City Guide 2023 

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• Courtesy Photo
• Clark Planetarium

Get on the Bus, Gus
Join the star-studded tour of Salt Lake's arts and entertainment scene.
By Scott Renshaw

Welcome aboard, visitors to our fair city (and state). There's so much to do and see here, but it would be a huge mistake to overlook the arts and culture scene that has flourished in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area for decades. From theater to dance, from comedy to classical music, from film to fine art, it's impossible to overstate how many amazing organizations and individuals bring artistic vitality to this place.

Downtown Is Lit
For the next—well, however long it takes for you to read this—we'll be taking a tour of the key venues where you can experience this bounty of local creative talent. Keep your hands and legs inside the vehicle at all times, and watch your children, please.

We'll begin to the north of downtown proper, where Salt Lake Acting Company (168 W. 500 North, SLC, 801-363-7522, saltlakeactingcompany.org) occupies a quaint converted chapel with two theater spaces. For more than 50 years, the company has been the place to find challenging world and regional premieres, engaging holiday family-friendly shows, and an original cabaret-style musical production—now dubbed SLACabaret— scheduled annually in the summer, that captures the fun and foibles of the local culture.

On the west side of downtown, we find The Gateway (400 W. 200 South, SLC, atthegateway.com), an outdoor mall that offers even more than retail shopping and great dining options. It's also the home of one of three Utah Wiseguys Comedy (801-532-5233, wiseguyscomedy.com) locations, which hosts both the best of the local comedy scene, including open mic nights, and national touring comedians. The Gateway also hosts two of Utah's most engaging family-friendly museums: Discovery Gateway (444 W. 100 South, SLC, 801-456-5437, discoverygateway.org), a hands-on children's museum with exhibits including STEM lab, exploring the world of fossils, financial literacy and more; and Clark Planetarium (110 S. 400 West, SLC, 385-468-7827, clarkplanetarium.org), with many opportunities to investigate the Earth's geology, the wonders of the solar system and the universe beyond, in addition to films in the IMAX and Hansen Dome theaters.

As we head into the heart of downtown, you'll spot the wonderful architectural and acoustic marvel that is Abravanel Hall (123 W. South Temple, SLC). It's the home of the Utah Symphony (801-533-6683, utahsymphony.org), which plays a full season of classical masterworks, pops performances with special guests, symphonic accompaniment to classic films and more; during the summer, the symphony takes up residence for an outdoor series in the beautiful setting of Park City's Deer Valley resort.

Right next door to Abravanel Hall is the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art (20 S. West Temple, SLC, 801-328-4201, utahmoca.org), a gallery space dedicated to the finest modern works. Multiple gallery spaces offer a chance to experience local, regional and national artists exploring daring themes, whether in painting, sculpture, mixed media or multimedia arts. And just next door to that space is the Calvin L. Rampton Salt Palace Convention Center (100 S. West Temple, SLC, 385-468-2222), just now emerging from an extensive renovation and upgrade. In addition to hosting trade shows and corporate conventions, the venue hosts the annual FanX comic book and pop-culture convention (fanxsaltlake.com), which brings celebrity guests, vendors and creators together for a celebration of fandoms in movies, television, books, gaming and more.

Next on our agenda is the Janet Quinney Lawson Capitol Theatre (50 W. 200 South, SLC), with a history dating back more than a century to its original incarnation as the Orpheum Theatre—designed by legendary architect Gustave Albert Lansburgh, creator of such celebrated locations as Los Angeles's Shrine Auditorium and San Francisco's War Memorial Opera House—hosting vaudeville acts. In the 21st century, it's home to Ballet West (801-869-6900, balletwest.org), which in 2023 celebrates the 60th anniversary of its founding by Willam F. Christensen. The company presents both modern works and classics of the ballet canon, including the beloved annual holiday production of The Nutcracker. The Capitol Theatre also hosts performances by Utah Opera (801-533-5626, utahopera.org), which celebrates its own auspicious anniversary marking 45 years of great works by Verdi, Puccini, Mozart and more, as well as exciting new operatic work like the May 2023 scheduled production of 2017's The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs.

