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Welcome to the Sundance Film
Festival!
For films, fun and
friends, the Sundance Film Festival! fills the bill.
• 2008
Sundance Film Festival, Jan 17-27
By Tim Barley
E-mail Tim at:
tbarley@uwalumni.com
Nestled about
an hour southeast of Salt Lake City, at around 11,000 ft above sea level,
is Park City, Utah. For 50 weeks out of the year, it is your typical
ski town with great skiing in the winter and fantastic biking and hiking
in the summer.
But for 10 days in January each year, it turns into a showcase for
independent filmmakers to display their work for Hollywood power players.
And it's showtime for the public, which can see potentially ground-breaking
films as well as rub elbows with stars and celebrities. It's the Sundance
Film Festival.
The festival has been held in Park City since 1981. In 1985 it became
part of the Sundance Institute, adding international films to the lineup.
In 1991 it was renamed The Sundance Film Festival. Eating, drinking,
partying, mingling, late-night bidding wars and deal making is the name
of the game at Sundance.
Parking It In Park City
Getting to Sundance is as easy as flying
into Salt Lake City (SLC) and catching a shuttle. This is a much better
idea than renting a car, as parking during the festival is next to impossible.
There are many choices so it's best to call ahead and make a reservation
a few days in advance of arrival. Prices range from $30 to $60 each
way. There are several companies, all of which are listed on the Salt
Lake airport's web site.
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Sundance
Film Festival Top Tips
•
Dress for the weather not for fashion, or combine the two.
• To see films during the festival, buy tickets early
in the festival or try to wait outside before a showing for possible
no-shows.
• During Sundance, all reservations are a half-hour late.
• Get ski passes in Salt Lake City to save money.
• Bring your own alcohol for the condo/hotel as Utah
has "weak" beer .
• Drinking at 11,000 ft is much different than drinking at
sea level
• Remember bar closing time is 1 a.m.
• For PubClub's Park City Ski Resorts Guide, Click
Here
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Lodging during the festival is hectic but not impossible. Rather than
looking for hotel rooms, the best way to stay is by renting a condo
or townhome. Choose someplace close to Main Street, the center
of all that is happening in Park City, and save the trouble of having
to take a cab or catch the bus.
One thing about Park City is that its mass transit bus system
is well run and FREE to the public. The buses are clean and it makes
frequent stops around the city; the main transit center is just off
Main Street. Hours of operation are 7:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m. This is the
way to go during inclement weather or coming or going to the slopes
– or the bars.
For those looking to ski, the local mountains offer some of the best
powder and runs in the inter-mountain West. Three resorts – The
Canyons, Park City Mountain Resort and Deer Valley Resort – are
all easily accessible by the aforementioned bus system. There is even
a chairlift that comes right down to the middle of town that goes to
the middle of the Park City Mountain Resort.
But during those 10 days of Sundance, there is movie watching and partying
to be done.
Seeing Sundance
There are several
ways to get tickets to many of the films. Festival passes to all of
the screenings can be purchased on the Sundance
website, but pricing can be steeper than the ski runs. Individual
tickets can be found by phone with pre-registration or by going to the
main information store just off Main Street (literally the main street),
and checking the main board to see what screenings are available.
 Or,
in some cases, just showing up to a screening site can result in getting
a ticket due to no-shows.
Those screening sites are everywhere – in theaters, even offices.
Getting into the corporate parties – the sizzle of Sundance for
many – is not quite as simple. These big parties are thrown by
some of the biggest companies in the entertainment industry. They are
packed with A-list celebrities, offer bagloads of swag and acts like
Beastie Boys and Metallica played in 2006.
But these are by invitation only, and the average Sundance spectators
are best advised to hit some of Park City's fantastic eateries, bars
and pubs.
The PubClub Sundance Street Team Goes PubClubbing
The writer enjoys his time pubclubbing in Park City.
In 2006, the PubClub.com Sundance Street
Team hit the town during the last weekend of the Sundance Film Festival.
Here is their report.
Our pubclub tour began in afternoon. Looking for a nice, "quiet"
place we found ourselves at O'Shucks, a good old-fashioned "bar"
with our new friend and bartender, Andy, a former surf bum turned ski
bum. He served up schooners was telling us, "yes, it is okay to
throw your peanut shells on the floor." If you are looking for
a place without a long line and a big schooner of beer, then we highly
suggest OShuck's.
A few notes before going any further: Remember that at 11,000 ft above
sea level alcohol has a MUCH different effect than it does at, say,
Sharkeez in Hermosa
Beach (which is at about 10 ft above sea level). Just keep
in mind that you can't drink as much as you think you can in Park City.
Two, due to state regulations, alcohol is highly regulated and there
are measuring taps on all liquor; no "friendly" pours here.
