The Salt Lake ValleyDays of '47 takes over Salt Lake, Maren Morris at Red Butte, Jimmy Eat World in Sandy
Plus a free Monday concert in Millcreek, the reservoirs keep dropping, and the cheese-wheel carbonara worth the drive to Holladay.
Good morning, Salt Lake Valley.
This is the biggest week on the valley's calendar. Pioneer Day lands Friday, and Salt Lake throws its whole self at it: a week of rodeo out at the Fairpark, a downtown parade, a marathon at dawn, and a drone show over Liberty Park to close the night.
Around all of that, the concert season keeps rolling. Maren Morris plays Red Butte tonight, Jimmy Eat World runs a two-night Bleed American stand in Sandy, and there is a free Monday show in a Millcreek park with room for the dog. Here is your week.
📍 30 seconds in the valley⏱️ 5 min read
- ⭐Pioneer Day week takes over Salt Lake
- 📰137 homes pitched for Liberty Wells, the reservoirs keep dropping
- 📅Maren Morris, Jimmy Eat World, a free Millcreek concert
- 🍴The cheese-wheel carbonara in Holladay
- 🌲Wildflowers opening up Little Cottonwood
⭐ The Big One
Best of the week
Days of '47 and Pioneer Day week take over Salt Lake
Utah is one of the few states with a holiday all its own, and this is the week the valley goes all in. The Days of '47 Rodeo, billed as the world's only gold-medal rodeo, runs Tuesday through Saturday at the Days of '47 Arena at the Utah State Fairpark, with each night closing on a drone-and-fireworks show around 10:30.
The holiday itself is Friday. The Days of '47 Parade steps off at 9 a.m. downtown, one of the largest parades in the country, and the Deseret News Marathon runs into Liberty Park that same morning. Friday night, the city caps it off with a free drone show at Liberty Park.
Here is the local wrinkle: in a bone-dry summer, Salt Lake swapped its Pioneer Day fireworks for drones to cut the fire risk, so the finale is a quiet light show, not a boom. Most of the valley treats Friday like a second Fourth of July, so plan for a slow, celebratory day.
Our take
If you only do one big thing this week, make it a Pioneer Day thing. A week of rodeo, a downtown parade, a marathon, and a drone show over Liberty Park is about as much as the valley ever packs into a few days.⚠️ Heads up: Friday is a state holiday, so plenty of stores, banks, and offices close and TRAX runs a holiday schedule. And with the drone swap, do not drive downtown Friday night expecting fireworks.
$$ festivalfamilycommunity
📰 Around the Valley
137 homes pitched to replace a Liberty Wells strip mall
Developers want to knock down a tired strip mall on the northeast corner of State Street and 1300 South and put up Lincoln Village, a 137-unit project in the Liberty Wells neighborhood just south of downtown. The plan calls for 12 buildings holding 42 apartments and 95 townhomes, plus a clubhouse near 200 East. It is another sign of how fast the older neighborhoods along the State Street corridor are filling in with denser housing.
Utah's reservoirs run low as the drought deepens
The valley slid into the back half of a hot, dry summer with the state's water supply running thin. Utah's reservoir system sat at 64 percent in mid-July, about 11 points under the normal mark for this time of year and 15 points below where it stood last summer. After a winter that dropped less than half the usual snowpack, more than 40 percent of the state is now in extreme or exceptional drought, and a handful of smaller reservoirs have nearly bottomed out.
📅 This Week
Worth it
Maren Morris, Red Butte Garden, Salt Lake City
Country's sharpest songwriter plays the foothills amphitheater tonight, with Scout Willis opening. Red Butte gets voted the best outdoor room in town for a reason, and a Morris set on a July evening up by the U is close to the platonic version of it.
Our take
The best songwriter in country music at the best outdoor venue in the valley. Get there early for the openers and let the foothills do the rest.⚠️ Heads up: Red Butte shows sell out and the lot fills fast, so carpool or plan for the shuttle. July storms can roll over the foothills late in the day, so tuck a layer in the picnic bag.
$$$ musicnight out
Book now
Jimmy Eat World: 25 Years of Bleed American, Sandy Amphitheater, Sandy
Bleed American turns 25, and Jimmy Eat World is playing the record front to back in Sandy, with Motion City Soundtrack and Illuminati Hotties warming it up. Demand was strong enough that a second night got added, so the band runs back-to-back shows Tuesday and Wednesday.
