The Salt Lake ValleyBooLights runs at Hogle Zoo, Wait Until Dark opens in West Valley, and Herriman's Trader Joe's gets a date
Plus a bonsai show at Red Butte, Mockingbird in South Salt Lake, and an easy creek walk in the Oquirrhs.
Good morning, Salt Lake Valley.
Hogle Zoo stays open after dark Thursday through Sunday for BooLights. It runs on those four nights through October 18, then every night from October 22 to 30.
Friday brings two plays worth a ticket: a 1944 thriller opening in West Valley City and a courtroom drama in South Salt Lake that took the theater four years to get the rights to. Herriman also finally knows when its Trader Joe's opens.
📍 30 seconds in the valley⏱️ 8 min read
- 🎃Plan a BooLights night at Hogle Zoo
- 🎭Pick Friday's play: West Valley or South Salt Lake
- 🥾Walk Rose Canyon in Herriman
⭐ The Big One
Best family night of the week
Plan a BooLights night at Hogle Zoo
Hogle Zoo's Halloween night event is running Thursday through Sunday evenings. The paths fill with glowing displays, and the zoo adds a 25-minute puppet show in Dr. Frankenstein's Mad Lab, a spider exhibit called Spiderella's Lair, a Tale of the Mountain Screamer stop, and night rides on the train and carousel.
Our take
Go in knowing most of the animal habitats are closed at night so the animals can rest. You're paying for lights, costumes, and the shows, not a zoo visit. The zoo pitches it as not-so-spooky, and says to plan on 90 minutes to see everything.⚠️ Heads up: Tickets aren't tied to a date, so you can buy ahead and pick the night once you see the weather. It runs rain or shine with no refunds. Costumes are welcome, but full-face masks and prop weapons aren't allowed.
$$ Halloweenfamilieseast bench
📰 Around the Valley
Herriman's Trader Joe's opens October 9
Trader Joe's has set its Herriman opening for Friday, October 9 at 9am. The store is at 4918 W 13400 South in The Commons at Herriman Towne Center.
Rowland Hall's 9th and 9th campus goes to a student housing developer
Rowland Hall's 4.62-acre Lincoln Street campus near 9th and 9th is under contract to Landmark Properties, a Georgia company that builds apartments for college students living off campus. The school's middle and high school students move to its new Steiner Campus at 720 S Guardsman Way later this year. The 1947 building covers only about 29 percent of the lot, so there's room for new housing along 1000 East.
📅 This Week
Worth it for west side residents especially
See Wait Until Dark open in West Valley City
West Valley Arts opens the 1966 thriller Friday. A blind woman in a 1944 Greenwich Village apartment is targeted by con men hunting for something hidden in her home, and the last scene plays out in the dark.
Our take
West side residents who bring proof of address get $15 off, which takes an adult seat down to $20. Collette Astle plays Susan and Joe Spear plays Roat, the villain, under director JC Ernst.⚠️ Heads up: The theater suggests 13 and up. Opening weekend has no matinee; the 3pm Saturday shows don't start until Oct 17.
$$ thrillercommunity theaterWest Valley City
Worth it, and free with a UCard
Talk trees at the Red Butte fall bonsai show
The Bonsai Club of Utah fills the Red Butte Garden Visitor Center this weekend with miniature trees, shaping demonstrations, and trees and tools for sale.
Our take
Club members stand with their own trees and answer questions, so bring a photo of the juniper you've been slowly killing. University of Utah students, faculty, and staff get into the garden free with a UCard.⚠️ Heads up: Sunday wraps up at 3pm, two hours earlier than Saturday, so a Sunday visit after lunch gets rushed.
$$ gardeningdemonstrationsUniversity of Utah
Worth it before it closes Oct 17
Catch To Kill a Mockingbird at the Parker Theatre
The Parker Theatre on State Street is staging Harper Lee's story of Scout Finch watching her father, Atticus, defend a Black man falsely accused in 1930s Alabama.
Our take
The theater says it spent four years trying to get the rights. It only plays Fridays and Saturdays, so the run has just six shows left after this weekend.⚠️ Heads up: Recommended for ages 8 and up, with no babies or toddlers. Latecomers wait for a break or intermission to be seated.
$$ dramafamily nightSouth Salt Lake
Skip unless your kids already know the songs
Weigh Joseph at Hale Centre Theatre
Hale's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat has been running on the round Centre Stage since August 3, with concert lighting, video projections, and a desert set built partly from last season's The Prince of Egypt.
