West Jordan's November Happens Along 7800 South, Weeks Before Gardner Village Turns On Christmas

Gardner Village's Christmas in the Village doesn't open until Saturday, November 21. That leaves two full weeks between this weekend and the start of the season most of the valley drives to West Jordan for. The city's calendar fills those two weeks, and almost all of it happens near 7800 South.

Follow that road from Gardner Village at 1100 West out to the new Trader Joe's at 5600 West and you have most of November. A free concert, a Saturday drop-off for old electronics, a Veterans Day ceremony, a raptor program at the library and a gift-card sale all happen before the Christmas lights come on. A grocery errand that didn't exist a month ago sits at the far end.

The west end of the road got busier first

On Friday, October 23, Trader Joe's opened store #359 at 5561 W 7800 S. The city's announcement places it on the southeast corner of 5600 West and 7800 South. It calls it the second Trader Joe's on the west side and the tenth in Utah. The store hired more than fifty new crew members from the surrounding area. Fox 13 put the corner just east of the Mountain View Corridor when the location was first confirmed in May.

Before this, the closest Trader Joe's for many West Jordan households was in Draper, Holladay or Cottonwood Heights. According to The Salt Lake Tribune, Herriman got its own store earlier in October at 4918 W. 13400 South, and the company has said South Jordan is next. By the time you read this, the West Jordan store will have been open for nearly two weeks.

A few blocks east of it, Jordan Ranch Veterinary Hospital held its ribbon cutting on October 13 at 5297 W 7800 S. So one stretch of 7800 South now handles both a grocery run and a vet appointment.

The one new arrival this fall that sits off the corridor is World Market. Its 18,362-square-foot store opened October 2 at 7037 Plaza Center Drive in Jordan Landing. It's open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday, according to the company's release. It's handy if you're picking up hosting supplies before Thanksgiving.

The city's free events cluster in the middle

The middle of 7800 South is where the city does its own programming, and three of its November events fall in a single six-day stretch.

Friday, November 6: First Friday at the Viridian. The Viridian Event Center and the West Jordan Library share an address, 8030 S 1825 W, just south of 7800 South. November's First Friday is a partnership with the Salt Lake County Library and Excellence in the Community, and everything is free. Veteran thank-you cards start at 6:30 p.m. The Aspen Winds chamber quintet plays at 7:30 p.m. The city's listing gives the event window as 7:30 to 9 p.m., so arrive at 6:30 if you want to write cards before the music starts.

Saturday, November 7: E-Waste and Shredding Event. The city's free drop-off runs 10 a.m. to noon in the West Jordan Public Works parking lot at 7960 S 4000 W. It lasts only two hours, so it helps to sort before you load the car. Here's the checklist from the city's garbage and recycling page:

• Bring proof of West Jordan residency or city employment.
• Paper is limited to two bankers' boxes. Leave it loose and take out binders, large binder clips and rubber bands.
• Accepted items include cell phones, computers and keyboards, laptops, removable hard drives, stereos, fax machines, iPods, MP3 players and DVD players.
• TVs, CRT monitors, cracked LCDs, batteries, lightbulbs and printers are not accepted.
• Have everything ready to drop off when you pull in.

Wednesday, November 11: Veterans Day Ceremony. The city's ceremony begins at 10:30 a.m. at the memorial in Veterans Memorial Park. It's free and has seating. Speakers, the West Jordan Honor Guard and the Utah Pipe Band are on the program. It's outdoors and goes on rain or shine, canceling only for lightning. Families who made cards at the Viridian on the 6th get a chance, five days later, to thank veterans in person.

Mayor Burton holds open office hours at City Hall, 8000 S Redwood Road, from 4 to 6 p.m. on Thursday, November 12. No appointment is needed. A week later, on November 19 at 7 p.m., the Citizen Readiness Corps holds an emergency-preparedness event in the first-floor City Hall Community Room.

The library fills the weekdays

The Viridian building keeps going after First Friday ends. The West Jordan Library's November schedule adds a weekday reason to head toward 1825 West almost every week of the month.

Families who read in Spanish at home can head to Amigos y Libros on Friday the 13th, a storytime held in Spanish. The Parade of Raptors on Tuesday the 17th is an evening program, so school-age kids can come too.

Gardner Village opens in two steps

Gardner Village, at the east end of the road at 1100 West 7800 South, opens the holiday season in two steps, a week apart.

Saturday, November 14: Holiday Madness. The village's one-day shopping event used to be called Moonlight Madness. It runs 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Among the posted offers are a $30 Archibald's gift card for $20 and a $100 Soulstice gift card for $80. The Archibald's deal is a third off what you'd pay at the register. If Archibald's is already on your December plans, it's cheaper to buy the gift card on the 14th than on the night of the dinner. Full details are on the Holiday Madness page.

Saturday, November 21: Christmas in the Village opens. The season runs through December 31, with no charge for admission or parking. Shops are open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Archibald's Restaurant is open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Hours for individual shops and restaurants can vary. The village is closed on Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 26.

Two things are different this season. Wear a holiday sweater any day from November 21 through December 31 and Chocolate Covered Wagon will give you a free hot cocoa. Finish the elf scavenger hunt and you get a free piece of salt-water taffy. Gardner Village also says the Santa and Mrs. Claus who came for the past seven years can't be there in 2026, and a new pair will take their place.

That change matters most for Breakfast with Santa. It's $36 per person, and children under two eat free on an adult's lap. Seatings are at 9 a.m., 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. at Mill Plaza on December 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, 19, 21 and 22. Seatings for a family of four come to $144. The first seats are on a Friday, almost two weeks after the village opens. If you want a specific December weekend morning, book in November.

Where November hands off to December

The calendar picks up speed in the first week of December, and it stays near the same road. On Friday, December 4, the Viridian hosts the First Friday Holiday Concert from 6 to 9 p.m. S'mores and cocoa start at 6, a drone show begins at 6:30, Santa photos run from about 6:45 to 8, and Classical Piano Christmas starts at 7:30. The next morning, December 5, Gardner Village hosts its Santa 5K, 10K and Half Marathon from 9 a.m. to noon.

Here's November in order, with the cross street for each stop:

The Trader Joe's at 5600 West and 7800 South is open every day in between.

If you're thinking about what your home on this side of the valley is worth before the holidays, Florencia can talk it through with you in English or Spanish. Start with Florencia Barrera's free instant valuation, and she'll follow up with what she's seeing on the west side this fall. Get Your Instant Home Valuation.