Day 22-Favorite city

Since I am sick, I don't really feel like putting much energy into a post. So... my current favorite city is (drum roll please) SALT LAKE!

haha! Lame, I know.

But seriously, I have really come into a positive relationship with it over the past year. My current love for this city is pretty shocking after how much I struggled with all of Utah for the first year I lived here. But I've finally become my own person here and I absolutely adore it. I remember when I decided to move here how lame I was expecting the city to be. I feel like the whole Mormon thing gives it a bad rap. But, if you ever get the chance to visit... you SHOULD! Once in summer and once in winter. Those seasons present completely different versions of the city.

SUMMER:
The best thing about SLC is the culture. SLC is a very music oriented town and there are always shows going on! Not to mention they also have an abundance of fairs and other outdoor activities. The Downtown Arts Festival is amazing! They block off a large area downtown next to the SLC Library. It has a ton of local artists as well as people who come out from neighboring states. They also have a lot of Live Performers and dance groups. SLC also has a large Belly-dancing culture and I've really enjoyed watching their performances. (Not to mention two of my really good friends are WONDERFUL belly-dancers!) Besides the Arts Festival, they also have the Live Green Festival, the Arts & Crafts Market, The Greek Festival, and several smaller type fairs and events (Sugarhouse, 9&9th, etc.).

The Downtown Alliance hosts this thing called The Pioneer Park Picture Show on Friday nights for a month in the middle of the summer. The most recent session was called Rock Docs. Basically they open one of the largest SLC parks and raise a giant screen. Bands play at 8 and the movie starts at dusk. The Rock Docs consists of films like The White Stripes most recent documentary.


Salt Lake is also famous for their Twilight Concert Series. It's an outdoor concert that is FREE. That's right folks, free! It is held in the same park in SLC every Thursday during the summer.

The 2010 performers were: Modest Mouse, Girl Talk, She & Him (Zooey Deschanel!), Beirut, Matisyahu, Big Boi, Chromeo, etc. Previous performers have been: Iron & Wine, The Black Keys, Broken Social Scene, Neko Case, Michael Franti, Peter Bjorn, etc.

It's pretty amazing and there are beer tents which make it even more fantastic! We live close to downtown so we spend like $4 bucks and take the Trax system to the shows. It's great because we don't have to worry about finding a DD or a parking spot :) Here's some of the 2010 photos.


WINTER:
Well, I'm not a skiier but if I was, this would be the place! It's only a half hour drive to Park City which is AMAZING. Not to mention that January brings in all the fun of The SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL.

Anyone who wants to visit SHOULD. I recommend Summer as it is my obvious favorite. :) 2010 marked the first year of the SLC Beer Fest. I didn't get to go this year due to a previous commitment but I can't wait for 2011's! We have some AMAZING local breweries and I can't even remember the last time I drank a non-local beer. We actually have a beer store down the street from us where you buy growlers and they fill them up with one of the beers they have on tap. The name is actually Beer Store... not joking. But it is amazing and cheap! My current favorite is the Raspberry Hef and the Pumpkin ale. I love knowing that I am supporting my community brewers with each purchase :) Not to mention they have an amazing brewed Root Beer.... that's right! AMAZING... especially if you mix it with Whip Cream Vodka. The perfect holiday drink.

AND If you haven't watched Beer Wars yet on Netflix.. you should!