Vineyard Days is Vineyard's city celebration, and it has grown along with the city. It runs five days in early June, Tuesday through Saturday, almost entirely at Grove Park, and each day has its own theme: a heritage day for small children on Tuesday, Huck Finn fishing on Wednesday, a car show and the carnival's opening on Thursday, a block party on Friday and a full Family Fun Day on Saturday that ends with a parade, a concert and fireworks. In 2026 it ran June 2 to 6.
It is also one of the first celebrations of the summer in Utah County. Many of the valley's city festivals come later in the summer, which puts Vineyard Days near the start of the season, when the weather is warm but not yet hot and the evenings are long. For families who want one city celebration before the summer gets busy, it is the natural choice.
This guide covers what happens on each day, the parade and the fireworks, the fishing event, what it costs, how to plan it by age, and where it fits in the county's summer circuit. The day-by-day program below is the 2026 schedule, the most recent one published; treat the dates and times as a record of how the festival runs rather than a promise for next year.
When It Is, and the Pattern
Vineyard Days runs in the first week of June, Tuesday through Saturday. In 2026 that was June 2 to 6. The 2025 edition followed the same shape, with its parade and its Family Fun Day on June 6 and 7, and the festival's own site carries the current year's schedule once it is set.
The 2027 dates had not been posted as of September 2026. If the pattern holds, expect the first full week of June, with the program announced in the spring. Our festivals hub collects the county's celebrations, this one included, in one place.
Day by Day
The festival's rhythm is easy to learn once you see it laid out: the weekday events are short and aimed at families, and the weekend is the big finish.
Tuesday: Heritage Day. Grove Park opened from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. in 2026 for the festival's most child-friendly day: a petting zoo, pony rides, train rides at midday, pioneer games, a milking cow, corn boxes to play in, kids' bingo in the evening, a farmer's market and food trucks, with a candy cannon firing at 5 and 7 p.m. For a family with preschoolers, this is the day to go.
Wednesday: Huck Finn fishing and the children's market. The action moved to Penny Springs Park for the evening, from 5 to 8 p.m. The Huck Finn fishing event started at 5, a children's market ran through the evening with food trucks alongside, and a wiffleball tournament played at Grove Park from 5:30.
Thursday: the car show and the carnival. Grove Park reopened from 5 to 10 p.m. with a car show at 5, a car show parade at 8 along the Vineyard Connector, a business showcase, food trucks and the opening night of the carnival.
Friday: the Block Party. A full day at Grove Park, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.: boutiques and food trucks all day, the carnival, stage entertainment from late morning into the night, library storytelling at noon and 3 p.m. and library bingo, a touch-a-truck in the afternoon, the candy cannon at 2 and 6, face painting, carnival games and yard games in the evening, free hot dogs at 6:30 while they lasted, a DJ park party and a raffle, and a drone show at 10 p.m. Pickleball players had a tournament of their own at both ends of the day.
Saturday: Family Fun Day. The biggest day. It started at 8:30 a.m. with the Vineyard Days 5K and 1K, then ran from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. at Grove Park with an art show, kids' crafts, boutiques, food trucks, the carnival, stage entertainment through the afternoon, the candy cannon and bingo, the parade at 7 p.m., a concert from 8 to 10, and the fireworks to close the festival.
The Parade
The parade's format has changed from year to year, which is worth knowing before you set up chairs in the wrong place. In 2026 it was a motorized parade at 7 p.m. on Saturday, starting at Center Street and running north on Main Street to 400 North, then west to 300 West and Sunset Park. In 2025 it was a non-motorized parade on the Friday evening, a walk, scoot and roll event from Trailside Elementary to Sunset Beach Park that invited anyone to take part.
The practical advice is the same either way. Check the current year's route on the festival's site the week of the event, arrive half an hour early for a curb spot, and bring chairs and water. Parade entries are open to businesses and community groups through the festival's own application, which is how a city this size fills a parade.
The Fireworks and the Drone Show
The fireworks close Vineyard Days on Saturday night at Grove Park, after the evening concert. One detail to watch: the festival's own pages listed the 2026 show at two different times, 9:30 p.m. on the fireworks page and 10 p.m. on the main schedule. The safe plan is to be settled with a view of the sky by 9:30 and to check the schedule on the day.
