What do butter sculptures, the Mormon Tabernacle, a pioneering rapper and evidence-based science all have in common? They’re all on Salt Lake magazine’s must-do list for this week. Start making plans to rule the city now.
Ongoing
Rides! Fried Foods! People-watching! Beauty Pageants! Butter Sculptures! Livestock! It’s the Utah State Fair! What more convincing do you need? Maybe some washed-up musical acts? You betcha! How about ’90s rockers 3 Doors Down and Collective Soul on Wednesday or, alternatively, Thursday you can go in the way, way back machine to the ’70s with Kansas and Blue Oyster Cult. Through Sunday, Utah State Fairgrounds
Wednesday, September 12
Laissez les bon temps rouler, as they say in the Big Easy, when a genuine New Orleans-style party with Voodoo Threauxdown Trombone Shorty, Galactic, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Cyril Neville, Kermit Ruffins and, somehow, more. Bring your Mardi Gras beads, wear your “Who Dat” T-shirts and pack your king cake, because this will be a heck of a party. Red Butte Garden
Thursday, September 13
If mellow folk is more your thing, Head and the Heart‘s got you covered on Thursday. You know their super chill songs about rivers and roads and love and stuff. Expect harmonies from the stage and beards in the crowd. The Union
They say it might be the last Twilight concert ever, but then again, they told us the same thing last year. Anyway, it’s definitely the last one this year, millennial darling King Princess takes the final bow—for now. Gallivan Center
Friday, September 14
You’ve heard of dueling pianos, right? Kick it up a notch with dueling organs at Organ Fest XI. And, hey, when in Zion, you might as well make it the behemoth organ in the Mormon Tabernacle, right? MoTab organists join their cohorts from Cathedral of the Madeline for a night of music that will later be broadcast on radio station Classical 89, which sponsors the annual event. Admission is free, Temple Square
Saturday, September 15
Now in its fifth year, Park City’s Autumn Aloft Festival keeps looking upward. Join the crowd at Treasure Mountain Middle School to witness dozens of hot air balloons take to the sky. Activities continue on Main Street throughout the day. Free admission, Saturday and Sunday
When Ira Flatow comes to town to pre-record an episode of NPR’s Science Friday program, listeners should expect science with a local theme. When he’s here Saturday, the possibilities are endless. Inversion? The Great Salt Lake? Climate change? Dinosaurs? Find out for yourself at the live recording Saturday. Eccles Theater
Get a taste of Italy at the fourth annual Festa Italiana, a celebration of Italian culture in SLC. There’s live music, Italian automobiles, food from 15 local restaurants, hand-picked wines and even a spaghetti-eating contest. Proceeds benefit Catholic Charities’ homeless and refugee services. The Gateway
Sure, there’s plenty of arts festivals in Salt Lake, but Utah Arts Alliance’s Urban Arts Festival isn’t quite like any of the others. Over 200 artists will be selling their wares and there’s music, but that’s where the similarities end—but there’s also a slam dunk contest, break dancing battles, demonstrations from street artists and a community art wall where you can add your own masterpiece. On Saturday, rap pioneer Chali 2 Na from Jurassic 5 will perform. Free admission, Saturday and Sunday, Gallivan Center
Monday, September 17
Red Butte Garden’s concert season goes out in style with the bleach blonde, sneering ’80s rocker Billy Idol as the last act of the season. You’ll be begging for more, more, more, more—but thanks to Salt Lake’s noise ordinance, it won’t be at the midnight hour. It is, after all, a school night and when the final note is played it’s also the official end of summer. Red Butte Garden
See all of our A&E coverage here.
