The Salt Lake ValleySandy opens Heritage Festival with a horse parade, Foster the People plays the plaza, and South Salt Lake ends with drones
Plus La Traviata in Taylorsville, WitchFest in West Jordan, and RSL faces Vancouver Saturday.
Good morning, Salt Lake Valley.
Sandy Heritage Festival starts Saturday with a horse parade down Historic Main Street, then fills Main Street Park with live music, food, pony rides, a petting zoo, classic cars, and free children's activities.
Foster the People and Goth Babe play the outdoor plaza at America First Field Friday. South Salt Lake marks its birthday with a free Friday night festival and a drone light show.
📍 30 seconds in the valley⏱️ 9 min read
- 🐴Start Sandy Heritage Festival with the horse parade
- 🎸See Foster the People with Goth Babe in Sandy
- 🎂Stay for the drone show at Celebrate South Salt Lake
⭐ The Big One
Pick of the week
Start Sandy Heritage Festival with the horse parade
Sandy Heritage Festival opens with horses moving down Historic Main Street, then shifts into Main Street Park for live music, food vendors, pony rides, a petting zoo, a classic car show, face painting, bounce houses, and games.
Our take
Stand along Main Street before 10am for the parade, then walk into the park when the festival opens. The short schedule makes it easy to see the horses, visit the animals, and still leave before midafternoon.⚠️ Heads up: The horse parade starts 30 minutes before the park activities. Arriving at 10:30am means missing the opening procession.
free horse paradefree family activitiesSandy
📰 Around the Valley
Intermountain plans a nine-story medical campus in West Valley City
Intermountain Health has acquired the nine-story Fairbourne Building at 3535 Market Street and plans to convert it into a medical campus serving western Salt Lake County.
Utah students post gains in English, math, and science
Utah's 2025-26 statewide assessment results show proficiency rising in English language arts, math, and science from the previous school year.
📅 This Week
Book before Friday
See Foster the People with Goth Babe in Sandy
Foster the People brings its current tour to the outdoor plaza beside America First Field, with Goth Babe opening the Friday night concert.
Our take
Go for both acts. Goth Babe gets a full opening slot before Foster the People, and the plaza setup puts the concert outside the stadium rather than on the soccer field.⚠️ Heads up: The plaza is outdoors. Check the evening weather before leaving and use the current venue entry instructions attached to your ticket.
$$$ indie popoutdoor concertSandy
Best free Friday night
Stay for the drone show at Celebrate South Salt Lake
Celebrate South Salt Lake turns the city's birthday into a free evening with children's activities, live entertainment, food trucks, and a drone light show to close the event.
Our take
Arrive before dark for the activities and entertainment, then stay through the final drone show. It is the strongest free alternative to Friday's ticketed concerts.⚠️ Heads up: The drone show closes a three-hour event. Coming only for the finale means finding parking after the festival is already underway.
free drone showfree family nightSouth Salt Lake
Worth arriving early
See Verdi's La Traviata in Taylorsville
Lyrical Opera Theater stages Verdi's La Traviata on the Mid-Valley main stage. The production runs 130 minutes with two intermissions, and each performance includes a free lobby concert and pre-show lecture 45 minutes before curtain.
Our take
Use the Friday or Sunday performance if tonight is too soon. Arrive 45 minutes early for the lobby music or the short guide to the opera before taking your seat.⚠️ Heads up: The production is recommended for ages 8 and older, every patron needs a ticket, and late seating is allowed only between pieces.
$$ live operapre-show lectureTaylorsville
Skip if you expect live witches
Walk the opening weekend displays at WitchFest
Gardner Village opens WitchFest with its decorated witch displays and a scavenger hunt through the shops. Completed hunts earn a $1 cookie at Happy Camper Deli and Bakery.
Our take
Use opening weekend for the displays, scavenger hunt, and shops. Wait until October if the live witch characters are the reason you want to go.⚠️ Heads up: Live witches appear on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays in October, not during the September opening. Popular ticketed activities may require reservations.
free Halloween displaysscavenger huntWest Jordan
🏟️ The Scoreboard
Real Salt Lake falls 2-0 to New York City FC
Real Salt Lake lost 2-0 to New York City FC Saturday at America First Field, extending its winless run to 11 matches.
Utah volleyball heads to Northern Colorado at 5-3
Utah women's volleyball lost 3-1 to UCLA Sunday at the Huntsman Center and enters its final nonconference tournament with a 5-3 record.
🍴 Eat & Drink
Worth the canyon drive
Order Ruth's Mile High biscuits in Emigration Canyon
Ruth's Diner has served Emigration Canyon since 1930 from a building wrapped around an old Salt Lake trolley car. Its current daytime menu still centers the Mile High Biscuits and Country Gravy.
Our take
Go Thursday or Friday before 4pm to order the biscuits. The plate comes with two biscuits, scrambled eggs, and country gravy, so it is a full breakfast rather than a side order.⚠️ Heads up: Ruth's is closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Breakfast service ends at 4pm even though the diner stays open for dinner.
$$ canyon breakfastmile-high biscuitsEmigration Canyon
🌲 Get Outside
Best west-side trail pick
Walk the Oquirrh foothills at Yellow Fork Canyon
Yellow Fork and Rose canyons form a trail network on the Herriman side of the Oquirrh Mountains for hikers, runners, mountain bikers, horseback riders, and birders. The county keeps motorized vehicles off the trails.
Our take
Use the county trail map to choose a short creekside walk or a longer foothill loop before leaving the trailhead. Leashed dogs are allowed, unlike the protected Cottonwood Canyon watersheds.⚠️ Heads up: Mountain bikes are allowed only on selected trails. Check the posted map at the trailhead before choosing a route, and keep dogs leashed.
free west-side trailsleashed dogsHerriman
🎟️ Also Happening
Taylorsville Fall Festival
Taylorsville's free Fall Festival brings pumpkin decorating, games, a pie-eating contest, quilts, booths, chalk art, and face painting to the Taylorsville-Bennion Heritage Center, 1488 W 4800 S, Saturday from 10am-1pm.
Jordan River cleanup in Midvale
The Jordan River Commission hosts a cleanup at the 7800 South trailhead and boat ramp in Midvale Wednesday from 3-5pm. Volunteers should register before arriving and wear clothes that can handle dirt and riverbank work.
Elgar and Prokofiev at Abravanel Hall
Utah Symphony performs Elgar's Cello Concerto and Prokofiev's Symphony No. 5 at Abravanel Hall, 123 W South Temple, Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm. A pre-concert discussion begins 45 minutes before each performance.
📰 Valley News
Salsa Queen shuts down its Utah salsa business
Salsa Queen has shut down the salsa company that founder Maharba Zapata started from her Magna home and later expanded into grocery stores.
Primary Children's ranks in all 11 pediatric specialties
Intermountain Health says its Primary Children's campuses in Salt Lake City, Lehi, and Taylorsville ranked in all 11 pediatric specialties measured in the 2026-27 U.S. News list.
The Debate
💙 Good Neighbor
Tell us who showed up for someone
Know a neighbor, teacher, coach, or local worker who helped someone this week? Reply with their name, their city, and what happened so we can consider their story.
Nominate a neighbor →Friday's two largest events are 17 miles apart. Pick Foster the People for the ticketed concert or Celebrate South Salt Lake for the free community night.
Reply with the restaurant, trail, or neighborhood event we should check next.
— The Salt Lake Valley crew
Got a tip, a new opening, or an event? Just reply, we read everything.
Read past issues · Refer a neighbor · Advertise with us
Read past issues · Refer a neighbor · Advertise with us