Salt Lake City gets its first taste of Panda Fest this weekend, as the traveling Asian food and culture festival sets up shop Oct. 9 through 11 with panda-themed attractions, artisan crafts and a lineup of food vendors numbering in the hundreds. Organizers describe it as a family-friendly outdoor gathering built around Asian cuisine, live performances and crafts, with gates opening Friday at 4 p.m. and running through Sunday evening.
According to ABC4, the event will offer more than 60 food vendors and 150 street food vendors, alongside panda-themed attractions, artisan crafts and a variety of live entertainment. Co-founder Ang Zuo told the station that Panda Fest is a very unique experience, part of what the outlet describes as the nation's fastest-growing outdoor cultural festival — a characterization from organizers and media coverage rather than an independently verified ranking.
Festivalgoers can expect tanghulu, described in the ABC4 report as an 800-year-old Chinese treat, among the food offerings. The station also reports that Panda Fest will sell merchandise designed exclusively for Salt Lake City, including a crocheted panda-on-skis plush doll that plays on the city's ski-town identity.
Hours, Tickets and What's Included
Panda Fest opens Friday, Oct. 9 at 4 p.m. and closes at 10 p.m., then runs Saturday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., per the event's own schedule. The festival's ticketing page, hosted at pandafests.com, lists early-bird tickets at $10 through Aug. 23, 2026, or until 1,000 tickets per time slot sell out — though with that deadline now passed, Saturday tickets run $2 more than other days, and gate admission costs $20 plus tax.
Every general-admission ticket includes a customized Salt Lake City panda pin and a headband valued at $11, the site notes, while ABC4's reporting confirms each ticket comes with a panda headband and enamel pin, and VIP tickets add a fabric tote bag. Children under 6 don't need a ticket and receive a free headband without the pin, while kids 6 and older do need one, according to the event's ticketing page.
The festival's own site describes food stalls and trucks serving dishes from China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam and other countries, plus live performances, a market fair, traditional craft demonstrations and a signature 15-foot inflatable panda as a photo-op centerpiece. Organizers note that pets aren't allowed beyond service animals, and outside food and drink are prohibited except for infant formula, toddler milk, and one factory-sealed water bottle up to 16.9 ounces per guest. All tickets are listed as non-refundable.
A Festival Still Figuring Out Its Own Origin Story
Panda Fest's backstory shifts depending on which account you read. ABC4 reports it started in New York City in 2023 and has since expanded across the nation, while a report from Grice Connect says it launched in 2024 and quickly grew from a one-day event into a multi-day touring festival. A separate account from OregonLive pins the launch to 2024 as well, crediting founder BiuBiu Xu with starting it as a one-day event called Panda Day before it expanded into multiple cities.
Whatever its exact founding date, the festival's growth has been rapid by its organizers' own account. OregonLive reports Panda Fest drew more than 500,000 attendees across 13 events in 11 cities during its first year, with organizers planning to expand to 25 cities in 2026, up from 11 in 2025. Grice Connect lists stops including Atlanta, Boston, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Dallas, Seattle, Austin, Charlotte, Nashville, San Diego, Houston, Indianapolis, Washington, D.C., Chicago and Orlando.
How Salt Lake City Compares to Other Stops
Salt Lake City's weekend run falls between other recent and upcoming dates on the tour. The festival made its Oregon debut at Portland's Tom McCall Waterfront Park Sept. 11-13, where OregonLive reported more than 100 Asian food and merchandise vendors serving over 200 dishes, with general admission priced at $14 on Friday and Sunday and $16 on Saturday, and free entry for children under 6. A separate OregonLive report on that stop put the vendor count at more than 100 — 80 food stalls and 20 selling merchandise or handmade goods — with organizers expecting around 10,000 attendees on Saturday alone.
Panda Fest is next scheduled to make its Savannah debut Oct. 16-18 at Tanger Outlets Savannah in Pooler, Georgia, where Grice Connect reports the three-day event will feature more than 80 Asian food vendors offering over 200 street-food selections alongside more than 20 merchandise vendors. Further down the calendar, CultureMap San Antonio reports the festival will hold a two-day stop Nov. 21-22 at Hemisfair's Civic Park, with more than 70 food vendors serving upward of 150 dishes from across Asia.
For now, Salt Lake City organizers are pointing festivalgoers to pandafests.com for tickets, event details and updates ahead of the weekend's opening hours.
