The Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, kicks off tonight and we’re all bracing for the madness. Or will it be? The economy is one factor and the Inauguration next Tuesday could affect how many people and sponsor companies actually attend Sundance this year. But let’s be real…there will still be tens of thousands of people and hundreds of celebs descending upon our quaint, little town and the madness of Sundance that we all love, will ensue.
Last night I went out for the "last" supper – the one where I can go into town, find a parking spot, enjoy some sushi and then drive home without delay – for the next 10 days of the festival. First we had to find parking, but that actually wasn’t too difficult considering the town is already abuzz with movie lovers and Hollywood arriving in droves. We crossed lower Main Street, shimmying in between metal scaffolding and wooden planks, where construction crews are working through the night to complete a concert stage. It’s amazing to see how quickly the lights, the decorations, the swag booths spring up. And in just 10 days, it all disappears like Paris Hilton was never here. So what do we do at Park City Mountain Resort? We ski and we ride. This is one of the absolute best times to be on the mountain because everyone else is crammed onto Main Street and in movie venues around town. Plus the weather is supposed to be really nice for the next week, with bluebird skies and temperatures in the mid-30s to 40s.
A fact you may not know is that the X-Dance Film Festival, an action sports film festival, coincides with the Sundance Film Festival. The resort’s very own movie, "I Ride Park City" has been selected to screen at X-Dance. The movie was just one of 30 feature films out of hundreds to be chosen by X-Dance. If you are looking for something fun to do on Friday, January 16, join us at 6 p.m. at the screening of "I Ride Park City." The screening is located at: Off Broadway Theatre, 272 S. Main St., SLC, UT. Athletes from the film and Park City All-Stars will be in attendance. Tickets range in price from $5-$7 and can be purchased online at http://www.x-dance.com/. Go Jim Mangan! He is our director of action sports marketing and the movie's creator.
And if you’re wondering how I feel about Sundance? I’m just a local and this is what we gab about…all the people in town, the private parties, the celebs we might catch a glimpse of. It’s like our right of passage…to gripe about Sundance with our friends albeit we secretly love the fact that Robert Redford bestowed our town with the greatest movie festival of all time. (The New Yorker in me will never admit that out loud.) Oh wait, I just did. I guess that makes me a real Parkite.