festival in early autumn is another event that brings people from around the world to the ski town. Since it’s a wine festival, no children are allowed to attend festival events. Tickets are on sale now, and range from $109 to $275. Go to ParkCityWineFest.com for information.

More festivals

• Family Festival, Cedar Hills, June 3-10.

• Art City Days, Springville, June 4-10.

• Splash Days, Saratoga Springs, June 7-10.

• Utah Scottish Festival and Highland Games, Salt Lake City (Utah State Fairpark), June 16-18.

• Lehi Round-Up Week, Lehi, June 18-24

• Fort Herriman Towne Days, Herriman, June 19-24.

• Taylorsville Dayzz, Taylorsville, June 22-24.

• Riverton Town Days, Riverton, June 23-24 (rodeo), July 3-4 (town celebration).

• America’s Freedom Festival, Provo, June 29-July 4.

• Draper Days, Draper, July 7-15.

• Cherry Days, North Ogden, July

8.

• Festival Days, Farmington, July 10-15.

• Days of ‘47, Salt Lake City, July 13-24.

• Handcart Days, Bountiful, July 14-15.

• Steel Days, American Fork, July 17-22.

• Fiesta Days, Spanish Fork, July 19-22.

• Pioneer Days, Fairview, July 2024.

• Butlerville Days, Cottonwood Heights, July 27-29.

• Orchard Days, Santaquin, July 29-August 5.

• Lindon Days, Lindon, July 29-August 5.

• Highland Fling, Highland, July 31-August 5.

• Bear Lake Raspberry Days, Garden City, August 3-5.

• Roy Days, Roy, August 3-5.

• Park City Kimball Arts Festival, Park City, August 4-6.

• Alpine Days, Alpine, August 5-12.

• Midway Swiss Days, Midway, August 31-September 1.

• Peach Days, Hurricane, August 31-September 2.

• Golden Onion Days, Payson, August 31-September 4.