Since the USF is still fresh on all our minds, let's talk about festivals. I LOVE them. And I love lists. So, here's my list of Utah festivals in the order I prefer them.
1. Utah Shakespearean Festival - Cedar City
I started attending this one when I was 7-years-old. Still my favorite, despite the high price of tarts. While you're in Cedar City, visit Ye Olde Catholic Thrift Shoppe and the Pastry Pub and hike at the national parks farther south.
2. Timpanogos Storytelling Festival - Orem
I go to Laughin' Night, when all the stories are very amusing. Donald Davis performed this year. The man is a genius.
3. Soldier Hollow Classic - Midway
You know how I feel about this.
4. Sundance Film Festival - Park City
I think I'd like this festival more, if I received swag like the celebrities do. Some years I see great films and sometimes not. It's always a gamble. The film I enjoyed most there was The World According to Sesame Street, a documentary about developing Sesame Street for different cultures.
5. Scottish Festival - Thanksgiving Point
Lots of food, lots of kilts, lots of bagpiping (sometimes too much), dancing, sporting events (caber toss). Discount tickets are available, but it's worth the admission price even without.
6. Festival of India - Spanish Fork
Held at the Krishna Lotus Temple. The highlight (for me) is the burning of the 25-foot effigy of Ravana. Throwing rocks is not discouraged.
7. Freedom Festival - Provo
Provo really, really believes in the 4th of July. Maybe too much. I like the old-fashioned hearse in the parade and I had some tasty Peruvian food this year. Nothing says Happy Independence Day like food from Peru.
8. Lavender Days - Mona
Lavender Days lacks focus. You'd think the focus would be lavender. Not so. Among other things there's jousting and a Western shoot-out and paddle boats. Lavender Days is all things to all people. My big complaint is that there's not enough good festival food. I'd also like to see more food cooked with lavender (and perhaps a Lavender Queen).
9. Utah Arts Festival - Salt Lake
We attended during the day. It might be better at night, when there's more entertainment. There was a lot of amazing art, though, and I enjoyed the film screenings.
10. A number of Church pageants - Various Locations
The Church pageant is not my favorite forum for doctrinal teaching. I don't really enjoy the dancing or show tuney songs involved. I recognize that these pageants have their place and they have meaning for many people. I'm just not one of those people. In Utah I've seen the Martin Harris Pageant (Logan area), the Manti Pageant (Manti), and the Castle Valley Pageant (Castle Dale). The Castle Valley Pageant includes a little pioneer village you can visit before the performance, and I did like the village. Volunteers make pioneer foods you can sample and there are games and wagon rides. There's also a very elderly man who talks to the audience about early Castle Valley history. I liked that as well. It was like hearing stories from a grandparent.
Favorite festivals I've left off the list? Places/events I should be experiencing while I'm in Utah?
1. Utah Shakespearean Festival - Cedar City
I started attending this one when I was 7-years-old. Still my favorite, despite the high price of tarts. While you're in Cedar City, visit Ye Olde Catholic Thrift Shoppe and the Pastry Pub and hike at the national parks farther south.
2. Timpanogos Storytelling Festival - Orem
I go to Laughin' Night, when all the stories are very amusing. Donald Davis performed this year. The man is a genius.
3. Soldier Hollow Classic - Midway
You know how I feel about this.
4. Sundance Film Festival - Park City
I think I'd like this festival more, if I received swag like the celebrities do. Some years I see great films and sometimes not. It's always a gamble. The film I enjoyed most there was The World According to Sesame Street, a documentary about developing Sesame Street for different cultures.
5. Scottish Festival - Thanksgiving Point
Lots of food, lots of kilts, lots of bagpiping (sometimes too much), dancing, sporting events (caber toss). Discount tickets are available, but it's worth the admission price even without.
6. Festival of India - Spanish Fork
Held at the Krishna Lotus Temple. The highlight (for me) is the burning of the 25-foot effigy of Ravana. Throwing rocks is not discouraged.
