The Salt Lake ValleyWitchFest's last four days in West Jordan, a Catrina parade in Millcreek, and the airport's final gates open
Plus the Castle of Chaos weekend crunch in Midvale, a Snelgrove-site plan in Sugar House, and Salt & Straw's first Utah shop.
Good morning, Salt Lake Valley.
Halloween is three days out, and the forecast is pushing everything earlier. Today is mostly sunny with a high near 60 and Thursday is partly sunny near 64. Friday brings a 30 percent chance of rain, mostly after noon, and Saturday has likely showers and a possible thunderstorm. If you've got one outdoor thing on your list, do it by Friday morning.
Below: the last days of Gardner Village's witches, a Día de los Muertos night in Millcreek, a haunted house in Midvale that sells out on weekends, and the airport finally finishing its 12-year rebuild.
📍 30 seconds in the valley⏱️ 8 min read
- 🧙WitchFest's final four days at Gardner Village
- ✈️The airport's last seven gates open
- 🍦Salt & Straw's first Utah shop, in Riverton
⭐ The Big One
Best free walk of the week
Walk WitchFest at Gardner Village before the witches come down Saturday
Gardner Village has dressed its paths in larger-than-life witches every fall since 2000, and this year's WitchFest ends on Halloween. The village is a cluster of shops and old buildings around the historic Gardner Mill, which is on the National Register, and Archibald's Restaurant serves out of the old flour mill.
Walking the displays costs nothing. The paid extras are the reservation events, like Breakfast with a Witch, the Witchapalooza dinner theater, and the escape room, plus face painting, wagon rides, and the Witch Express Train in the shops.
The shops stay open 10am to 8pm today through Friday. Saturday is short: the village opens at 10am and closes at 4pm, so a Halloween-night visit isn't an option.
Our take
Go today. Parking is free Monday through Wednesday in October, and it jumps to $10 a car Thursday through Saturday, cash or card. If you do pay, ask for the shopping coupons that come with it. Today's sun beats the weekend's rain, too.⚠️ Heads up: Don't park on 7800 South. The village lots have the room, and Archibald's closes at 4pm on Halloween along with everything else.
free HalloweenfreeWest Jordan
Details → 📰 Around the Valley
The airport's last seven gates open, and the 12-year rebuild is done
The final section of Concourse B at Salt Lake City International was set to open to travelers Tuesday, with a ribbon cutting that morning. It adds 132,000 square feet and seven gates, most of them for United. City and airport leaders marked the end of construction on Saturday, 12 years after the groundbreaking in July 2014. The airport says the next jobs are recruiting new airlines and catching up on projects it put off during the rebuild.
A developer pitches 325 apartments for the old Snelgrove site in Sugar House
Lowe Property Group, a family firm based a few blocks away, showed the Sugar House Community Council plans for Sugargrove, three buildings with 325 apartments on the land where Snelgrove ice cream stood. The design puts red brick and factory-style windows along 2100 South, with a glass-and-timber atrium at the mouth of a 30-foot walkway running back toward Commonwealth Avenue. The site has sat empty since the flagship parlor was torn down in March 2021. Nothing has been filed with the city yet.
📅 This Week
Book now, weekends sell out
Book Castle of Chaos in Midvale for a weeknight, not the weekend
The haunted house on State Street runs five levels of scare, from a mild walk-through up to an 18-and-over level that needs ID. Most groups spend 25 to 40 minutes inside, and there are 300 free parking spots on site. The season ends Sunday.
Our take
The castle says its weekends sell out, and tickets are tied to a date and time, so Halloween night is the one to lock in today. Anyone who panics mid-haunt can take off their glow necklace and drop to level 2, which is the trick that gets a nervous friend through the door. Sign the waiver online before you leave the house.⚠️ Heads up: It's not recommended under 13, level 4 needs you to be 16 or have a guardian with you, and there are no refunds inside 48 hours.
$$ haunted houseteensMidvale
Details → Worth it, and the face paint is free
Paint your face for Millcreek's Día de los Muertos on Halloween
Millcreek Common turns Halloween night into a Día de los Muertos celebration, with a La Catrina parade and Catrina-style face painting that's free.
Our take
We'd start the night here with the free face paint, then take the kids trick-or-treating already in Catrina makeup. Five to ten gives you room to do both, even if the storms move your neighborhood's candy run around.⚠️ Heads up: Saturday's forecast has showers and possible thunderstorms, so bring a rain shell that fits over the costume.
free Día de los MuertosfamilyMillcreek
Worth it for little kids
Take the under-10 crowd to Halloween Hijinks at Abravanel Hall
The Utah Symphony's family concert on Halloween morning is about an hour of spooky classics, with Kyle Dickson conducting and crafts and hands-on music activities in the lobby beforehand. Kids are invited to come in costume for the symphony's costume contest.
Our take
The symphony pitches this one at "wiggly bodies under 10," and the 60-minute length means nobody melts down by the end. Pick the 11am show and you're home for lunch before the afternoon rain, with time to spare for the neighborhood candy run.⚠️ Heads up: Every child in their own seat needs a ticket. Only babes in arms who sit on a lap the whole time get in free.
$$ kidsmusicdowntown
Details → Worth it if you like it loud
Hear Gilla Band at Kilby Court tonight
The Dublin noise-rock band plays the little all-ages venue tucked into an alley off 300 West. KUAA 99.9 FM is presenting the show.
