Things to Do in St. George This Week: Grease Opens at Tuacahn, Free Jazz, and Sunrise Yoga

It is a big week for openings. Grease takes the Tuacahn stage for the first time this season, St. George Musical Theater's young performers open Willy Wonka Jr., and the city keeps rolling out free Park and Recreation Month events, including one that starts before the sun gets mean. Afternoons will sit between 100 and 108 all week, so the evening and early morning lineup works in your favor.

Friday, July 17, 8:45 PM (previews Monday, July 13 and Wednesday, July 15) Tuacahn Amphitheater, 1100 Tuacahn Dr., Ivins Tickets $40-$70

Summer nights arrive in Padre Canyon this week. Grease joins Les Misérables and Finding Nemo in Tuacahn's summer rotation, with preview performances on Monday and Wednesday before the official opening on Friday night. All shows start at 8:45 PM under the stars.

If you want to see it early, preview nights are a smart play. Same show, smaller crowds, and Tuacahn is running a 20 percent discount with the code "Good Things" through July 31. The production is recommended for ages 12 and up. Tickets and details are on the Grease page at Tuacahn's website.

Here is the full amphitheater schedule for the week, all at 8:45 PM:

Even at showtime, the canyon holds heat this time of year, so bring water and skip the long sleeves.

Monday, July 13, 7 PM Vernon Worthen Park, 300 S. 400 East, St. George Free

The city's Concert in the Park series continues Monday with the Rebel Jazz Band, and this month's show carries an America 250 theme celebrating the country's upcoming sesquicentennial. Bring blankets, lawn chairs, and a picnic.

The series runs on the second Monday of each month through October, and July's edition doubles as a Park and Recreation Month event. Details are on the city's concert page.

Wednesday, July 15 through Saturday, July 18 St. George Musical Theater

SGMT's youth program takes center stage this week with Willy Wonka Jr., a four night run featuring young performers from the theater's training program. If you have kids who love live theater, or kids you are trying to convert, this is an easy and affordable entry point.

Tickets are available through SGMT's ticketing site. While you are there, note that Best of Broadway 4: Stars, Stripes and Showtunes continues its run through August 1 at the Historic Opera House, a patriotic revue that has anchored SGMT's summer.

The city's July celebration continues this week with two free events. Wednesday, July 15 brings Slackline Night to Vernon Worthen Park at 7 PM, a partnership with St. George Outdoor Rec that is open to all ages and skill levels.

Then, on Friday, July 17, the Rec Center hosts Outdoor Yoga at Vernon Worthen Park at 6:30 AM. That start time is the point. It is the coolest hour of the day, and an instructor leads the session on the grass. Bring your own mat if you have one, though extras will be available. The full month's schedule is on the city's Park and Recreation Month page.

Both markets are on summer hours, which means going early is going smart.

The St. George Museum of Art's summer headliner is Between Symbols and Stories, the first major retrospective of Utah artist Megan Knobloch Geilman, running through August 22. Her digital compositions layer contemporary social issues with art history and mythology, and each piece takes months of staging and photography to build. Admission is free at the museum, located at 47 E. 200 North.

Over at Utah Tech, the Sears Art Museum continues From Red Rocks to Glaciers: Southern Utah and Alaska Through the Lens through August 14. The show pairs Tisa Zito's Alaskan wilderness photography with images of our own backyard from regional photographers. Free admission, open weekdays 9 AM to 5 PM, so this one is a lunch break trip rather than a weekend stop. Details at searsart.com.

Bear is an adult male Catahoula Leopard Dog waiting at the St. George Animal Shelter. If you have never met a Catahoula, they are striking dogs bred for work who thrive with active owners. He would happily join you for those early morning trail walks; the weather is demanding this month.

Visits are by appointment, so call the shelter at (435) 627-4350 or browse all adoptable animals on the shelter's Petfinder page. If Bear has already found his home by the time you call, his neighbors, Snoop, Roscoe, and Oreo, are still looking.

Through July 31, the city has turned three parks into self-guided walking experiences for Park and Recreation Month. Signs along the trails at Tonaquint Nature Center, Pioneer Park, and Fossil Falls Park offer mindfulness prompts, flora highlights, and facts about how green space benefits a community. There is no schedule and no registration, just show up and walk.

Fossil Falls is the sleeper pick here. Its trail is completely paved, which makes it the most accessible of the three for strollers, wheelchairs, and grandparents. Go at sunrise when the rock glows, and the temperature is still civilized. Details are on the city's event page.

A classic mid-July week: hot early, with monsoon moisture creeping in by the weekend.

Evening lows only dip to around 80, so Tuacahn will still be warm at curtain. If you are headed to the amphitheater on Friday or Saturday, keep an eye on the sky, as chances of monsoon storms rise late in the week. Sunrise yoga on Friday and the Saturday markets look comfortable if you arrive early.

Grease's opening weekend at Tuacahn is the marquee event, but the free stuff carries this week: jazz in the park on Monday, slacklining on Wednesday, and sunrise yoga on Friday, all at Vernon Worthen. Willy Wonka Jr. gives families a reason to duck into air conditioning on Wednesday through Saturday. And both markets reward the early risers.

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See you out there, St. George.