Park Silly Sunday Market – Park City (Sept. 6, 13, 20, and 27)

Given the late Labor Day holiday this year, Park City might be a perfect venue for a lazy Sunday. Along Historic Main Street each Sunday through the end of the month will be the central location for an environmentally-conscious street festival, farmer’s market, flea market, antique market, and crafts market. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Now in its third summer, the Sunday market was the brainchild of Kimberly Kuehn, Jewels Harrison and Julie Doerr-Arenson. As noted in a Park City magazine piece:

“The Park Silly Sunday Market was born of the desire of the three Park City transplants for a place where locals could reconnect on a regular basis. Following the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, Park City began to grow at an unprecedented pace. The Wednesday Concerts in the Park, which had for so many years served as a locals’ link up, had gotten unwieldy and had to be moved from City Park to Deer Valley. Harrison says the move cost the event that laid-back, catch-up-with-everyone, hang-out-all-afternoon-and-all-night feel.

“There were tons of events in town, but nothing that served to glue the community together,” Harrison says. “I was determined never to move again, and we needed to find a way to keep that magic of our community alive.”

For more information, see here.

Orchestra of Southern Utah Popular Music Recital – Sept. 8

The Orchestra of Southern Utah’s fall season opens with a recital featuring a variety of performances including Cellomania. The program begins at 7:30 p.m. in St. Jude’s Episcopal Church, 70 North 200 West in Cedar City.

Youth group Cellomania performs three well-known songs arranged for cello quartet by John Reed of the Hampton String Quartet: “Paint it Black” by the Rolling Stones, “Sweet Dreams Are Made of This” by The Eurythmics, and “Happy Together” by The Turtles.

The group will also play “Mellow Cellos Tango” by Michael Kibbe, “Baby Elephant Walk” by Henry Mancini from the Paramount Picture Hatari and “The Lord of the Dance” by Ron Hardiman. This final number was arranged for quartet by Larry Moore and then adapted for cello ensemble by Nina Hansen.

Cellomania is under the direction of Hansen and includes Dane Stults, Jamie James, Ali Diaz, Ethan Hansen, Heather Leavitt, Emily White, and Emily Smolka. The group performed in Disneyland last spring and is working towards performances in China.

Tickets are just $5 for adults and $3 for students. For more information, see here.

Wasatch Community Gardens’ 20th Anniversary and Tomato Sandwich Party – Sept. 12

Celebrating its 20th anniversary, Wasatch Community Gardens is invisting the public to enjoy sandwiches made with organically grown heirloom tomatoes and organic basil in homemade pesto. All the sandwiches are made by Wasatch Community Gardens’ staff, board, and volunteers, and the bread is generously donated by local businesses. The event will be held at the Grateful Tomato Garden (800 S 600 E) on Sept. 12 from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

For more information, see here.

Uncle Uncanny’s Musical Festival City – Heber

Founders TJ Arnovic and Rick Gerber started Uncle Uncanny’s Summer Sessions six years ago to bring Utah’s music scene, friends and family together and enjoy music and the outdoors. This year’s version has a new venue: The River’s Edge at Deer Park in Heber. This year’s line up includes Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Jerry Joseph, Joseph Israel, Wisebird, Labcoat, Junior Transportation, stonefed, Bryon Friedman and more than 25 other musical acts.

Of special note is DJ Logic’s appearance who will perform on the first two nights of the festival (Aug. 21 and 22). The festival runs for three days, ending Aug. 23. As one of the world’s most accomplished turntablists, DJ LOGIC is widely credited for introducing jazz into hip-hop realms and is considered by most as a highly respected session musician and an innovative bandleader with an immense musical catalog.

Three-day passes are available for adults ($75) and youth ($30). For more information, see here.

Park City Jazz Festival

The Park City Jazz Foundation’s musical festival also will be held Aug. 21-23 with performances in the Deer Valley Outdoor Amphitheatre. The festival performance lineup is impressive: Al Jarreau, Poncho Sanchez, Esperanza Spalding, Anna Wilson, Warren Hill, Brian Bromberg, Nicholas Payton, Sean O’Bryan Smith, Frank Catalano, Jamie Glaser, Crescent Super Band, David Halliday, John Flanders, Jazz Jokerz, and Little Big Band.

Tickets are just $35 each. For more information on tickets, performance schedules, and foundation information, see here.