We now take a little spin down Main Street—alongside the convenient Trax light rail line—to one of the city's newer jewels, the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Theater (131 S. Main, SLC). That's where you'll find the great touring productions offered by Broadway at the Eccles (saltlakecity.broadway.com), including celebrated recent favorites like Hamilton and The Lion King, and upcoming offerings like Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, Les Misérables and Beetlejuice. The Eccles also serves as a local stop for many big-name touring comedians—including 2023 shows from Brian Regan, Chris D'Elia and Lewis Black—plus musical acts like Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band and Kansas.

• Courtesy Photo
• Repertory Dance Theatre SUPERWOMEN

One of the busiest venues in the city is the Salt Lake County-operated Rose Wagner Center (138 W. 300 South, SLC), which serves as the home to five resident performing arts companies. Plan-B Theatre Co. (planbtheatre.org) occupies the Studio Theatre space, bringing a season that almost always focuses on world premieres by local Utah playwrights, and has historically offered intriguing specialties like an annual radio show. In the Black Box Theatre, Pygmalion Productions (pygmalionproductions.org) carries out its mission statement focusing on "the human experience through the eyes of women" by presenting a season of shows centering female-identifying characters, and female-identifying creators. The largest space, the Jeanné Wagner Theater, offers a chance to see two different dance companies—Ririe-Woodbury Dance Co. (ririewoodbury.com), showcasing amazing works of modern dance, including new works by local choreographers; and Repertory Dance Theatre (rdtutah.org), dedicated to the creation, performance and perpetuation of modern dance works, including an extensive repertoire of classic dance treasures—as well as the Gina Bachauer International Piano Foundation (bachauer.com), which presents an annual piano competition and showcase performances for great pianists.

The Rose Wagner Center is also a venue for the annual Sundance Film Festival (festival.sundance.org), the nationally celebrated showcase of independent film from American and international filmmakers. As we take a short trip down 300 South from the Rose Wagner Center, we'll find another regular Sundance venue, and another great spot for those who celebrate film as an art form. The Broadway Centre Cinemas (111 E. 300 South, SLC, 801-321-0310, slfs.org) is the home base for the Salt Lake Film Society, a nonprofit dedicated to the finest in film. Visit for the best new releases from American independent, international and documentary films, plus special programming throughout the year including opportunities to see classics on the big screen.

A block south of the Broadway theaters, you'll find yourself at Library Square, the home of the city's distinctive looking Main Library (210 E. 400 South, SLC, 801-524-8200, slcpl.org). Across the square, you'll find The Leonardo science and art museum (209 E. 500 South, SLC, 801-531-9800, theleonardo.org), with hands-on exhibits that take visitors through amazing inventions. Both places offer numerous activities to enthrall your kids.

University of Utah: The Hills Are Alive
As we make our way now up the hill toward the University of Utah, we'll encounter several other key venues. On the campus' centerpiece Presidents Circle, you'll find Kingsbury Hall (1395 E. Presidents Circle, SLC, 801-581-7100, kingsburyhall.utah.edu), which plays host to touring comedians like Mike Birbiglia and Fortune Feimster, touring dance and theater productions, and fascinating speakers. Right next door, Libby Gardner Concert Hall (1375 E. Presidents Circle, SLC, 801-581-6762, music.utah.edu) presents classical performances by University of Utah student performers and more.

Not far away from these venues is the Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre, home of Pioneer Theatre Company (300 S. 1400 East, SLC, 801-581-6961, pioneertheatre.org), which brings phenomenal production values to a wide range of offerings in a multi-show season, ranging from world-premiere dramas, canonical works from the likes of Shakespeare and Molière, and delightful musicals like this year's Utah premiere of The Prom. Downstairs in the Pioneer Memorial Theatre building is the Babcock Theatre (artstickets.utah.edu), presenting performances by the University of Utah Department of Theatre.

