Taste of Orem set for Sept. 19–20 with food festival, kickoff concert and cultural booths

Orem’s events staff and partners presented plans for the city’s inaugural Taste of Orem, a two‑day food and music festival scheduled for the weekend of Sept. 19–20.

Events planner Sydney and colleagues said the festival will begin Friday, Sept. 19 with a kickoff concert from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., produced in partnership with the Utah Live Concert Foundation. The food festival runs Saturday, Sept. 20, with food service from noon to 8 p.m. and live music broadly scheduled from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Key points from the presentation: - Twenty local, brick‑and‑mortar restaurants have agreed to provide “mini entrees.” Presale tickets are available at orem.gov/taste; staff reported about $6,000 in presale revenue at the time of the briefing. - Tickets are sold in perforated “half sheets” (20 tickets) and “full sheets” with patrons exchanging tickets for items at vendor booths. Single tickets will also be available day‑of. - Cultural booths and performances are scheduled to highlight local heritage groups, including Polynesian dance, Latin dance and African drumming. Kids’ activities and craft workshops will be offered. - Logistics: the senior center and north lots will provide general parking; the south lot will be reserved for vendors, sponsors and council. ADA parking will be maintained; staff said they had coordinated safety and operations with police, fire and parks.

Organizers emphasized that this is the festival’s first year; they asked for council help promoting the event and requested feedback after the festival to refine the concept for future years. No formal city funding or approvals were requested at the meeting; staff asked councilmembers to share flyers and information with residents.