The smell of potatoes frying. The echo of bands playing on stages throughout the square. A constant song made up of Utah voices chatting and laughing. Tents, white and clean on the outside but loud and colorful with different types of art on the inside, covering Salt Lake City’s Washington Square. These are the sights and sounds of the Utah Arts Festival, which just celebrated its 40th year of bringing people together to celebrate the artwork of over 200 artists.
The Utah Arts Festival highlights artists from several fields, such as music, film, visual arts, food and poetry. The spoken word, a less popular feature last year, made its mark on this year’s festival. One of the ongoing events was a poetry slam competition featuring groups of young adults from Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico who competed both individually and as teams, with the New Mexico team victorious. The themes covered a variety of current issues, from the Orlando shooting to the difficulty of being a teacher. The crowd, which rapidly grew as passersby heard passionate voices from the speakers surrounding the stage, quickly became comfortable yelling “PUSH!” to the performer to excite them, and clapping, cheering or snapping to show their appreciation of the words being shared.
Across the expanse of food and sweets, bands of several different genres played throughout the festival, also engaging large crowds. One band in particular, Incendio, played music from around the world and encouraged over 30 people to get up on their feet and dance at the foot of the stage. Other musical groups, such as the Utah Symphony, were enjoyed more quietly, with many listeners closing their eyes as the compositions of Beethoven and Tchaikovsky washed over them.
For those who preferred to enjoy the music as a background to their exploration of the field of white tents, the art on offer ranged from intricate leather craft goods to beautiful landscapes and bizarre, colorful animals captured in oil paintings. Utah’s landscapes seemed to provide much inspiration for local artists this year as both the rocky and mountainous regions were captured by photography and paint brush alike.
For those seeking refuge from the sun, the No Fear Film event was held inside of the City Library. Featuring both local and foreign work, the films inspired conversations with viewers that lasted for hours.
The Utah Arts Festival gave the Salt Lake community a break from the “real” world and a chance to enjoy the creative talents of others while surrounded by good people and delicious food.