Also on the university campus, we take a spin past the Utah Museum of Fine Arts (410 Campus Center Dr., SLC, 801-581-7332, umfa.utah.edu), which boasts a permanent collection of nearly 20,000 objects. Gallery spaces offer fantastic touring exhibitions like 2023's Many Wests: Artists Shape an American Idea, and permanent gallery spaces showcasing American, European, Mesoamerican, African and Japanese art, plus much more.

While we're up in the east foothills, we'll stop by the Natural History Museum of Utah Rio Tinto Center (301 Wakara Way, SLC, 801-581-6927, nhmu.utah.edu), a shining copper showcase of fascinating exhibits. Whether you're there to experience permanent exhibits investigating the environments, flora, fauna and peoples of this region, or compelling touring exhibitions, you'll be dazzled by what you find.

• Courtesy Photo
• Loveland Living Planet Aquarium

The Add-on Tour: Beyond Salt Lake City
If we had more time, we'd take you away from downtown to other worthwhile destinations, such as the Hale Center Theatre (9900 S. Monroe St., Sandy, 801-984-9000, hct.org), the Utah Cultural Celebration Center (1355 W. 3100 South, West Valley City, 801-965-5100, culturalcelebration.com), or the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium (12033 Lone Peak Parkway, Draper, 801-355-3474, thelivingplanet.com). You'd probably never get to the end of the arts and culture destinations you can discover—which we hope means that you'll be coming back to visit us again real soon.

Now step off the bus, please. The next tour is about to begin.

Seek Ye This List of Visual Artists
Have thy mind blown.
By Cat Palmer

As a portraiture photographer for more than 25 years and a mixed-media artist for almost two decades, I'm also an avid art collector. I was a gallery director a lifetime ago and have curated for two galleries.

So, even though Salt Lakers might downplay our visual arts scene, I know better! Salt Lake is a mid-size town with a metropolitan city-size artist culture. Regardless of the medium, the art scene here is vibrant and powerful.

For those new to our city, I've "curated" this list of 15 artists to watch. It barely scratches the surface of what you can treat your eyes to in Utah. For those interested in exploring beyond my list, check out local museums, galleries, arts festivals and—my personal favorite—street art. It's all accessible and super easy to engage with Salt Lake's booming art scene. And a friendly reminder: Buying art is the best way to support the work and communities you care about.

1. Camille Nugent
An immigrant from St. Catherine, Jamaica, Nugent now lives in Salt Lake City working as a multidisciplinary artist and designer who is passionate about equal representation in her art. Through her collages, she explores the literal and figurative layers of complex human emotions. The subjects of her work are primarily people of color and are shaped by her culture and experiences. In soft, surreal dreamscapes, they navigate the sometimes-tenuous line between connection and isolation. Nugent is a regular boutique artist at Urban Arts Gallery and the Bizarre Bazaar.
camillenugent.com, IG @camillenugentdesign

2. Kate Kilpatrick
Based in the Utah art community of Helper, Kate Kilpatrick is known for incorporating vintage vehicles and moments of history in her paintings. "I would like people to know I have a passion for history and making people think about what must change so we don't repeat mistakes," she says. Kilpatrick has plans for a new mural in Price, Utah, and a new gallery later in 2023—how exciting! Kilpatrick has started a new line of upcycled wearable art soon to be showcased at the new gallery.

