Santa Fe International Film Festival 2026: Dates, Venues & Where to Stay

For one week every October, the marquees along downtown Santa Fe light up and the sidewalks fill with filmmakers, critics, and cinephiles trading opinions on the last screening as they walk to the next one. It’s an unusual kind of energy for a city better known for adobe and art galleries, but Santa Fe has quietly become one of the country’s great small film towns, and for six days each fall, the Santa Fe International Film Festival is the reason why.

The 18th Annual Santa Fe International Film Festival runs October 14-19, 2026, bringing an Oscar®-qualifying slate of premieres, panels, and after-hours events to venues scattered across downtown. If you’re planning a trip around it, here’s what to know about the festival itself, plus the honest answer to a question the festival’s own site doesn’t fully cover: where should you actually stay.

Festivalgoers between screenings during a past Santa Fe International Film Festival.

🎬 What Is the Santa Fe International Film Festival?

Founded in 2009, the Santa Fe International Film Festival (SFiFF) has grown into the largest event of its kind in New Mexico, drawing more than 145,700 attendees over its history and presenting upward of 300 hours of programming each season. In 2022, the event rebranded from the Santa Fe Independent Film Festival to reflect its growing international reach, and it now stands as an Academy Award®-qualifying festival in three categories: Best Documentary Short, Best Narrative Short, and Best Animated Short.

That Oscar-qualifying status is a real distinction, not a marketing line. A win in any of those three short-film categories at SFiFF puts a filmmaker directly in the running for Academy Award consideration, which is part of why MovieMaker Magazine has repeatedly named it one of the “Festivals Worth the Entry Fee.” For six days each October, Santa Fe becomes a working stop on the festival circuit, not just a scenic backdrop for one.

🏆 2026 Festival Highlights

The Lifetime Achievement Award ceremony is one of SFiFF’s marquee evenings at the Lensic.

📍 Where the Screenings Happen

Unlike a festival built around a single theater, SFiFF spreads its programming across several of Santa Fe’s independent and historic venues. That’s part of the city’s charm, you might catch a documentary at a 1930s movie palace and a shorts block at a converted rail yard cinema on the same afternoon, but it also means where you stay affects how much of your festival week gets spent walking (or driving) between screenings.

Distances are approximate walking estimates from the Plaza area and may shift slightly year to year as programming is finalized.

The Lensic Performing Arts Center, SFiFF’s marquee venue right on the Plaza.

🏡 Where to Stay for SFiFF: Hotel vs. Vacation Rental

The festival’s own lodging page is really a list of partner hotels, which is useful as far as it goes, but it doesn’t answer the question guests actually ask us every October: is it worth staying downtown, and is a hotel room the right call for a multi-day festival trip?

Here’s the honest answer. With screenings clustered around the Plaza and the Railyard, walkability matters more during SFiFF than it does most weeks in Santa Fe. Parking downtown gets tight once the evening premieres let out, and a five-minute walk between venues beats circling for a spot every time. That’s the case for staying close, whether in a hotel or a rental.

Where a condo rental has a real edge over a hotel room for festival week specifically: SFiFF runs six days, long enough that a full kitchen for breakfast before a 10 AM screening, or a quiet living room to debrief with your group after a late show, starts to matter. A hotel room works fine for a weekend. For six nights, most guests we talk to prefer the extra space.

Book with Confidence

Festival week fills up fast, especially properties within walking distance of the Plaza. Every reservation through All Seasons Resort Lodging comes backed by our full guest programs:

🚶 Getting Around During Festival Week

With venues split between the Plaza area and the Railyard, most SFiFF regulars use a mix of walking and short rideshares rather than committing to a car for the whole week.

Downtown Santa Fe on foot during a past festival week.

🎟️ How to Get Tickets & Passes

SFiFF offers several ways to attend, depending on how much of the festival you want to see:

Tickets and passes are sold through Eventive on the official SFiFF site. Since venues and showtimes shift as the schedule is finalized each year, it’s worth checking there directly before you lock in your trip dates.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions — Santa Fe International Film Festival

Santa Fe Indigenous Peoples’ Day 2026: Full Schedule, Powwow Guide & Where to Stay

The drums start early on the Santa Fe Plaza, a steady heartbeat under the cottonwoods that’s carried this ground for centuries longer than the city around it. By midmorning, dancers in regalia move through the crowd in bursts of color, hoop dancers spin into shapes that look impossible, and the smell of fry bread drifts over from the vendor booths. For one weekend every October, Santa Fe slows down and turns its attention to the 23 Tribes, Nations, and Pueblos who have called this land home since long before the city earned its name.

Santa Fe Indigenous Peoples’ Day returns October 10-12, 2026, with a full weekend of dances, storytelling, and the city’s beloved Honoring Native Nations Powwow on the Plaza. If you’re planning a trip around it, here’s everything you need to know, from the complete schedule to the most respectful way to take it all in, plus exactly where to stay to be walking distance from every bit of it.

Traditional dancers on the Santa Fe Plaza during Indigenous Peoples’ Day weekend.

🪶 What Is Santa Fe Indigenous Peoples’ Day?

In October 2016, the City of Santa Fe’s Governing Body passed a unanimous resolution establishing the second Monday of October as Indigenous Peoples’ Day, an annual recognition of the Native American communities whose history and culture built the foundation of this city. Santa Fe was home to Pueblo villages centuries before Spanish colonization, and the day exists to honor that living legacy, not just remember it.

Every year, the city reserves the full weekend, not just the Monday holiday, to celebrate the 23 Tribes, Nations, and Pueblos of New Mexico, along with Santa Fe’s urban Native community and the arts and cultural institutions that keep that heritage present in everyday life here. Locals and visitors are equally welcome throughout the weekend.

2026 marks the 4th Annual Honoring Native Nations Powwow, hosted by the Santa Fe Indigenous Center on Monday, the true centerpiece of the weekend. Expect powwow dancing, a parade of Nations, vendor booths, and food trucks running the whole day on the Plaza.

🎨 Is This the Same as Santa Fe Indian Market?

📅 2026 Weekend Schedule at a Glance

Events run across three days, all on or near the historic Santa Fe Plaza. A few performer slots were still being finalized as of publishing, so it’s worth a quick check of the official schedule before you head out.

Saturday & Sunday: Dances on the Plaza

The lead-up weekend brings a rotating lineup of dance groups and cultural centers to the Plaza bandstand throughout the afternoon, a relaxed, come-and-go atmosphere that’s easy to build into a day of shopping and gallery hopping downtown.

Monday: Honoring Native Nations Powwow

Monday is the main event. The Santa Fe Indigenous Center’s Honoring Native Nations Powwow fills the Plaza from morning prayer through the Grand Entry and Parade of Nations at noon, with vendor booths and food trucks open all day.

Hoop dancers at the Honoring Native Nations Powwow.

🙏 How to Attend Respectfully

This weekend is a genuine cultural and spiritual event, not a performance staged for tourists, and a little awareness goes a long way toward being a good guest. The Santa Fe Indigenous Center puts it simply: everyone is welcome, and everyone is asked to be respectful.

Regalia and dance on full display during the weekend’s celebrations.

🏡 Where to Stay for Indigenous Peoples’ Day Weekend

Nearly everything happens in one place this weekend, the Santa Fe Plaza, which makes walkability the single biggest factor in where you should stay. Parking downtown gets tight fast once the powwow crowds arrive Monday morning, so the closer you are on foot, the less of your weekend you spend circling for a spot.

