Starting Friday, May 17th and running through Sunday, May 19th, the 2019 Living Traditions Festival officially celebrates its 34th year in the heart of downtown at Salt City’s Library Square.
The festival, presented by the Salt Lake City Arts Council, is a free, three-day cultural celebration featuring music and dance performances on three stages, a craft market where experts demonstrate their traditional artwork, and the food market area which includes mouth-watering ethnic cuisine from around over the world.
This year, the Festival features nearly 90 performing groups, 30 craft artists, 22 food vendors, 15 workshops, and an expanded kids area with hands-on art-making and activities. “The Living Traditions program fosters the preservation and inclusion of Utah’s diverse cultural landscape and artistic traditions,” said Salt Lake City Arts Council Executive Director Felicia Baca. “The festival also aids conversations around social justice, equity, and diversity by sharing folk art—art that reflects both the unique qualities of various cultures and the similarities of human experience.”
In addition to the Living Traditions Festival mainstays, this year’s event has all-new, exciting elements including a series of free workshops in dance, hands-on craft making, food demonstrations, and even yoga. Registration through the Living Traditions Festival website is required to participatelivingtraditionsfestival.com/workshops/. All workshops take place inside the Salt Lake City Public Library.
Also, the Living Traditions kids area will be bigger than in years past as the Festival is partnering with local nonprofit organizations to provide hands-on art opportunities for youth to explore different cultural traditions.
As sustainability is once again a goal and central theme of the event, the Living Traditions Festival will not sell single-use plastic water bottles. To reduce the carbon footprint, attendees are encouraged to bring their own empty water bottles which can be filled with free water on-site courtesy of our friends at Water & Wellness. Free recyclable paper cups will be available throughout the Festival as well as reusable bottles available for purchase.
