By Scott Buehler, Moving UtahA festival named for wheat and sugar beets
Long-running Wheat and sugar beets Also Garland City Days
The name is the history. Garland grew up as a farm town on a new Bear River canal, and its two cash crops, wheat and sugar beets, are the ones the festival still carries in its title. Beets in particular built the place: the beet-sugar factory that opened in 1903 gave the town its first big payroll and the row of silos that still marks the skyline. Wheat and Beet Days is how Garland keeps that origin in plain view every summer.
The city runs the celebration under two names, Wheat and Beet Days and Garland City Days, and uses them more or less interchangeably, so you will see both on flyers and on the city calendar. Whichever one you search, it points at the same early August weekend.
It is a long-running tradition; the city calls it a long-standing tradition and gives no first year, which is still a deep streak for a town of about 2,920 people. The full story of the factory that gives the festival half its name lives on its own page.
The details
Good to know
- The festival goes by two names, so either search term lands you in the same place.
- The city calls it a long-standing tradition and gives no first year.
- The beet story behind the name lives on the Garland sugar factory page.
The parade and the free 5K
A downtown parade A free 5K and Kids Mile Early August
The parade is the centerpiece of the weekend. In 2026 it stepped off at 10 am on Saturday and ran down Main Street: floats, antique tractors, civic groups, and local businesses, the kind of lineup a small town assembles from its own clubs and schools rather than a touring show. For a lot of people who grew up here, the parade is the reason to come back.
The other signature piece is the Saturday morning run. In 2026 the 5K started at 7:30 am and the Kids Mile (age 11 and under) at 8:15, both starting and finishing at Garland City Park, 100 North 500 East. Registration was free, in person from 7 am.
Both happen on the Saturday of the festival weekend. Start times and events change from year to year, so the current schedule comes from Garland City.
The details
Getting a spot
Curb space along the route fills before the parade steps off, so come early, bring your own chairs, and park a few blocks back. If the 5K is on your list, plan to sign up in person at the park from 7 am.
Before you go
- The parade runs through the middle of town, so arrive early for a good curb spot.
- The 5K and Kids Mile were free to enter in 2026.
- Parade and run times change each year; check the Garland City calendar first.
Games, the car show, and free rides
Friday-night games A car show at the park Free rides
Garland City Park is the hub of the weekend. On Friday night in 2026 the park held a Battle of the Bands, a children's bicycle parade, a Box Elder County cornhole tournament, open-air bingo and a nine square tournament. Saturday added a pickleball tournament at the Garland City Building and a bubble foam party.
A car show ran at the park from 11 am to 2 pm, and free rides (a rock wall, a mechanical bull and bounce houses) ran from 11 am to 7 pm. None of it is a touring production; it is Garland putting on its own show. The program changes year to year, so treat this as the shape of the weekend, not a promise.
The details
Good to know
- The games and the car show run at Garland City Park, the center of the whole festival.
- The car show and the rides were free in 2026.
- Exact times and events come from the Garland City calendar.
Booths, live music, and fireworks
Food and vendor booths Live music Fireworks
Beyond the parade and the games, the ground level of Wheat and Beet Days is the booths. Food and vendor stands set up around Garland City Park and downtown, selling festival food and local goods, and they run more or less all weekend, which makes them the easy answer if you just want to show up and wander rather than time a specific event.
Live music plays over the weekend, with food trucks and vendors open into the night, and the 2026 festival closed with fireworks at 10 pm on Saturday. Between the booths, the music and the fireworks, the festival gives you a full day and an easy night with almost no planning.
The details
Before you go
- The booths run most of the weekend, so they are the low-planning way to take the festival in.
- Bring a chair or a blanket for the music and the fireworks after dark.
- Bring some cash as well as a card; small booths can be cash-friendly.
The children's theater production in July
A companion production Mid-July Children's Charity Theater
Wheat and Beet Days has a companion piece that runs a few weeks ahead of the August weekend: a Children's Charity Theater production, typically a mid-July show put on by local kids. It is the town's youth theater tradition, folded into the same summer as the festival even though it lands on its own date.
If you are planning around the festival and want the full arc of Garland's summer, the July show is worth knowing about, because it is easy to miss when you are looking only at the early August dates. As with the rest of the schedule, the current year's performance dates come from the city.
The details
Good to know
- The theater show is a separate July date, not part of the August weekend.
- It is a local youth production, so casts and titles change from year to year.
- Check the Garland City calendar for the current performance dates.