Book with Confidence

Indigenous Peoples’ Day weekend fills up fast, especially properties within walking distance of the Plaza. Every reservation through All Seasons Resort Lodging comes backed by our full guest programs:

🍂 Make a Weekend of It: What Else to Do Nearby

With events spread across three days but only a few hours of programming each afternoon, you’ll have plenty of time to explore the rest of Santa Fe in between. October is one of the best months on the calendar here: crisp mornings, golden aspens in the mountains, and a much quieter Plaza than the summer crowds.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions — Santa Fe Indigenous Peoples’ Day

Somewhere between your first sip and the second chairlift ride, you’ll understand why this weekend sells out every year. Twenty-plus Utah breweries pouring on a mountain lawn, a live band drifting across Silver Lake, and just enough September chill in the air to make the beer taste better than it has any right to. That’s the Deer Valley Mountain Beer Festival — and after 26 years of putting guests up for it, we know exactly how to help you plan around it.

This guide covers everything you need for the 2026 festival: dates, ticket packages, the brewery and music lineup, how the chairlift-only access actually works, and — since nobody else seems to address it — an honest breakdown of where to stay so you’re not scrambling for a ride home after your last tasting token.

The lawn at Silver Lake Lodge fills up fast once the first pour hits the tasting glasses.

🍺 What Is the Deer Valley Mountain Beer Festival?

The Deer Valley Mountain Beer Festival is a two-day craft beer celebration held on the lawn of Silver Lake Lodge, now in its 5th year. What sets it apart from other Utah beer festivals: it’s exclusive to Utah breweries. You won’t find outside labels here, just a curated lineup of the state’s own craft brewers, from long-established names to small producers you may not have tried yet.

It’s also the unofficial closing bell on Park City’s summer season. The festival lands on the final weekend before Deer Valley wraps up summer operations, which means you’re catching the mountain at its quietest and most beautiful, aspens just starting to turn, trails nearly empty, and a locals-favorite crowd that knows exactly why they keep coming back.

📅 2026 Dates & Schedule

Here’s how the weekend breaks down:

Commemorative mugs and tasting tokens are part of the 21+ festival package.

🎟️ Tickets & Packages

All festival packages include admission plus unlimited scenic lift access across the resort for the day, so you can ride up for a view between pours. Here’s the breakdown, based on pricing confirmed directly from Deer Valley:

Pricing is confirmed as of publication but can shift year to year — we’d always recommend double-checking current rates at deervalley.com before you buy.

🎶 Live Music & Brewery Lineup

Saturday’s headliner is Dylan Catrone; Sunday closes the weekend with G. Love & Special Sauce. Beyond the stage, expect 20-plus Utah breweries and cideries pouring full-strength beers and a genuinely wide range of styles — past years have included Squatters, Uinta, Wasatch, Offset Bier, Park City Brewery, Moab Brewery, TF Brewing, Roosters, Bohemian Brewery, and Mountain West Cider, alongside smaller producers you may not find outside the state. Outdoor dining runs the full weekend, plus vendor booths, yard games, and a dedicated kids zone if you’re bringing the whole family.

The only way up to the festival lawn is a scenic ride on Silver Lake Express.

🚡 Getting There: Access & Logistics

This is the detail that trips up first-timers, so we’ll say it plainly: you cannot drive to the festival. Access is by chairlift only, via Silver Lake Express. All parking and check-in happens at Snow Park Lodge, at the base of the resort, and from there you ride up to the festival lawn.

The festival’s kids zone runs alongside the tasting tents all weekend.

👨‍👩‍👧 Family-Friendly? What Parents Should Know

Deer Valley markets this as family-friendly, and it genuinely is — up to a point worth understanding before you book. There’s a full kids zone with a slackline, yard games, and face painting, plus outdoor dining the whole family can enjoy. But at its core, this is a full-strength craft beer festival, and the tasting tents are the main event. If you’re bringing kids, plan for the on-mountain activities and scenic lift rides to be their focus rather than the beer itself, and know that pets aren’t allowed on the festival grounds this year.

The Silver Lake lawn fills with locals and visitors alike every September.

🏡 Where to Stay for the Deer Valley Mountain Beer Festival

Since every festival-goer funnels through Snow Park Lodge at the base, where you sleep that night matters more than it would for a typical Park City event. We don’t manage properties inside Deer Valley itself, so we’ll be straightforward about it: our strongest picks are in Old Town and Park Meadows, an easy walk or a quick ride from Snow Park — close enough that you can skip the parking lot search entirely and still be steps from Main Street’s restaurants once the festival wraps at 5 PM.

Not sure which property fits your group best? Call 888-575-2775 or email reservations@asrlodging.com and we’ll match you to the right unit for festival weekend.

Yard games run alongside the tasting tents all weekend long.

🌆 Make a Weekend of It

With the festival capped at 5 PM both days, you’ve still got a whole evening ahead of you — and staying near Main Street means you don’t have to choose between the mountain and the town. Wander down for dinner at one of the best Main Street restaurants, or keep the evening going with a stop at one of Park City’s best apres spots. If you’re building a full two-night trip around the festival, the quieter September crowds and turning aspens make it one of the best-kept-secret weekends on the Park City calendar.

❓ Deer Valley Mountain Beer Festival — Frequently Asked Questions

When is the Deer Valley Mountain Beer Festival in 2026?

The 5th annual festival runs Saturday, Sept. 19 and Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, from 12 to 5 PM each day. The weekend opens Friday, Sept. 18, with the ticketed Brewmaster Dinner.

How do you get to the Deer Valley Mountain Beer Festival?

Festival access is by chairlift only, via Silver Lake Express. Parking and check-in are at Snow Park Lodge, and unlimited scenic lift rides are included with every festival package.

Is the Deer Valley Mountain Beer Festival dog-friendly?

No, dogs are not permitted on the festival grounds.

Is the festival family-friendly?

Yes, with a dedicated kids zone featuring a slackline, yard games, and face painting. That said, it’s a full-strength craft beer festival at its core, so plan for kids to enjoy the on-mountain activities and scenic lift rides rather than the tasting tents.

Where should I stay for the Deer Valley Mountain Beer Festival?

Since festival check-in happens at Snow Park Lodge at the base of Deer Valley, properties in Old Town and Park Meadows — like The Caledonian, Town Lift Condos, Park Avenue Condos, and Jupiter Inn — put you an easy walk or short ride away, with Main Street dining right at hand afterward. Call 888-575-2775 for personalized recommendations.

What breweries are featured at the Deer Valley Mountain Beer Festival?

The festival is exclusive to Utah breweries and cideries — over 20 pour each year, including names like Squatters, Uinta, Wasatch, Offset Bier, Park City Brewery, and Moab Brewery, alongside smaller Utah producers.

Santa Fe Día de los Muertos 2026: Your Complete Guide to Lodging & Celebrating the Day of the Dead

Picture this: the historic Santa Fe Plaza transforms into a glowing tapestry of marigold petals and flickering candles, while the haunting beauty of mariachi music drifts through the crisp mountain air. Thousands of families gather beneath strings of papel picado as the sweet scent of pan de muerto mingles with piñon smoke from nearby chimneys. This is Día de los Muertos in Santa Fe, where ancient Mexican traditions blend with four centuries of New Mexican culture to create something truly magical.

In 2026, the celebration lands on a fitting weekend: Halloween itself falls on Saturday, October 31, so the City Different’s Día de los Muertos on the Plaza runs right alongside it, offering a quieter, more meaningful alternative just steps away from the costumes and candy. Whether you’re seeking a cultural experience, planning a family vacation, or simply chasing golden-hour photos against adobe walls, here’s everything you need to know, starting with where to stay.

Marigolds, candlelight, and papel picado fill the Santa Fe Plaza each year for Día de los Muertos.

