Buzz Blog

Hello to all you rainbow flag waving, colorful paint dipping, rightful cause supporting, thong adjusting, float decorating, Roseanne Barr saluting, Utah Pride Festival enthusiasts. --- One of the biggest highlights to downtown SLC, and considered one of the peaks of festival season in Utah, has currently taken over Washington Square today. Downtown has been busy all week with activity, both from official Pride supporters and underground workings. This year everyone has stepped it up a notch to show support, even at the 337 Memorial Wall. For those of you not aware, the parade route has changed (check their website for details) and will actually start around where the 337 Project once stood. So in celebration of this year's Pride the wall was updated today with a touch of flair.

That picture was taken while it was still being completed, so buzz by the site tomorrow to see the finished product. Speaking of Pride, last year due to employment issues I was forced to skip out on most of the 2010 Festival, so this year we're correcting that with pictures over the next two days. We'll chat about that more when the time comes on Monday, but for now you can check out an ever-updating set of photos from today's events in this gallery here. Like this shot of our old friends The Daniel Day Trio playing in front of the Pride video wall.

Moving into official events, tomorrow afternoon if you'd like a short time-out from the festival's events, right across the street at the Main Library will be Craft Sabbath. This month the artists are helping celebrate the festivities as many of the vendors on hand will have Pride-related crafts to sell ranging from jewelry to accessories to toys, maybe even a decorative painting or two. You can catch all the action over there from 1-5PM tomorrow, and be sure to say hi to the gals at the City Weekly booth.

If you can't make it out to Pride tomorrow, or if you've been totally Pride-ed out, you can always make your way over to Kilby Court where the Salty Streets Flea Market makes it's grand return. Last year saw amazing success for this event. Simply put, it works like any flea market, come to buy or trade goods with the various vendors and individuals who'll show up. Over twenty vendors will be a part of the market, a skate ramp for people to come show off their skills, lemonade and hotdogs for sale, plus music from DJ ChaseOne2, Dylan Roe, Red Dog Revival and Accidente for just $2.

Later in the week we'll have two artistic events, the first up north here in SLC will be the next Connect Artists event from the Utah Arts Alliance. Every second Friday of each month from 7-9PM the UAA will assign a theme for each event (film, mixed media, painting, etc.). At the beginning of the second hour, a professional in the field of the theme will speak for 15 minutes on tools and tricks of the industry. This may include a performance or presentation of art from the professional(s), showcasing the events theme. It's definitely worth checking out if you're into short-timed creativity. You can catch it this Friday over at their main offices, 2191 South 300 West, #1B.

Meanwhile down in Ephraim, our old friends at the Central Utah Art Center have got a show that's been cooking up some attention. It's called “Localized: Working in Proximity”. Four Snow College artists (Scott Allred, Amy Jorgensen, Adam Larsen, Brad Taggart) have created work for an exhibit that “explores the relationship between colleagues and what role location and proximity plays in the creation of art.” Meanwhile in the upper part of the Gallery will be the latest from Jason Metcalf who will be presenting his latest exhibition titled “Sandpete Is For Lovers”. This entire show looks to be one of the best they've got going on a local level, and is absolutely worth the trip. The evening will go from 7-10PM, and hey, why not stay the night and take in the summer evenings in middle-Utah.

Down in Provo starting up on Monday the 13th, Velour will be holding their big Battle Of The Bands competition. For those of you unaware of this event, twenty bands will go head to head against each other over the week, four bands a night, with the top five playing 30 minute sets for the grand prize. You know who's won this competition in the past? Imagine Dragons, Shark Speed, Fictionist, NightNight, Dandy Lyon, Neon Trees and many more. The event has served as a pretty good meter as to who is on the rise out of Utah County and the Utah music scene as a whole. Holy Water Buffalo won the competition this past Winter and have been on the rise all throughout 2011. Who will win this year? Hit up Velour's website for a complete list of the twenty bands and what night they'll each play, and be sure to join the finalists (as well as myself) on Saturday to decide the winners!

Next Friday is filled with several events, aside Gallery Stroll and album releases, plus some events we'll bring up later on the blog. The first we'll chat about here is the 48 Hour Film Festival. After some problems a few years ago, the fest took a sharp turn back toward making it fun for all involved last year and became one of the highest attended. Not to mention holding the most directors in a single competition since it's SLC incarnation started up. The fest officially kicks off on Friday the 17th, but they're still accepting directors to sign up (as of the date and time of this post), so head over to their website for more info.

And then later that night along East Broadway will be the Summer SLC Fashion Stroll! The one event, I might add, that every publication (except the Deseret News) seems to support. If you haven't been to a Fashion Stroll then you're kinda missing out. From roughly 150 East all the way to Nobrow, fashion tents and vendors will line up along the north side of Broadway, with the centerpiece catwalk happening at Henrie's Dry Cleaners. It has become one of the highest attended fashion events in the city and a place for many localized designers to show off their latest creations. Trust me, go check it out.

As for the blog... we'll have a somewhat-full report from Pride, chat with some localized film makers about their latest wins, hit up a local geek podcast (not the one you're thinking of), and visit with three very different festivals happening over the next two weeks. At least that's what's on the docket for now, trust me, that changes at least three times this week. As always, we'll see what happens.

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