Springville Art City Days: A family affair for all
-
- Kids work on crafts during the Children’s Art Festival on Friday, June 13, 2025, in Springville.
-
- A ride spins around at the Art City Days carnival Friday, June 13, 2025, in Springville.
-
- Two boys ride the Ferris wheel at the Art City Days carnival Friday, June 13, 2025, in Springville.
-
- The Art City Day’s Children’s Art Festival is seen Friday, June 13, 2025, in Springville.
-
- A ride spins around at the Art City Days carnival Friday, June 13, 2025, in Springville.
-
- Quilts are on display during the Art City Days Quilt Show Friday, June 13, 2025, in Springville.
Springville Art City Days is a week of jam-packed activities that began last Friday with the “Big Al’s” Grand Slam Wiffle Ball Tournament and will end Saturday night with a concert and fireworks show.
Squeezed in between are a number of citywide favorites — like Saturday afternoon’s Duct Tape Regatta or Friday morning’s Children’s Parade.
Whether the event involves parade floats or sinkable boats, they all have a similar objective, according to Springville Mayor Matt Packard.
“We try to make all the activities family-oriented,” he said. “We want families to be together, and to not individualize it as much as we possibly can.”
That family appeal can serve a number of purposes for festival participants. For Packard, it meant attending last Saturday’s rodeo and watching two of his granddaughters tough it out in the mutton bustin’ competition.
“They were petrified, and they said after it was done, yes they were scared, and yes the lambs were smelly and yes, ‘I ate a lot of dirt,'” he said.
For younger parents, Art City Days may fill up their kids’ week with activities during the early stages of summer.
Springville resident Stephanie Wride spent her Friday getting up early with her kids to go to the Hot Air Balloon Fest at 6:30 a.m. Though the weather wasn’t favorable for the balloons to take flight, she said they were still blown up, and her kids got to lift up inside of one while it was tethered to the ground.
Later in the day, Wride took the kids to the Children’s Art Festival, and they went from booth-to-booth making crafts.
“My kids love it,” she said. “There’s such a variety of activities that they have for this week, and being Art City, I really like the emphasis on art activities as well, and this is one of them they do every year and it’s very popular.”
Some from outside of Springville took part in the festivities, also.
Jordan Anjewierden, from Salt Lake County, brought her kids down Friday to enjoy the art festival, where they built mini sailboats, scored free sunglasses and munched on cotton candy.
“We’re new this year to Utah, and I went to BYU and got a degree in art education so I’m kind of in the loop with Springville Museum of Art, and my kids love art, so I thought they’d probably put on something great, and we’re impressed,” Anjewierden said.
Putting on a weeklong event with dozens of activities in locations across the town is no easy feat, though. Hosted by Springville’s Parks and Recreation Department, the festival requires much coordination and work from city staff members and volunteers.
“It’s just an incredible amount of effort on everyone’s part,” Packard said. “It’s like pulling a very heavy wagon. Everybody gets behind it and does their little part, and they’re just incredible at what they do.”
The preparation culminates into a memorable week for families and community members to enjoy.
“I think it really brings people together,” Wride said. “And there’s some people that we see just around town at different town activities that we don’t see in other places, but then the town activities bring us together.”
Art City Days wraps up Saturday with the Grand Parade at 10 a.m., beginning at Buckley Avenue and 400 South and going west down 400 South to Main Street. The parade will include over 100 entries of floats, marching bands and more.
Later on Saturday is the Duct Tape Regatta at 1:30 p.m. at Wayne Bartholomew Family Park, a car show from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Art City Auto Body and a “Shuffle” concert at 8 p.m. at 700 South and 1300 East.