🕯️ What Makes Santa Fe’s Día de los Muertos So Special?

Día de los Muertos represents far more than a holiday. It’s a celebration where the boundary between life and death grows gossamer-thin, allowing families to reconnect with departed loved ones. Unlike Halloween’s focus on fright, this tradition embraces death as a natural continuation of life’s journey.

The roots stretch back over 3,000 years to the Aztec empire, where skulls symbolized rebirth and honoring the deceased meant celebrating their continued existence on another plane. Today, families create ofrendas, or altars, adorned with photographs, favorite foods, and personal belongings to welcome spirits home for one magical night.

🗓️ Complete 2026 Event Schedule

Now in its fifth year, Santa Fe’s Día de los Muertos on the Plaza is presented with support from the New Mexico Tourism Department, the City of Santa Fe, and the Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe. Here’s how the two days unfold.

🎯 Insider tip: arrive by 5:30 PM on Friday for golden-hour photography, when the low sun through the papel picado creates the best light of the whole weekend. On Saturday, stake out a spot near the Cathedral Basilica steps by 7:45 PM for prime parade viewing with a bit of elevation.

Ofrendas and calavera art fill the Plaza throughout the weekend.

🏡 Where to Stay for Día de los Muertos

Finding the right accommodation can make or break your Día de los Muertos weekend. After years of hosting guests during this event, we’ve learned exactly what works for different types of travelers.

A Fort Marcy living room, a five-minute walk from the Plaza.

💡 Smart Booking Strategy

Día de los Muertos weekend books up quickly, and with Halloween falling on the same Saturday in 2026, demand is likely to run higher than usual. Here’s how availability tends to move.

Money-saving tip: arrive Thursday and depart Sunday to access better nightly rates while still catching both main event days.

🗺️ Your Perfect Long Weekend Itinerary

Thursday: Arrival & Immersion

Friday: Opening Night

Saturday: The Main Event

Sunday: Recovery & Exploration

Families gather on the Plaza throughout the weekend for face painting, music, and ofrenda viewing.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family Guide: Making Memories with Kids

Santa Fe’s Día de los Muertos welcomes families with open arms. Kids tend to love the sugar skull decorating stations, the professional face painting, the outdoor “Coco” screening under blankets, and the pan de muerto sampling throughout the day.

🎒 Practical Visitor Information

Weather & What to Pack

Late October in Santa Fe brings brilliant sunny days around 55-65°F, with a dramatic drop after sunset into the 30s.

Getting Around

Dining Beyond the Food Trucks

Food trucks on the Plaza offer great grab-and-go options, but for a sit-down meal, reserve well ahead of the event weekend. A late lunch around 2 PM or an early dinner around 5 PM tends to beat the peak rush at most downtown restaurants.

🌄 Beyond the Plaza: Extending Your Stay

Turn your event weekend into a full Santa Fe cultural trip with these nearby stops.

📸 Photography Guide

A note on etiquette: always ask before photographing individuals, and treat ofrendas as sacred spaces to observe rather than disturb.

Sugar skull art is everywhere on the Plaza during the celebration.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions — Santa Fe Día de los Muertos 2026

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Should You Stay in Santa Fe for the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta? Your Honest 2026 Guide

Before sunrise, the field at Balloon Fiesta Park is already loud: propane burners roaring, envelopes unfurling across the grass in every color imaginable, a crowd of thousands murmuring in the cold and the dark. Then the first balloon lifts, and for the next two hours the sky over Albuquerque fills with more than 500 hot air balloons drifting against the Sandia Mountains. It’s the kind of sight that’s hard to describe and easy to understand why people fly in from around the world just to see it.

The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta returns October 3–11, 2026, for its 54th year, and if you’re already planning the trip, you’ve probably run into the same question we hear from Santa Fe visitors every fall: should you stay right next to the action in Albuquerque, or base yourself an hour north in Santa Fe and make it a two-destination trip?

We’ll give it to you straight. Both options work. But there’s a real case for Santa Fe that most Balloon Fiesta guides never mention, and we’d rather walk you through the honest trade-offs than pretend there’s only one right answer.

Mass ascension at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.

🎈 What Is the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta?

The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is the largest hot air ballooning event on Earth, and by most accounts, the most photographed. Each October, more than 500 balloons and their crews descend on Balloon Fiesta Park for nine days of mass ascensions, evening balloon glows, gas balloon races, and the special shape balloons that have made the event famous, everything from cartoon characters to a massive stagecoach.

The 2026 event marks the 54th Fiesta and carries the theme “The Scenic Route,” a nod to the 100th anniversary of Route 66. Here’s what defines the experience:

📋 2026 Balloon Fiesta At a Glance

Every event at the Fiesta is weather-dependent, so it’s worth building a little flexibility into your plans no matter where you stay. Check the official Balloon Fiesta schedule before you go.

🏔️ Santa Fe or Albuquerque: Where Should You Stay?

We’ll be honest with you here, because that’s how we’d want a local to talk to us. Staying near Balloon Fiesta Park has a real advantage: you can roll out of bed at 5 AM instead of 4, skip the highway entirely, and be on the field with less to think about. If your only goal is the Fiesta and nothing else, Albuquerque lodging makes that morning easier.

But most visitors we talk to are building a bigger New Mexico trip, and that’s where Santa Fe earns a serious look. Hotel and rental rates in Albuquerque commonly double or triple during Fiesta week. Santa Fe’s fall rates stay comparatively stable, October mornings are crisp and the aspens are turning gold, and you get an entire second destination, adobe architecture, world-class museums, a 400-year-old plaza, without adding another flight or another rental car reservation.

Here’s how the two options actually compare:

🚗 The Logistics: Getting from Santa Fe to Balloon Fiesta Park

If Santa Fe sounds like the right call, the drive is genuinely doable, it just takes some planning around that early wake-up. Balloon Fiesta Park sits about 60 miles south of Santa Fe, a drive that normally takes 70 to 90 minutes depending on traffic and which Park & Ride lot you’re headed to.

For a 7 AM mass ascension, we’d recommend leaving Santa Fe by 4:30 AM at the latest. Fiesta traffic backs up fast near the park entrance, and arriving late can mean missing the balloons entirely. Bring a thermos of coffee, dress in warm layers, and treat the drive itself as part of the adventure. October mornings in northern New Mexico are cold and clear, which makes for some of the best stargazing of the year on the way down.

TOURISM Santa Fe also runs a daily round-trip shuttle directly to Balloon Fiesta Park during the event, with tickets available in advance. It’s a solid option if you’d rather not drive at 4 AM, and it typically returns guests to Santa Fe by mid-morning, leaving your whole day free.

🍂 Make It a Two-Destination Trip: What Else to Do in Santa Fe This October

Here’s the part that makes Santa Fe lodging worth considering even if the drive gives you pause. The Fiesta’s morning mass ascensions typically wrap by 9 or 10 AM, which means you can be back in Santa Fe by late morning with an entire day still ahead of you. October happens to be one of the best months on the Santa Fe calendar.

In other words, staying in Santa Fe doesn’t mean choosing between the Fiesta and everything else New Mexico has to offer in October. With the right lodging, it means getting both.

Fort Marcy Condos, Santa Fe.

🏡 Where to Stay in Santa Fe for Balloon Fiesta Week

The truth is, staying near the field doesn’t matter much for the Balloon Fiesta itself, you’re driving down either way. What matters more is what you’re coming back to. We manage two very different properties in Santa Fe, and either one turns a 4:30 AM wake-up into something worth the trip.

