The long-standing Utah Arts Festival is in jeopardy after suffering a major financial loss this year, drawing in about 14,000 fewer patrons than organizers had hoped for and sitting about $200,000 short of its $2 million budget.
Organizers are now looking to potentially change the event’s dates and location in the future, according to a notice the festival’s board and staff sent to supporters and media on Friday.
“I can’t commit 100% to 2025,” Executive Director Aimee Dunsmore said in response to how this year’s dire performance could affect the festival’s future.
“We fully intend to do it, but we will be evaluating weekly, monthly, how things are going,” she said, “and we’ll have to make a call at some point if we’re not meeting this goal.”
What happened?
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) People seen through the Dichroic Skull at the Utah Arts Festival in Salt Lake City on Friday, June 28, 2024.
The event this year, held from June 28-30, marked the festival’s 48th anniversary.
In its nearly five-decade history, the only other time the festival has seen such a financial dent happened in 2001, Dunsmore said. That year, the festival’s venue was considered a major factor — the Utah State Fairpark.
“We made some changes to survive at that point, and then it was well received,” Dunsmore added. The event was moved to the Gallivan Center, and the festival was able to recover from the financial loss.
Dunsmore attributed this year’s shortfall to timing. The festival is traditionally hosted on the last weekend of June. This year, that weekend happened to fall close to the Fourth of July holiday.
“A lot of people were traveling more than usual,” she said.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Squares are painted for the 100/ONE project at the Utah Arts Festival in Salt Lake City on Friday, June 28, 2024.
In turn, only about 36,000 people attended, short of the festival’s goal of attracting 50,000 patrons.
Dunsmore also noted that two major concerts happened on Saturday, June 29: Country stars George Strait and Chris Stapleton performed at Rice-Eccles Stadium, and ’80s boy band New Kids on the Block performed at Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre. On top of that, Kevin James also performed stand-up comedy at the Delta Center that evening.
The sweltering heat also deterred some from going. The high on Friday, June 28, was 86 degrees, but jumped to 100 that Saturday and 101 that Sunday — “about 10 degrees above normal,” according to Monica Traphagan, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Salt Lake City office.
One Reddit user commented on a post about the festival’s financial hit, “We have gone every year, more or less, for a decade and we opted out because it was too hot.”
What could change?
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Utah Arts Festival in Salt Lake City on Friday, June 28, 2024.
Dunsmore said organizers are considering moving the traditionally June festival to a different time of year, when it’s potentially cooler outside.
The festival has recently been held at Library Square, but that is also subject to change.
“We are planning on reimagining what the event looks like, and everything is on the table,” Dunsmore said.
For now, the Utah Arts Festival isn’t able to pay its outstanding expenses, maintain operations and plan for 2025 as organizers would normally be doing right now.
The first priority is addressing the $200,000 shortfall. The festival is asking for donations, which can be made at uaf.org/donate.
Organizers are also asking the community to connect the Utah Arts Festival with resources that could be helpful as they seek ways to become sustainable.
Dunsmore on Friday said organizers hope to have a more cohesive fundraising plan established in the next week or two.
Those seeking more information can visit uaf.org/evolve.