Cache Celtic Festival and Highland Games – American West Heritage Center

There is a clear relevant connection for why this inaugural event will be held in Utah on Aug. 29. Utah ranks third in the nation for Americans of Scottish descent and the Utah Scottish Association will hold a festival of games, dances, and activities rooted in the Scottish, Irish, and Welsh traditions, including Scottish Highland dancing, Irish Step dancing, Highland athletics and ethnic foods.

Nine athletic contests in the men’s and women’s divisions will include the hammer throw, stone put and caber toss. Musical highlights will be Idaho’s Henry’s Fork Pipe Band and Leaping Lulu performing Celtic music, plus a performance on the Celtic harp. Participants also will have the opportunity to see several presentations on ethnic history in the Cache Valley and Bear Lake parts of the state. Food also will be provided by at least two dozen vendors.

Tickets are $7 for adults and $3 for children. The festival will run from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the American West Valley Heritage Center in Wellsville on Highway 89.

Danny Lyon: Bikeriders – The Kimball Art Center (Park City)

Renowned documentary photographer Danny Lyon created a personal record with his series, The Bikeriders. In 1963, armed with a Nikon, a Rolleiflex, and a seven-pound tape recorder, Lyon became the chronicler of the notorious motorcycle gang, the Chicago Outlaws. With The Bikeriders, Lyon defined a new mode of photojournalism, one in which the picture-maker is deeply embedded in his subject matter.

The free exhibition is at the Kimball Art Center in Park City through July 26. For information, see here.

Art Access II Gallery – Zane Lancaster Exhibition

Summer in SLC is a perfect time to check out free gallery exhibitions and Zane Lancaster’s satirical artistic observations about politicians is worth the stroll. (See above for an example.)

Art Access II Gallery will feature ‘Soon We’ll Destroy You, For Now We’ll Toast You,’ featuring Lancaster’s egg tempera on panel and encaustic work. The exhibition will be open from July 17 through August 14, with the artist’s reception occurring on Friday, July 17 from 6 to 9 pm, during Salt Lake City’s July Gallery Stroll.

Lancaster, influenced by last year’s presidential election politics and the onset of the economic recession, says these images were executed using encaustic wax and egg tempera, two relatively archaic and tedious mediums historically reserved for death portraits and religious iconography. For the Salt Lake City artist, the media were effective in depicting icons of success, wealth, and political power.

Lancaster explains, “The imagery in this work references the ‘photo-op’ moment when men meet to determine the lives of millions, to negotiate deals, to begin and end wars. They are awkward moments of niceties and formality, posed handshakes, a kiss on the hand, a feigned smile. The teeth and the ties are emphasized as symbols of well-dressed aggression: you have to be trusted so you can take the biggest bite.”

The gallery is located at 230 South and 500 West. Regular gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays.

The Mikado – Utah Festival Opera

Gilbert and Sullivan’s ‘The Mikado’ begins a 19-day run on July 11 at the Ellen Eccles Theatre in Logan as part of the Utah Festival Opera Company’s summer season. Michael Ballam returns to the stage as Ko Ko in the story, set in Japan, and replete with a timeless love story which is actually a satire of senseless laws, self-important officials, and political “spin”.

Performances will be staged Wednesdays through Saturdays at 1 p.m., and this Saturday (July 11) at 7:30 p.m. Tickets range in price from $12 to $74. For more information, see here.

Park Silly Sunday Market — Park City, beginning June 14

The popular Park City event is resurrected for 15 Sundays, beginning June 14, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the town’s historic main street. Call it an eco-friendly recurring street festival. Name it and it’s there: music, art, food, antiques, street performers, information about sustainability, and fresh produce, just to name a handful of items. And, as part of its sustainability mission, it participates in “No Trace Left Behind,” a nationwide effort involving the same rules that individuals follow during hiking or camping excursions. That is, “pack it in, pack it out” or, in the case of the Park Silly Sunday Market, taking advantage of the Zero Waste areas located throughout the market.

For example, all food vendors use recyclable utensils, cups, and plates that are then collected in containers. The food waste eventually is fed to pigs at Potter’s farm in Coalville.

For more information and a schedule of events throughout the summer, see here. The event runs through Sept. 27.

Summer Solstice Concert – Utah Arts Festival Preview

One of the best still-new traditions in advance of the state’s largest arts festival is the summer solstice concert which will feature Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band. The Utah Arts Festival will hold the concert at Library Square on Saturday, June 20, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $30 and will include a 2-for-1 voucher for festival tickets (a $10 value). The festival opens Thursday, June 25, and watch The Selective Echo for wall-to-wall coverage beginning June 21.

