While most Utah residents have heard of a “Parade of Homes” certainly not all native residents and especially those new to the state, know what a Parade of Homes is. We’ve put together a quick guide on what a Home Parade is and some of the most popular ones throughout the state of Utah including popular ones in Salt Lake, Utah Valley and St. George.
A Parade of Homes is a number of homes that are featured and showcased to the public for a certain period of time. This collection of homes, ranging from the affordable to the very expensive, are often homes just built and ready for sale but more often already built for an owner. Occasionally a model home is included. Admission is generally somewhere between $10-20 and most parades last for approximately two weeks during which attendees can take tours of the showcased homes. Some are held in the spring and fall while most are held in the summer. The collection of homes is generally geographically close to one another so that attendees can drive around their area and tour the homes featured in the Parade.
A Parade not only offers homebuilders a chance to showcase their homes and new features but also contractors and home specialists of every kind from plumbing, landscaping, custom shutters like us, to kitchens, countertops and more.
In addition to featuring beautiful custom homes many Parades also offer a print magazine and website to showcase the homes and builders. Some even offer classes intended to give attendees a chance to learn from the professionals in a wide range of home improvement skills and projects.
Many also include some kind of People’s Choice and Judge Awards in which attendees who have attended a certain number of the homes and a panel respectively, selects the winners of best home or best of each category.
Below is a list and brief description of some of the biggest Utah Parade of Homes. Quite a few have already held their 2013 show but we will update this in the future with 2014 dates for the Home Parades.
Salt Lake Parade of Homes – August 2nd – August 17 2013
The Salt Lake Parade of Homes is put on by the Salt Lake Home Builders Association. The 2013 Parade will feature 67 homes ranging in prices from $200,000 to $4,000,000! Tickets for the event are $12 online beforehand or $15 at the home. The 2013 Parade will be the 67th year of the Salt Lake Parade, making it the nation’s longest continual Parade of Homes! More of the homes can be seen on the Salt Lake Parade Facebook Page.
Park City Area Showcase of Homes – August 17-18, 24-25 and August 31 – September 2nd 2013
Most Utah residents are familiar with Park City and its upscale homes. With this in mind it goes without saying that The Park City Showcase of Homes doesn’t disappoint when it comes to a lineup of absolutely breathtaking homes for attendees to tour. You can see some of past year’s homes both on the website as well as the Showcase’s Facebook page. This year’s showcase runs the last two weekends in August as well as the first weekend in September. Ticket prices and details are “coming soon” according to the Showcase‘s website.
Cedar City Festival of Homes – Labor Day Weekend & Following Weekend 2013
The Cedar City Festival of Homes is put on by the Iron County Home Builders Association. Tickets are $10 per person and it will be Labor Day weekend and the following weekend of 2013. *The Iron County Home Builders Association website has details but the official site seems outdated. We would recommend you call for details.
St. George Area Parade of Homes (Feb 15 – Feb 24, 2013)
The St. George Parade of Homes is put on annually by the Southern Utah Home Builders Association. The 2013 show earlier this year was the 23rd anniversary of the show featuring custom homes and builders in and around fast growing St. George. Tickets for the 2013 show were 12.50 for everyone over the age of 3. Attendees had 10 days to view the homes, which in 2013 meant 28 homes with over 85,000 square feet of amazing design and homes!
Utah Valley Parade of Homes ( June 7 – 22, 2013 )
The Utah Valley Parade focuses on homes, home builders, remodelers, contractors from all over Utah County. The Utah Valley Parade is typically held in May or June of each year for a 2-3 week period. Like many other Parades it offers both a People’s Choice Awards, where attendees can help select a winner and the house to be featured on the following year’s Parade Magazine, as well as a Judge’s choice award. Both of these awards are presented across a wide variety of categories including Best Home and Best Subs/Trades both of which are awarded within 3 tiers of home value. Look forward for 2014 dates and details when they are released!
Northern Wasatch Home Builders Association Parade of Homes (June 21 – July 7 2013)
This Parade is put on by the Northern Wasatch Home Builders Association, covering Box Elder, Davis, Morgan and Weber counties, features homes from Northern Salt Lake all the way to North Ogden. In 2013 children under 5 were free and adult admission cost $9. Homes in the 2013 show ranged from value from 200K to 1.8 million! The 2014 show will be the 20th anniversary of the NWHBA Parade of Homes. We will post details of the 2014 Parade once they are set and released by the NWHBA.
** Both Cache Valley and Bear Lake have Home Parades of some nature but their websites are either only partly functional or very outdated. **
We hope you get out to at least one Parade of Homes in your area this year and enjoy the beautiful homes Utah has to offer!