This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Attending the Utah Arts Festival can cause the feeling of FOMO: fear of missing out.
There's always a chance that while you're doing something cool, something else cool is happening elsewhere on the Library Square and Washington Square grounds. That will happen at an event with 174 artists booths, seven performing stages for everything from music to spoken-word performances, a short-film festival, a midway of food vendors, art exhibits and demonstrations, and activities for children of all ages.
Here are a few highlights, events and artists that the Utah Arts Festival's organizers are excited to bring to this year's event:
Cuban music • Pedrito Martinez is "the hottest thing in Latin music right now," said Steve "Doc" Floor, the festival's performing arts coordinator. The Havana-born percussionist has appeared on more than 100 recordings in the past 15 years and will play at the festival with his eponymous band. His Afro-Cuban style contains influences of timber, jazz and R&B. And on the drums, Floor said, "he sounds like a machine gun." (Sunday, June 25, 9:45 p.m., Festival Stage)
Park and Park • "To me, it's always the guys playing piano" that make the festival, Floor said. This year, the festival will feature Jae Hong Park, 18, and Chaeyoung Park, 19, the gold and silver medalists from last year's Gina Bachauer International Young Artists Piano Competition. No, they're not related; both are originally from Seoul, South Korea, but Chaeyoung Park spent much of her childhood in Kansas. (Sunday, June 25, 5:30 p.m., Festival Stage)
Big names in jazz • The Salt Lake Jazz Orchestra will perform a commissioned new work at the festival, and Floor has brought in "a couple of ringers" to help make it perfect. One is Andrea Miller, a strong young singer, and the other is trumpeter Chuck Findley, a veteran session player whose gigs include two stints on "The Tonight Show." (Thursday, 7:45 p.m., Festival Stage)
Fear No Film • Memory is the main theme of the programs in the Fear No Film Festival, set for the City Library auditorium. "As we add and subtract emotional details, every time we recollect a memory," said Topher Horman, who curates the short films in the festival. Memory takes many forms, including the collective, the distorted and the revisionist. Among the works likely to be talked about, Horman said, is "M.A.M.O.N.: Monitor Against Mexicans Over Nationwide," an animated film from Mexico that makes a pointed comment about a certain wall somebody wants to build.
New sounds, old speakers • Salt Lake City artist Frank Falk "requested to be away from ambient noise," said Matt Jacobsen, one of the program coordinators for the Artists Marketplace. Falk calls his works "iHorns" — antique sound horn speakers transformed into handmade amplifiers for cellphones, for a fascinating mix of old and new.
Recycling for art's sake • Falk isn't the only artist making something new and unusual from old materials, Jacobsen said. Todd Perkins, from Denver, repurposes old items — clock parts, wood and leather, a model of the Millennium Falcon — into guitar-shaped artworks. Shao Lin Xia, a retired Boeing engineer, and his wife, Sompit, based in North Carolina, make model airplanes from soda and beer cans.
Lounging at the Leo • The Leonardo, the science-and-technology museum on the south side of Library Square, will open a lounge for Utah Arts Festival visitors. From noon to 7 p.m., the Leonardo Family Lounge will have such hands-on activities as making gummy bears using science, driving spherical robots to create art, and chasing bubbles large and small. From 7 to 11 p.m., the space becomes the Leonardo Wine Lounge, where patrons 21 and older can experiment with food and wine pairings. Access to either lounge requires a $5 add-on to festival admission, available online or at the box office.
Kids making art • The Children's Art Yard, on the grass on Washington Square, has the theme "The World at Sea," with various activities for smaller kids. For teens, 13 to 19, the Digital Art Lab (in the retail space under the Crescent Arch) features three workshops operated by Spy Hop Productions: beatmaking, clay animation and filmmaking. The workshops are free, but pre-registration (at uaf.org) is required.
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2017 Utah Arts Festival
The 41st Utah Arts Festival, featuring music, visual arts, film, spoken word, dance, street performances, children's activities, workshops and more.
Where • Library Square and Washington Square, 200 West and 400 South, Salt Lake City
When • Thursday through Sunday, June 22-25
Hours • Noon to 11 p.m. each day
Tickets • $10 for adults on Thursday, $12 for adults Friday, Saturday and Sunday; $35 for a four-day festival pass. Children 12 and younger get in free; members of the military and people over 65, $6. Other discounts and presale offers are also available at uaf.org.