The Arts Council of Park City & Summit County's 2026 Latino Arts Festival is ready to showcase vibrant live music, entertainment, art and food Friday through Sunday at Canyons Village.
This year's free, family-friendly event will be the biggest since its humble beginnings in 2017 at the Christian Center of Park City, said Latino Arts Festival Director Andrea Zavala, Arts Council of Park City & Summit County's community engagement & inclusion coordinator.
“I have been thinking about this festival in my head since last year,†she said. “Then we started to put things together in January.â€
One of this year's new elements will be a Fifa World Cup watch party, according to Zavala.
“This came about because the World Cup landed on this weekend,†she said with a laugh. “I was getting ready for the Latino Arts Festival and someone mentioned the World Cup, and that really hit me.â€
The World Cup is an important part of the global Latino community and culture, just as food, entertainment and art, Zavala said.
“Many people really love soccer, and even if you don't watch soccer during the years, once the World Cup shows up, everyone becomes a soccer fan,†she said. “So, we had to find a way to integrate the World Cup, or nobody will show up to the festival.â€
Zavala and her team talked with the Arts Council's advisory committee and created a plan.
“Friday is the opening game, and that night is United States versus Paraguay,†she said. “Saturday it's Brazil versus Morocco, and Sunday it's Germany versus Curaçao. So, the main game we'll show is Saturday's on the big screen.â€
The screen will be set up next to the Canyons Village stage, in the plaza, Zavala said.
“It is the smaller stage and not the amphitheater,†she said. “After the game we'll have the full Latino Arts Festival experience with a lot of Brazilian programs. Although the other World Cup games fall in the middle of our festival, we don't want our festival to become a World Cup Festival.â€
Another new component this year is a youth Talavera Tile exhibit and workshop led by Miriam Gutierrez, Latino Arts Festival youth program coordinator, Zavala said.
“Miriam has been working with the schools in Park City and Summit County on these Talavera tiles,†she said. “These tiles are a Mexican tradition. They are made of ceramic, and they have specific sizes, shapes and colors that make them specific in places throughout Mexico. All of these tiles Miriam and the students worked on will come together for an installation, and we're excited to see it. It adds some personality and color to the event.â€
The public will also have a chance to make their own Talavera Tiles during the festival, according to Zavala.Â
“We'll also have some tiles on site so people can get creative and add them to the installation throughout the weekend,†she said.
The festival will also bring back the El Mercadito market and an array of visual artists, Zavala said.
El Mercadito, designed to resemble a traditional Latin market that offers beauty products, authentic treats and traditional crafts, will set up shop in the Canyons Village pavilion tent.
Vendors will include Good Leather Stuff, Chunky Cookies, Cynthia Ponce, Dayana Melissa Velosa, Godelio Palomino, Graciela Caro, Jazmine Martinez, Karina Osorio, Leidy Camacho, Rox Val Soap, Stephanie Blanco Tattoo and Sweet Alfajores by Pam.
Visual artists will include Ambar Chacin, Alejandro Mendoza, Arturo Hernandez, Cristian Ramon Ramos, Evelyn Escobar, Fabiola Noschang, Leon Araujo, Maria Fajardo, Noemi Robles, Robinson Baez, Verónica Sandoval, Vicente Martinez Romo, to name a few.Â
Selecting participants is a difficult process, Zavala said.
“Every year artists apply, and then we present the applications to our selection committee, which is a group of about six people,†she said. “The committee looks through the package and scores the applications. Then we schedule a meeting and select the artists. This year we received about 80 applications, which is the most we've ever gotten.â€
Live music has always been a major part of the Latino Arts Festival, and this year the main headliner is Los Wizzards, who will perform at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
The band was nominated for a 2026 Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album Grammy Award, Zavala said.
“Having Los Wizzards play will be fun,†she said. “This is such a huge deal that we can tap into their talent and have them come here. They not only help our festival, but we also expose them to new audiences.â€
Other musical performances scheduled include the Brazuca Experience at 6 p.m. on Saturday and Senxao & The Musical Mafia at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday.
The Brazuca Experience will feature local artists and groups such as Maca Reggae Samba, Grupo KolaÃ, Salt Lake Samba, Samba Los Angeles, Vanessa Pizeta and more, Zavala said.
Senxao & The Musical Mafia is a Latin fusion band based in Salt Lake City and helmed by Venezuelan singer and Latin Grammy collaborator Nayi Escalona, according to Zavala.
“Mountain Town Music helps us with the sound system and equipment to facilitate live-music performances,†she said.
Zavala is grateful for the arts council's partnership with Canyons Village for the Latino Arts Festival.
“They take a huge load off of planning because they have everything we need — infrastructure, security, sound systems and even garbage collecting — those kinds of logistics which are the bones of the event,†she said. “All we have to do is focus on bringing in the programming — the installations, the artists, activities, folklore and everything else.â€
Some of that programming is also made possible through other partnerships with nonprofits such as Park City Film and the Kimball Art Center, Zavala said.
Park City Film will collaborate with the festival early on June 11 with a free screening of David Alvarado's “American Pachuco: The Legend of Luiz Valdez,†rated PG, at 7 p.m. in the Park City Library's Jim Santy Auditorium.
The film, which will be screened in Spanish with English subtitles, is about migrant farmworker-turned-revolutionary performing artist, playwright and award-winning screenwriter and film director Luis Valdez, and the film won the 2026 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award for U.S. Documentary and Audience Award for Festival Favorite.
“This will get people ready for the festival that starts the day after,†Zavala said.
The Kimball Art Center will be at the festival to conduct an art workshop.
“The project will tie into the Kimball Art Center's new exhibit ‘(Re)sounding,' which explores the connection visual art has with music,†Zavala said.
Keeping track of all the Latino Arts Festival components can be a challenge, but Zavala always relies on a strong group of volunteers.
“What makes this so satisfactory is that we have all of these people who are not getting paid to help make this event successful,†she said. “They have a willingness to help me and understand if these events succeed, it helps our community to succeed.â€
Still, Zavala tries not to see her work on the festival as a “big responsibility.â€
“I try to see it as if this were for me and how we could create a place where we could have fun and learn about other cultures,†she said. “Within the Latino culture we are all so very different, but you don't see that unless you come together on a platform like the Latino Arts Festival. And when you do, you see differences but also learn from each other and see how much we are all pretty similar.â€Â
Seeing people enjoying the festival is always a reward, Zavala said.
“Throughout those three days it's nice seeing people having fun, enjoying our cultures' food, listening to our music and seeing their kids having fun,†she said. “It's also great getting to watch the kids see their parents having fun and enjoying these moments.â€
The 2026 Latino Arts Festival