See Kilpatrick's work at: Mary Williams Fine Art in Boulder, Colorado, and at 3 on the Tree, 129 S. Main, Helper.
kilpatrickvintagecarart.com, IG @kilpatrickvintagecarart

3. Gil Scott
An Indigenous (Diné) artist out of Montezuma Creek in southeastern Utah, Gil Scott deals in images and subjects that are interpretations of his culture, and often feature bold colors, high desert Southwestern landscapes and Navajo imagery. One of his pieces is now on display as a part of the U of U's permanent fine art collection. Scott incorporates the geometric designs often found in the work of Navajo rug weavers and paints the vistas of his home. This spring, Scott will have his work exhibited at the Chase Home Museum in Salt Lake City. "Ahé'héé (Thank you)"
gscott-tru-arts.com; IG @gstruarts

4. Ann Chen
Ann Chen is a Salt Lake City lettering artist, illustrator and muralist. Her art celebrates whimsical letterforms and vibrant colors. As a muralist, she specializes in purposeful designs for workplaces and conferences. Working with clients like Doordash, Swire Coca-Cola, Prudential and ATD, Chen translates their brand stories into engaging visuals. Her lettering work has appeared on marketing campaigns for Tillamook, Target and Oatly. A maker at heart, she creates tangible goods for her online shop, where she finds bliss in packing orders and writing thank you notes to her customers.

Fun fact about Chen: "Roller skating is my favorite hobby outside of art," she says. "I bought my quad skates last May and have been teaching myself through YouTube tutorials."
annlettering.com, IG @annlettering

5. Erica Houston
Salt Lake color pencil artist Erica Houston is known for her intense use of color. She creates detailed portraits often so realistic you may not believe it is all done with pencil. Houston does Wim Hof breathing/meditation for mental/physical health and the peace she feels carries throughout work. She is working with the U of U to create a portrait of the first African American professor at the U, Dr. Chuck (Charles) Nabors (read more about it here:
instagram.com/p/CY2YGRhOFIB/)
IG @ericahoustonart

6. Chuck Landvatter
You have probably seen one of Chuck Landvatter's art murals around town—including at South Salt Lake's Mural Fest. Landvatter, based in Salt Lake City, has a master's degree in fine arts and has taught art at a number of universities, but doesn't believe an art degree is necessary to be an artist. He was one of the 337 artists back in the day (circa 2007). He is known for striking colors and his images of women, but you can also see his murals around town, like at the Utah Jazz Practice Facility, at Squatters Pub downtown and at Fisher Brewing. Landvatter wants you to know that he is a family man and deeply loves his kids and dogs. You can catch an art exhibit with his art this fall, at FICE.
cargocollective.com/chucklandvatter, IG @chuckaintnobody

7. Jorge Rojas
A Salt Lake multidisciplinary artist, curator and educator, Jorge Rojas studied art at the University of Utah and at Bellas Artes in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and is included in multiple public collections. Rojas is one of 10 local artists invited to collaborate with artist Horacio Rodriguez for the BoomBox Benefit Show, opening at UMOCA on March 10. He will be the keynote speaker for this year's Utah Art Education Association (UAEA) Spring Conference.

Something interesting about Rojas: He reads tortillas as a form of divination. Find out more at his essay On Becoming the Tortilla Oracle posted on artistsofutah.org.
linktr.ee/keoqui, IG @keoqui

8. Jimmi Toro
Based in Salt Lake City, Jimmi Toro is a contemporary artist, painter, singer/songwriter and composer. His art speaks to the balance of control vs. chaos and struggle vs. victory that's primarily focused on the human element and the vast emotional connection we all have to each other. To truly appreciate his textures and layering, it's best to see his work in person.

Toro's new book titled Heal, and his new podcast about finding the wisdom in suffering were released in February 2023. He is also a founder of rescue11.org (a charity protecting children), and his new work is focused on the themes of trauma and healing.
jimmitoro.com, IG @jimmitoro

9. Jiyoun Lee-Lodge
Born in Seoul, South Korea, and graduating with a MFA in studio art from Brooklyn College in New York, Jiyoun Lee-Lodge now calls Salt Lake City home. "My kaleidoscopic abstract printmaking works, drawings, installations and paintings deal with hybridity, identity in flux and the fragility of memory. The experiences I portray come from a sensory level; I imagine tracing everything I perceive and feel around me—sounds, smells, emotions and circumstances." She recently exhibited "Waterman: Coloring the Stranger" at The Granary, which explores the adaptation of a stranger in a new place. Lee-Lodge began this series as a journal-like notation when she moved from New York to Utah and struggled to settle in.
jiyounlee.com, IG @jiyounleelodge

