LOGAN -- You may not think of Logan as an arts capital, but people come from all over the world to see opera and theater here.

The Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre Company, newly re-named last month, puts on four main productions -- two operas and two musicals -- each summer at the Ellen Eccles Theater.

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Because it's a summer company, it draws big talent, the same performers seen at the Metropolitan Opera Company and other companies that don't perform in the summer.

Gary Griffin of the theater company said, "They don't have anything to do during the summer, and they just love to come here to Logan and live in these beautiful mountains and perform for the Utah Festival Opera Company. You can see the same shows here in Logan that you can go to in New York and pay four times as much to see."

Orchestra members often play with the New York Philharmonic, so there's no shortage of talent.

Their main shows this summer include "Don Giovanni" and "South Pacific." The musicals and operas often run on the same days, so people will come to see all four shows in two days.

The festival also draws almost 1,000 "summer citizens" who spend the entire summer enjoying all Logan has to offer, including special concerts and shows all summer long.

Land of milk and honey, and great food

Patrons have great places to eat when they visit Logan. The Cache Valley is known as "the land of milk and honey." Today the area is still largely agricultural, and that translates to some great food.

Last year a national website named Logan as of the top 10 surprising best food cities.

Julie Hollist, director of the Cache Valley Visitors Bureau said, "Most people in the state probably don't realize how much food they eat actually comes from Cache Valley. We're very well-known for our dairy products and for a lot of exported products, not only throughout the state but throughout the nation and throughout the world."

The city's food-making culture is on display in a free food tour sponsored by seven participating companies.

The public can visit the Bluebird Candy Company, which has been around since the 1920s. The employees still dip all of its chocolates by hand.

Or head to Crumb Brothers Artisan Bread, where European-style breads and pastries are hand-made.

Owner Bill Oblock said, "Flavor is the most important part for me on this bread, and the technique we use is real labor-intensive, but you get great-flavored bread."

Like many Logan companies, Crumbs Brothers exports its products. It sells its bread to popular restaurants in Salt Lake and Whole Foods supermarkets.

For more information on the food tour, check out www.visitloganutah.com

History comes alive at American West Heritage Center

Another great tourist stop in the Cache Valley is the American West Heritage Center in Wellsville, about a 10-minute drive from Logan.

This is a living history center that brings to life what it was like to live from 1820 to 1920.

You can see how farmers threshed their hay with a steam engine. The kids can pet the animals in the petting corral or milk the cows and feed the chickens.

Anjanette Dahle, the center's Living History manager, said, "The kids get to do tomahawk-throwing, archery with our Native Americans. We set beaver traps with the mountain men. Then you can go over to our pioneer site. They make candles, they spin wool."

Cache Valley got its name from the mountain men, who would hide their beaver furs in caches, or holes in the ground. You can watch these mountain men shoot off their black powder rifles here.

On special event days, you can also take a covered wagon ride. If you miss that, you can take a pony or a train ride any day.

E-mail: tpapanikolas@ksl.com