Book with Confidence

Balloon Fiesta week is one of the busiest fall stretches on our calendar, and properties near downtown book up early. Every reservation through All Seasons Resort Lodging comes backed by our full guest programs:

❓ Frequently Asked Questions — Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta from Santa Fe

For forty-two winters, the lights of Main Street burned brightest in January, when Park City became the center of the film world. This October, a new chapter begins, and it starts with the same little auditorium where so many of those stories first flickered to life.

If you have heard that Sundance is leaving Park City, you heard right. But independent film is not leaving with it. This October 23–25, 2026, Park City Film, the local nonprofit that has quietly powered the town’s arthouse cinema scene since 1995, launches the inaugural Park City Film Festival. It is a three-day celebration of new voices, documentary storytelling, and the same Jim Santy Auditorium that hosted Sundance premieres for thirty years. We have been managing vacation rentals here since 1999, and we have housed everyone from first-time filmmakers to studio executives during festival season. Here is everything you need to know about Park City’s newest film festival, plus exactly where to stay.

🎬 Sundance Is Gone. Park City’s Film Legacy Is Not.

Let’s clear up the confusion first, because you are probably here with a question in mind: is this the same as Sundance? The short answer is no, but the connection runs deeper than you might think.

The Sundance Film Festival held its final Park City edition in January 2026, capping off more than four decades in town before relocating permanently to Boulder, Colorado, starting in 2027. It was a bittersweet farewell for a mountain town that had become synonymous with independent cinema. But Park City’s relationship with film did not start with Sundance, and it is not ending with Sundance either.

Park City Film, the town’s only nonprofit art house cinema, has screened independent films year-round since 1995. Its home base, the Jim Santy Auditorium inside the Park City Library, is the very theater Sundance used as its “Library Theatre” venue for thirty years. Rather than let that legacy fade, Park City Film is stepping into the spotlight with its own festival.

Post-screening filmmaker conversations are a signature part of the Park City Film Festival experience.

🎥 What to Expect at the Inaugural Park City Film Festival

This is a festival built for people who genuinely love film, not just the scene around it. Over three days, expect an intimate, community-driven event rather than a red-carpet spectacle.

Park City Film has not released the full lineup yet. Festival passes, individual tickets, and the complete film and panel schedule go on sale August 17, 2026. We will update this guide the moment details are confirmed, so bookmark this page if you are planning ahead.

📍 Where the Action Happens

Unlike Sundance’s sprawling, decentralized footprint across Main Street, Mountain Village, and Kimball Junction, the Park City Film Festival is refreshingly compact. Screenings take place at the Jim Santy Auditorium, 1255 Park Avenue, on the edge of Old Town. Panels and discussions happen a short drive away at District F in Prospector Square. That smaller footprint actually makes lodging decisions easier this year, more on that below.

The Park City Library and Jim Santy Auditorium, home of the new Park City Film Festival.

🏠 Where to Stay for the Park City Film Festival

Here is something the official festival site will not tell you: exactly where to base yourself. Because this year’s festival centers on the Jim Santy Auditorium and District F in Prospector Square, rather than Sundance’s old sprawl across town, your neighborhood choice matters in a new way.

⭐ Mountain Village is a strong pick for festival weekend, offering a quieter home base with easy bus access to both the Jim Santy Auditorium and District F. Traveling with a group for the festival? Our group lodging team can help coordinate multiple units so everyone stays close together.

Prefer to be right on Main Street? You’ll be steps from festival week dining and nightlife, with a short bus ride to screenings. Staying near Prospector Square instead puts you closest to District F’s panel discussions and on the most direct route to the Jim Santy Auditorium.

Prefer to Stay Right on Main Street?

If you would rather be steps from festival week dining and nightlife, a Downtown Main Street rental keeps you close to Old Town’s restaurant row while remaining a short, easy trip to the Jim Santy Auditorium. Bringing a larger group for the weekend? Our group lodging team can help coordinate multiple units.

We have been managing Park City vacation rentals since 1999, long enough to watch this town’s film scene evolve firsthand. That experience means we know how to host industry guests and casual film lovers alike, whether you are here to network or simply catch a few great documentaries.

🌌 Why October Is a Great Time to Visit Park City

A fall film festival is a genuinely different way to experience this mountain town. Late October means the aspens have mostly turned, the summer crowds have thinned, and ski season has not yet arrived, so you get Park City at its quietest and most affordable. Days are crisp, evenings are cool, and restaurant reservations are far easier to snag than during peak season.

Thanks to our Lowest Rate Guarantee, you can plan your festival weekend with confidence, without wondering if you overpaid for lodging. Pair that with our 48-Hour Money-Back Guarantee, and booking early for this brand-new festival is a low-risk way to be among the first to experience it.

🍸 Make It a Full Weekend

With three days of screenings and plenty of time between blocks, build out your weekend with a few local favorites:

• 🍽 Best Main Street Restaurants — For a dinner between film blocks
• ☕ Best Coffee Shops — Fuel up before a full day of screenings
• 🏋 7 Best Hikes in Park City — Catch peak fall color before the sun sets
• 🍸 Park City Nightlife Guide — Keep the conversation going after the credits roll

❓ Park City Film Festival: Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Park City Film Festival the same as Sundance?

No. Sundance held its final Park City festival in January 2026 and has moved permanently to Boulder, Colorado, starting in 2027. The Park City Film Festival is a brand-new event launched by Park City Film, the local nonprofit that ran Sundance’s Library Theatre venue for thirty years.

Why did Sundance leave Park City?

After more than forty years in Park City, Sundance Institute selected Boulder, Colorado as its new home starting in 2027, citing the need for more theaters, better infrastructure, and room for the festival to grow. Park City hosted its final edition in January 2026.

When do tickets go on sale?

Festival passes and individual tickets for the Park City Film Festival go on sale August 17, 2026, alongside the full film and panel schedule.

Where is the Jim Santy Auditorium?

The Jim Santy Auditorium sits inside the Park City Library at 1255 Park Avenue, on the edge of Old Town. It served as Sundance’s Library Theatre venue for thirty years and now hosts the Park City Film Festival’s screenings.

What films will be shown?

The inaugural festival will feature 8 to 9 film blocks, including four documentaries, three narrative features, and a short film block. The full lineup releases August 17, 2026.

Where should I stay for the Park City Film Festival?

Since screenings and panels center on the Jim Santy Auditorium and District F in Prospector Square, staying in Prospector Square or Downtown Main Street puts you closest to the action. All Seasons Resort Lodging manages several ideal properties, including Carriage House Condos and Park Avenue Condos. Browse Prospector Square rentals or call 888-575-2775 for availability.

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The Burning of Zozobra 2026: Santa Fe’s Complete Guide to the 102nd Old Man Gloom

The sun drops behind the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, and fifty feet of white cloth and chicken wire stirs to life above Fort Marcy Park. His arms lift. His mouth groans open. Somewhere in the crowd, a child grips a parent’s hand a little tighter, and a few thousand strangers, packed shoulder to shoulder on the grass, start to chant the same two words. Burn him. Burn him. This is Zozobra, and for one Friday night every year, watching a giant marionette catch fire is the closest thing Santa Fe has to a citywide exhale.

Every year on the Friday before Labor Day, the Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe builds a towering effigy known as Zozobra, or Old Man Gloom, stuffs him with the year’s collective worries, and sets him ablaze in front of tens of thousands of people. In 2026, that Friday falls on September 4, marking the 102nd Burning of Zozobra, and this year’s edition carries an extra layer of significance: a theme built around America’s 250th anniversary.

