The Show
The 50th annual Utah Arts Festival is scheduled for June 18-21, 2026, at Library Square in downtown Salt Lake City. Each summer the Utah Arts Festival transforms downtown Salt Lake City, attracting 35,000+ attendees and generating over one million in art sales. Being one of the only remaining multi-disciplinary events in the nation, we strive to combine high quality artistic presentations bringing together the best local, regional and national talent across all programs. We proudly present four days of award-winning, fine arts in the artist marketplace, music performances, dance, literary and street theater performances along various stages throughout the grounds, as well as an internationally recognized short film program, urban arts program, a children’s art yard filled with free make-and-take projects, demonstrating artists, workshops and a wide variety of culinary and beverage options.
Culinary Artist Selection
The Festival takes pride in the quality and presentation of all of our vendors / artists. We are looking for culinary vendors that produce their own product and will not accept third party, premade, frozen items to be sold. Utah Arts Festival culinary artists will be chosen based on the following criteria:
- Food Quality
- Presentation
- Diversity
- Booth Design
- Pricing
The Utah Arts Festival is working to ensure we balance tradition and innovation. The number of consecutive years an artist has participated in the Utah Arts Festival will be taken into consideration as part of the final selection process. The Utah Arts Festival reserves the right to “rest” an artist for one year after three consecutive years of participation.
2026 Important Dates
- March 6, 2026: Culinary artist application deadline
- March 20, 2026: Notification emails sent
- April 3, 2026: Contracts and ALL payments due (booth fee, electrical, etc.)
- April 24, 2026: Last day to pull out of the event and receive a partial refund
- June 18-21, 2026: Utah Arts Festival
Please follow this link to apply online now.
Environmental Program
The Utah Arts Festival will continue our award-winning, comprehensive eARTh Team Environmental Program in 2026. All local laws and regulations must be strictly followed
Culinary artists will be responsible for using products that are recyclable as determined by the Utah Arts Festival eARTh Team Environmental Coordinator.
Booth Space
Each vendor will be allotted a 10' wide x 20' deep space for their operation. Within this space each vendor is responsible for supplying all of the elements needed for their operation, including tents, tables and chairs. Please keep in mind the emphasis on design when planning your booth. Below are guidelines to assist in developing your booth design:
- All booth space (10' x 20') must be completely tented and fully contained including side and back walls. Due to fire codes, all tents must meet the Salt Lake City Fire Marshals codes. Each vendor’s tent must be uniform in appearance and color.
- Décor is an essential part of the Festival. Your décor must evoke the origin of your food as well as add an element of design to the Festival. No blue tarps.
- No handwritten signage is allowed. All banners must be approved by the Festival before being used.
- The Festival will provide all culinary artists with water weights to secure their booths. Utah is noted for its summer winds and for the safety of all vendors, artists and patrons; we require that participants tie off to the weights. You will need to bring rope/ratchet straps to tie onto the weights. If you do not secure your booth with the required 200 lbs, you will not be allowed to open and may be disqualified from the show.
Notification
Decisions will be made and notification will be emailed by Friday, March 20, 2026. Contracts and information packets detailing all setup and operational procedures will be mailed to accepted culinary artists. Participation in any previous Utah Arts Festivals does not guarantee acceptance into the 2026 event.
