Buzz Blog

Hello to all you bike-riding, tan-grabbing, BBQ-making, marathon-running, sapping-the-last-ounces-of-summer-left enthusiasts! It is super odd how time has immediately flown by, but the moment September 1 rolled around, I started noticing the trees in Pioneer Park had already started browning. So with the first day of fall less than three weeks away, everyone is trying to get in as much activity as they can. Before we start suggesting events to fill the next couple weeks, let's look at some random art from downtown SLC.


We'll start near the end of this week with The Lantern Fest happening on Friday, September 11. This is basically a giant excuse to light thousands of lanterns (all natural products that won't hurt the environment, with people ready to put out any dangers) and watch them fly to the sounds of local music and the taste of smores. It's $35 to attend ours, which  is being held in Grantsville, you can find more info on their website.


Meanwhile at Area 51, the Dark Arts Festival will kick off for three straight days. Music on every floor from dozens of performers, cosplay and costuming happening every night to various themes, along with tons of locally made good for anyone looking for something in the macabre or despaired. These events are really cool and if you've never been, you need to check out at least one night to see what they're about.


That same night down in Provo we'll see the grand reopening of the new Muse Music location in downtown Provo. We'll have more to say about all this later this week in City Weekly, but for now you can plan to be at the show featuring VanLadyLove, MiNX, and Static Waves. Should be an awesome show regardless of whatever else may be happening.


While we're in Provo, on Saturday, September 12, the Taste Of The Valley festival will commence. Throughout downtown Provo over 30 local restaurants will be featuring food for you to taste between 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. It's essentially a chance for you to get a sampling of everything in the area so you can find out what's great and what isn't so great, without having to fork over $15-30 per meal. Visit their website for ticket info.


Meanwhile in Sandy, the Hello Sweetie Podcast will be taking over Sandy Station for their annual open mic night. All four of the women will be performing their own sets as well as playing host to an open mic for any standup comedian of any level to pop up and do a few minutes of material. The show is free, but all proceeds taken from the show will be going to help Forrest Shaw of The Left Show. Join them for humor and a cool local cause.


Next Sunday, September 13, The Urban Flea Market will once again take over the parking lot on 600 South and Main Street for a day of cool finds and trades. Bring whatever items you might feel like getting rid of and some spare cash to see what the dozens of merchants will have in store. Swap out your junk for someone else's junk you might really want, or just check out what they have around the place. The market goes from Noon until 5 p.m.


On Wednesday, September 16, Brine will be featured at the Rose Wagner. This is a giant showcase of performing arts talent with pieces choreographed by Sara Pickett, Symmer Andrews, Ashley Creek and Sarah Donohue. The show runs two nights, both at 7:30 p.m., you can snag tickets from ArtTix. 


Speaking of dance performances, the following night will be the Ririe-Woodbury season opener, Fall Season. The show will feature  New York-based dancer Adam Barruch’s world premiere of "Prima Materia," as well as the world premiere of "Together Alone: Part 1" by Artistic Director Daniel Charon, and the return of Doug Varone and Ellen Bromberg’s "States Rendered." Visit their website for performing times and tickets.


That same night, up the street over at 50 West, Jason Harvey's Comedy & Other Opinions returns to the club for an awesome night of standup comedy. The evening will feature Los Angeles comic Brandie Posey, as well as local performers Erika Kreutziger and Shayne Smith. The evening is just $5 with the comedy starting at 9 p.m.


On Friday, September 18, several gamers will be joining in for Gaming For The Cure. This will be a 24-hour video gaming stream from dozens of players in SLC, including many from Big Shiny Robot and Entertainment Is Dead. They'll be streaming live on Twitch to raise money for the Utah chapter of the Lupus Foundation Of Ameria. I myself plan to drop in with my gaming library to help out, and you should check out the stream when they go live next Friday night at 7 p.m.


On Saturday, September 19, several bars will play home to the Sugar House Fall Crawl. Join your fellow drinking buddies for a stroll down parts of 2100 South and adjoining areas as we hit every bar in the area we can. The list includes: Wasatch Brew Pub, The Annex, Mellow Mushroom, Sugar House Pub, Campfire Lounge, The Bar, The Tap Room, Fat’s Bar & Grill, Fiddler’s Elbow and Trolley Wing Co. All proceeds from the crawl will go toward  The Sharing Place, a Sugar House non-profit and their Dia da Los Muertos event on October 24. Joint he crawl from Noon until 5 p.m.


And finally, that same Saturday, the city of Provo will get a lot more colorful as Provo Pride takes over Memorial Park. For eight hours, you'll be able to take in all the awesome festivities of the event, totally free to attend. There may not be a parade or any major activities beyond the grounds (until the nightlife kicks in), but it's still an awesome time for those in Utah County who aren't able to attend the big one in SLC. Visit their site for more info.


As for the blog, we'll have some cool stuff lined up for the next two weeks, but you'll need to come back and read it. As always, we'll see what happens.