Park City Latino Arts Festival returns with message of community support

At Canyons Village, the Latino Arts Festival will turn one of Park City’s most visible resort settings into a public space for local Latino families, artists and young people to gather, create and be seen. The free, family-friendly festival will run June 12-14, with events Friday from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

That timing matters in Summit County, where 12.2% of residents identified as Hispanic or Latino in July 2024, 9.3% were foreign-born and 14.8% of residents age 5 and older spoke a language other than English at home. In a county of 43,109 people, the festival is more than a weekend of music and food. It offers a visible place for cultural belonging in a community shaped by tourism, seasonal workers and families whose roots stretch across the Americas.

The Arts Council of Park City & Summit County said this year’s festival will feature more than 40 visual artists and performers from across the Americas, along with live performances, visual arts, World Cup soccer screenings and culinary experiences. KPCW reported that organizers reviewed more than 80 artist applications, and previewed a lineup that includes 40 artists and 11 food trucks. For local makers and performers, the festival has become a rare Summit County stage where artistic work, community identity and small-business opportunity meet in the same place.

A new community Talavera tile project is also set to deepen that local connection. Led by Latino Arts Youth Program Coordinator Miriam Gutierrez, the project brings in students from Ecker Hill Middle School, Weilenmann School of Discovery, Park City Library, Holy Cross Ministries, Park City Day School and Park City High School to create hand-painted Talavera-inspired tiles for a collective installation that will be unveiled at the festival. The project links the event to year-round youth engagement, not just one summer weekend.

The festival’s meaning has grown in step with the community around it. In 2025, organizers emphasized safety and support amid a tense political climate and introduced El Mercadito, a market concept inspired by a traditional Latino gathering place, along with bilingual facilitation, translations, tattoos, face painting, a pre-festival film screening, a Saturday after-party with DJ Drew and a Sunday soccer juggling contest. In 2024, the festival already served as a cultural bridge, with Viva Mexico Folkloric Ballet, Aztec dancers and audience participation in traditional dance. This year, its return to Canyons Village carries the same message with sharper purpose: Park City’s Latino community is not on the margins of Summit County, but part of the identity the county is still becoming.