Utah Film Center offers a different world of Christmas music in charming ‘Jingle Bell Rocks!’

Fans of Pink Floyd’s 1982 film highlighting one of its best album releases ‘The Wall’ might remember that a recording of Vera Lynn (see below) on the 1937 Christmas song ‘The Little Boy That Santa Forgot’ is featured in the opening sequence. The song is not exactly one that comes to mind during the holiday, … Read more

Merco Local: Small Business Saturday Shopping Tour

silo stream

Shopping local took on a whole new meaning on Merco Local’s Party Bus. The tour started with breakfast at Eggs in the  City, a Sugarhouse favorite offering breakfast and lunch. After a delicious breakfast of pancakes, eggs and potatoes with many cups of coffee, our tour group was loaded onto the limo. Club music was playing … Read more

Plan-B Theatre’s ‘Christmas with Misfits’ more than an apt flipside for the holidays

baby jesus collection plan b theatre misifts chirtsmas featured image

Plan-B Theatre’s productions normally are masterpieces of minimalism in staging and subtle lighting but for its latest premiere of Julie Jensen’s ‘Christmas with Misfits,’ director Cheryl Ann Cluff wisely decided to celebrate the occasion of the play’s theme with an overflowing bounty of holiday décor props. In the opening, when actor Jeanette Puhich bursts forth … Read more

Thanksgiving Road Trip

Living 2,000 miles from family can be tough around the holidays: who will you argue with over proper cooking temperature of a turkey or enjoy awkward drama with? The silver lining however, is a four-day weekend road trip to southern Utah that would still include all the trimmings. Over 30 of them to be exact. … Read more

A celebration with many meanings: Plan-B Theatre to premiere ‘Marry Christmas’

NOTE:This is the second part of a preview featuring a pair of Plan-B Theatre holiday productions. In 2013, during U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments for the landmark Windsor case on same-sex marriage, Chief Justice John Roberts remarked that activists had really found their political momentum. Writing the day after the hearing, The Atlantic’s Conor Friedersdorf … Read more

10 reasons to get psyched about FanX 2015

fanx salt lake comic con logo

Suffering from withdrawals from my first Comic Con, I’ve waited with bated breath for the next nerdy event, FanXperience, the “ultimate fan experience” for those consumed by their love of entertainment including everything from movies to comic books. The inaugural FanX™ in April 2014 had more than 100,000 attendees making it the third largest comic con … Read more

Plan-B Theatre’s ‘Christmas with Misfits’ dismantles artificially sweet truths about the holiday

Note: This is a two-part series about Plan-B Theatre’s unconventional approach to holiday entertainment in two world premiere productions. In the critically acclaimed box office success of the 2003 movie ‘Bad Santa,’ there were 300 profanities uttered, Santa is a small-time criminal and alcoholic, and the kid, as the late film critic Roger Ebert recalled, … Read more

Celebrate the season at The Grand America Hotel

Holidays at the Grand

Looking to kick off the holiday season? There is no better place to bask in elegant holiday finery than Grand America — where everything is merry and bright. In true Grand style, The Grand America Hotel is offering a host of festivities through December 31 to celebrate the season—most of which are free to enjoy … Read more

Monumental, urgent lesson for today’s environmental movement in rediscovering ‘The Story of My Heart’

It is inexplicable how some of the most gifted, passionate and prescient pioneers of form, expression, and ideals in the arts and letters world languish in obscurity before someone rediscovers and revives their work, which often is more relevant now than during the period in which it was created. The words of a nearly forgotten … Read more

Enjoy local Utah wines this Thanksgiving

South Salt Lake holds the distinction of being the proud home to two urban wineries. Ruth Lewandowski Wines and Kiler Grove Winegrowers each ferment, bottle and sell their wines from small tasting rooms that front larger production operations within the city’s boundaries. You’ll find wines from both wineries on wine lists at the finest restaurants … Read more