The Salt Lake ValleyBallet West's Dracula plays its last week, Magnolia Bakery opens on Foothill Drive, and Halloween lands on a Saturday
Plus fish tacos in Cottonwood Heights, a haunted dinner up Millcreek Canyon, and a map of Riverton's spookiest yards.
Good morning, Salt Lake Valley.
Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, so the whole week bends toward it. Ballet West's Dracula has six shows left at the Capitol Theatre, the Utah Symphony plays Hocus Pocus live under the movie, and a New York cupcake shop opens on Foothill Drive Wednesday. Below is which night to pick for each.
Today is the nice one: mostly sunny with a high near 64, with a 50 percent chance of rain tonight. Tuesday is sunny but cooler, near 57, then Wednesday and Thursday are partly sunny in the low 60s. Rain is likely Friday and again on Halloween, with a high near 56 Saturday, so pick costumes that fit over a coat.
📍 30 seconds in the valley⏱️ 8 min read
- 🧛Pick your night for Dracula's final week
- 🧁Magnolia Bakery opens in Foothill Village Wednesday
- 🌮Order the fish tacos at Lone Star in Cottonwood Heights
⭐ The Big One
Best night out this week
Pick your night for Dracula's final week at the Capitol Theatre
Ballet West's Dracula, Ben Stevenson's ballet built on the Bram Stoker novel, opened Friday and closes on Halloween. Six performances are left: Wednesday through Friday at 7:30pm, then a 2pm matinee and a 7:30pm show on Saturday, Oct. 31. The Ballet West Orchestra plays the Franz Liszt score live, arranged by John Lanchbury.
Three dancers rotate through the title role. Tyler Gum dances Dracula on Friday and Halloween night, Adrian Fry has Thursday, and Dominic Ballard gets Wednesday and the Saturday matinee.
Friday is the night to go if you want to dress up. Ballet West and FanX run a costume contest before the 7:30 show, with FanX judges and Ballet West's head of costume production, Jason Hadley, picking winners. There's a red carpet walk, professional photos, and a free magnet with your picture on it.
Our take
Get there early on Friday. Space in the costume contest is limited, and the lobby doors open an hour before curtain, so 6:30 is your window. The show runs about two and a half hours with two intermissions, which makes the Saturday matinee the better call for kids, and Ballet West recommends it for ages 8 and up.⚠️ Heads up: There's no late seating. Miss the curtain and you wait in the lobby until the first intermission, and tickets are no-refund, with exchanges only up to 48 hours ahead for a fee.
$$ balletHalloweendate night
📰 Around the Valley
Magnolia Bakery opens its Foothill Village shop Wednesday
The New York bakery known for the cupcakes from Sex and the City opens its second Utah shop Wednesday at 10am, right after a ribbon cutting. It's in Foothill Village on the east bench, in a 1,500-square-foot space. The first Utah store opened in Holladay in June to a line out the door. Besides cupcakes, the menu runs to banana pudding, cookies, and pies.
Madsen Park near North Temple closes today for a rebuild
Salt Lake City is closing Madsen Park in the Euclid neighborhood starting today, and it stays closed through the rest of the year while crews rebuild it. The $1.05 million job adds a half-court basketball court, a game zone, off-leash dog areas, new lighting, drinking fountains, and water-wise plants, plus hookups for events. The city had once thought about moving the park, then decided to rebuild it where it is.
📅 This Week
Worth it, and Friday is cheaper
Watch Hocus Pocus with the Utah Symphony playing the score
The symphony plays the music live while the 1993 movie runs on a screen above the stage, with Vladimir Kulenovic conducting. Costumes are encouraged, and the lobby has wine and a movie trivia game before the show.
Our take
Pick Friday. When we looked, the cheapest Friday seats were about $30 less than Thursday's. Kids 5 and up can come if they'll sit through a whole movie, so it's an easy family night out before Halloween weekend.⚠️ Heads up: No babes in arms, and latecomers wait for a break in the concert to be seated.
$$ familymoviesdowntown
Worth it for a dinner that feels like a night out
Book a table for Haunted Haven at Log Haven
The restaurant up Millcreek Canyon dresses up for three nights, with Halloween specials and themed cocktails on top of the regular dinner menu. Every guest gets a free tarot reading, with two readers working the tables.
Our take
The dining rooms are in a log building tucked into the trees up the canyon, so it already looks haunted before anyone hangs a cobweb. Costumes are welcome but not required, and there's no age limit, so you can bring the kids. Book through OpenTable now, since every table that weekend is a Halloween table.⚠️ Heads up: Cancel less than 24 hours out and it's $25 a person. Groups of 7 to 12 have to call the restaurant at 801-272-8255.
$$$ dinnerHalloweencanyon
Worth it, and it's free
Shop the Low Light Market in South Salt Lake Thursday
The Commonwealth Room turns into a Halloween night market for one night, with local vendors selling vintage and handmade art, plus live music, food, beer, and cocktails.
Our take
Come for the vendors, stay for the band. Pat's BBQ is just down the street at 155 W. Commonwealth, so grab burnt ends first and walk over.⚠️ Heads up: It's 21 and over, so leave the kids with the Hocus Pocus crowd.
free marketvintage21+
Skip it if you only know the radio songs
Skip the Smashing Pumpkins unless you love Mellon Collie front to back
Billy Corgan's band brings its Rats in a Cage tour to the Delta Center for the 30th anniversary of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Each night has two sets. The first is all Mellon Collie, staged like a theater show, and the second pulls from the rest of the catalog and changes city to city.
