Archive: Taste of Orem Festival (2025)

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In 2025, Utah Live Concerts Foundation (ULCF) partnered with the City of Orem to launch a brand-new community celebration: the Taste of Orem Festival. Building on the success of our Come Together Festival, this new city-wide event was designed to blend food, music, and culture into a vibrant gathering that fostered community spirit and connection. The festival debuted on September 19–20 at Orem City Center Park, welcoming thousands of attendees for two full days of entertainment and cuisine.

The food experience featured 20 local restaurants, each offering entrée-sized samples from a wide variety of cuisines, including Korean, Italian, Hawaiian barbecue, Brazilian, and more. Booths stretched across the Southwest side of the park, creating a lively “taste tour” where guests could explore new flavors and revisit familiar favorites. Food trucks also joined in on Friday evening, offering full dinner options for concertgoers during the kickoff show.

On the North end of the park (see map), ULCF hosted the entertainment stage with 18 live bands performing across the two days. Friday evening opened with a five-band kickoff concert that set the tone with high energy performances from 5–10 p.m. Perfect weather made it an unforgettable night, free from the heat challenges of past August festivals. Saturday expanded the entertainment with a full schedule running from 9:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., featuring a mix of youth groups, local bands, and cultural performances across two stages—a first for our festivals.

The music lineup covered an impressive range of styles, from folk rock, bluegrass, and country to classic rock, pop, and current hits (see the Band lineup)

Between music sets, audiences were treated to cultural performances (on a second stage) that highlighted the diversity of Utah’s communities, including Haitian dancers, a Scottish pipe and drum band, Polynesian dance, Bolivian performers, and Chilean folk traditions. This blending of music and cultural arts brought a unique richness to the event, keeping audiences engaged throughout the day. 

The festival received enthusiastic support from Orem’s mayor and city council, who joined us on stage Saturday evening to celebrate its success. Attendance exceeded expectations—more than tripling turnout from past ULCF festivals—while bringing thousands of people together in celebration of food, music, and community unity, which aligns perfectly with Utah LIve Concert Foundation's non-profit mission. The inaugural Taste of Orem Festival was a resounding success!