10. Heath Satow
Ogden sculptor Heath Satow has worked in public art for over 30 years and is nationally known for his work. He was warned early in his career that sculpture is a field where it can take a long time for an artist to find his or her true voice. His work has become less about taking wild swings and more about refining what he has discovered along the way. "I've honestly never been more excited about my sculpture," he says. "My style had been all over the place, but now, each work feels like more of a descendant from previous work." You can see one of his sculptures (a 12-foot-tall sego lily bud made of weathering steel titled "AMH: 1898") in front of the Glendinning Mansion (617 E. South Temple, SLC).
publicsculpture.com, IG @publicsculpture

11. Anna Hansen
Salt Lake printmaker Anna Hansen is the owner/operator/creator behind The Hex Press. Her work focuses on the natural world and our role on this ever-changing planet. She specializes in block-printed textiles but is known to incorporate other printmaking and painting practices. The Hex Press is best known for its mobile press and on demand block printing services including at the Downtown Farmers Market and the DIY Festival.

As The Hex Press grows, Hansen says, "I want to continue creating new works that make me excited and inspire my fans and friends. I want to continue to build relationships with other local businesses, create merchandise for them and help them build their own brands. Most of all I want to continue making a living and supporting my family by doing what I love."
Thehexpress.bigcartel.com, IG @thehexpressprinting

12. Miroslava Vomela
Miroslava Vomala of Salt Lake City is a self-taught artist who works in a variety of media. Pen and ink, watercolor and hand-cut magazine/catalog images are the mainstays of her most recent mixed media art. Born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, Miroslava immigrated to the U.S. with her parents in 1984.

Much of her recent collage work explores beauty in the created environment—lots of floral and organic imagery, furniture and home decor. "Because I don't get to explore new places as much as I'd like right now, I create them in my art."

Vomela had prints and originals in the Urban Arts Gallery boutique and a few pieces in their March show, "Lost and Found." She will also participate in Art Access' annual "300 Plates' exhibit.
mkvomela.com; IG @mkvomela

13. Sara Luna
Sara Luna is a Chilean visual artist and illustrator who makes her home in Salt Lake City specializing in textile art. Most of her pieces are 100% hand-dyed and hand-spun yarn by her.

She started making punch needle portraits in her last year of college after finding the technique while researching materials for her degree project. She fell in love and never looked back. Her work is unique and eye-catching. She is able to make her work really come to life and at the same time they seem to hold a secret and it is difficult to take your gaze away. Luna will be participating in Art Access' 300 Plates in May.
saralunart.com, IG @saralunart

14. Joe Bennion
If you want a special piece of pottery for any special occasion or to remember your trip to Utah, consider Bennion's Spring City shop. "Because of my decision to make quiet pottery, I have had to leave the more public sales venues of street fairs, shops and galleries and sell my pottery at home where it is made," he says. "Somehow that environment shows my work to the best advantage. I live and work in a small Mormon farming village in the mountains of central Utah. Over the past 10 years, I have shifted my marketing to bring people to my door rather than sending the work out. This seems to work best, and it feels right to me." Horseshoe Mountain Pottery is located at 278 S. Main in Spring City, Utah, in a century-old commercial building.
joeandleebennion.com, IG @joethepotter

15. Kate Jarvik Birch
The Salt Lake City painter and writer started her "painting a day" series in 2019 after ending a marriage of 23 years. Jarvik Birch studied painting and drawing at the University of Utah. "To begin with, I figured I'd just share my little paintings with friends and family, but after posting them to Instagram, my following began to grow and, before I knew it, my little daily paintings were selling all around the world."
So far, you can find her "Gouache Bootcamp," a four-week introduction to the medium, and "Painting Glass With Gouache," a two-part course, available in her Etsy shop.
linktr.ee/Kebirch, IG @kebirch