Oberst, a native Nebraskan best known for his work in Bright Eyes, is now extensively touring with the Mystic Valley Band, a collaboration formed in 2007. The band just released its second album in May – Outer South – on the Merge Records label. The band began its 2009 tour in Omaha on April 9 and the Utah Arts Festival stop is just one of others including the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. The musical style is a blend of genres tinged with folk, rock, and country.

For more information, see here.

The Altos: A Little Lower Than The Sopranos – Hunt Mysteries Dinner Theatre

Big Louie Alto is celebrating his anniversary as the head of the Altos ‘family enterprise,’ and all of his friends – and enemies – are at the party. By his side are the lovely-but-deadly Scarlet Smith and his sweet innocent daughter, Luccia. Jonnie Darling, Big Louie’s chauffeur, also has found a place at Big Louie’s table, but Big Louie’s nephew, Spats Alto, wants to take away his chair. And then there’s Vicci Vex, who sings like a nightingale and was discovered by Big Louie in a nightclub. She’ll be entertaining the family with Big Louie’s favorite numbers. Rumor has it that he intends to announce his successor at the party and everyone is secretly clamoring for the honor.

Campy comedy, dinner, and audience participation will be found Monday, June 22, at 7 p.m. at the The Manor: Layton’s Castle (930 West Antelope Drive in Layton). Tickets are $40.50 each. For tickets and more information, see here.

SLC Film Center — Food For Thought Series

The SLC Film Center continues its regular free, public screenings of films as part of its Food for Thought Series. All screenings take place at the Fort Douglas Post Theater on the University of Utah main campus.

On May 21 at 7 p.m., the British documentary ‘The End of The Line,’ based on the book of the same title by Charles Clover and directed by Rupert Murray will be presented. The film focuses on the prospects that the oceans will be void of fish by the middle of the century as a result of overfishing. The SLC screening precedes the film’s presentation at next week’s Seattle International Film Festival and its widespread release on June 8, which is being marked as World Ocean Day.

On May 27 at 7 p.m., Robert Kenner’s documentary ‘Food Inc.’ will be presented. Despite its redundancies, the film is a scathing examination of the mega-food industry. Well informed viewers will immediately recognize authors Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation) and Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma) who appear as well. The 2008 documentary takes on even greater urgency amid recent reports about the large-scale food industries and producers.

For more information about the SLC Film Center, see here.

The Giver – BYU’s Department of Theatre and Media Arts

Eric Coble’s Newbery Medal-winning novel is adapted for the stage by Lois Lowry. In a futuristic world devoid of conflict, color, and choice, Jonas, 12, is chosen to be the keeper of his society’s collected memories, and he learns that the peaceful existence he enjoys has come at a great cost. The production, recommended for children 10 and older, will run from May 27 to June 13 at the Harris Fine Arts Center on the Brigham Young University’s Provo campus. For ticket information and performance schedule, see here.

Neko Case – Red Butte Garden and Arboretum

Neko Case, a former punk rocker turned country chanteuse, will perform May 31, at 7 p.m. at the Red Butte Garden on the University of Utah campus. Case, 38, a native of Virginia, is a frequent solo performer who also has been a member of the Canadian indie rock group The New Pornographers. Her third solo album of original material, Middle Cyclone, debuted at the third spot on the Billboard charts in its first week of release in early March. Worth noting is the fact that Case has spurned major recording labels and her latest release was the first Case offering to make it into the top 10 in a U.S. release.

Tickets range from $20 to $30. For more information, see here.

Great Salt Lake Bird Festival

Sponsored by Davis County Community and Economic Development, the 11th annual festival offers guided field trips to the best birding hot-spots in northern Utah and around Great Salt Lake. It is one of three “linking” festivals which also includes Saskatchewan, Canada and San Blas, Mexico. These festivals share common birds and habitat types, such as the Snowy Plover and the Piping Plover. All trips will have expert guides.

Friday and Saturday programs (May 15 and 16) at the Davis County Event Center include workshops, artists, booths, vendors, and food for people of all ages and levels of birding experience. The annual Dutch oven dinner on May 16 features keynote author and naturalist Scott Weidensaul. For more information and tickets, see here.

America — Tuacahn Amphitheatre and Center for the Arts

America, a trio performing since 1972 that seamlessly assimilates strands of rock, pop and folk elements into their music, will be in concert Friday, May 15, at 8 p.m. at Tuacahn. Their best-known tunes, which also include “I Need You,” “Ventura Highway,” “Don’t Cross The River,” “Tin Man,” “Lonely People,” and “Sister Golden Hair” were cornerstones of 70′s Top 40 and FM rock radio.

