Apple cannons and a 9-acre corn maze open weeknights in Santaquin
Plus a free Broadway night in Provo, Springville's last Sidewalk Session, and Hocus Pocus in Eagle Mountain.
Good morning, Happy Valley.
Rowley's Red Barn in Santaquin has its fall festival running every weeknight from 3:30pm, with a 9-acre corn maze, apple cannons and a train ride included in the ticket. Go Monday through Thursday and it costs $3 less a person than on Friday or Saturday.
Friday brings a free Broadway program from a full wind band in Provo and the last Sidewalk Session of the year in Springville. Saturday has Hocus Pocus on the grass in Eagle Mountain. BYU volleyball just beat a ranked Baylor team in five sets, and the Mammoth open their season Thursday.
📍 30 seconds in the valley⏱️ 9 min read
- 🍎Fire an apple cannon in Santaquin on a weeknight
- 🎺Hear Broadway hits free at the Covey Friday
- 🍂Drive the Nebo Loop before the leaves drop early
⭐ The Big One
Go Monday-Thursday Fire an apple cannon at Rowley's Red Barn on a weeknight
Rowley's Red Barn in Santaquin runs its Fall Festival through October 30. One ticket covers a 9-acre corn maze, apple cannons, cable rides, three big jump pads, a trike track, mini golf, a corn pit, a kiddie carousel and a farm animal petting zoo, plus one free train ride.
Weeknights start at 3:30pm, so you can drive down after school and still get a couple of hours of daylight in the maze. Food trucks park on site.
If you have a runner in the house, the Apple Harvest Run starts from the same barn Saturday morning, with a 10K at 8am, a 5K at 8:30 and a one-mile race at 8:45.
Our take
We'd pick a Tuesday or Wednesday. It's $3 cheaper a head than Friday or Saturday, so a family of five saves $15 just by choosing the night.⚠️ Heads up: There are no Sunday hours. If you're planning around Conference weekend, Saturday is the only day it's open.
budget families with kidsa weeknight outingfall photos
Details → 📰 Around the Valley
The Spanish Fork data center plan moves away from homes
Volition, the company planning a data center in Spanish Fork, has dropped the Canyon Logistics property near the mouth of Spanish Fork Canyon. Neighbors had raised concerns about noise, water use and how close the building would sit to homes. The company now wants the Stockman Flats building off State Route 77 in western Spanish Fork. The new site still has to go through the city's development and approval process.
Provo ranks first in the country for service job growth
A report from the firm Economic Leadership compared job growth in the 150 largest U.S. metro areas from 2015 to 2025, and the Provo metro came out first for service-sector jobs. It ranked second for both white-collar and blue-collar job growth. One example is theFINDlab, the film developing lab that started in Orem in 2011 and expanded to downtown Provo in 2024. Its owner says sales are up 25 percent and the shop hired four people this year.
📅 This Week
Free Friday pick Hear Broadway hits from a full wind band, free, at the Covey
The Salt Lake Symphonic Winds bring On Broadway to the Covey Center Friday, a program of show tunes and dramatic movie music arranged for a concert band. It's presented by the Excellence in the Community series, and admission is free.
Our take
A free ticket to a 90-minute concert in a real theater is about as good as a Friday gets for the price. Call for seats this week so you are not stuck deciding at the door.⚠️ Heads up: The concert runs until 9pm, which makes it a late night for small kids.
free a free date nightband kidsmusical theater fans
Details → 
Free, last one Catch Springville's last Sidewalk Session of the year
Art City Sidewalk Sessions have filled Festival Street with live music on Fridays since June 19. This Friday is the final night of the series, a Nerd Night, and the street closes to cars for it.
Our take
Go for the closed street more than the lineup. Kids can wander Festival Street while you listen, and this is the last chance until next summer.⚠️ Heads up: It's an outdoor street show in October. Bring a jacket for after sundown.
free a free Fridayfamilieslive music
Details → 
Only for song nerds Hear Tate Gifford tell the stories behind his songs in Spanish Fork
Singer-songwriter Tate Gifford plays Written For A Stranger at the Angelus Theatre on Main Street Saturday, a night of his original songs with the true stories that led to each one.
Our take
Skip it unless you like quiet, talk-between-songs nights. If you do, the Angelus is small enough that you'll hear every word of the stories.⚠️ Heads up: This is a seated listening show, not a concert you can talk through.
budget singer-songwriter fansa Saturday datesmall venues
Details → 
Bring blankets Watch Hocus Pocus on the grass in Eagle Mountain
Eagle Mountain shows Hocus Pocus at Cory B. Wride Memorial Park Saturday night. The city runs it every October, and admission is free for all ages.
Our take
It's the Sanderson sisters on a big outdoor screen for nothing. Bring blankets, a thermos, and a kid who's old enough for a PG movie about witches.⚠️ Heads up: The city notes that outdoor movies can move or cancel for weather or field conditions.
free familiesa free SaturdayHalloween fans
Details → 🏟️ The Scoreboard
BYU volleyball climbs to No. 18 after a five-set win over Baylor
BYU opened Big 12 play by beating Baylor 3-2, winning the fifth set 15-10 after Baylor took the third and fourth. Freshman Brooke Hardy served six aces, and Claire Little Chambers had 21 kills. It's the Cougars' sixth straight win, and it moved them up four spots to No. 18 in this week's AVCA poll.
