Days out with the family can be fun; emptying your wallet will never be. Save your cash this summer with our list of free family activities, from bowling to exploring a national park.
Free ‘Park’-ing
Fourth graders can visit Canyonlands, Bryce, Zion, Glacier and EVERY OTHER national park for free. Just have your kid fill out a diary entry at everykidinapark.gov, print out their pass and let the free family fun begin (well, free for your fourth grader at least). Passes are good from Sept. 1 to Aug. 31 of a kid’s fourth grade year and cover BLM, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Reclamation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers sites. So, go ahead and start planning your trip to the San Antonio Missions.
Deck Your Ride
Utah Museum of Contemporary Art
20 S. West Temple, Salt Lake
The Utah Museum of Contemporary Art (UMOCA) hosts family art projects every second Saturday of the month from 2 to 4 p.m. The League of Reluctant Bicyclists will teach families to make their own handlebar hang-tags for bikes at the museum on May 11, 2019 (Guess baseball cards in your spokes just don’t cut it anymore). June’s Family Art Saturday is sadly cancelled, but in July you’ll create abstract art.
Spare Time
Kids can bowl two free games per day at a local alley.
Sign the kids up to bowl for free at one of eight local spots this summer at kidsbowlfree.com. Once registered, you can take the kids for two free games during the Kids Bowl Free hours determined by your alley. Kids must be between 2 and 15, and not all centers include shoes with the free games. If you’d like to show off your perfect form, buy a family pass, which allows four adults to bowl for free during KBF hours, too.
Put Your Art Into It
On the third Saturday of the month, the Utah Museum of Fine Arts offers free admission and art projects from 1 to 4 p.m. On May 18, 2019, take the kids to create sculptures with sticks and other materials, inspired by Rex, the museum’s stunning horse sculpture that artist Deborah Butterfield built completely out of sticks. The museum also offers free admission on first Wednesdays, free admission to kids 5 and under anytime and free “family backpacks,” filled with activities to hold young ones’ interests.
Utah Museum of Fine Arts
410 Campus Center Dr., Salt Lake
All That Slithers
Exhibits and animal shows at the Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum are free. And with so many shows per week, if you miss one, it’s kind of on you. Catch a show at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, 7:30 p.m. nightly from Monday to Saturday, or at 1 and 3 p.m. on Saturday. From June through August, additional shows will be held weekdays at 1 and 3 p.m. Topics range from reptiles to invertebrates; expect live creepy-crawlies.
Running Free
The Temple to Temple run, an aptly named 5K from one Provo LDS temple to another, is gunning to become the largest 5K race in the United States on July 24, 2019. To support that effort, registration is free. Aside from a workout before Aunt Shelly’s funeral potatoes at the Pioneer Day barbecue, it’s also kid-friendly—strollers are common, you’re free to walk, most of the course is downhill and shuttles run every 10 minutes at the finish line to take you back to your minivan. And no, you don’t have to be Mormon.
Free Family Activities in the Park
Find free family science and art at a local park. Photo credit: Weber State University
Weber State will set up shop in Ogden-area parks throughout the summer for Arts in the Parks and Science in the Parks, which offer free hands-on activities and projects for kids and families. Science in the Parks is known for experiments like creating giant soap bubbles and making soda bottle fountains, and Arts in the Parks’ schedule includes dance workshops with WSU Ballet Folklorico and art projects with UMOCA. Find schedules and activities for both programs at weber.edu/artsandscienceintheparks.
Macbeth’s Opening Act
Utah Shakespeare Festival
The Beverly Center for the Arts
195 W. Center St., Cedar City
If you’re headed to Cedar City for the Utah Shakespeare Festival (as you should), or just driving through town on your way to a national park, catch The Greenshow for free on the SUU campus. This year, The Greenshow features three alternating performances — themed Scotland, England and Russia — filled with dance, music and comedy. Shows run June 17–Sept. 7, 2019, prior to the ticketed shows. Don’t tell our snooty friends, but sometimes we enjoy The Greenshow’s lighthearted nature even more than the blank verse following it. Check the festival calendar for times, and show up early.
Lately, many of us have given up elaborate travel plans and embraced adventures a little closer to home. We kicked off our 2021 travel series with a guide to exploring the Cowboy State from corner to corner. Head to the link in our bio for Wyoming road trip itineraries, dining ideas and more! 🤠⛰...
Inspired by @oldsaltlake, we're celebrating #throwbackthursday with a favorite snapshot of early 20th century Salt Lake City. 🏖️
Photos shared by @oldsaltlake are inspiring millennials and zoomers decades later with visions of a different city: one with easily accessible public transportation, walkable streets, local businesses (open late) and distinctive architecture.
See more photos at the link in our bio.
Pictured: Women relax at what is believed to be Saltair Beach, date unknown...
It's like sunshine in a box ☀️
Even after losing her job during the pandemic, Mandy Madsen didn't lose her good cheer. She put her energy into creating @maddoughslc, selling unique doughnuts inspired by the nostalgia of your favorite childhood treats.🍩
Read our Q&A with Mandy at the link in our bio!...
@saltlakeclimbers are part of a long legacy of dirt baggers fascinated with the soaring granite walls of Little Cottonwood Canyon. They recently finished the Alpenbock Loop, creating an accessible, sustainable trail and preserving access to one of Utah's greatest recreational resources. 🧗♀️
Read more at the link in our bio! ❤️...
The bad news: Utah's inconsistent winters are hurting local bee populations. The good news: You can be a part of saving the bees in the beehive state 🐝
@deserethivesupply, a family-owned business in Ogden, is helping bees bounce back with educational classes that encourage people to pick up backyard beekeeping as a hobby.