This guide covers everything a first-time visitor or a returning regular needs: the real history behind the ritual, what actually happens on the night, ticket pricing, parking that won’t ruin your evening, and, because we happen to know this part well, where to stay so Zozobra becomes the highlight of a relaxed Santa Fe weekend instead of a logistical headache.

The Burning of Zozobra, Fort Marcy Park, Santa Fe.

🔥 What Is Zozobra? The Story Behind Old Man Gloom

Zozobra began as a party trick. In 1924, Santa Fe artist Will Shuster built a six-foot effigy for a private gathering of Los Cinco Pintores, the small circle of painters and writers who had settled in Santa Fe in the 1920s. Shuster had been struck by a tradition he’d seen among the Yaqui people of Arizona and Mexico, in which a Judas effigy is paraded through the village and burned during Holy Week. He borrowed the idea, and with help from fellow artist and marionette maker Gustave Baumann, who built the head, he brought the first Zozobra to life for that one small backyard burn.

The name came from Shuster and a local newspaper editor, E. Dana Johnson, who landed on the Spanish word zozobra, meaning anguish, anxiety, or gloom. It fit. That first effigy stayed a private affair for two more years before making its public debut at the 1926 Fiestas de Santa Fe, the centuries-old celebration that Zozobra has opened ever since.

Nearly a hundred years later, the six-foot puppet from that backyard party has grown into a 50-foot, 6-inch marionette of wood, wire, and cloth, built fresh each year by hundreds of Santa Fe volunteers. Since 1964, the nonprofit Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe has run the event, and every dollar of ticket proceeds goes toward programs supporting underserved children across New Mexico. Watching Zozobra burn isn’t just a spectacle. It’s a fundraiser wearing a monster costume.

🎭 The Ritual: What Actually Happens on the Night

If you’ve never been, the evening builds slowly and then all at once. Gates open in the afternoon with live music, food, and a beer garden filling Fort Marcy Park while Zozobra looms silently over the stage, arms twitching now and then to remind everyone he’s watching. As dusk settles in, a procession of torch-bearing townsfolk moves through the crowd, chasing off Zozobra’s mischievous Gloomies and setting small bonfires on the stage below him. That’s what wakes him up, and he does not take it well.

Then comes Zozobra’s oldest rival: the Fire Spirit, a dancer who appears in flowing red and battles Old Man Gloom in a performance that’s been part of the tradition for decades. As the fight builds, the crowd’s chants grow louder, “Burn him! Burn him!” rolling across Fort Marcy Park, until Zozobra finally goes up in flame and fireworks light the sky above the Sangre de Cristos. It’s over in minutes, and it’s the kind of minutes people plan entire trips around.

The gloom itself is the part most first-timers don’t expect. In the weeks before the burn, anyone can write down whatever they’re ready to let go of, a bad year, a breakup, an old grudge, and drop it into a Gloom Box at Santa Fe’s Visitor Centers. Over the decades, Zozobra has been stuffed with divorce papers, paid-off mortgages, speeding tickets, a wedding dress, and even a guitar. You can also submit a gloom at ZozoFest or, on the day of the burn itself, at the Gloom Tent inside Fort Marcy Park, open until 8 PM. Whatever you’re carrying, it burns with him.

🇺🇸 Why 2026 Is a Milestone Year

Every era of Zozobra has looked a little different. In the years leading up to his 100th burning in 2024, the Kiwanis Club ran a Decades Project, dressing Old Man Gloom in the styles of each ten-year stretch of his existence, from the swanky 1920s through the tubular 1980s. That project set the stage for what’s become an annual tradition of its own: giving Zozobra a fresh theme worth talking about.

For 2026, that theme is “The Tyranny of Gloom vs. the Spirit of ’76,” tying the 102nd Burning of Zozobra to the 250th anniversary of the United States. It’s a rare overlap of two milestones in one night, Santa Fe’s century-old tradition of burning away the past year’s troubles, set against the country’s own long history. If you’ve been waiting for a particularly meaningful year to finally see Zozobra in person, this is it.

📅 2026 Event Details & Schedule

Zozobra weekend is really two events stitched into one late-summer stretch. Here’s how 2026 breaks down.

🎟 Tickets & Pricing for 2026

Ticket prices are set by the Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe and increase closer to the event, so buying early is worth it if you already know you’re going. Here’s how the 2026 pricing breaks down.

Premium sections, especially the higher tiers, tend to sell out months in advance. If you want a seat rather than standing room, buy as early as possible directly through the official Zozobra ticketing site.

🚗 Getting There & Parking

Parking is, without question, the most stressful part of Zozobra for anyone driving in. Streets around Fort Marcy Park close from Thursday at noon through Sunday, and downtown garages fill early. Here’s what your options look like.

❤️ Is Zozobra Right for Your Family?

Zozobra draws everyone from lifelong Santa Feans who’ve attended fifty burns to first-time visitors who aren’t quite sure what they’re walking into. Here’s what to know before you go.

Fort Marcy Condos, Santa Fe.

🏡 Where to Stay for Zozobra 2026

Zozobra weekend is one of the busiest of the Santa Fe summer, and it overlaps directly with the start of Fiestas de Santa Fe, so the best properties near downtown book up early. Where you stay changes the entire evening. We’ve had guests spend twenty minutes hunting for parking while the sky was already lighting up, and we’ve had others walk out their front door and be standing in Fort Marcy Park before the gates finished opening. The difference is worth planning around.

Book with Confidence

We know a Santa Fe vacation is a real investment of time and money, and Zozobra weekend books up faster than almost any other on our calendar. Every reservation through All Seasons Resort Lodging comes backed by our full guest programs:

📆 Also Happening That Weekend

Labor Day weekend in Santa Fe is bigger than just one night. Here’s the full picture if you’re planning your trip around it.

Attending Indian Market earlier in August as well? Our Santa Fe vacation rentals are available across the full late-summer season, and booking an extended stay often means a better nightly rate than two separate reservations.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions — Zozobra 2026

Cleats laced, sidelines packed, and a mountain town about to fill up with families from half the West. That’s Park City Extreme Cup weekend, and it’s one of the biggest traveling crowds our town sees all summer.

The 2026 Park City Extreme Cup returns July 30 through August 1, bringing roughly 200 teams and their families in from across the region for one of the largest sanctioned youth soccer tournaments in Utah. We’ve been managing vacation rentals here since 1999, so we know this town’s summer calendar inside and out, including the fact that families searching for tournament info often end up clicking through half a dozen pages just to piece together the schedule, the fees, and where to actually stay. This guide puts all of it in one place, plus the one detail the tournament’s own site can only partly answer: exactly where your family should book for the weekend.

Youth soccer players competing at the Park City Extreme Cup in Park City, Utah.

⚽ What Is the Park City Extreme Cup?

The Park City Extreme Cup is a sanctioned U.S. Youth Soccer tournament for boys and girls ages 9U through 19U, with U.S. Club Soccer teams also welcome to play. Organized by the Park City Soccer Club (PCSC), it’s grown into one of the largest youth soccer tournaments in the state, and 2026 marks its 23rd year running.

Here’s what that growth means in practice: the tournament fills to capacity nearly every year. To keep up with demand, games now spread beyond Park City into Heber, Francis, Kamas, and Oakley. That’s a lot of ground to cover for a family visiting for the first time, which is exactly why knowing where to base yourselves for the weekend matters so much.

Families ask us the same question every July: “We don’t know which field our team will land on yet, so where should we even book?” Our answer is always the same. Stay central, near Kimball Junction, and you’re within easy reach no matter where the bracket sends you.

