Diversity is alive and well in Salt Lake City – and the Living Traditions Festival will celebrate the city’s roots with food, music, arts and crafts from around the world.
The annual festival will be held May 16-18 at Washington and Library Square.
Living Traditions is a rare opportunity to browse the cuisines of the world. Attendees may start with an appetizer of dumplings from the Utah Ukrainian Community. For a main course, guests could try chicken curry from the Tibetan Association, with cassava leaves and okra from Mama Africa — and for dessert, flan from the Utah Argentina Alliance. To complement a meal, grab a watermelon ‘otai drink from the National Tongan American Society.
A diverse display of performing arts will also be featured in four locations. The headliner, Grammy and Latin Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Alex Cuba, will perform Saturday beginning at 8:30 p.m. Cuba will bring his signature Latin, jazz and pop fusion to the North Stage on the north end of 200 East.
Other performances with an international flair will include music and dance of Bengal, the Hopi Dance Group, and Ballet Folklorico ECK Juvenil of Mexico.
There will be craft booths, family activities and special performances including a free screening of select short films from the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.
Admission is free, but attendees are encouraged to bring cash as many vendors accept cash only. ATMs will be available, with some requiring a fee.
Past festivalgoers have given the food – and the festival – positive reviews on Yelp.
“I was so surprised to find diversity, great ethnic restaurants, and people from all over the world” posted Phil G. of Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 2016.
