Hey kids! You may have noticed that our usual opening is missing. Well, that's because it's been removed for reasons we won't mention. --- Maybe someday we will, but for now you'll have to look at this post like a rerun of M*A*S*H. You could have sworn there was more show here, but instead material has been cut for modern-day commercial breaks. Let's skip past this break and take a look at the most recent addition to the 337 Memorial Wall.

A couple of weeks ago the Utah Arts Festival opened up all its applications for performances -- Music, Dance, Street Theater, Literary, Fear No Film, Culinary, Classic Commission and the Mayor's Artists Awards. Every single category is now open for submissions! Every single year, without fail, I have bands come up to me and ask how they can get into the Utah Arts Festival, especially after last year when King Niko and Fictionist tore down the house to a packed crowd on the east lawn. Musicians of any kind, this is how you do it. Go over to the UAF Website, click on 2012 Applications and find the area that best suits you. Each application has its own deadline so head over now and see how long you have left to submit.

In a bit of business news, we're sad to report that SLCitizen at the Main Library has shut its doors for good. Owner Meghann Griggs cited low sales and complications with vendors for the shop's decline, along with a combination of going to court with previous owner (which she did not go into detail over) and no other buyers available as the reasoning for the final closure. No word yet on what will happen with the store's inventory or what will become of the space itself. Let's hope something cool takes its place rather than another UTA kiosk.

Moving on to events, the week in general is pretty bland because of Thanksgiving, but Black Friday will mark the start of one major event: Buy Local First Week! This year, Local First Utah will be launching the Gift Shop Coupon Campaign, where its Website will serve as a hub for discounts to various local businesses across the state. Nearly 100 businesses have signed up so far to take part in this, and that total is expected to rise before the first big coupon from LFU is made available for printing Nov. 21. Head on over to its Website to check out the list of shops already on board and get details of the event, scheduled to go until Dec. 2.

Once you're done with Thanksgiving and Buy Nothing Day (look it up, kids), W Lounge will have a big dance party to work off anything you may have gorged on. Its Shake N' Pop “Friendsgiving Edition” will feature DJ's Stesus Nice, Custom Model and Tom Servo. G Elect tend to throw some pretty awesome parties, and at the moment this is looking like the biggest happening over the weekend. The party kicks off at 9 p.m.

On Sunday Nov. 27, we'll see the next installment of the Geek Show Movie Night over at Brewvies Cinema Pub. Rather than going the traditional holiday route, the podcasters will be celebrating puppets with the release of the brand-new Muppet movie. The double feature will include the original incarnation known as The Muppet Movie with the explosive South Park tribute to all the old Thunderbird films, Team America: World Police. Oh, and, of course, it's completely free!

The rest of that week looks rather bland until we hit the weekend, where we've got two events happening Saturday Dec. 3. The first over at the Rose Wagner Theatre being put on by SB Dance is “WTF!” Nope, not what you're thinking. The acronym stands for “Wine, Theatre, Food” and will serve as a fundraiser for the independent dance company as it enters its 15th year. As written by event planners: "W" is for killer wines curated by Vinelore's Tracey Thompson. "T" is for live theater and dance by SB Dance. "F" is for amazing food courtesy of Nicholas and Company, Trio Restaurant Group, Cafe SuperNatural, Squatters, chef Robert Angelilli and others. "!" is a lounge-style setting, clickity-clack by DJ TiDY, and disco lessons from J La when the mirror ball drops after dessert. This is looking to be one entertaining night; I highly suggest attending and helping out the company.

If you can't make it there, then shuffle yourself down to Bar Deluxe for a different kind of charity event. Pin Me Up by Ashley Marie will present “A Rockin' Christmas” to help benefit Toys For Tots and the Utah Food Bank. Endless Indulgence out of Ogden will be holding a pin-up contest along with music from The Tuxedo Tramps, Blue Moon Bombers and The Slick Shifters -- not to mention burlesque and cupcakes, two things that should go together more often. Head on over and enjoy the night for a couple of good causes.

As for the blog -- I'm gonna be honest, I really don't know. The past three year's worth of doing posts over the Thanksgiving weekend and going into December have always been unpredictable and never went according to plan. I don't expect 2011 to be any different, so for me to tell you what's coming up would just be a guess at this point. It should be a nice combination of artists, theater and music, with at least a guarantee of having Gallery Stroll covered on Monday. So, as always, we'll see what happens.

Follow Gavin's Underground: