The Most Colorful Morning You Will Ever Have at 6:00 AM…read moreThere are not many things worth setting an alarm for at 5:00 in the morning. This is one of them. The Provo Freedom Festival Balloon Fest is a three day annual celebration of the Fourth of July held at Fox Field on Freedom Boulevard, and it is exactly the kind of event that reminds you why summer in Utah is something special. Pilots from across the country bring their balloons to the Wasatch foothills and what unfolds over those three days is one of the most visually spectacular community events in the state. Arrive early. We mean it. Getting there around 5:30 am puts you on the field while the crews are still inflating the balloons, and watching a seven story tall colossus slowly rise against the backdrop of the Wasatch Mountains is something that does not have a good comparison. Sixty to eighty feet of color and fabric filling with air while the mountains glow in the early morning light is the kind of moment you reach for your camera and realize no photo will fully do it justice. Go anyway, take the pictures anyway. A tip for families: the crew members of each balloon are friendly and genuinely happy to talk. Ask them for their balloon card. Kids can collect a card from every balloon on the field and it turns the whole experience into an impromptu treasure hunt. Then come back for the glow event, which happens one night during the three day run and is worth rearranging your schedule for. The balloons stay grounded but are fully inflated and lit from within by their propane burners in sync with music. Watching these giants pulse and glow in the dark while the crowd gathers around them is a completely different experience from the morning flights and every bit as memorable. We grabbed a sugar waffle from the Waffle Love truck and wandered between the glowing balloons in the evening air, and it was the kind of night that sticks with you. A few practical notes before you go. This is a free event with no tickets required, which makes it even more remarkable for what it delivers. Parking is the one challenge. Neighboring businesses offer paid parking for around ten dollars, which is worth it if you want convenience. If you prefer free, arrive early and look for the field parking behind the hospital. Come late and you will be walking. Full marks. Some experiences justify every star and then some. Put it on the calendar now for next July.

The balloon festival has become a yearly tradition. It's amazing every time. It's just something we…read morenever tire of seeing. It's fun to bring friend and family that come into town to experience the beauty and magic of it all. We show up early, bring blankets and breakfast and enjoy the show. It's a must see for all ages.

We attended this experience over the weekend, and it was fantastic! The Wonderland section hasn't…read moreopened yet, so staff gave us a voucher to come back when it's ready. They also gave us headphones to borrow for our baby. (The music is pretty loud, although she probably would have been fine without the headphones.) Once inside, you have two hours before your card expires. Everyone has a light that allows you to see hidden messages and pictures. You even have the option to play scavenger hunt games to win small prizes. There are also lots of interactive pieces in the exhibit, so I recommend bringing some hand sanitizer. The exhibit itself is very immersive and enchanting! It was very cool, and even our toddler loved it. Overall, I highly recommend this for both families and couples!

Opened sundays by the way. Absolutely incredible experience. Employees are an absolute joy to talk…read moreto and this is a once in a lifetime place to check out!

Awesome tradition in sleepy little PRovo utah that's come to a close tonight! Its s free event for…read moreeveryone on center street.

What an awesome, unexpected festival to wrap up the Labor Day weekend! When entering in downtown…read moreProvo from spending the day in the desert the first thing that we noticed was the amount of people, the sound of the music and the festive atmosphere across the street from the temple and the beautiful mountains as background. I was so happy to see so many happy people and organized food trucks and organized public seating watching the many shows (4 days of non stop music and dances, that was a FULL program of joy, pity that I was only have a glimpse of the whole event). My only 'wow' was related to masks. Looks like covid was inexistent as barely some vendors had masks on. Majority of people did not follow much the social distancing (blame the churros) and inexistent masks. So strange. That aside, I just felt very happy to be there, it was very magical, the sunset, the stands selling food from all Latin American countries, the smiles, the warm and also tons of freebies to take home! Check the photos to get an idea of the attraction power of this event!

It keeps getting better every year. The setup this year was excellent. Good vendors, and other…read morebooths. The music was good, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. It was a family friendly good time had by all that I saw. The Republications showed their diversity by not showing up. All others parties came. That's all expected in this market. It would have been nicer if more food trucks had come, but the one serving main courses was one I'd been wanting to try. I was very happy with their food.

We have very unique community, that has some extreme challenges when it comes to accepting everyone…read morefor who the are. With the dominate religion being the leader of exclusion, it's hard to gain traction with an event like this. I love this a valley and the people that are here. It is so heart warming to see a turn out like this. This is an extremely family friendly event, and the overall feeling is loving and accepting to everyone. SO glad to be a part of this movement!

Happens once a year and it's amazing. Sample food from around the area. Won't leave hungry,…read moreguaranteed. $15 adults $10 student $45 for family (up to 6).

This annual event features professional storytellers. Listen to folklore, childhood stories,…read moremusic, and experimental monologues. The venue is a series of large canopy tents staked in the sod-coated desert. Any given performer may bore, entertain, or enthrall you, but on the whole it is always a worthwhile experience. This has become one of Utah's more important cultural events.

We volunteer for this parade every year and it's always fun. It's one of the bigger Fourth of July…read moreparades in Utah and definitely has a real sense of Americana about it. It's a bit bigger than your average small town Fourth of July parade. We've done all sorts of different roles, including carrying the huge American flag to collecting tickets at the bleacher seats. There's aa 5K run beforehand as well as a children's parade where they toss some candy to the kids. For the main parade each of the local cities have a float as well as various clubs, groups, and organizations. The parade itself is about an hour to hour and a half. People line up days in advance to reserve their spots on the parade route so if you're going to attend, plan ahead!

The fourth of July freedom Festival Parade has a reputation for being one of the best in the…read morewestern United States. In comparison to past years when we have attended, this year's parade seemed much shorter. Fewer entries but still the usual high school marching bands, politicians in great classic cars, a variety of troops and veteran groups, law enforcement motorcycles, floats featuring beauty queens, and the ever popular larger than life character balloons delighted the crowds as they marched, walked or drove the shortened parade route this year. One fun aspect of the parade is claiming the best spot. Spectators are allowed to camp out starting the night before the parade begins. Luckily, our son was willing to camp out and claimed a prime spot along the parade route. We sat comfortably in the back of his pick up truck with a canopy tarp providing great shade for us to watch the parade and enjoy breakfast. One favorite group featured in this parade are the missionaries from the LDS missionary training center. This year, there seems to have been some controversy about which groups were allowed to participate in the parade and which were not. No matter what one's religious affiliation is, there is no doubt that this enthusiastic and impressive group resonates well with the crowd as they received standing ovations and cheers when the missionary group walked by. This is a great parade for families of all ages.

It's a fun annual event that the city puts on. Utah had no shortage of celebrations through the…read moresummer, and most of the cities and towns' festivals are pretty comparable to one another. Orem Summerfest is a little bigger than most, but Orem is bigger than most. Plenty of decent vendors, a lot of overpriced food, rides that cost too much money, and plenty of performances all day long of local groups. It's fun to just walk around and maybe splurge a little on a few rides and a funnel cake, but unless you have kids and want to spend a bunch of money, everything here seems expensive for what it is.