The Cedar Hills Family Festival is one of the first of Utah County's small-city celebrations each summer, and it is exactly what its name promises. For about a week at the turn of May into June, Cedar Hills turns Heritage Park into the town's front yard, with a car show, a movie on the lawn, a parade, a rubber-duck race, a firefighters' water cannon for the children and a fireworks show launched from the golf course. It is small, it is mostly free, and it is aimed squarely at families.
Cedar Hills is a compact residential city tucked between American Fork, Pleasant Grove, Highland and Alpine, near the mouth of American Fork Canyon, and its festival reflects that. There is no rodeo and no big-ticket headliner. The appeal is a week of neighborhood events within a few blocks of each other, organized by the city with a volunteer committee, and the sense that half the town is out on the same lawn on the same evening.
This guide covers when the festival happens, how the week has been laid out, the parade, the Ducky Derby and the fireworks, what it costs, how to plan it by age and how to take part. The details come from the city's own Family Festival pages and schedules, with local news coverage for the most recent year. Where a year is named, it shows how the festival has run, not a promise about the next one.
When It Happens
The Family Festival runs for about a week at the end of May and the start of June, and it always finishes on a Saturday. The city announced the 2024 festival for June 3 to 8, and local coverage put the 2026 festival at May 30 to June 6. The city's 2021 schedule ended on Saturday, June 5.
Those dates follow a clear rule: the closing Saturday has been the first Saturday after June 1. So it moves between the first and second weekends of June, depending on how the calendar falls. If the pattern holds, the 2027 festival would close on Saturday, June 5, but the 2027 dates had not been posted as of September 2026. The city posts the schedule on its Family Festival page and through its newsletter each spring.
That timing makes the Family Festival one of the first celebrations of the county's summer season, after Eagle Mountain's Pony Express Days, which begins around Memorial Day. It arrives before school has been out long, before the heat of July, and ahead of most of the valley's other city days.
Where It Happens: Heritage Park and Around Town
The heart of the festival is Heritage Park at 4425 West Cedar Hills Drive. The park has a lawn big enough for a crowd, an amphitheater that hosts the evening performances and the movie, and a sand volleyball court that the festival has turned into a buried-treasure dig for children.
Other events spread out from there. The pickleball tournament has used the courts at Harvey Park, the 5K and parts of the children's activities have used the grounds of Cedar Ridge Elementary, and the parade stages at Deerfield Elementary. The fireworks go up from the driving range of the Cedar Hills Golf Club, which gives much of the city a view of the show from its own neighborhood.
Because Cedar Hills is small, none of these places is far from the others. Many residents walk or bike to the festival, and visitors can park once and cover most of the week's events on foot.
How the Week Has Run
The schedule changes a little from year to year, but the city's past schedules show a consistent shape: short evening events through the week, building to a full Saturday.
The early evenings have included a family swim night, a car show at Heritage Park followed by a car parade through town, and a Youth City Council event at Harvey Park, called Park in the Dark on the 2021 schedule. A community theater group has staged a show at the Heritage Park Amphitheater.
The last weekday evening has been one of the busiest. The 2021 schedule put the pickleball tournament, an outdoor adventure zone, craft and food vendors, Night Out Against Crime, a community dinner and a movie in the amphitheater all on the Friday.
Saturday is the big day. It has started with the Family Festival 5K, then the parade from Deerfield Elementary to Heritage Park in the morning, followed by a full day in the park: craft and food vendors, the outdoor adventure zone, children's games, the buried-treasure dig, the Ducky Derby, the firefighters' water cannon and more pickleball.
In 2026 the festival also added an America 250 patriotic service at the Heritage Park Amphitheater on the opening Sunday, marking the nation's 250th anniversary.
The Car Show and Car Parade
Cars are part of the festival's identity. The car show brings classic and custom vehicles to Heritage Park, and on the city's 2021 schedule it was followed by a car parade that left the park and cruised through Cedar Hills' neighborhoods, bringing the show to residents' front yards.
The car parade has a story of its own. In 2020, when the pandemic made a week of gatherings impossible, the city turned the car show into a classic car parade instead: vehicles from around Utah drove a 10-mile loop through Cedar Hills in honor of medical personnel and essential workers, and the city encouraged residents to set up a barbecue along the route and watch. It was a small, cheerful solution to a hard year, and it shows how much the car events mean to the town.
In 2026, car-show listings put the show on the final Saturday at Heritage Park. As with the rest of the week, check the current schedule for the day and time.