The group has six certified gold and platinum albums. History, a collection of the group’s greatest hits, sold more than four million copies. Tickets are priced between $29 and $59 and can be purchased here.

Innovations – Ballet West

Ballet West’s second annual Innovations program takes the stage, May 14-16 and 21-23 at the Rose Wagner Theatre with a fresh and exciting showcase for new and cutting edge choreography including three original works created by Ballet West dancers, for Ballet West dancers.

This year, Ulysses Dove’s fierce and fiery Red Angels and a world premiere by award-winning choreographer Nicolo Fonte will be presented, along with creations by Ballet West Soloist Jason Linsley and Artist Thomas Mattingly, and an expanded version of Soloist Peggy Dolkas’ hit 2008 creation “Yes, but how did you get there?”

“Our 2009 Innovations program builds on what we began last year,” said Adam Sklute, artistic director. “For this production we incorporate more elements of live-music such as an electric violin and a Salt Lake City local band, and we are honored to present a new work by Nicolo Fonte, a choreographer of such international renown. This is exciting and inspiring for our artists and I know it will be for our audiences, as well.”

Tickets to Innovations are $50 and are on sale now through ArtTix by calling 355-ARTS or online here.

SLC Film Center – Earth Days

Since 1970, April 22 has been commemorated as Earth Day and the SLC Film Center will mark its observance with a special free, public screening of Earth Days, a film that will not be released formally until 2010. The screening will be at the Tower Theater (876 E 900 S) at 7 p.m.

Featured as the closing film at the 2009 Sundance festival, Earth Days, directed by Robert Stone, chronicles the modern environmental movement from its beginnings nearly four decades ago. Environmental activism really began with the ?rst Earth Day on April 22, 1970, and precipitated an unexpected and galvanizing effect on the national psyche. The film is told through the eyes of nine diverse witnesses, including Stewart Udall, who served as secretary of the interior, biologist Paul Ehrlich; U.S. Congressman Pete McCloskey and astronaut Rusty Schweickart, the film is a visually stunning, globe-spanning chronicle of watershed events and consciousness-changing realizations that prompted a new awareness.

For more information, see here.

Imagine Ballet Theatre – Alice in Wonderland

The Imagine Ballet Theatre, which is in residence at Peery’s Egyptian Theater in Ogden, will offer three performances of Alice in Wonderland Friday and Saturday, April 24 and 25, at 7:30 p.m. and at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets are in the range of $10 to $25.

The company comprises young dancers from 9 and up who have the opportunity to work with guest instructors, dance and perform with professional guest artists, develop and dance story themed roles, and help create a unique family-oriented cultural activity for the greater Ogden community.

A 2009 season ticket pass, which includes the Alice in Wonderland performance, is available at a 20 percent discount and includes the company’s annual performance of The Nutcracker, and Calo Flamenco, a touring company from Phoenix which will perform Oct. 3. For more information, see here.

Salt Lake Art Center – Branded and On Display

The exhibit features works by 22 artists who examine the strategies of branding and retail presentation, as well as the pervasive marketing that colors consumer lives whose landscapes are studded with logos, brand names and billboards — all well-tested inducements to acquire commodities.

But there is an impact on the consumer’s language, an abstract system of communication, according to the exhibition curators, Judith Hoos Fox and Ginger Gregg Duggan of Curator Squared. They write, “Brand names have become nouns, verbs and adjectives.” For instance, ‘Put a Band-Aid on your cut’; ‘I will Google him to find out his birth date’; ‘She’s a Banana Republic girl.’ Xerox is found in all three grammar forms.”

As the curators note: “One observation common in the context of consumer culture is the drive toward standardization. However, as each brand claims independence and uniqueness, might there be a subtle – or not-so-subtle – attempt to impose uniformity upon its devotees? If you had to designate just one brand-name business or product as your favorite, the one you cannot give up, what would you choose? Why do you favor one brand over another? Coke or Pepsi, Barnes & Noble or Borders, Pier 1 or Pottery Barn? What might your choices tell others about yourself?”

The exhibit is located at 20 South West Temple and is free and open to the public. It continues through May 23 It was organized by Krannert Art Museum, University of Illinois at Urbana?Champaign and sponsored in part by Fox Development Corporation, Office of the Chancellor (UIUC), Office of the Provost and Vice?Chancellor for Academic Affairs (UIUC), and Krannert Art Museum Director’s Circle Fund.

For more information, see here.

