Frequently Asked Questions

While most living-history events charge between $10 and $40 dollars for each adult to enter, Colonial Heritage Festival allows everyone to enter without paying. We hope that during your stay, you will find real value in what we have created and that you will donate accordingly. We recommend a minimum donation of $5 per person or $20 per family.

In past years, we have been able present the festival for a budget of approximately $30,000. For 2026 and the semiquincentennial, we will spend considerably more. If you are in a position to donate, please follow the "Donate" link at the bottom of this page. Every dollar helps.

We are supported by the City of Orem as well as the Utah County. However, the largest part of our operating revenue comes from purchases and donations made by people who attend the event.

We need help both during the event as well as throughout the year preparing for it. Just fill out the Volunteer Signup Form and we'll get you hooked up.

There are more than 50 exhibits (such as the cooper, fiddle maker, printer). If you only spend five minutes at each one, it will take close to five hours just to see those. By the way, five minutes is not nearly enough for most of them. In addition, there are four areas where you can have a discussion with John Adams about the Boston Massacre or Benjamin Franklin about his inventions. These have various presentations throughout the day. After that, there's the classes where you can learn to weave cordage on a lucet or learn to write with a quill pen (to name a couple). With just three days, it would take a very dedicated plan to see everything. However, if you focus on those areas that most align with your interests, you can do make a reasonable go of it in eight hours.

We have a few food vendors who provide colonial fare, such as Cornish pasties and fresh-baked, sourdough bread. In addition, we have a selection of food trucks on site to provide more modern comestibles. Of course, you are also welcome to bring a picnic of your own.

Yes, but be warned that other visitors may think you are part of the show!

Colonial Williamsburg (CW) is awesome. In fact, that's where we look for inspiration. Here's why you should attend the Colonial Heritage Festival (CHF) even if you have been to many other living history sites.

1. CHF has many hands-on activities for kids of all ages
2. CHF has many artisans that are absent from CW. (Where else can you watch a luthier building a nine-stringed, Hardanger Fiddle?)
3. CHF is closer to your home, so you should take advantage of it while you can.
4. Even if you make double the recommended minimum donation, it's still much less expensive to attend CHF than CW
5. CW is bound by its geography and while they portray the colonial capital of Virgina better than anyone else, you won't have an opportunity to interact with the likes of John Hancock, John Adams, John Dickinson, or John Paul Jones. (And that's just the Johns!)
6. None of the food demonstrations at CW are edible. There's something unique about watching baguettes being made in the 18th century tradition, watching them go into a wood-fired brick oven, then purchasing one to eat with your lunch. It's the full experience.

Absolutely. Some of our hands-on activities can be done by children as young as 3 year old.

The festival takes place in a city park. Although some of the exhibits are accessible directly from a sidewalk, most require a foray into the grass. Cruth users should be fine, but if you rely on a wheelchair, your experience will be better if you have someone who can help you negotiate the terrain. If you don't have someone to help you, please reach out to the festival coordinator. We have many volunteers and we may be able to schedule some assistance for you.

No. We are fortunate to have access to the Centennial Elementary School parking lot which is directly adjacent to Scera Park. In 2026, we will run shuttles to and from two near-by high schools as well. Anything you can do to carpool will be a help. Or, throw an e-scooter in the trunk. Then, Dad can drop off the family, park several blocks away, and ride back to the park in style.

There are sooooo many hands-on activities. Check them out on the Activities for Kids page.

This is a good question. The answer is yes. The founding generation lived in a world with cultures that were very different from the ones we experience today. It is true that they did not solve all of the world's problems--even the ones that they recognized were major concerns in their own time, such as slavery. However, that does not diminish what they did accomplish. The American founding took major steps toward our current understanding of human rights by publishing to the world that "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights". The founding generation implemented a governmental system for the good of the governed, deriving it's powers from the consent of the governed. We are the happy heirs of what they created. At Colonial Heritage Festival, we gather to celebrate these advances in civilization and to learn our responsibilities in protecting and perpetuating those advances.

Sure. Just follow the "Contact Us" at the bottom of this page and send an email to the current festival coordinator. That will start the process to have the image removed or altered.