The Parade
The Family Festival parade is a hometown parade in the best sense. The city describes the route as starting at Deerfield Elementary, traveling north on 4600 West to the roundabout, and ending on Cedar Hills Drive at the church east of Heritage Park, so the parade finishes right where the Saturday festivities continue. The city's 2021 schedule put the start at 10 a.m.
The entries are what you would hope for from a small city: floats, animals, bands, performing groups, decorated cars and trucks, ATVs, small vehicles and bicycles, all of which the city welcomes. Groups register through the city in advance, and streets around the staging area close early on parade morning.
Pick a spot along 4600 West or near the roundabout for the best views, arrive early, and bring a bag for candy. Families near the end of the route can watch the parade and then walk straight into Heritage Park.
The Ducky Derby
The Ducky Derby is the festival's most charming tradition. It is a rubber-duck race held at Heritage Park, and it has lasted: it appeared on the city's 2021 schedule and was a highlight again in local coverage of the 2026 festival, which put it on the closing Saturday from noon to 3 p.m.
Races like this usually use numbered rubber ducks with prizes for the winners, and they tend to draw a cheering crowd of children at the finish. Check the festival schedule for how the current year's derby works, including how to enter and what the prizes are.
The Firefighters' Water Cannon and the Children's Games
For children, the Saturday afternoon at Heritage Park is the best part of the week. The city's schedules have featured a firefighters' water cannon, sprayed at set times through the day, which is exactly as popular with small children on a warm June afternoon as you would expect. Bring a change of clothes.
The buried-treasure dig in the sand volleyball court, the children's games and the outdoor adventure zone fill the rest of the afternoon, and the craft and food vendors keep parents fed and browsing.
The Fireworks Spectacular
The festival ends with a bang. The city has called its show the annual Fireworks Spectacular and has launched it from the driving range of the Cedar Hills Golf Club, starting at 10 p.m. In 2020 the city also offered a soundtrack residents could stream at home, synchronized with the show and cued by a first firework, so families could watch from their own yards with the music playing.
Because the fireworks go up from the golf course, much of Cedar Hills can see them without going anywhere, and the show is a neighborhood event as much as a festival one. If you are visiting, find a spot with a clear view toward the golf course, arrive before dark, and check the current schedule for the night of the show.
A few viewing tips help. The show is fired from open ground, so any spot with an unobstructed line of sight to the south and east of the golf course will do; you do not need to be close to see it well, and a little distance often gives a better view of the higher shells. Streets near the course fill with residents who walk out from their homes, so visitors should park a short distance away and walk in. Bring a blanket, a layer and a flashlight, and stay put for a few minutes after the finale while the crowd clears.
Night Out Against Crime
One evening of the festival has doubled as the city's Night Out Against Crime, part of a national campaign in which police departments and neighborhoods get together to build the relationships that make communities safer. At a festival, that often means police and fire vehicles to explore, safety information for families and a chance for children to meet the officers and firefighters who serve their neighborhood. It fits the festival's spirit well.
The Youth City Council
Cedar Hills has a Youth City Council, a group of teenagers who serve the city and learn how local government works, and the festival gives them a visible role. The 2021 schedule gave the council its own evening event at Harvey Park. For families with teenagers, it is a reminder that the festival is something young people can help build, not just attend.
About Cedar Hills
Cedar Hills is a small city with a strong sense of place. It runs its own golf course, the Cedar Hills Golf Club, which is also the launch site for the festival fireworks, and it maintains a network of parks and trails, a library and an event space called The Vista Room. Its neighborhoods climb toward the mountains above the valley floor, which gives the fireworks and the evening events a scenic backdrop.
The city's size is what makes the festival work. With a compact footprint and a single central park, Cedar Hills can put nearly every event within walking distance of most of its residents, and the festival feels less like an attraction than like a week-long block party.
When the Weather Turns
Early June in the north of Utah County is usually mild, but late-spring storms can blow off the mountains in the afternoon, and evenings near the canyon mouth turn cool quickly after sunset. Bring layers and keep an eye on the sky on the Saturday.
The fireworks depend on conditions as well. Cedar Hills publishes fireworks restrictions, as many Utah cities do in dry years, and wind or dry conditions can change plans for any fireworks show. If the forecast looks doubtful, check the city's announcements on the day before you settle in for the evening.
Why a Small-City Festival Works
It would be easy to dismiss a festival like this one as small, but that misses the point. The Family Festival is not trying to compete with the big regional events. It is a city's way of gathering its own residents, giving children a week to remember and giving newcomers a reason to meet their neighbors.
That is also why it is worth a visit from outside Cedar Hills. The parade, the duck race and the fireworks are genuinely charming, the atmosphere is relaxed, and the whole thing costs almost nothing. For a family with young children, it is one of the easiest summer outings in the county.
