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St. George, Utah Events

St. George runs on a calendar shaped by its own climate. The county sits at the bottom of Utah, low and dry, and that single fact decides when things happen here. The outdoor season runs from September through May, summer belongs to early mornings and shaded canyons, and the festivals that define each town crowd into a handful of autumn weekends.

What follows is the year at a glance — the events that recur annually and can be planned around — and then the dated listings.

What the year looks like here

Two things separate this calendar from one further north. The first is that winter is a season for going outside rather than a season for waiting it out. December and January hold festivals, bird counts and light walks that would be indoor events almost anywhere else in Utah. The second is that July is the hard month, not January. Heat in the low desert is the constraint that shapes every summer listing, in the way that snow shapes a calendar at elevation.

The result is a year with a long busy shoulder on either side of summer and a narrow quiet gap in the middle. September through November is, by a wide margin, the densest stretch.

March to May

Mild mornings and cool evenings, which is why the endurance calendar and the outdoor art shows land here. These weekends compete with Zion for the same lodging, so rooms go early.

June to August

The quiet stretch. Daytime heat pushes the calendar indoors or up to elevation, and what stays outdoors starts early or waits for dark. Expect fewer listings here than in any other season — that is the climate, not a gap.

September

Heritage month. Almost every town in the county holds its founding festival now, each one named for what settlers were sent here to grow or for the country they came from, and most pair a parade with a rodeo or a street fair.

October and November

Racing season, then Halloween. The heat has broken but the ground is still dry, which is what draws distance runners and mountain bikers to the same few weeks the farms open their corn mazes.

December to February

Mild enough that the outdoor events keep running while the rest of Utah is under snow. This is also when the county opens its new houses to visitors, which is why the Parade of Homes sits here rather than in spring.

Every town keeps its own festival

Washington County was settled as a string of small agricultural missions rather than as a single city, and each of those settlements still marks its own founding. The names give the history away: a town is named for the crop its settlers were sent to grow, or for the country they left to come here. These are separate events in separate towns, usually a weekend or two apart, and together they account for most of September.

The practical consequence is overlap. Two festivals on the same Saturday, in towns fifteen minutes apart, is an ordinary September here rather than a scheduling accident.

Sport is the other half of the calendar

The same climate produces a long racing season. Dry ground and cool mornings from October onward draw distance runners, triathletes and mountain bikers, and spring does the same in reverse before the heat closes the window. Several of the events they come for are among the longest-running of their kind in the state, which is why a small city draws fields of national size.

These are also the weekends when lodging is genuinely tight. St. George and Springdale draw on the same pool of rooms, so a large race can fill both at once.

Where events happen

A short list of venues carries most of the calendar. Tuacahn Amphitheatre sits in a red rock box canyon in Ivins and runs a season of musicals and touring concerts. The Electric Theater and the Cottage, both downtown, hold the smaller shows — comedy, film series, readings. The Sun Bowl, a rodeo arena cut into the sandstone at the edge of downtown, is where the roundup and its parade happen. Kayenta, the arts village west of Ivins, runs its own festivals and market. Out of town, Snow Canyon and Sand Hollow state parks put on ranger programs, and Utah Tech carries the college sports calendar.

Knowing the venue usually tells you the kind of event and how far you will drive. Almost everything on this page is within half an hour of downtown St. George.

Markets run year-round

Separate from the annual festivals, the county keeps a steady rotation of markets that recur on a fixed day of the week or month rather than in a single season. Downtown St. George, Hurricane, Kayenta and Tuacahn each hold one. They are the dependable answer to what is on this weekend during the months when the festival calendar is empty, and they are the reason the quiet stretch is quieter on paper than it is in practice.

Planning around an event

Four things worth knowing before you build a trip around one of these:

What is scheduled

Frequently asked questions

Are there events in St. George during the summer?

Yes, but fewer, and they are built around the heat rather than called off because of it. Ranger programs at the state parks, evening markets and indoor theater carry June through August. Anything held outdoors either starts early in the morning or begins after sunset.

Do St. George's annual events fall on the same dates every year?

Most keep the same weekend rather than the same date. A festival anchored to a holiday weekend, or to the second Saturday of a month, will shift by a few days from one year to the next while staying in the same slot. Check the listing for the event you want before booking travel around it.

Are events in St. George free to attend?

It depends on the type. Parades, street markets and most community festivals are open to the public without a ticket, and at many races there is no charge to stand and watch. Ticketed admission is the norm for theater and concerts, while races generally charge the athletes who enter rather than the people watching them. Each listing links to the organizer, who is the authority on admission.

What should I bring to an outdoor event in St. George?

Shade and water, in most months of the year. Desert sun is the thing visitors underestimate, and a good number of the venues on this calendar have very little natural cover. Evenings drop off quickly once the sun is behind the ridge, so a layer is worth carrying even on a warm day.

How can I tell whether an event recurs or was a one-off?

By its address. A recurring institution keeps one permanent page that stays up after the date passes and is updated when the next edition is confirmed, so the same link works year after year. A one-off show or a touring production carries its year in the address instead, which is the signal that it is not scheduled to return.

Where do I find events in the smaller towns around St. George?

They are listed here alongside the St. George ones. Hurricane, Santa Clara, Washington City, Ivins, Springdale and Leeds all appear on this calendar, and each listing names the town and the venue so you can tell how far you will be driving.

What's on, by email

Events around St. George and Washington County. Confirm your address and you can unsubscribe from any email.