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The Utah Arts Festival Needs Your Help

The Utah Arts Festival currently finds itself in a difficult position, and one we have not encountered in nearly 20 years. We are incredibly proud of the programming and quality of the event we presented June 28-30, 2024 and have received overwhelmingly positive feedback from those who attended and participated. Unfortunately we did not meet attendance and revenue goals set for 2024 resulting in a financial shortfall that puts the future of this treasured summer tradition in jeopardy. As such, we are acting immediately, and working to determine the full scope and identify solutions.

As a result of lower-than-anticipated attendance and the impact on related revenue, we do not currently have the financial capacity to meet all of our outstanding expenses, maintain operations and begin preparing for our 2025 event as we normally would. Our immediate focus is to resolve the current financial shortfall, which we estimate at $200,000. At the same time we recognize the landscape for large-scale events has changed so we are also taking steps to envision a new future for the Utah Arts Festival that best meets the needs and interests of our community and better reflects new trends in attendance, revenue, and expenses.

What We Believed Happened

The board and staff were optimistic that we could get close to 50,000 attendees based on year-over-year trends post-Covid and with strategic changes to program plans and operations over the last three years that seemed to be working. As an organization that has regularly seen attendance of 65,000-75,000 in years past, this felt like a reasonable goal for the Festival. Early estimates for 2024 put our attendance at just over 36,000 patrons. Lower-than-expected attendance not only impacts forecasted box office income, but also the forecasted revenue received from concessions.

During the weekend of the 2024 Utah Arts Festival (June 28-30), several factors fell beyond our control including extreme summer heat and two major concerts competing on Saturday night in particular. In addition, the dates of the Festival landed later in June and based on feedback from patrons and participants we believe attendance may have been impacted by summer travel with the July 4th holiday happening just a few days later.

While hundreds of artists benefit financially from their participation in the Utah Arts Festival and thousands of patrons enjoy the programming we work so hard to present, we now know that the current model is not sustainable. In order to continue, we are also in the process of reimagining our programming and reformulating our budget to align with the new reality. We have been a cherished summer tradition offering affordable access to a multitude of artistic experiences for 48 years. As we approach our 50th anniversary coming in 2026 we are optimistic that we can make the necessary updates to evolve and maintain the vibrancy, energy and value we have become known for.

What You Should Know

The Utah Arts Festival has an average budget of close to $2 million annually. We are an independent non-profit organization run by a full-time staff of three full-time employees and we hire seasonal contractors to plan and implement artistic programming. Typically 60% of our revenue is earned through ticket sales, concessions, and program fees. The remaining 40% comes from corporate sponsorships, foundation and government grants, donations from individuals, and income from two annual fundraising events. In the past, this combined income has typically been enough for the Festival to operate and keep the ticket price reasonable, but those resources were all lower in 2024.

Every person who attends the Utah Arts Festival is subsidized. In recent years our average per-person cost-to-produce the Festival has been $35/person and nobody pays more than $18/ticket, plus children, seniors, military, and others in our community enjoy reduced or free admission. We have worked hard to remain true to our mission to provide affordable access to the arts.

What does “cost-to-produce” mean? On average we invest $1.2 million of our total budget for artistic programming and necessary production elements.

  • Every performing artist who participates in the Utah Arts Festival is paid to perform.
  • While visual artists pay an application fee and then a booth fee if they are selected, the Festival does not take any commission from their sales.
  • Our Emerging Artist Program offers up to eight complimentary artist booths as well as a 10-15 paid performance slots and is aimed at ensuring we have a wide range of voices and perspectives represented.
  • When we refer to production costs this includes things like stages, sound, lighting, and access to electricity as well as necessary equipment and labor. We are required by our permits to maintain certain healthy and safety elements such as security, access to porta-potties, first aid, waste management and more. We are lucky to have incredible vendors and partners who have generously offered us in-kind support in the form of discounts that reduce hard costs and help keep these vital expenses as low as possible.

As the landscape for events and activities has shifted since the pandemic, the Utah Arts Festival has been working for the past three years to adjust and adapt to find a new balance without drastically impacting the quality, impact and reach of programming we present, and while trying to remain true to our mission to provide affordable access to the arts. We avoided making more drastic cuts previously because we believed it posed a risk of losing more attendees.

Looking to the Future

The Utah Arts Festival has seen challenging financial times before, and we were able to overcome them and come out the other side better and more successful. To find a way forward, all options for change are on the table, and we are looking for your feedback to help us make decisions that are in the best interest of our community and reflect what you want to see. Initial thoughts include:

  • New dates
  • New location
  • Modified footprint and scope
  • Re-imagining how programming is presented to ensure we retain the energy, vibrancy and quality, but within our changed financial means.

How You Can Help

We are requesting financial support to help resolve the year’s financial shortfall as well as help us to not just continue our work, but evolve. Here is how you can help:

  • Make a Donation: Make a donation in any amount at uaf.org/donate. You can make a one-time donation, split your support into monthly or quarterly payments, or even make gifts of stock. Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for questions or more information.
  • Connect Us to Resources: If you have contacts or resources you think could be useful as we work to identify additional support we would appreciate any leads or ideas. We would also love to hear your stories and any testimonials about your experience with UAF and how it has impacted you. You can share those with us using this form.
  • Help Us Shape the Future: Share your feedback about the Utah Arts Festival in our survey.
  • Share with Your Network: Share our social media messages as we launch our fundraising campaign and encourage people to donate.

We appreciate in advance your support and look forward to evolving in this process. Thank you!

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