Hello to all you color-changing, air-cooling, grove-driving, sweater-wearing, picture-snapping, oh-let's-go-breathe-in-the-foliage enthusiasts! --- I'm not one to go hike up in the hills and pretend to love nature when its dying in front of me before we hit winter, but I do enjoy this time of year best of all. I really don't have any major commentary about it beyond that, other than I'll be enjoying myself as much as I can for the next few days until every fuckin' supermarket and box store starts putting out Christmas shit. In lieu of a 337 update, here's a tiny beer picture from the Utah Beer Fest a couple of weeks ago.

Going straight into events, tomorrow at Jordan Park will be the seventh annual Doin' It At The Park. This is an absolutely free event featuring the finest in local hip-hop (all of whom have an open platform to attend and perform) and graffiti art from some of our top names, plus a BYOBBQ. Each year, this event gets bigger and produces a lot of badass art that will never be seen again. I highly suggest checking it out; it will go from 2-10 p.m.

Later that night will be the Utah Undie Run, which I already wrote up in the Essentials section of this week's City Weekly. But hey, it doesn't hurt to mention that thousands will converge on downtown SLC in their boxers and panties to run for a world record! Go check it out, and hell, participate!

Moving on to Thursday, the Midvale Main Street Theatre will present “Be The Bard: A Midsummer Night's Dream.” For those of you unfamiliar with the play, it's one of Shakespeare's finest and the most sex-riddled play he ever wrote; if you haven't read it, you might wanna get on that. Be The Bard will feature actors playing most of the main roles; however, the twist to this performance is that they will bring audience members onto the stage, hand them a script and have them join in the play! These performances will go from Sept. 13-15; just $10 to watch.

While on the subject of theater, next Saturday the Salt Lake Acting Company will be featuring a unique performance called Love, Loss and What I Wore. Written by Delia & Nora Ephron, the play is based on the Illene Beckerman memoir about how women directly connect memories to the clothing they wear. What's unique about this play is the cast: an ever-rotating ensemble of women from around SLC involved with the local entertainment scene or the community in general. Performers include Babs De Lay, Annette Wright, Cynthia Fleming, Elaine Clark, Elaine Jarvik, Gina Barberi, Lisa Sewell, Kathleen Cahill, Marsha Merrill, Nancy Borgenicht, Tamrika Khvtisiashvili, Sheryl Allen, Tracy Callahan, Teri Orr and many, many more. The performances run Sept. 13-30; check out the company's website for more info.

Going back to Shakespeare, if you prefer the Bard a little more traditional, this Friday will see the latest production from The Sting & Honey Company as it presents The Winter's Tale at the Rose Wagner. Probably one of the better emotional rides you'll see in his work, the play goes from downright heartbreaking to self-discovery with all the highs and lows in between. The play kicks off this Friday and runs until Sept. 29; check out ArtTix for show details.

Next Sunday, we'll be seeing the return of the Groove Garden to the Garage after the “hottest bar in town” (thanks, Mike Brown) has rebuilt, reopened and rebooked its August show for September. Jesse Walker and company will present an afternoon of music and entertainment, along with a BBQ from 3-8 p.m. on Sept. 16. 

Kicking off on Thursday Sept. 20 will be the Salt Lake City Film Festival. I won't give many details of the event here as I'll be talking with them in a week or so about the event anyway, but check out the list of films below and get ready to see some awesome fest events in the fall!

And then finally in two weeks will be the Pink Dot Utah event at Jordan Park. Those who support the LGBT community, whether they be friends, family, loved ones or just supporters in general, are encouraged to attend this free event on Sept. 22. Everyone will meet up dressed in pink to show support and form a giant pink dot in the middle of the park at 4 p.m.

As for the blog: Over the next few weeks, I'll have a concert interview, a look at a local zine, some printmakers in the avenues, a music center in the valley, the aforementioned SLCFF and the first of the dance shows happening this season. At least that's the plan for now; as always, we'll see what happens!

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