Ogden Street Festival, 1976-2003
The Ogden Street Festival first started as an informal summer clearance sale for downtown businesses, but it was formally organized by city leaders in 1976. It was held at the start of the week leading to Pioneer Days and took place on Washington Boulevard from 22nd Street to 26th Street and on 24th and 25th Streets from Washington to Wall.
The festival soon became one of Utah’s largest single-day events with over 85,000 people attending each year. All proceeds from the vendor registrations went to support efforts to improve the downtown area. In addition to over 300 vendors, the festival also included music, entertainment stages, rides and games. There were also competitive events like a three-on-three basketball tournament, arm wrestling, horseshoes, and snowmobile “asphalt drags.”
In later years problems began to arise. Before the festival started beer gardens, there was open drinking along the street. Drunken behavior, littering, and public nuisances became a challenge for organizers and business owners. In 1993 a note was left on the door at the IRS center claiming that gang members were coming from out of state for an initiation rite that would include the killing of 25 people. There was a heavy police presence at the festival that year, but fortunately no violence occurred. Because of these and other challenges, the festival stopped being profitable for downtown businesses; the city decided to cancel the festival in 2003.
Diana Velis of 27th Street Grill