• Austen Diamond Photography
• Ken Sanders of Ken Sanders Rare Books

A Booklover's Guide to Utah
A tour of local indie bookstores, readings, literary festivals, workshops and more.
By Stefene Russell

If you love short stories, storytelling, romance novels, slam poetry, authors, wordplay, verses, Plato, fiction, biographies, journaling, Jane Austen, mythology, novels, essays, scripts, novellas, Aristotle, spoken word, graphic novels, iambic pentameter, nonfiction and, well, any form of literary endeavor, you're in the right place.

Salt Lake's cup runneth if not over, at least close to the brim when it comes to prose and poetry, and that might surprise newcomers. Former Poet Laureate Paisley Rekdal noted—in our Q&A with her on our back-cover feature (on p. 98)—that outsiders don't often consider Utah a literary stronghold. Rekdal proved otherwise with her web project, Mapping Literary Utah. As this list shows, there's a lot here to keep any book-lover happy.

City Art
Salt Lake's longest-running literary reading series—launched in 1989—is also its most eclectic. The current organizer, poet Joel Long, brings together writers that run the gamut from the street to the academy. Follow City Art on Facebook for reading announcements.
Salt Lake Public Library, 210 E. 400 South, SLC, facebook.com/CityArtSLC.

Central Book Exchange
Located in the same Sugar House storefront since 1968, this small bookstore boasts an inventory of more than 70,000 new and used books, which can be browsed online. It uses a unique point system for book trade-ins, and the constant inflow and outflow of used books means you'll constantly find new titles to browse — often ones you won't find anywhere else.
2017 S. 1100 East, SLC, 801-485-3913,
central-bookexchange.com

Dolly's Bookstore
Tiny Dolly's (named for its bookstore cat) has been on Park City's main business strip since the early '70s. It specializes in new books, with an emphasis on contemporary fiction and nonfiction, cookbooks, local interest titles and children's books.
510 Main St., Park City, 435-649-8062,
dollysbookstore.com

Ken Sanders Rare Books
The granddaddy of Salt Lake's surviving countercultural bookstores, Ken Sanders is transitioning from its 268 S. 200 East location to The Leonardo, the sprawling Brutalist building that once housed the downtown library. Once fully moved, it'll have niches for general new and used books, as well as its specialties: antiquarian titles; local poetry and fiction; and titles with a tilt towards desert ecology and Deseret history. There's even a children's reading room, which the store launched with "Where the Wild Things Be," a reading of "Where the Wild Things Are," by Sanders himself.
109 E. 500 South, SLC, 801-521-3819,
kensandersbooks.com

The King's English Bookshop
This bookstore lives up to its regal name: a supremely well-read staff that can recommend books from any genre; well-stocked and carefully curated shelves; and a long-running reading series featuring buzzy local and national writers (who, weather permitting, often read in the lovely courtyard out back). Opened in 1977, it survived the big-box bookstore era of the early '90s not just by selling great books, but doing that with a personal touch, staying connected to readers through its newsletter, The Inkslinger, which it still publishes. Subscribe to get the latest on new titles and upcoming readings and check out its LinkTree (linktr.ee/kingsenglishbookshop) for a list of Black authors, kids' book club info, and Terry Tempest Williams' Unlikely Alliances, "a diverse list of books filled with unlikely alliances that inspire imaginative and collaborative thinking."
1511 S. 1500 East, SLC, 801-484-9100,
kingsenglish.com

Poetry Westminster
Poetry fans should check out the Anne Newman Sutton Weeks series, which is active during the academic year; April's reading features Saddiq Dzukogi, whose latest book, Your Crib, My Qibla, was a finalist for the 2022 Derek Walcott Poetry Prize and a pick for Oprah Daily's best poetry collections from the last year. If you're a writer, the college offers quarterly poetry workshops open to students and the public.
1840 S. 1300 East, SLC, 801-484-7651,
westminstercollege.edu