Friday night added something the valley's older celebrations rarely have: a drone show at 10 p.m. in 2026. For families who would rather not stay out late on Saturday, the Friday drone show and the earlier Friday events make a complete evening on their own.
Huck Finn Fishing
The Wednesday fishing event is one of the festival's quieter highlights and one that children remember. The 2026 rules set out two tiers: children from 3 to 11 catch fish with their hands, and anyone 12 or older brings a fishing pole and a Utah fishing license, since the state's license requirement starts at 12. Water shoes are required in the water, and a towel and a change of clothes for the car ride home are a good idea.
For families who get hooked, our guide to kid-friendly fishing ponds in Utah County covers the community fisheries where children can fish the rest of the year.
Heritage Day, Up Close
The festival's Tuesday has been billed as Heritage Day, and it is the gentlest, most old-fashioned day of the week. The organizers' program has listed pony rides, a petting zoo, train rides, pioneer games, a candy cannon and a milking cow, along with a farmers market, which is about as close to a county fair as Vineyard gets. It suits small children best: nothing is loud, nothing is fast, and the activities are the kind that grandparents remember from their own childhoods.
Bring the children for the animals, and let them try the pioneer games; they are simple, and that is the point.
Making a Day of the Final Saturday
If you can come only once, make it the closing Saturday, which strings the week's biggest pieces together. Start with the morning races if anyone in the family runs, then look at the art show and let the children loose on the carnival while the lines are still short. Take a break through the hottest part of the afternoon, somewhere with shade or back at home, because the evening is long.
Come back for the parade, and pick a spot along the route early. Eat from the food vendors before the evening crowd builds, then settle in for the concert and stay for the fireworks that close the week. Bring layers, since evenings by the lake cool off after sunset, and a flashlight for the walk back to the car.
What It Costs
Most of Vineyard Days is free. The events take place in public parks, and walking in, watching the parade, sitting through the concert and seeing the fireworks cost nothing. The things that charge are the ones you would expect: carnival rides, the food trucks, the boutiques and some individual activities. The Saturday races require registration through the festival.
A family can therefore spend as much or as little as it likes. A Tuesday afternoon at the petting zoo and pony rides with a picnic costs very little; a Saturday that includes the race, the carnival, a food-truck dinner and the fireworks costs more. Deciding in advance which days are the carnival days saves a lot of negotiating with children in front of the rides.
Planning It by Age
Toddlers and preschoolers. Tuesday is their day. Go in the late morning, when the petting zoo, pony rides and train rides are running and the park is not yet crowded, and leave before the evening. Friday's library storytelling and touch-a-truck are the second-best fit. The Saturday fireworks are late for this age, and the Friday drone show is only slightly earlier.
Children from five to eleven. The Wednesday fishing event, the Friday block party with its candy cannon and carnival games, and the Saturday 1K are built for them. The carnival opens on Thursday evening, so a family can choose a less crowded weekday night rather than Saturday for rides.
Teenagers. The Thursday car show, the Friday DJ park party and drone show, and the Saturday concert and fireworks. The 5K on Saturday morning is a reasonable family challenge for a teenager who runs.
Adults. The Thursday car show and business showcase, the Friday boutiques, the Saturday art show and the evening concert. The pickleball tournament is there for anyone who would rather play than watch.
Getting There and Getting Around
Vineyard sits on the east shore of Utah Lake between Orem and Lindon, reached from I-15 and the Vineyard Connector. Because nearly every event is in one park, the festival is easy to navigate once you have arrived: park once, and walk.
The two exceptions are the Wednesday events at Penny Springs Park and the Saturday parade, which runs along Main Street and 400 North. On parade night, expect road closures along the route and plan to arrive before them. Check the festival's site for parking guidance, since it changes as the city grows.
Where Vineyard Days Fits in the Summer
Utah County's city celebrations run through the summer, and Vineyard Days comes near the very start of that run. That timing makes it a good first festival of the summer for families new to the valley, who can get a feel for how these events work before the bigger ones arrive.
The formula is shared across the county: a parade, a carnival, a car show, a children's fishing event, food trucks, a concert and fireworks, stretched across several days and anchored in one city park. Our guide to the small-city celebration circuit covers Lindon Days, Salem Days, Alpine Days, the Highland Fling and the rest, and our festivals hub lists every celebration in the county by month.