Our take
Mellon Collie is a double album with 28 songs, and the first set is built around it. If that record was your whole sophomore year, this is your night. If you mostly want Today and Cherub Rock, nothing promises you'll hear them, since the second set changes every night. The Low Light Market is free that same night.⚠️ Heads up: The Arena TRAX station is right across the street, which beats paying for a downtown lot on a show night.
$$ rock90sdowntown
🏟️ The Scoreboard
The Jazz have Memphis at home tonight after their first win
The Jazz lost their opener in Memphis, then won the home opener Friday, 120-119 over New Orleans, after giving back a 15-point lead in the third quarter. Jaren Jackson Jr. had 24 points and 10 rebounds. After hosting the Lakers Sunday afternoon, they get the Grizzlies again tonight, the first of three home games this week, and the last one tips off at 1pm on Halloween.
Dmitri Simashev's first two NHL goals beat Tampa Bay in overtime
The Mammoth were down 4-2 to the Lightning Saturday at the Delta Center. Simashev scored to tie it, then tapped in Barrett Hayton's pass 1:44 into overtime for a 5-4 win. Utah hosts Minnesota Tuesday, then heads out to Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
Utah football is 7-0 and plays at Cincinnati on Halloween
Houston led 10-0 in the second half Saturday at Rice-Eccles before the Utes came back to win 21-13. Devon Dampier ran for two touchdowns, and Jackson Bennee's strip-sack with about two minutes left set up the second one. Utah is the last unbeaten team in the Big 12. Next is a road trip to Cincinnati, then BYU comes to town Nov. 7.
🍴 Eat & Drink
Worth the line
Order the fish tacos at Lone Star Taqueria in Cottonwood Heights
Lone Star has been making tacos on Fort Union Boulevard since 1994. It's a counter where you order, find a seat, and wait for your name. The green salsa recipe hasn't changed in all that time.
Our take
The fish tacos are the order: $5.74 for two corn tortillas with cabbage, tomato, cilantro, onion, and jalapeño mayo. The fish changes daily, so ask what it is today. Everything but the flour tortillas, the chile verde, and the churros is gluten free, and the new quesabirria comes with consomé for $13.95 if someone at the table wants something heavier.⚠️ Heads up: It's closed Sundays, and there's no online ordering yet, so call ahead at 801-944-2300 if you're picking up.
$ tacoscheap eatsCottonwood Heights
Details → 👨👩👧 Family & Free
Worth it, and it's free
Drive Riverton's Halloween Tour of decorated yards
Riverton residents decorate their houses, and the city puts them all on one map so you can drive from yard to yard. It runs every night through Halloween.
Our take
Open the map on the city's Halloween Tour page and tap the black ghost icons, since each one is a house on this year's list. Plan a loop of five or six close together and let the kids pick the order. It works for any age because nobody has to get out of the car, and little ones can do it in pajamas.⚠️ Heads up: These are people's homes, so stay in the car or on the sidewalk unless the family is out front inviting people up.
free kidsfreeRiverton
Details → 🎟️ Also Happening
Walk Garden After Dark
Red Butte Garden's Neverland-themed night walk runs through Friday, Oct 30, on the east bench in Salt Lake City, and weeknight tickets are $15.
Hit Pumpkin Days at Wheeler Farm
The corn maze, duck races, and wagon rides at Wheeler Historic Farm in Murray close for the season Saturday, Oct 31, and Tuesday is the $10 day.
Make Fear Factory's last night
The haunted house in Salt Lake City's Granary District runs its final night of the season Sunday, Nov 1.
📰 Valley News
Downtown street closures are coming for the Salt Lake Temple open house
The Salt Lake Temple open house runs April 5 through Oct. 1, 2027, and about 22,000 visitors a day are expected. Street closures around Temple Square start in March so crews can run test tours. The blocks north, south, and west of the temple will be fenced off, and drivers will be pushed onto 200 South and 300 South. Visitors are being steered to TRAX or a lot near North Temple and Redwood Road with a free shuttle.
West Jordan neighbors say data center generators are too loud
People who live around the Aligned Data Centers campus at 3333 W. 9000 South say its backup generators run at unpredictable times, sometimes for more than two hours. The county health department has had four formal noise complaints since August and is investigating. The company says the generators are for emergency power and routine testing, and it has hired an outside firm to do a sound study.
A 10-story Poplar Grove apartment plan would shade the Summum pyramid
The West End Apartments, planned for 730 W. 900 South, would put a 10-story building and a parking garage just southwest of the Summum pyramid on Genesee Avenue. The group built the pyramid in 1979 for its sunlight, and a shadow study shows the new building would shade it at least four months a year. The planning commission gave the project preliminary approval last month, and Summum appealed again on Oct. 2, arguing the shade burdens its religious practice.
The Debate
💙 Good Neighbor
Nominate the person who helped this week
If a neighbor did something specific that made your week easier, reply with their name, city, and what they did. We may feature them in a future issue.
Nominate a neighbor →If you only do one thing this week, get to the Capitol Theatre for Dracula, and make it Friday if anyone in your house owns a cape. If the weekend fills up, a weeknight drive through Riverton's decorated yards costs nothing and takes twenty minutes.
Reply and tell us what your street does when Halloween lands on a Saturday.
— The Salt Lake Valley crew
Got a tip, a new opening, or an event? Just reply, we read everything.
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Read past issues · Refer a neighbor · Advertise with us