And ordering a double produces not a double dose of spirits but one
standard drink and a shot.
Third, smoking is allowed inside the establishments.
Fourth, when going out to any of the 100s of bars and restaurants,
no one cares how anyone else is dressed. Most everyone out clubbing
or at dinner is dressed for the weather, not to draw attention to themselves.
Sure, you may want to wear that nice little ensemble during the day
when the sun is shining and it's "warm" out, but at night
it gets COLD. Boots and hats, sweaters and sweatshirts are perfectly
acceptable here.
Fifth, and most importantly: BAR TIME IS 1 A.M.
On the plus side, Park City, is that it is the ONLY city in Utah which
beer can be obtained 24/7. Not at the bars, mind you, but places like
Albertson's and 7-11. Of course, beer in Utah not sold in bars and restaurants
with liquor licenses is 3.2% alcohol, but it's beer.
The Spur Bar and Grill at 350 Main is a great place showcasing
an "apres ski" vibe, with live music, a small dance floor
and a seating area next to a fireplace. It is also the only bar in Park
City that does not allow smoking inside but there is an ample outdoor
patio along one edge of the bar on which to puff away. There is live
music every night and a nominal cover charge – or "membership
fee" as it's called in Park City. Jeremy, the bar manager, runs
a pretty good bar, although it can take a bit of time to order a drink,
so order two at a time.
Spur Bar and Grill has a full bar and drinks run average pricing.
The crowd is a friendly, fun and energetic mix of 20-something's thru
50's ski bums enjoying a good time in a very non-Hollywood vibe kind
of way. The male members of our team met up with a very fun group of
ladies from Portland, Oregon and even the girls on the team met up with
some pretty cool fellas from Boston. One caveat: At 12:30 a.m. on Saturday
night, two female members of our team were asked for a $20 cover to
get in, which they regrettably paid and were asked for another $4 to
check their coats, even though there was only an hour until closing.
It is a shame that the doormen couldn't see their way past the cover
charge at such a late hour for a couple of girls.
Night after night we kept hearing about the No Name Saloon.
Primarily a place to be seen, it is packed with a great-looking staff
and patrons alike. It has an open, airy atmosphere with all things mountains
on the walls, including a rather large deer head and a chandelier made
of antlers. Cade, the bar manager, was able to usher us through the
line that usually starts around 10 p.m., to people-watch and get good
drinks. During the first week of the festival, the No Name Saloon is
the place to hang out and watch the beautiful people
The PubClub Sundance Street Team – Dining Out
To
fuel our appetite for Sundance, skiing and pubclubbing, we fueled
ourselves at some fine restaurants. It's recommended to get reservations
and expect to wait at least a half-hour after the reservation time to
be seated.
For lunch our first day, we went to the La Casitas Mexican restaurant
at 710 Main Street (on the north end of Main Street). Featuring "110%"
authentic Mexican food, it has a large salsa bar, an extremely helpful
staff and the large portions kept us extremely full for the remainder
of the day.
For dinner, the choice of the night was The Riverhorse on Main.
The main room here is airy and sparsely decorated, but not spartan.
It has just enough to keep your interest when there is a lull in the
conversation at the table without taking up all your time to take it
all in. The food here is nothing short of spectacular. It's a bit pricey
but not exorbitant for a resort town and the service is superb –
friendly and attentive to every one of our needs. The wine list is wide-ranging
and completes a very good menu of meats and seafood.
We also had extraordinary dining experience at Wahso, a fantastic
Japanese/Asian fusion grill with a great atmosphere for either a date
or large group. Try and get one of the booths (seating for 4) around
the edge of the room. The three-course meal consisting of a couple of
"firsts," a salad or soup and any of their terrific entrees.
It is a mouth-watering, perfect-sized meal. Again, pricing here is on
par with a resort town restaurant. What really sticks out at Wahso besides
the service, which is local and very knowledgeable, are the famous martinis
made with sake instead of gin or vodka. Particularly good is the sake
appletini or the sake mojito, using sake in place of rum. They are must-have
menu items. PubClub was well served here by Britta our server and Hannah
the manager.
Saturday afternoon, the author enjoyed a nice and very comfortable
lunch date at The Easy Street Brassiere and Bar with one of the
girls he met from Portland. There is an upstairs area but they
opted to dine at the downstairs bar near the fireplace and watch the
falling snow. It was a perfect setting to enjoy the wild mushroom and
chicken pot pie, wine and drinks. The menu features good old-fashioned
home style food.
In all, Park City is a fantastic town with a great ski resort vibe
to it all year round. But even for those who don't ski and are still
looking for a great experience, mixing some Hollywood with the rusticity
of the "après ski" feel, the Sundance Film Festival is the
ideal event.
During Sundance,
the slopes are wide open.
 Park
City Ski & Bars Guide
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