Railtown Readings in Ogden
This newish reading series, organized by Weber Book Links, launched in spring 2022, and it hosts readings featuring two established local authors, followed by an open mic. The organization also sponsors projects like Ogden Ar(t)chives, a giant mailbox located at the corner of 25th Street and Washington, where people can deposit original poems and artwork about Ogden, which will be archived as part of the city's history. Check their Instagram page for the latest reading schedule.
Weber County Main Library, 2464 Jefferson Ave., Ogden,
instagram.com/weberbooklinks

Salt City Slam
Organized by local literary nonprofit Wasatch Wordsmiths, this series at local punk rock vegan diner/concert venue Mark of the Beastro starts with an open mic, followed by a featured poet. Kyle "Guante" Tran Myhre recently read his work and also taught a poetry workshop at Legendarium Bookstore prior to the slam. Get the latest schedule on WW's Facebook page.
Mark of the Beastro, 666 S. State, SLC,
facebook.com/WasatchWordsmiths

University of Utah Guest Writer Series
The University of Utah's creative writing program hosts this series, which is active during the academic year. On March 30, short story writer Jess Arndt gave a reading from their new collection Large Animals. Look for an end-of-year reading by English department faculty on April 13.
Finch Lane Gallery, 54 Finch Lane, SLC,
english.utah.edu

• Courtesy Photo
• Under the Umbrella

Under the Umbrella
This self-described "queer little bookstore," which opened in 2022 after a successful crowdfunding campaign for business startup funds, carries books by 2SLGBTQIA+ authors only. More importantly, it aims to offer a safe place for queer people of any age, including a mutual aid network bulletin board and a free-to-all gender-affirming clothing closet. It also organizes multiple events in June for Pride Month.
511 W. 200 South, Ste. 120, SLC, 801-922-0923,
undertheumbrellabookstore.com

Utah Humanities Book Fest
In September 2022, this fest celebrated 25 years of spotlighting writers from all over the state—from Box Elder to San Juan county and points between—including poets, novelists, historians, journalists, memoirists and YA writers. It also supports local indie bookstores and reading series throughout the year, and archives past readings on its YouTube channel. Check the website for 2023 dates, venues and author line-ups.
Multiple venues,
utahhumanities.org

Weber State Visiting Writers & Open Mics
This reading series hosts readers in all stages of their careers, from young alums like Maurya Brand, Benjamin Favero, and Porter Lunceford to heavy hitters like poet Louise Gluck. It also hosts monthly ROAR open mics in the Stewart Library on the Weber State campus.
Weber State University, Ogden, 801-626-6000,
weber.edu/english/visitingwriters.html

Weller BookWorks
Founded in 1929 by German immigrants Gustav and Margaret Weller, its first iteration on Main Street was a multi-level adventure for booklovers, from the mezzanine (where the rare book rooms lived) to the basement (where you might find maps from the 18th century, old copies of The Evergreen Review, or blender-centered cookbooks from the 1960s). Gustav's son, Sam, managed the bookstore through the 20th century with his wife Lila close at hand, and built Weller's into the bookstore for historical LDS and regional books. You can see a square of velvet-flocked wallpaper from the old store in Weller's new digs in Trolley Square; it remains a multi-level wonderland. You'll still find lots of rare books, including antiquarian LDS titles. It's managed by Tony and Catherine Weller, the third-generation owners, who also keep lots of contemporary fiction, nonfiction, poetry philosophy and kids' titles in stock, and schedule regular readings from writers like Terry Tempest Williams, as well as events like Breakfast Club and Lit Knit, which combine books with brunch and knitting needles respectively.
607 Trolley Square, SLC, 801-328-2586,
wellerbookworks.com