Utah Royals women set a club record with their eighth home win
The Royals, Utah's NWSL women's team, beat the North Carolina Courage 2-1 Sunday on goals from Cloé Lacasse and Cece Delzer. Delzer's goal was her 25th in the NWSL, and the win was the club's eighth at home this season, a new record.
The Mammoth open at home Thursday after a preseason shutout
Utah closed the preseason with a 2-0 win over Colorado at the Delta Center, with Karel Vejmelka stopping all 25 shots. Jack McBain and Logan Cooley scored. The regular season starts Thursday at home against Chicago.
🍴 Eat & Drink
Get the brisket Order the brisket by the half pound at Bam Bam's BBQ in Orem
Bam Bam's BBQ on State Street in Orem cooks Central Texas style barbecue: brisket, ribs, pulled pork, turkey, chopped beef and sausage, sold by the half pound, with sandwich combos and a dish they call Swachos.
Our take
Skip the combo and order brisket by the half pound, $12.99, with a single mac and cheese for $3.49. That's the way to taste what a Texas-style place is actually good at.⚠️ Heads up: It's closed Sunday, so a Conference weekend brisket run has to happen by Saturday night.
mid brisketa casual lunchtakeout for a crowd
Details → 🌲 Get Outside
Go this week Drive the Nebo Loop from Payson this week, not in mid-October
The Nebo Loop Scenic Byway runs 38 miles one way from Payson Canyon around the back of Mount Nebo to Nephi. The whole road is paved, it takes about an hour and a half with stops, and you need no pass or entrance fee to drive it. Stop at Devil's Kitchen, a patch of red spires that gets compared to a small Bryce Canyon.
Our take
Don't wait on the colors this year. About half of this fall's leaf reports from Utah, Colorado and Arizona show trees turning early, especially aspens and cottonwoods, and scientists expect a short, muted season. This week is a safer bet than the middle of October.⚠️ Heads up: Cell service is spotty on the loop. Download the map on your phone before you leave Payson.
free fall colorsa scenic drivea short family outing
Details → 🎟️ Also Happening
👻 Hunt for ghosts at Camp Floyd
Park staff lead a paranormal investigation Saturday from 7-9pm at Camp Floyd State Park in Fairfield. Reservations are required; call 801-768-8932.
🍍 Mo' Bettahs opens in Highland
The Hawaiian plate lunch spot opened last Friday at 10969 N Town Center in Highland, open Monday through Saturday.
⚽ UVU men's soccer opens Big West play
The unbeaten Wolverines host UC Irvine tonight, Wednesday, at 7pm at UCCU Stadium in Orem.
📰 Valley News
Pioneer Crossing's flex lanes are due in December
KSL asked drivers to name Utah's worst road and got a lot of votes for Pioneer Crossing, the Lehi road between I-15 and Saratoga Springs and Eagle Mountain. UDOT recently widened it, adding 50 percent more capacity, and is now installing flex lanes that switch direction during the morning and evening rush. The department says it is on track to finish the flex lanes in December.
BYU finds water in nearly every rock glacier it checked, including one on Timp
BYU geology professor Greg Carling and his team spent six weeks visiting nearly 100 rock glaciers in Utah and Colorado and found water in almost all of them. Rock glaciers are ice buried under rock that melt slowly and keep releasing water late in summer, after the snow is gone. One on Mount Timpanogos feeds Emerald Lake near the summit. Utah gets about 95 percent of its water from snowpack, so a slow late-season source matters.
A children's mental health center in Lehi holds its public opening
The Kahlert Children's Mental Health Center on the Primary Children's campus in Lehi holds a public ribbon cutting Thursday at 10am. The center, the first Utah County location for The Children's Center Utah, serves infants, toddlers and preschoolers and began seeing patients in July. Utah County families used to drive to the Salt Lake area for this care.
An Argentine grill and bakery opens off 800 North in Orem
G.O.A.T. Argentine Grill & Bakery, started by native Argentinians, opened off 800 North in Orem on July 31 and held its grand opening September 12. The kitchen bakes Argentine pastries several times a day and serves empanadas, and it runs a food truck too. It has passed 90 Google reviews with a 4.9-star average without paying for advertising.
The Debate
💙 Good Neighbor
Evening shift Take a Wednesday evening shift at Tabitha's Way in Saratoga Springs
Tabitha's Way runs a food pantry in Saratoga Springs, and volunteers set up the pantry, help clients while they shop, and clean and organize. Wednesday is the one day with an evening shift, from 4 to 7:30pm.
Our take
The evening shift is the one working parents can actually make. Sign up for a Wednesday and bring your 12-year-old.⚠️ Heads up: This pantry takes one to four volunteers at a time. Bigger groups go to the Pleasant Grove pantry.
free parents and older kidsa weeknight eveningfood pantry service
Details → The farms and the barbecue spot in this issue all close Sunday, and Conference weekend makes Saturday the busy day. If you want the corn maze without a line, a Tuesday or Wednesday after school is your window.
Reply with the event, restaurant opening, or road project we should check for Friday's issue.
— The Provo FOMO 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