— All Seasons Resort Lodging, Local Team

🏆 Some of the Best Fields in the State

Park City’s soccer fields carry serious credibility. Both the U.S. Men’s National Team and Real Salt Lake have trained on some of the very fields used during the Extreme Cup. A limited number of matches are even played under the lights, which makes for a pretty memorable evening of youth soccer against a mountain backdrop.

📅 2026 Park City Extreme Cup: Dates & Key Deadlines

Whether your team is already registered or your family is just starting to plan the trip, here’s the timeline that matters most. Registration and bracket details are managed entirely by the tournament, so always confirm specifics directly with the organizers as the summer gets closer.

Notice how much happens in the three weeks before the tournament even starts. Brackets don’t come out until July 7, and the full schedule doesn’t post until July 20, which is exactly why so many traveling families end up booking lodging well before they know precisely which field they’ll play on. More on how to plan around that in the lodging section below.

📋 Age Groups, Format & Fees

The Extreme Cup organizes teams by age group, with roster size and game format changing as players get older. Here’s the breakdown for 2026:

*U13–U15 rosters carry up to 18 players. U16–U18 rosters carry up to 22 players, with 18 dressed per game. A $20 GotSport software fee is added at checkout for every team.

One detail worth flagging for coaches and team managers: the 2026 tournament aligns age groups with U.S. Youth Soccer’s school-year initiative, so teams should register using their Fall 2026 age group rather than their current 2025–26 age. If you’re not sure which bracket that puts your team in, the tournament’s registration team can walk you through it.

Games spread across Park City and the surrounding Wasatch Back communities.

🗺️ Where Are the Games Played?

Because the Extreme Cup fills up every year, games are no longer confined to Park City itself. Expect play across five communities: Park City, Heber, Francis, Kamas, and Oakley. Younger age groups (U11–U12) tend to play closer to town at fields like Matt Knoop Memorial Park and the Park City Sports Complex, while older brackets may be assigned fields further out in the Heber Valley.

Here’s the practical takeaway for families: you won’t know your team’s exact field assignment until the bracket releases on July 7, and the full schedule isn’t posted until July 20. That’s a tight window if you’re booking lodging based on a single field location. The smarter move is choosing a home base that keeps every possible venue within a reasonable drive, which is exactly why so many Extreme Cup families gravitate toward the Kimball Junction area. It sits close to town, close to the highway heading toward Heber and Kamas, and close to the tournament’s own headquarters hotel.

🏠 Where to Stay for the Park City Extreme Cup

Here’s something the tournament’s own website can only partly help with. Their official lodging page points teams to one hotel. That’s a great option, and we happen to manage it, but it’s not the only one, and it isn’t always the right fit for every family’s size or budget.

Tournament Headquarters: Newpark Resort

Newpark Resort is the Park City Extreme Cup’s official tournament headquarters hotel, and it’s managed by our team at All Seasons Resort Lodging. It sits right in Kimball Junction, an easy walk to shopping and dining and a short drive to fields across Park City, Heber, and beyond. Tournament families booking directly get a discounted group rate, so it’s worth mentioning the tournament’s promo code when you call.

Need More Space? Condos & Townhomes Near Kimball Junction

A hotel room works well for a single-night stay, but Extreme Cup weekends often mean three or four nights with extended family, multiple kids, and a cooler full of post-game snacks. That’s where a condo or townhome earns its keep. A full kitchen alone can save a traveling family real money over three days of restaurant meals, and a little extra space goes a long way after a long day in the sun.

⭐ Bear Hollow Village is a favorite for traveling soccer families, tucked between Canyons Village and Kimball Junction with room to spread out after a long tournament day. Traveling with grandparents or a second family? Our group lodging team can help coordinate multiple units so everyone stays close together.

Looking for even more room for a big traveling crew? Browse our 3-bedroom units or 4+ bedroom homes and condos for tournament week.

🏔 Beyond the Pitch: What to Do Between Games

With pool play running two full days, there’s real downtime to fill between matches, and plenty of families turn the weekend into a proper Park City vacation. Here’s how to spend it:

• 🍽 Must-Eat Kimball Junction Restaurants — Quick, kid-friendly options close to Newpark and the Kimball Junction rentals
• 🏊 Alpine Slides & Mountain Coasters — A perfect way to burn off energy between games
• 🏋 7 Best Hikes in Park City — Easy trails for a morning walk before an afternoon match
• 🍺 Best Coffee Shops — Fuel up for an early sideline call time
• 🏠 More Things to Do in Park City — Our full activity archive for tournament week

Since families often travel from out of state for this tournament, extending the trip by a day or two on either end is common. Park City’s trail system is IMBA Gold-rated, so even a short bike ride or hike between games is an easy way to make the most of the mountain setting.

🚌 Getting Around Tournament Weekend

With games spread across five communities, a little planning around transportation goes a long way, especially on days with an early match on one side of the valley and a late one on the other.

❓ Park City Extreme Cup: Frequently Asked Questions

When is the 2026 Park City Extreme Cup?

The 2026 Park City Extreme Cup runs Thursday, July 30 through Saturday, August 1, with pool play on July 30–31 and semifinals and finals on August 1.

What age groups can play in the Extreme Cup?

The tournament welcomes boys and girls ages 9U through 19U at advanced, intermediate, and recreational levels. U9–U10 teams play 7v7, U11–U12 teams play 9v9, and U13–U19 teams play 11v11.

Where are the games played?

Games are played across five communities: Park City, Heber, Francis, Kamas, and Oakley. Field assignments are released with the tournament bracket on July 7, and the full schedule posts July 20.

Do we have to book lodging through the tournament?

No. The tournament’s official headquarters hotel is Newpark Resort, but families are free to book any lodging that fits their needs. Many traveling families choose a condo or townhome near Kimball Junction for the extra space and kitchen.

Where is the best place to stay for the Extreme Cup?

Kimball Junction is the best home base for most families, since it sits close to town and close to the routes toward Heber, Kamas, and Oakley. All Seasons Resort Lodging manages the tournament’s official headquarters hotel, Newpark Resort, along with nearby condos and townhomes for larger groups. Browse Kimball Junction rentals or call 888-575-2775 for availability.

What else is there to do in Park City during tournament weekend?

Between games, families can explore Park City’s alpine slides and mountain coasters, hiking trails, and Kimball Junction dining. Many out-of-state families extend their stay by a day or two to enjoy the mountain setting beyond the pitch.

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Picture this: the aspens along the Wasatch Back are just starting to turn gold, the summer crowds have thinned, and Canyons Village smells like woodsmoke and something even better, an open bottle. That’s the Park City Wine Festival in a single breath, and it’s one of our favorite weekends of the year to be a local.

The Park City Wine Festival: Fall Edition returns October 1–3, 2026, bringing over 80 wineries, paired dinners at some of Park City’s best restaurants, and a whole weekend built around bold views and fine wines. We’ve been managing vacation rentals here since 1999, so we’ve watched this festival grow into one of the signature food and wine events in the Mountain West. Here’s everything you need to know, plus the one detail the official festival site can’t help you with: exactly where to stay so you’re never far from the pour.

Park City Wine Festival Tasting at Canyons Village, Park City, Utah.

🍷 What Is the Park City Wine Festival?

The Park City Wine Festival is a multi-day celebration of wine, food, and mountain scenery, built around a central Grand Tasting and a lineup of à la carte experiences held throughout Park City. Master winemakers and wine enthusiasts travel in from across the West Coast, France, and beyond to pour for guests against a backdrop of Wasatch Back peaks, and the festival has become one of the region’s most anticipated culinary events.