Our take
Advance sales stopped at midnight, so tonight's ticket is $29.50 all-in instead of $27. The show is all ages, which makes it the rare loud one you can bring a teenager to.⚠️ Heads up: The listed start is 6pm, early for a rock show, so eat after instead of before.
$ live musicall agesGranary District
🏟️ The Scoreboard
The Jazz drop two at home before San Antonio comes in
Sunday the Jazz led the Lakers by 18 in the first half before Luka Doncic scored 52, hitting eight 3-pointers. Monday night Memphis won 110-105 at the Delta Center, with Keyonte George scoring 26 and Ace Bailey grabbing 10 rebounds. San Antonio comes in tonight, and Saturday's home game is a 1pm tip.
The Mammoth head east for Pittsburgh and Philadelphia
Utah came back from 4-2 down Saturday to beat Tampa Bay 5-4 in overtime on Dmitri Simashev's second goal of the night. After Tuesday's home game with Minnesota, the Mammoth play two on the road this week.
Utah football climbs to No. 6 and plays at Cincinnati on Halloween
After Saturday's 21-13 comeback over Houston, the Utes moved up to No. 6 in the AP poll. BYU fell to No. 8 after losing 39-31 at UCF, so Utah is the last unbeaten team in the Big 12 heading into a road game at Cincinnati.
🍴 Eat & Drink
Worth the drive, on a weeknight
Order the Frosted Pink Sugar Cookie Dough at Salt & Straw in Riverton
The Portland ice cream shop opened its first Utah store Oct. 16 at Mountain View Village, and co-founder Kim Malek says it was the busiest opening in the company's history. The menu changes every month.
Our take
The Frosted Pink Sugar Cookie Dough is the one built for here, a flavor the company says was inspired by Utah's dirty soda culture. October's lineup also has a pumpkin-spiced flavor with chunks of pumpkin bread, and The Great Candycopia, packed with pieces of handmade candy bars. The shop sits next to R&R Barbecue, so brisket first and a scoop after is a fair plan.⚠️ Heads up: A Trolley Square shop is due before the end of the year, so east-siders can wait, but the Thanksgiving flavors are coming, including one built on stuffing.
$ ice creamnew openingRiverton
🌲 Get Outside
Worth it on a dry day
Hike Yellow Fork in Herriman while it's dry
Yellow Fork sits at the end of Rose Canyon Road in the Oquirrh foothills southwest of Herriman. The loop runs about 3.85 miles with roughly 500 feet of climbing, following the creek up past picnic areas and coming back under the trees.
Our take
Take 13400 South to 6200 West, then Rose Canyon Road, and bear left at the split to stay on it to the lot. Start on the wide trail on the right side of the parking lot. About two miles in, a right turn climbs a ridge with views across to the Wasatch, but it nearly doubles the mileage, so save it for a long day.⚠️ Heads up: Bikes and horses share the trail, and the dirt turns slick if Friday afternoon's rain shows up. There are pit toilets and nothing else.
free hikedogs on leashHerriman
🎟️ Also Happening
Get lost at Cross E Ranch
The corn maze in Salt Lake City's northwest corner closes for the season Saturday, Oct 31, at 5pm.
See the Murray Juried Art Show
Work by Murray artists fills the Murray Library through Wednesday, Nov 11, during regular library hours.
Dress up for Día de los Muertos in Kearns
Oquirrh Park Fitness Center hosts a Día de los Muertos night Monday, Nov 2, from 6 to 8:30pm, and costumes are encouraged.
📰 Valley News
University of Utah Health is moving its west-side clinic to the Power District
U of U Health is buying about 14 acres in the Power District from Larry H. Miller Real Estate and will build a new, larger Redwood Health Center there. The current clinic in Glendale had been planned for a 15,000-square-foot expansion, and the new site replaces that plan. The new clinic sits near several TRAX and bus stops. As part of the deal, U of U Health becomes the only health care provider in the Power District.
The Avenues hillside Christmas display is done after 30 years
For three decades, Forrest Nunley covered his hillside in the Avenues with thousands of lights and holiday figures, and families came from across the valley to see it. After years of health problems, Nunley says he can't physically put it up anymore. He held a yard sale at the house Saturday and the decorations went fast. He's moved to a farm in Moab to be near family.
October's storms knocked Utah's drought back and set a soil-moisture record
The share of Utah in severe drought or worse fell from 71.4 percent to 61.9 percent in a week, and extreme drought dropped to 13.6 percent from 33 percent a month ago. Statewide soil moisture hit 71.4 percent on Friday, the highest in records that go back to 2006. That matters here because about 95 percent of the state's water comes from snowpack, and wet soil in the fall means less of next spring's melt soaks into dry ground before it reaches the reservoirs.
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, walk Gardner Village this afternoon while parking is still free. If Saturday washes out, the Millcreek Catrina parade and a pint from Riverton make a fine backup plan.
Reply and tell us whether your street is moving trick-or-treating up to Friday because of the rain.
— The Salt Lake Valley crew
Got a tip, a new opening, or an event? Just reply, we read everything.
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