Our take
Come for the dancing, especially the lifts in Those Canaan Days. But the singing runs over recorded backing tracks, and at $79 or more an adult seat, Mockingbird at the Parker gets you a live cast for less than half the price.⚠️ Heads up: Joseph and the Narrator are both double cast, so check the cast list for your night if you're going for a specific performer.
$$$ musicalfamiliesSandy
🏟️ The Scoreboard
The Royals beat North Carolina 2-1 and climb back to fourth
Cloé Lacasse scored with a header in the 17th minute, North Carolina tied it on a penalty, and Cece Delzer won it in the 65th minute Sunday in Sandy. The win swept the season series and put Utah's women's pro team back in fourth place in the NWSL playoff race.
The Mammoth close the preseason with a shutout
Karel Vejmelka stopped all 25 shots and Utah beat Colorado 2-0 Saturday at the Delta Center. Jack McBain scored, and Logan Cooley added one on the power play, while the penalty kill stopped all four Colorado chances.
🍴 Eat & Drink
Worth it for a group dinner
Grill pork belly and brisket at Gosu Korean BBQ
Gosu does all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue and shabu shabu on 3500 South, with brisket, beef tongue, and pork belly cooked at your table.
Our take
Put brisket, beef tongue, and pork belly on the grill, then add a plate of japchae, one of the dishes the restaurant lists among its most popular. The shabu shabu side works for anyone at the table who'd rather cook in broth.⚠️ Heads up: Friday and Saturday are the only days the kitchen doesn't close between lunch and dinner, so a 3pm Saturday table gets you in ahead of the evening wait. Sunday doesn't open until 5.
$ Korean barbecuegroupsWest Valley City
🌲 Get Outside
Worth it for an easy fall walk
Walk Rose Canyon Spring in Herriman
Salt Lake County's Rose and Yellow Fork Canyon area in the Oquirrhs has an easy creekside walk up Rose Canyon, about 2.2 to 3.4 miles round trip with 400 to 500 feet of climbing.
Our take
The trail follows Rose Creek, where you can spot beaver dams from a few points, and opens to a view over the valley around the 1.6-mile mark. It's easy enough for kids and dogs, and there's a restroom at the trailhead.⚠️ Heads up: Mountain bikes share this area, and it's the starter route for riders heading to harder trails. Keep dogs close on the way up.
free easy hikedogsHerriman
🎟️ Also Happening
Hear the U's big band play the Beatles
The University of Utah Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Repertory Ensemble play big band jazz with strings, including Beatles arrangements, Thursday at 7:30pm at Libby Gardner Concert Hall in Salt Lake City.
Look at cars at South Town
Cars & Coffee fills the west parking lot at The Shops at South Town in Sandy Saturday from 9am to 11am, free, with food trucks and vendors.
Shop the Murray Park Farmers Market
The Murray Park market runs Friday and Saturday from 8am to 1pm in Murray, and it keeps going through Oct 31.
📰 Valley News
Intermountain wants a skybridge over Main Street
Intermountain Health has filed plans for a seven-level parking garage at 750 S Main Street, tied to its planned hospital on the old Sears block by an enclosed skybridge about 140 feet long over Main Street. It would be the second skybridge downtown. The garage site now holds a Hertz lot, an auto body shop, and dealership parking.
Murray maps out 245 acres around its FrontRunner and TRAX station
Murray's planners have laid out a vision for the roughly 245 acres around Murray Central Station, where FrontRunner, TRAX, and the Mid-Valley Express bus line meet. It splits the area into districts for office towers, apartments along Little Cottonwood Creek, and shops around the historic downtown. The catch is that much of the land sits on the 142-acre Murray Smelter Superfund site, where federal cleanup rules still limit housing.
Construction costs rose faster in Salt Lake City than anywhere Mortenson tracks
Non-residential construction costs in Salt Lake City rose 7.87 percent in the 12 months through the second quarter, the steepest increase of the eight metro areas the contractor Mortenson follows. Nationally the figure was 5.60 percent. The report blames longer lead times from fabricators more than shortages of raw materials, and says the increases have started to slow.
The Debate
💙 Good Neighbor
Nominate the person who helped this week
If a neighbor did something specific that made your week easier, reply with their name, city, and what they did. We may feature them in a future issue.
Nominate a neighbor →Friday night is the busy one: two plays open or continue on the west and south sides, and Carín León fills the Delta Center downtown. Saturday morning belongs to the bonsai show and the car lot at South Town.
Reply with the neighborhood event, restaurant, or trail we should check next.
— The Salt Lake Valley crew
Got a tip, a new opening, or an event? Just reply, we read everything.
Read past issues · Refer a neighbor · Advertise with us
Read past issues · Refer a neighbor · Advertise with us