Here’s something worth knowing before you plan your trip: the Park City Wine Festival actually runs twice a year, a Spring Edition in April and a Fall Edition in October. The Spring 2026 event already wrapped up in April, so the Fall Edition, October 1–3, 2026, is the one on the calendar now. Both editions share the same bold-views-and-fine-wines spirit, but the Fall gathering is the larger of the two, timed perfectly with peak leaf-changing season in the mountains.

We tell our guests the same thing every October: come for the wine, stay for the fact that you can’t get views like this anywhere else during a tasting. There’s something about sipping a bold red with the canyon turning gold behind you that just doesn’t translate to a photo.

— All Seasons Resort Lodging, Local Team

🍉 A Weekend Built Around More Than the Pour

While the Grand Tasting is the headline event, the festival weekend is really a collection of smaller, curated experiences spread across Park City restaurants and venues. Recent Fall Edition programming has included:

📅 Fall Edition 2026: The Weekend at a Glance

Here’s how a typical Park City Wine Festival: Fall Edition weekend comes together. Exact events and venues shift slightly year to year, so treat this as a guide to the rhythm of the weekend rather than a locked schedule.

Because most events are ticketed individually and popular dinners sell out early, it’s worth building your weekend itinerary, and booking your lodging, well before the first weekend of October.

Canyons Village during the Park City Wine Festival Fall Edition.

🍷 The Grand Tasting & Signature Experiences

The Grand Tasting is where most guests spend their festival weekend, a walkaround tasting featuring dozens of wineries alongside craft beer, spirits, and bites from local purveyors. It’s the kind of event where you can start the afternoon with a crisp white and end it comparing notes on a bold cabernet with someone who just became your new favorite stranger.

Beyond the Grand Tasting, the festival’s paired dinners are where things get personal. Recent Fall Edition lineups have included a Boutique Producer Wine Dinner featuring a five-course menu paired with a small-production winery’s portfolio, and a volcanic-soil wine pairing dinner built around a French-inspired tasting menu. For something more active, look for a guided hike paired with a rosé lunch, a nice way to earn your evening pour.

🌽 Why October Wine Tastes Different Here

One thing our team always mentions to first-time festival guests: Park City sits at roughly 6,800 feet, and the Grand Tasting’s satellite events climb even higher. Altitude affects how alcohol hits you, often faster and harder than it would at sea level. Pace yourself, drink water between pours, and eat throughout the day rather than saving your appetite for one big meal. It’s a small adjustment that makes a big difference in how you feel the next morning.

🌌 Why Early October Is a Perfect Time to Visit Park City

The Fall Edition’s timing isn’t an accident. Early October lines up with peak leaf-changing season in the Wasatch Mountains, when the aspens along the canyon roads turn a brilliant gold and the crowds have thinned considerably from summer’s high season. Days are still comfortably mild, typically in the low 60s, while evenings dip into the high 30s, perfect sweater weather for an evening tasting.

It’s also a quieter shoulder season for Park City overall, which means easier restaurant reservations, more relaxed trails, and a noticeably different pace than either summer festival season or the ski rush that follows in November. If you’ve only visited Park City in winter, an autumn wine festival weekend is a genuinely different side of the mountain town.

🏠 Where to Stay for the Park City Wine Festival

Here’s something you won’t find on the official festival site: real guidance on where to stay. Since the Grand Tasting and most Fall Edition events are centered at Canyons Village, your lodging choice can be the difference between a five-minute stroll to the tasting tent and a long night of shuttles and rideshares after a full day of pours.

Best Home Base: Canyons Village

Staying in Canyons Village puts you within walking distance of the Grand Tasting grounds and many of the festival’s satellite venues. It’s also directly served by the free Canyons Village Transit Hub, so even if your paired dinner is across town on Main Street, getting home afterward doesn’t require getting behind the wheel.

⭐ Canyon Haus and Sundial Lodge are two of our most popular picks for festival weekend, both close enough to walk to the Grand Tasting grounds, with private hot tubs waiting for you when the pours are done for the day.

Want to Split Your Time Between the Festival and Main Street?

If you’d like easy access to both the Grand Tasting and the paired dinners happening at Main Street restaurants, a Downtown Main Street rental puts you a short bus ride from Canyons Village while keeping you steps from historic Main Street’s restaurant row. Planning a bigger group for the weekend? Our group lodging team can help coordinate multiple units or larger homes.

🚌 Getting Around Festival Weekend

With events spread across Canyons Village and Park City restaurants, and a weekend built around wine, we always recommend leaving the car at home. Fortunately, Park City makes that easy.

❄️ Planning Ahead? There’s a Spring Edition, Too

If you’re reading this outside of festival season, keep in mind the Park City Wine Festival also holds a Spring Edition each April, typically a smaller, more intimate gathering compared to the larger Fall weekend. Both editions share the same Grand Tasting format and paired dinner lineup, just with a different mountain backdrop, wildflowers and late-season snow in spring versus golden aspens in fall. Whichever season you plan around, the same lodging and logistics guidance in this article applies.

🍸 Make It a Full Park City Weekend

Even with a full lineup of tastings and paired dinners, you’ll have gaps to fill between events. Park City’s dining and activity scene is worth exploring in between pours:

• 🍽 Must-Eat Canyons Village Restaurants — For a meal between tasting sessions
• ☕ Best Coffee Shops — Fuel up before a full day at the Grand Tasting
• 🏋 7 Best Hikes in Park City — Work up an appetite before the Rosé & Ridge-style pairings
• 🍸 Best Après & Happy Hour Spots — For an easy wind-down after the Grand Tasting
• 🍽 Best Main Street Restaurants — If your paired dinner takes you downtown

The Park City Wine Festival is one of several great reasons to visit in the shoulder seasons, alongside events like Concert on the Slopes. It’s proof that Park City’s calendar is packed with reasons to visit well beyond ski season.

❓ Park City Wine Festival: Frequently Asked Questions

When is the Park City Wine Festival in 2026?

The Park City Wine Festival: Fall Edition runs October 1–3, 2026, centered at Canyons Village with additional paired dinners at Park City restaurants throughout the weekend. A Spring Edition took place in April 2026.

Where is the Park City Wine Festival held?

The Grand Tasting, the festival’s centerpiece event, takes place at Canyons Village in Park City, Utah. Paired wine dinners and specialty events are held at restaurants and hotels around town throughout the weekend.

Is there more than one Park City Wine Festival each year?

Yes. The festival runs twice annually, a smaller Spring Edition in April and a larger Fall Edition in October. The Fall Edition, timed with peak leaf season, is the bigger of the two gatherings.

How much are tickets to the Park City Wine Festival?

Ticket pricing varies by event, from individual paired dinners to Grand Tasting sessions, and changes from year to year. Visit parkcitywinefest.com for current pricing and availability, since popular dinners tend to sell out early.

Does elevation affect wine tasting in Park City?

Yes. At roughly 6,800 feet, alcohol can affect you faster than it would at sea level. Pace your tastings, drink water between pours, and eat throughout the day rather than saving your appetite for one big meal.

What should I wear to the Park City Wine Festival?

Layers are your best friend in early October. Daytime temperatures typically sit in the low 60s, dropping into the high 30s at night, so a warm layer for an evening Grand Tasting session or paired dinner is a smart addition to your packing list.

Where should I stay for the Park City Wine Festival?

Since the Grand Tasting is centered at Canyons Village, staying there puts you within walking distance of the main event and on the free transit route to everywhere else. All Seasons Resort Lodging manages several ideal properties, including Canyon Haus and Sundial Lodge. Browse Canyons Village rentals or call 888-575-2775 for availability.

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For one weekend every August, Historic Main Street trades its usual shop windows and restaurant patios for something even more colorful: nearly 200 artists’ booths, two stages of live music, and thousands of people wandering a mountain town turned open-air gallery. It’s the kind of event that reminds you why summer in Park City has become just as special as winter.