Our take
A full evening of 2001 for anyone who wore out that CD. The Sandy Amphitheater is intimate enough that a nostalgia show like this actually lands.⚠️ Heads up: Two nights means the popular one is nearly gone, so lock in the date you want rather than assuming there is room at the door. Parking around the amphitheater is tight, so leave early.
$$ musicnight out
Worth it
Summer Jam Concert Series: Die Shiny, Canyon Rim Park, Millcreek
Millcreek runs a free concert in Canyon Rim Park every Monday night all summer, and this week brings the electro-pop act Die Shiny to the lawn. It is the low-key version of a night out: no ticket, no garage, just a neighborhood park and live music at dusk.
Our take
The easiest good night out on this list. A free neighborhood concert with room for a blanket and the dog, the kind of small summer tradition Millcreek does well.⚠️ Heads up: Parking around Canyon Rim is street-only and fills up, so walk or bike over if you live anywhere close.
Free musicfamilyfree
Worth it
West Jordan Farmers Market opens, Veterans Memorial Park, West Jordan
The west side gets its summer market back this week, with the West Jordan Farmers Market kicking off its season Wednesday evening at Veterans Memorial Park. Local growers, makers, and food vendors set up from 5 to 9, an after-work slot that beats fighting for a Saturday-morning parking spot downtown.
Our take
An evening market on the west side is a rarity, and the after-work hours make it an easy weeknight stop. Bring cash and a tote.⚠️ Heads up: Being the season opener, some regular vendors will not be set up until later in the run, so temper expectations for week one.
Free foodfamilyfree
🏟️ The Scoreboard
The Bees drop the weekend to Reno, turn to Omaha
The Bees split the front of their post-break homestand out in Daybreak, taking Friday's opener before Reno stole the last two with late rallies. Now they get six straight against the Omaha Storm Chasers to close out the stand.
Narumi's stunner snaps the Royals' skid
The Royals finally broke through at home, with Narumi Miura curling in the only goal in the first half to beat the Orlando Pride 1-0 and end a three-match winless run. It nudges Utah back up the NWSL table before a road trip east.
🍴 Eat & Drink
Worth it
Sicilia Mia, Holladay
This Highland Drive Sicilian spot has won Best of State five times, and the reason to go is the carbonara, finished tableside inside a hollowed wheel of aged cheese. A server tosses the hot pasta right in the wheel so it picks up the melted rind, then plates it in front of you. Order that, and let someone at the table get the lasagna too.
Our take
Five straight Best of State wins and a carbonara they finish tableside in a wheel of cheese. Worth the drive to Holladay and the wait for a table.⚠️ Heads up: The cheese-wheel pasta is the move, but it is rich enough to share, so do not each order your own and expect to finish.
$$ fooddate night
🌲 Get Outside
Worth it
Cecret Lake, Albion Basin, top of Little Cottonwood Canyon
When the valley bakes, the wildflowers up at Albion Basin are just hitting their peak. The hike to Cecret Lake is short, under a mile each way, ending at an alpine lake ringed by paintbrush and columbine, and the air up top sits twenty-some degrees cooler than your driveway.
Our take
A short hike to an alpine lake at the exact week the wildflowers open. The easiest way in the valley to trade a 100-degree afternoon for a cool mountain one.⚠️ Heads up: It is high and exposed, so afternoon thunderstorms build fast up there. Start early and turn around if the sky darkens.
$ outdoorsfamilyhidden gem
🎟️ Also Happening
The String Cheese Incident
The jam-band favorites play Red Butte Garden in Salt Lake City on Wednesday night.
Wheeler Farm Sunday Market
Local growers and makers set up at Wheeler Historic Farm in Murray on Sunday morning.
The Debate
📰 Valley News
Bangerter's 4700 South overpass is set to open this month
The long grind to turn Bangerter Highway into a freeway-style road keeps moving. UDOT expected the new overpass carrying 4700 South over Bangerter to open in July, one more interchange replacing a stoplight on the west side's busiest artery. The 9800 South interchange is next, on track for around October, with more crossings planned at 13400 South and 2700 West.
The Sugar House streetcar is growing toward the shops
Crews are extending the S-Line streetcar deeper into Sugar House, pushing the line from Fairmont Station into the heart of the business district. Work started this spring and is expected to wrap in 2027, closing the gap between the streetcar and the shops, restaurants, and offices most riders are actually headed to. It is a short extension with an outsized payoff for a neighborhood that has added thousands of residents.
💙 Good Neighbor
Tell us who's making the valley better
Every issue we want to spotlight one neighbor, teacher, coach, or cause quietly making the Salt Lake Valley a better place to live. Know someone who deserves it? Send them our way.
Nominate a neighbor →That's the week. Pioneer Day downtown Friday, Maren Morris at Red Butte tonight, and Jimmy Eat World running two nights in Sandy.
Reply and tell us what you want more of: the shows, the food, the trails, the news. We read every one.
Forward this to the neighbor who always asks what's going on this week. That's exactly who we're for.
— The Salt Lake Valley crew
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