About Vineyard
Vineyard has changed faster than any city in the valley. For most of its history it was a small farming community on the lakeshore, and today it is one of the county's fastest-growing cities, much of it built on land that was once the Geneva Steel works. The planned district at its center, Utah City, is explained in our guide to Utah City, and our Vineyard city guide covers what it is like to live there.
That growth is why Vineyard Days feels the way it does. It is a young festival in a young city, full of young families, and its program leans accordingly toward petting zoos, touch-a-trucks and candy cannons rather than the rodeos and pioneer pageants of some older celebrations.
Fitting It Around Work and School
A five-day festival looks like a lot to plan around, but its structure is kinder to working parents than it first appears. The Wednesday and Thursday events are evening events that start at 5, which makes them easy to reach after work without taking a day off. Tuesday's Heritage Day and Friday's block party run from late morning, which suits a parent at home with small children or anyone with a flexible day. And Saturday is a full day for everyone.
The festival also falls right around the end of the school year, which changes its feel from one year to the next. When school is already out, the daytime events fill with children; when it is not, the weekday afternoons are quieter and the evenings carry the crowd. Either way, the practical rule is the same: choose one weekday evening and one weekend event rather than trying to attend all five days, and the festival stays fun rather than becoming a chore.
Eating at the Festival
Food trucks run at nearly every event, from the Tuesday heritage day through the Saturday fireworks, and the Tuesday farmer's market adds another option early in the week. The lines are longest at the dinner hour, just before the evening entertainment, so a family that eats at 5 rather than 6:30 spends its evening at the events rather than in a queue.
Grove Park is a public park, so a picnic is always an option, and on a long Saturday it is the cheapest way to feed a family between the morning races and the evening fireworks. Carry more water than seems necessary; early June afternoons are dry, and children running between the carnival, the candy cannon and the stage will drink it.
When the Weather Turns
Early June in Utah Valley is usually warm and settled, but not always. Afternoon thunderstorms can roll off the mountains, and wind along the lakeshore can pick up in the evening. Outdoor stages pause for lightning, carnival rides stop in high wind, and fireworks shows are sometimes delayed or postponed when the wind is wrong, because a firework carried off course over houses is a hazard rather than a show.
The festival posts changes through its own site and social media accounts, which are the places to check before driving over on an unsettled evening. A light jacket for the evening and a plan for a rainy afternoon, even if it is only a quick dinner at home before coming back for the fireworks, keep a weather change from ruining the day.
Taking Part, Not Just Attending
Vineyard Days is run by the city with a volunteer committee, and a city this young leaves plenty of room for residents to shape it. The festival takes applications each year for booth vendors, food trucks, parade entries, stage entertainment and the car show, and it invites residents to join the organizing committee. It also names a grand marshal for the parade and takes sponsors from local businesses.
For a family new to Vineyard, joining in is one of the fastest ways to meet neighbors. A children's dance group on the stage, a decorated wagon in a parade, a booth for a small business or a spot on the committee all put a newcomer in the middle of the city's biggest gathering of the year. The applications open well before the festival, so anyone interested should watch the festival's site in the spring.
A Few Practical Tips
- Pick your days. Few families attend all five. Tuesday for the little ones, Friday for the block party, Saturday for the parade and fireworks is a common plan.
- Bring sun protection. Early June in Utah Valley is warm and dry, and Grove Park's events run through the middle of the day.
- Carry cash and a card. Food trucks and boutiques vary in what they accept.
- Watch the evening wind. Lakeshore evenings can cool quickly after sunset, so a light jacket for the fireworks is worth packing.
- Check the schedule the week of the festival. Times shift from year to year, and this year's schedule is the only one that counts.
The Short Version
Vineyard Days is Vineyard's five-day city celebration in the first week of June, centered on Grove Park; in 2026 it ran June 2 to 6. Tuesday is Heritage Day for small children, Wednesday brings Huck Finn fishing at Penny Springs Park, Thursday opens the car show and carnival, Friday is a daylong block party with a drone show, and Saturday is Family Fun Day with a 5K, a parade at 7 p.m., a concert and fireworks. Attending is free; the carnival, food and boutiques charge. The 2027 dates had not been posted as of September 2026.
Related Guides
- The Small-City Celebration Circuit
- Festivals and Celebrations in Utah County
- Festival and Celebration Finder
- Things to Do in Vineyard
- Vineyard, Utah: City Guide
- Utah City, Explained
- Kid-Friendly Fishing Ponds in Utah County
Frequently Asked Questions
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