Read more on how to save Utah bees at the link in our bio!...
Why did Utah's only Titanic passenger not survive her journey?
The descendants of Irene Corbett believe that the 30-year-old teacher sacrificed her life to save others. It's one of the many ways this remarkable figure bucked tradition and forged her own trail.
Read more about Irene at the link in our bio!...
"We must have done something right, cause you guys kept coming back."
@bluepelatedinerslc, one of Salt Lake's signature spots for everyone from hungover college kids to vegan food lovers, will be closing its doors this May after more than two decades of service. It's the latest casualty in a brutal year for the restaurant industry.
Head to the link in our bio for a tribute to Blue Plate Diner. (And keep supporting your favorite local restaurants. ❤️)...
A business is never more than the sum of its people: the ones who meet you, greet you, help you make the smartest purchase decisions.
Meet the people who make Salt Lake City work:
Lindsay Breinholt, CNM / WHNP @skinspiritslc
Amy Crawley, Founder @parkwayavenuedesign
Candice Itokazu, General Manager @luciennesalon.medspa.boutique
Tobi Roberts, CEO & Co-Founder @citycreekmortgage
Dave Turja, General Manager @kengarff
Read all of these Utah Faces & Places at the link in our bio! ❤️
#sponsored...
Tony Caputo, a food evangelist and founding father of today’s SLC food community, passed away last night.
Tony started @caputosmarket in 1997, bringing his passion for the cuisine of his heritage to Utah tables. Most days during the lunch rush you’d find Tony behind the counter slicing meat and cheeses and then, after it wound down, holding court out front. He’d often rush back behind the counter and holler over his shoulder, “you have to try this!" only to return with a sample bite of veiny cheese, a paper-thin leaf of prosciutto or a perfectly crisp amaretti cookie that he’d recently added to his menagerie of taste. For his many contributions to Salt Lake City, we awarded Tony with a Lifetime Achievement Dining Award in 2007.
Today, we're sending love to @caputosmarket and the many people whose lives were touched by Tony. A full tribute is on our website now. ❤️...
Why is the Pleasant Grove theme park Evermore suing one of the most powerful women in music? Long story short: a playground for those who would choose lore over folklore is taking on Taylor Swift over the name of her most recent album. Both parties have their reputation on the line in a battle of undercover Swifties and novelty mug disputes. Will Evermore hit the gold rush? Or did they cross the wrong mad woman? The full story is at the link in our bio....
Even in the exploration boom of the 1800s, nobody dared to explore the terrain flowing through the Green and the Colorado Rivers.
That is, nobody until Major John W. Powell said the 19th Century equivalent of “Hey man, hold my beer while I try this.”
Read more about his dangerous expedition at the link in our bio!
Photo of Powell’s expedition courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division...
Whose mouth is watering? 🙋♀️😋
@granarybakehouse_slc is a small, immaculate and intimate 9th and 9th bakery with some of the best laminated pastry in town. (That means golden flakes that get all over your car because you can’t wait until you get home to take a bite.)🥖🥐🧈
Read more about Granary Bakehouse at the link in our bio! ❤️...
A brand new issue of Salt Lake magazine is coming your way!
We can't wait to share these stories with you. This issue includes our annual Blue Plate Awards celebrating those surviving and thriving in the restaurant biz. Plus, we take a road trip to Wyoming and ask why the only Utah passenger on the Titanic didn’t survive her journey.
A note from our editor Jeremy Pugh, including beautiful tributes to Mary Brown Malouf from our friends in the community, is online now. Read more at the link in our bio ❤️
Subscribers: Look for this issue in your mailbox soon. The magazine will be on newsstands March 1! 📬...
Today, we are thrilled to announce the winners of the 2021 Blue Plate Awards! 🎉
These prizes honor the growers, food evangelists, grocers, servers, bakers, chefs, bartenders and restaurateurs who do more than put good food on the table—they make our community a better place to live. This year, just surviving as a local business deserves an award, but each of our Blue Plate winners did more than that. They made us grateful for every person involved in the essential act of feeding us. 🍽
At the link in our bio, we have the full list of winners, a celebration of feats of COVID creativity and a tribute to restaurants we lost this year. If you’re hungry for more, pick up a copy on newsstands March 1! Plus, check out our Instagram for spotlights on some of the Blue Plate winners.
This year’s Blue Plate Awards are the first without our beloved Executive Editor Mary Brown Malouf. We dedicate them to her, our town’s biggest food fan, critic and champion. xoxomm 💙...
2021 Blue Plate Award winner: @ricobrandut for Staying in Beansness
Last summer, it seemed that Rico would be another victim of rapid gentrification in Salt Lake. Luckily, Rico was able to find a new home in Poplar Grove and now plans to add even more employees. It’s a last-minute happy ending for a community leader who literally wears his mission on his sleeve, courtesy a tattoo in bright red block letters: “pay it forward.” 💙...
2021 Blue Plate Award Winner: @spicekitchenincubator for Keeping the Spice Flowing
This year Spice Kitchen Incubator, already an essential resource for refugees, became, well, even more essential. 💙...
2021 Blue Plate Award winner: @thestore_utah for Special Deliveries
As grocery delivery becomes the new norm, The Store offers a personal touch that only an independent grocer can provide. Last March, high-risk and elderly customers began calling in their grocery lists over the phone, and The Store’s general managers personally delivered food to their homes. 💙...
2021 Blue Plate Award winner: @cucinaslc for Preserving Neighborhood Connection
Cucina’s outdoor spaces became a place where the neighborhood could gather safely. Owner Dean Pierose offered free coffee in the mornings and encouraged his regulars to linger and commiserate together, preserving a semblance of society during a socially distanced time. 💙...
