This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The best party at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival is on wheels.
RVIP is a mobile "lounge and karaoke cabaret" based in Los Angeles. It's a mobile home equipped with disco lights on the outside and a karaoke machine on the inside. In L.A., it frequently carries its patrons from one club to another, keeping the party going in transit.
The women responsible for RVIP – Kestrin Pantera (who founded the company with her husband, Jonathan), Eve Kim (a k a Eve Bunny) and Peggy Ellithorpe – brought their RV to Park City for the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. Friday night, the RV could be found on Main Street, but on Saturday night the ladies decided to avoid the snowy streets and ensconsed themselves in Lot F in the Prospector Square area.
The RV accommodates a dozen people comfortably – and will take more for the full shoulder-to-shoulder Sundance party experience. Based on the number of Angelenos who sought out the karaoke joint on Saturday, RVIP has a devoted following.
(I was tipped by two different sources: My oldest Sundance friend, John Bernstein, who does a fantastic David Bowie; and Jen Yamato, Movieline's senior editor and a karaoke maven who broke out TLC's "Waterfalls.")
RVIP will stay in Park City a few more days, so if you have a chance to ride (and sing) along, take it.