What It Costs
The Family Festival is free to attend: the parade, the car show, the evening events in the park and the fireworks are open to everyone.
The costs come from taking part and from food. The 5K and the pickleball tournament charge entry fees, food vendors and trucks sell meals, and some activities may carry a small charge. For a family, a full Saturday at the festival can cost little more than lunch.
Planning It by Age
Toddlers and preschoolers will love the parade, the water cannon, the Ducky Derby and the movie, and Heritage Park is easy to manage with a stroller.
Grade-schoolers get the most out of the week: the buried-treasure dig, the children's games, the outdoor adventure zone, the water cannon and the car show, where every child picks a favorite car.
Teenagers have the Youth City Council events, the pickleball tournament and the 5K, and many will want to ride or walk in the parade with a team or group.
Adults tend to enjoy the car show, the theater performance, the vendors and the fireworks, and the community dinner is a relaxed way to meet neighbors.
Making a Day of the Final Saturday
If you can come only once, come on the final Saturday. Run or walk the 5K early if you like, then find a place along the parade route. After the parade, follow it into Heritage Park and spend the late morning at the vendors and the children's activities while the day is still cool.
Plan the early afternoon around the water cannon and the Ducky Derby, and give the children time for the treasure dig and the games. Take a break through the hottest part of the afternoon, then come back for the evening and find a spot with a view of the golf course before the fireworks. Bring blankets or chairs, a layer for after dark and a flashlight for the walk home.
Getting There and Parking
Cedar Hills sits in the north of Utah County, reached from I-15 through American Fork or Pleasant Grove and up toward the mouth of American Fork Canyon. From Provo it is roughly a 25- to 30-minute drive. Heritage Park is on Cedar Hills Drive, near the city's center.
Parking is easy on most evenings and tighter on the final Saturday, when the parade closes streets in the morning and the fireworks draw a crowd at night. Park legally in the lots and on nearby streets, allow time for road closures around the parade route, and expect to walk. If you live nearby, walking or cycling is the easiest way to get there.
With young children, walking has a second advantage: you are not tied to a car when the evening ends. Bring a wagon or stroller for tired legs, reflective clothing or a light for the walk home after the fireworks, and agree on a meeting point in case anyone gets separated in the Saturday crowds. Cedar Hills' streets are quiet on most evenings, but the festival nights bring more traffic than usual, so keep children close near the parade route and the park entrances.
Taking Part
The Family Festival is run by the city with a Family Festival committee, and it depends on volunteers. The city recruits families, organizations and businesses to volunteer, provides training and gives each volunteer a festival T-shirt. Parade entries apply through the city, booth vendors apply by a spring deadline, food trucks and mobile vendors contact the city, and businesses can sponsor the festival.
For residents, taking part is the point. A small city's festival works because neighbors enter the parade, staff the booths and run the children's games, and newcomers who volunteer tend to meet more of their neighbors in one week than in a year.
How It Compares
Cedar Hills' festival is the first stop on the county's summer circuit, and our guide to the small-city celebration circuit lines it up with the rest. It overlaps with Vineyard Days, which runs the same week in early June, and it comes well ahead of the late-summer celebrations such as the Highland Fling next door and Alpine Days, which has a professional rodeo that Cedar Hills does without.
Its character is its own: a compact, walkable week of family events, a parade that ends at the park, a duck race and fireworks from the golf course. The festivals hub collects the full calendar, and the festival and celebration finder filters it by month, city and features such as parades and fireworks.
A Few Practical Tips
Early June weather in Cedar Hills is usually pleasant, but afternoons can be warm and evenings cool quickly near the mountains, so bring layers. Pack sunscreen, water and a change of clothes for children who plan to stand in front of the water cannon. Check the city's Family Festival page before you go, since the schedule shifts from year to year, and allow extra time on parade morning for road closures.
The Short Version
The Cedar Hills Family Festival is Cedar Hills' early-June city celebration, a week of events centered on Heritage Park that ends on the first Saturday after June 1. The week brings a car show and car parade, evening events in the park, Night Out Against Crime and a movie, and the Saturday brings a 5K, a parade from Deerfield Elementary to Heritage Park, a Ducky Derby, a firefighters' water cannon, children's games and a fireworks show launched from the golf course. Most of it is free, and it is one of the first celebrations of the county's summer season.
Related Guides
- The Small-City Celebration Circuit
- Vineyard Days
- The Highland Fling
- Alpine Days
- Festivals and Celebrations in Utah County
- Festival and Celebration Finder
- Saratoga Splash Days
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