7. Freedom Festival - Provo
Provo really, really believes in the 4th of July. Maybe too much. I like the old-fashioned hearse in the parade and I had some tasty Peruvian food this year. Nothing says Happy Independence Day like food from Peru.
8. Lavender Days - Mona
Lavender Days lacks focus. You'd think the focus would be lavender. Not so. Among other things there's jousting and a Western shoot-out and paddle boats. Lavender Days is all things to all people. My big complaint is that there's not enough good festival food. I'd also like to see more food cooked with lavender (and perhaps a Lavender Queen).
9. Utah Arts Festival - Salt Lake
We attended during the day. It might be better at night, when there's more entertainment. There was a lot of amazing art, though, and I enjoyed the film screenings.
10. A number of Church pageants - Various Locations
The Church pageant is not my favorite forum for doctrinal teaching. I don't really enjoy the dancing or show tuney songs involved. I recognize that these pageants have their place and they have meaning for many people. I'm just not one of those people. In Utah I've seen the Martin Harris Pageant (Logan area), the Manti Pageant (Manti), and the Castle Valley Pageant (Castle Dale). The Castle Valley Pageant includes a little pioneer village you can visit before the performance, and I did like the village. Volunteers make pioneer foods you can sample and there are games and wagon rides. There's also a very elderly man who talks to the audience about early Castle Valley history. I liked that as well. It was like hearing stories from a grandparent.
Favorite festivals I've left off the list? Places/events I should be experiencing while I'm in Utah?
6 comments:
I am laughing about church pageants. One year my friend Niki and I went to the Hill Cumorah Pageant and Donny Osmond was there with his family performing in the pageant. It wasn’t supposed to be like “The Hill Cumorah Pageant- Featuring Donny Osmond!” and during it nobody even knew what part he was playing, but it still made Mormon news that hew as there. I, frankly, didn’t really care. The Osmonds were “cool” before I was even born. Well, apparently some people were star struck. This woman in front of us hurdled about 4 rows of chairs while yelling "Donny! Donny!" as he walked by. She pushed small children out of the way and practically fell in a mud puddle just to get close to him. It was quite hilarious.
Here are two you missed:
1. The Living Traditions festival--downtown SLC, around Memorial Dayish. Here's why I like it:
A. It's free!
B. I don't think you can find more different ethnic food options in one spot in the whole state--ever (but the food's not free).
C. I've gone for most of my adult life, so it's a tradition to me.
2. Chief Arapeen Days, Mayfield Utah. It only lasted for two years, and one of those years everyone got sick from the Mexican food (that's the year I didn't go). It's a nice memory, though.
We always used to go to the Greek festival in downtown Salt Lake. At I have no idea what time of year. It was fun though; I loved their orthodox church and they had cool pictures and dancing and stuff. I had a Greek great-aunt, so I pretty much went for the kourumbedes (which we could never pronounce growing up, so I called them Greek fattening cookies. The recipe calls for its butter in POUNDS, adds a teeny bit of flour, and wraps it all in powdered sugar. YUM.)
But the real highlight was seeing just how much Greek food my husband could put away. This was in the early days of our marriage, so I was amazed. Apparently he really likes Greek food.
Have you ever been to the Festival of Lights at the Hare Krishna temple in Spanish Fork (held around April, I think)? I hear it's really cool. Lots of feasting and it features Indian dancers. Don't wear nice clothes to it... everyone goes around throwing colors at each other, so you leave drenched with colors.
By the way, have you heard of The List Universe yet? It's chock full of interesting stuff. I recently enjoyed their list on Rare Cloud Formations and 8 Expensive Artworks Found Accidentally.
I do a festival every year on my birthday called Febtoberfest that ends with the Run of the Virgins. It's a good time.
Emily--I desperately want to see what a Mayfield pageant would entail.
Amy--The Greeks and I are like THIS. Must watch out for this festival this year. We have one at home that I attend sometimes.
Alyssa--Thanks for the List Universe suggestion. Will investigate. A friend of mine went to Festival of Lights last year and after I saw him covered in dye, I wanted to go too.
Rebekah--Ya kill me.
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