The Kimball Arts Festival returns to Park City August 7–9, 2026, marking its 57th year on Main Street. We’ve been managing vacation rentals here since 1999, so we’ve watched this festival grow from a local artists’ gathering into one of the top-ranked art festivals in the country. Here’s everything you need to know about the event itself, plus the one thing the official festival coverage doesn’t cover in much detail: where to actually stay.

Artist booths line Historic Main Street during the Kimball Arts Festival.

🎨 What Is the Kimball Arts Festival?

The Kimball Arts Festival is a three-day, open-air celebration of visual art that takes over Park City’s Historic Main Street every summer. Founded by local artists in 1969 and later expanded through Bill Kimball’s vision, it’s grown from a small community gathering into one of the most highly regarded art events in the West, drawing artists and collectors from across the country.

Every artist at the festival is chosen through a blind jury process, which means the work you’ll see on Main Street has already been vetted by a panel of collectors, gallery owners, and local artists before it ever reaches a booth. Nearly 200 artists set up shop across a wide range of visual art mediums, from jewelry, ceramics, and photography to sculpture, painting, and wood.

We’ve watched this festival grow for more than two decades, and what stands out most is how it still feels like a community event, even with thousands of visitors filling Main Street. Locals and out-of-town guests end up shoulder to shoulder at the same artist booths, and that’s part of what makes the weekend special.

— All Seasons Resort Lodging, Local Team

🎵 More Than Just Artist Booths

Proceeds from the festival support Kimball Art Center, Park City’s nonprofit community art center, funding year-round exhibitions, school art programs, and scholarships. Beyond the artwork itself, the weekend includes:

📅 Kimball Arts Festival 2026: The Essential Details

Before we get into where to stay, here are the facts you’ll want at a glance.

Worth noting for anyone planning ahead: Weekender and VIP pass prices increase after July 1, so if a multi-day pass is on your radar, it’s worth locking it in early.

Live music fills two outdoor stages throughout the festival weekend.

🎧 What to Expect Each Day

The festival has a genuinely different rhythm depending on which day you visit, so it’s worth choosing your day (or days) with your own pace in mind.

Friday evening kicks the weekend off with Locals’ Night, a livelier, community-driven atmosphere as the festival opens with live music at both the Main Stage and Top of Main. Saturday is the festival’s busiest and most bustling day, packed with artist demonstrations, family activities, and full music programming from midday into the evening. Sunday slows things down considerably, making it the best choice if you’d rather browse booths and talk with artists without fighting a crowd, and the day even opens with a complimentary Coffee with Kimball meetup for early arrivals.

Throughout the weekend, don’t miss the Fest Quest Scavenger Hunt for kids, clay studio demonstrations at Miner’s Park, and the festival’s Merchandise Tent near the Main Street and Heber Avenue info booth. Between the art, the music, and the food, most guests find a full day at the festival goes by faster than expected.

🚘 Getting to the Festival & Parking

This is the part that catches first-time festival-goers off guard: Main Street parking during the Kimball Arts Festival is genuinely limited, and what’s available fills up fast and isn’t cheap. The festival organizers themselves recommend skipping the car entirely.

This is exactly why where you stay matters more than usual this weekend — it’s the difference between strolling to the festival in five minutes and hunting for a shuttle.

A Main Street rental puts you steps from the festival entrance.

🏠 Where to Stay for Kimball Arts Festival

Here’s something you won’t find on the official festival site: real guidance on where to actually stay. Since the entire festival happens along Main Street, and parking there is limited during the event, your neighborhood choice affects your whole weekend more than it would for most Park City trips.

Best Home Base: Downtown Main Street

For walkable access to the festival, a Downtown Main Street rental is tough to beat. You’ll be able to step out your door, wander the artist booths, grab lunch from Food Truck Alley, and head back to rest before an evening session, all without touching a car.

⭐ The Caledonian is our top pick for festival weekend. It sits directly on Historic Main Street with private balconies and private hot tubs, so you can watch the festival crowds from your own window and be downstairs in the middle of the action in minutes.

Prefer a Quieter Base Nearby?

If you’d rather stay a short bus ride from the festival crowds, Prospector Square sits directly on Park City’s free bus route, and Park Meadows offers a quieter, residential feel with the same easy access into town. Both make it simple to enjoy the festival by day and retreat somewhere calmer at night.

Looking for more options? Browse our full collection of Downtown Main Street rentals, or reach out about group lodging if you’re planning a festival trip with extended family or friends.

🍸 Make It a Full Park City Weekend

Even with a full festival itinerary, you’ll have gaps between browsing artist booths, catching a set of live music, or waiting out the busiest Saturday crowds. Park City’s own dining and activity scene is worth exploring in between:

• ☕ Best Coffee Shops — Fuel up before a full day of browsing booths
• 🍽 Best Main Street Restaurants — For dinner once the festival crowds thin out
• 🍸 Best Apès & Happy Hour Spots — Wind down after a busy Saturday on Main Street
• 🎧 Park City Nightlife Guide — Keep the evening going once the music stages close
• 🏋 7 Best Hikes in Park City — A great way to spend a morning before Sunday’s slower festival pace

Kimball Arts Festival is one of several great reasons to visit Park City this time of year, alongside Concert on the Slopes and other summer events on the calendar. It’s more proof that Park City summers have become a destination in their own right, not just a warm-weather stop before ski season.

☀️ What to Pack for Festival Weekend

Park City sits at nearly 7,000 feet, which means the sun is strong, the air is dry, and afternoon thunderstorms can roll through with little warning, even on a clear morning. A few packing basics will keep you comfortable across all three days:

One more good-to-know: the festival happens rain or shine, so a passing afternoon shower won’t shut things down. Come prepared and you’ll barely notice it.

❓ Kimball Arts Festival: Frequently Asked Questions

When is the Kimball Arts Festival in 2026?

The 2026 Kimball Arts Festival runs August 7–9 on Park City’s Historic Main Street. Hours are Friday 5–9 PM, Saturday 10 AM–8 PM, and Sunday 10 AM–6 PM.

How much do Kimball Arts Festival tickets cost?

Daily tickets are $15 for adults, with kids ages 6–17 at $7 and children 5 and under free. A three-day Weekender Pass is $115, and a VIP Pass with lounge access is $350. Summit County residents can attend Friday for free with registration. Prices increase after July 1.

Is there parking at the Kimball Arts Festival?

Parking on Main Street is very limited and expensive during the festival. Organizers recommend walking, biking, or taking the free public bus. Guests coming from outside Park City can park at the Kimball Junction Transit Center and ride the Express bus to Main Street.

Can I bring my dog to the festival?

No. For the safety and comfort of pets, dogs are not permitted at the Kimball Arts Festival.

What happens if it rains during the festival?

The festival takes place rain or shine and continues as scheduled through passing showers. Afternoon thunderstorms are common at this elevation, so packing a light layer is a smart move.

Where should I stay for the Kimball Arts Festival?

Because the entire festival takes place on Historic Main Street and parking is limited that weekend, a Downtown Main Street rental is the most convenient home base. All Seasons Resort Lodging manages several ideal properties, including The Caledonian, which sits directly on Main Street. Browse Downtown rentals or call 888-575-2775 for availability.

Is the Kimball Arts Festival good for kids?

Yes. Beyond browsing artist booths, families can enjoy the Creation Station’s hands-on art activities, a Fest Quest Scavenger Hunt, face painting on Sunday, and clay studio demonstrations at Miner’s Park throughout the weekend.

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