FAQ's
1. Can I bring my own food and drink to the Festival? Yes. There will be wonderful food at great prices available for purchase on site from fine area restaurants (see Food section) but you may also bring your own food. Tables, pavilions and grass are available throughout Mt. Timpanogos Park and the adjacent Canyon View Park for picnicking.
2. Where do I park?
Mt. Timpanogos Park: Limited space for vehicles with 4 or more occupants & handicap parking with valid permit
Handicapped parking is available onsite; a valid handicapped permit is required.
Canyon View Park: parking available beginning at 1:00 PM on Friday and all day Saturday
Continuous Shuttle: Service from designated Church parking lots
Vans and buses will be shuttling between 3 designated church parking lots in Orem to Mt. Timpanogos Park. Shuttles will be assigned one parking lot each. Expect a maximum 15 to 20 minute wait. Shuttle service is continuous and there is no fee.
Service starts at:
5:30 pm Thursday
8:30 am Friday
8:30 am Saturday
Designated Orem church parking lots:
810 East 600 North, Orem
766 East 1200 North, Orem
Designated Provo church parking lot:
4775 North 300 West, Provo (across from Riverwoods shopping center)
There is no shuttle service to or from the SCERA Shell.
3. Will my 2 ½ year-old enjoy the Festival? The Festival program is an annual program designed for older youth, teens and adults. Entire families (including those with younger children) are invited to attend Bedtime Stories on Friday evening. This hour and a half program will feature stories younger children will enjoy. Still an hour and a half is a long time for a 2 ½ year-old to sit still and quietly listen. If you choose to bring children that young to Bedtime stories, please sit where you can exit the tent quickly if your child becomes noisy or needs to run around a bit.
The Orem Public Library and most other public libraries provide year-round storytime and laptime programs for babies and pre-school children. These library programs are designed to meet the interest and energy levels as well as the attention spans of very young children.
Though young children may be entertained for a short time on the Festival grounds with the puppeteers, jugglers, potters and musicians who will be featured during the lunch and intermission breaks, the program was not designed to meet their needs. Their normal behavior usually prevents their caretaker and others around them from listening to and enjoying the stories. Hostesses in the performance tents are instructed ask parents with young children to sit by tent exits and to be alert to both their child’s needs and to the needs of other people sitting close by. Crying or disruptive children need to be taken far enough from the tent to prevent any interruption to those listening to the performance.
4. Why is it so expensive? We know $40 for an individual pass and $100 for a family pass for up to 6 members requires careful budgeting for many people. Each year we hear of families who save $9/month in order to buy their family tickets to the Festival.
The actual cost of putting on the Festival each year far exceeds the annual ticket revenue. Year-round fundraising, wonderful sponsors donating funds and services, and a volunteer staff donating over 5,000 hours of service each year keep the ticket prices this low. The Festival must cover all of its own costs.
The Festival is known for featuring the best storytelling talent in the nation along with some of the finest Utah musicians. From Thursday evening through Saturday night, Festival performances cover 28 hours. Multiple events are offered during most of these hours. For an individual that comes to $1.43 per hour. For each family member the cost is less than $0.60 per hour. Tickets prices for the evening events are about the same as a movie ticket.
Every effort is made to offer a variety of quality entertainment each Festival. We think there is something for everyone and that the Festival experience is rather unique. We hope you will find it an excellent value for the cost.
5. What time do they open the gates at the SCERA Shell? The gates will open at 6:30 p.m. The ticket booth at the SCERA Shell will open at 6:00 p.m. Live music will begin by 7:00 p.m. and storytelling will begin at 8:00 p.m.
If you notice people inside the Shell gates prior to 6:30 p.m., they are Shell and Festival workers setting up the event including arranging reserved seating for the Festival sponsors, the evening performers and their hosts.
6. Why can’t I bring my baby? The program and setting is not designed for babies and their needs. Though parents may be used to listening over the babbling and crying of their babies, others in the performance tents are not and would find it very distracting.
Stories must be heard to be enjoyed. Chairs in the large performance tents are in rows close to each other making a convenient exit during a performance not always possible. People in the performance tents have paid for the opportunity to be there and to hear and to enjoy the stories. Babies don’t understand the need to be still and quiet and cannot respond to such a request.
Hostesses in the performance tents are instructed to ask parents with young children to sit by tent exits and to be alert to both their child’s needs and to the needs of other people sitting close by. Crying or disruptive children need to be taken far enough from the tent to prevent any interruption to those listening to the performance.
7. Where do I pick up my tickets? Where is Will-Call? Tickets may be purchased at the Orem Public Library during all open hours. If tickets are purchased online or via mail on or prior to August 20th, 2008 they will be mailed to you. Tickets ordered after August 20th, 2008 will be held at Will-Call located at the entrance to the Festival grounds from 6:30 p.m.-10:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 28th, 2008 and again on Friday and Saturday morning, August 29th and 30th, 2008, beginning at 9:00 a.m.
For the Festival events held at the SCERA, ticket will-call will be by the ticket booth between the two north entrances. Will-call will open with the ticket booth at 6:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday evening.
8. How can I volunteer next year? A volunteer form is available online at www.timpfest.org and at the Orem Public Library. Please provide as much information as possible about your availability and interests. Successful volunteers from prior years are generally approached first as they are more knowledgeable and experienced, but new volunteers are needed each year in all areas.
9. How can my children’s school attend? Each April-May check the Festival website at www.timpfest.org or call the Orem Public Library for information on school groups attending the Festival or for inviting a national storyteller into your school for performances and workshops during the Festival week. Registration information can be emailed to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , faxed to (801)229-7130, or phoned in by calling the Orem Public Library at (801)229-7436.
The Festival also offers a Mid-Winter event where national tellers are brought in for school performances and workshops and an evening concert. The Mid-Winter event for 2008 is scheduled for February. Concerts featuring Bill Harley and one other fabulous national storyteller will be held Feb. 6 & 7th. The conference will be Feb 6th and 7th.
10. How long does the Shuttle take? Normally the shuttle may take up to 20 minutes to get you up to the Festival site. But, due to construction on 800 N. for the 2008 season, please plan accordingly and give yourself plenty of time.
Also, due to the construction, please try to plan a route to the parking lots that does not involve a left turn off of 800 N.
