2026 Dixie Days
Monday, September 14, 2026 – September 20, 2026 · All day
Vernon Worthen Park, St. George
What Dixie Days Actually Is
St. George's Dixie Days is a young event wrapped around some of the city's oldest traditions. The City of St. George launched the first citywide Dixie Days celebration in September 2024, built as a week of civic pride around a rodeo, parade, and pioneer heritage sites that had already been fixtures downtown for generations. The 2026 edition, September 14-20, is the third annual running. Vernon Worthen Park is the festival's home base, though events during the week spread across Historic Town Square, Main Street, the Dixie Sunbowl, and the St. George Tabernacle.
A Weeklong Program, Not a Single Day
The week opens Monday with a golf scramble and a Monday-night concert at Vernon Worthen Park, headlined in 2026 by country artist Ned LeDoux, followed by a drone show over the Red Hills Desert Garden that's visible from much of downtown. Midweek brings Dixie Treks -- guided tours of historic sites such as the St. George Tabernacle and other stops covered in the guide to St. George's historic sites -- plus an open house in the Tabernacle basement and film screenings at Historic Town Square. Thursday and Friday add Dinner on Main and a downtown carnival midway, alongside evening rodeo performances at the Sunbowl.
The Rodeo the Week Is Built Around
The St. George Lions Club has hosted the Dixie Roundup Rodeo since the 1930s, making it decades older than Dixie Days itself. It runs Thursday through Saturday nights at the Dixie Sunbowl, which reopened in 2026 after a renovation that added shade structures, upgraded seating and concessions, and now holds roughly 7,400 spectators with the arena floor brought closer to the stands. The rodeo is distinct from the Saturday parade that carries its name.
Saturday: Parade, Dash and Festival
Saturday is the week's busiest day. It opens early with the Dixie Days Dash, a separate timed race that wraps up before the rodeo parade steps off. The Lions Dixie Round-Up Rodeo Parade steps off Saturday morning, running along 100 South from 200 West to the Dixie Sunbowl -- a route that has shifted in recent years as the Sunbowl was rebuilt, so it's worth checking current signage rather than assuming an older route. The Dixie Days Festival runs Saturday morning into early afternoon at Vernon Worthen Park alongside the regular Saturday farmers market, with a petting zoo, tractor rides, bounce houses, a climbing wall, and hourly live entertainment. The carnival midway at Town Square runs through Sunday, and Saturday's rodeo performance closes out the night at the Sunbowl.
Getting There and Parking
Vernon Worthen Park sits a few blocks south of Historic Town Square, an area already covered in the guide to historic downtown St. George. Expect 100 South to close between 200 West and the Sunbowl for the Saturday parade, and expect downtown side streets near Town Square to fill early for the carnival and Dinner on Main. Parking at Vernon Worthen Park itself is limited on festival Saturday; arriving on foot from a spot farther into downtown, rather than circling for a space near the park, is the more reliable plan.
Who Dixie Days Suits
The week reads differently depending on the day. The Saturday festival at Vernon Worthen Park is built for families -- similar in spirit to the monthly George Streetfest downtown, though Dixie Days is a once-a-year, weeklong affair rather than a recurring first-Friday event. The rodeo nights suit anyone who wants a full arena competition rather than a fair sideshow, and the Dixie Treks and Tabernacle open house suit residents and visitors who want history over crowds. Families moving to the area with school-age kids can find more on settling in through the guide to moving to St. George with kids. Most of the week's events, including the festival and the parade, are free to watch.
Frequently asked questions
Is Dixie Days the same event as the Dixie Roundup Rodeo?
No. Dixie Days is the citywide week the City of St. George launched in 2024; the rodeo is a Lions Club tradition that predates it by decades and keeps its own identity inside the week. The practical difference for a visitor is format: the rodeo is a ticketed, seated event on a fixed schedule at the Sun Bowl, while most of the rest of the week is come-and-go programming you can drop into.
Is the Dixie Days Festival free to attend?
The Saturday festival at Vernon Worthen Park and the rodeo parade are both free to watch. The evening rodeo performances at the Sunbowl and some carnival midway rides at Town Square are ticketed separately, so budget for those if you plan to go.
Where should I park for the parade or festival?
There's no dedicated event lot. The Vernon Worthen Park lot is small and goes first, and the closure of 100 South boxes in the streets closest to the Sunbowl. Treat any spot within a few blocks of downtown as a starting point and walk the rest, rather than hunting for something adjacent to the park itself.
Has the parade route changed in recent years?
Yes. Earlier editions finished the route at Vernon Worthen Park itself; once the Dixie Sunbowl was rebuilt, the finish moved there instead. A route or map from a few years back may no longer match, so it's worth checking the current-year map rather than assuming last year's still applies.
Can I bring my dog to the festival at Vernon Worthen Park?
City parks allow leashed dogs, but the festival crowd, carnival noise, and rodeo livestock trailers moving near the Sunbowl make the week a rough environment for most pets. Most residents leave dogs at home for the parade and rodeo specifically.
How does the Dixie Days Dash fit into Saturday's schedule?
It runs early Saturday morning and wraps up before the rodeo parade begins, so it doesn't compete with the parade or festival for the same window of time.
Who organizes Dixie Days?
The City of St. George organizes the week overall, but individual pieces have their own organizers: the St. George Lions Club runs the rodeo and its Saturday parade, while the city handles the festival, concert, drone show, and historic-site programming.
Address
300 South 400 EastSt. George, UT 84770