The Salt Lake City Arts Council is thrilled to share the richness of our community’s cultural diversity through the Living Traditions Festival this weekend at Downtown’s Washington & Library Square. Returning to its original format of a 3-day weekend celebration, the festival will be free and open to the public Friday, 5 pm to 10pm, Saturday 12 pm to 10 pm, and Sunday 12 pm to 7 pm.
The Living Traditions Festival brings to light how many different cultures and committees call Salt Lake City their home. It supports more than 90 multicultural groups providing an opportunity for these cultures to showcase their heritage and traditions passed down through generations.
Presented at the Living Traditions Festival over the weekend are music and dance performances from 80 multicultural groups that provide a rich array of rhythm, movement, instruments, and vocals that engage the audience at 4 different locations and stages around the festival. The food market offers over 15 traditional foods of various cultural communities. Many booths are organized by local businesses, non-profits, and community groups who use the proceeds earned at the festival to re-invest in their year-round cultural programming, such as classes, workshops, performances, and festivals. There will be 30 craft artisans showcasing exceptional examples of traditional crafts created and sold on-site by masters of their respective art forms. On the lower level of the Public Library attendees can participate in workshops including to make Mexican paper flowers, Ukrainian Dolls, Puerto Rican Veijigante Masks, and music and dance with Capoeira & Brazilian Dance. Pre-registration is required.
New to the Living Traditions Festival this year are film screenings located in the auditorium on the main level of the Salt Lake City Library. On Friday at 6 pm, the 35 year celebration video will premiere with some additional Living Legacy video series videos. On Saturday and Sunday we partnered with the Sundance Institute to show 4 short films from past Sundance Film Festivals featuring stories from the UK, Canada, Ethiopia, and the US.
Onsite festival interviews will be available upon request. Please use the contact information below if you’d like to schedule an interview in advance. For more information on the Living Traditions Festival, visit LivingTraditionsFestival.com, click here, or follow the festival’s social sites at @SLCLivingTrad.