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Plan-B’s ‘Di Esperienza’

In Di Esperienza, the world premiere Plan-B Theatre production, playwright Matthew Ivan Bennett resists forming a cohesive statement about Leonardo Da Vinci in a script that brings to life figures from three of his most iconic – and unfinished – masterpieces. They are La Gioconda (a/k/a The Mona Lisa), Judas from the Last Supper (which actually was da Vinci’s take on earlier versions of Andrea del Castagno and Domenico Ghirlandaio), and Isabella d’Este (often called the first lady of the Renaissance who was featured in a portrait drawing).

The play’s run begins today (April 3) and continues through April 19 with 8 p.m. performances on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. performances on Sundays. The play is being staged in the Studio Theatre of the Rose Wagner Center for the Performing Arts, located in downtown Salt Lake City.

Bennett’s script which seeks to deconstruct the myths and the doubts of Leonardo da Vinci appears as much a master’s thesis as it is a commissioned work by Plan-B. Supplemented with a rigorously reviewed and annotated bibliography, he tackles the imperfect person that few have even been willing to do when it comes to theatrical works concerning the great artist and inventor.

For more information, see The Selective Echo preview here.

St. George Art Festival

Sponsored by the St. George Arts Commission, the festival, a cultural staple of southern Utah for more than 30 years, will be held April 10 and 11 in the St. George Town Square. The juried festival brings more than 110 artists from around the nation who work in a variety of creative media. The many categories of art accepted include watercolor, oils, pottery, sculpture, photography, woodwork, and other creations. The show offers cash awards for Best of Show, Best 2D and 3D and ribbons for all categories, as well as the winning entry which will serve as the poster for the following year’s festival. This year’s featured artist is Al Rounds, a Utah-based watercolor painter who specializes in architectural landscapes.

The festival includes the usual popular attendant features of food, entertainment, and an extensive children’s art activity schedule. For more information, See here.

Moscow String Quartet

The Chamber Music Society of Salt Lake City will present a performance by the Moscow String Quartet on April 7, at 7:30 p.m. in the Libby Gardner Hall on the University of Utah campus. The ensemble is performing perhaps the three most well-known string quartets from the Russian music literature: Borodin’s second quartet in D Major, Tchaikovsky’s third quartet in E-flat Major (Op. 30), and Shostakovich’s seventh quartet in F-sharp Minor (Opus 108). For more information, see here.

And now the featured events:

Salzburg Chamber Soloists at the Cache Valley Center for the Arts

Logan may be eighty-some miles to the north of Salt Lake City but the steadily growing city, home to Utah State University, also has a solidly established arts center which features a surprisingly diverse array of performances in many fine arts genres. This 22-piece string orchestra, led by concertmaster Lavard Skou-Larsen, will perform March 24-25 at 7:30 p.m. at the Ellen Eccles Theatre. Music by Villa-Lobos, Haydn, Mozart, and Piazzolla will be featured. Ticket information is available here.

Princess and the Pea at the Children’s Theatre and School of the Arts

The Children’s Theatre and School of the Arts, which will celebrate its silver anniversary, is Utah’s premiere theatre for children. The classic tale of Princess and the Pea is being offered in Friday evening (7 p.m.) and Saturday afternoon performances (1 and 4:30 p.m.) at the theatre, located at 237 South State Street. The show in two acts with a 15-minute intermission runs under two hours and is recommended for children over the age of four. Ticket information is available through boxoffice@childrenstheatreandschool.org.

Canyonlands Half Marathon

The 34th running of the Canyonlands Half Marathon will take place March 21 in Moab. The USATF certified and sanctioned course starts approximately 11 miles up scenic Highway 128 and parallels the Colorado River into Moab. The course continues on Highway 191 and through the streets of Moab to City Park and the finish line. As for weather, temperatures at starting time (10 a.m.) have run anywhere from 23 degrees to 88 degrees Fahrenheit. Saturday’s forecast is expected to have low temperatures in the middle 40s and high temperatures in the middle 70s. More information about the marathon is available here.

Women at War Series: Lioness and the SLC Film Center

In its ongoing series of women at war, the SLC Film Center will offer a free, public screening of Lioness March 25 at 7 p.m. at the Sorenson Unity Center (1383 S 900 W). The 80-minute film from 2008, directed by Meg McLagan and Daria Sommers, is focused on the first women soldiers sent into direct combat. The stories of five women who served together for a year in Iraq are told through intimate accounts, journal excerpts, and archive footage as well as interviews with military commanders. For more information, see here.