Fall Fun For The Locals

I just love the fall!  The leaves are beautiful, the air is crisp, the fall flavors are delicious, and there are so many fun activities this time of year.  Here are some of my recommendations if you live in the SLC area.

Witch Fest at Gardner Village

Gardner Village has a wonderful display of witches from September 12 through October 31 but there are also some really fun events such as Breakfast with a Witch, Witchapalooza Dinner Theatre, and the ever popular Witches Night Out.  Go here for more details.

Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving Point

Cornbelly's is an amazing fall festival at Thanksgiving Point with lots of fun activities for the kids, including games, rides, face painting, a spook alley, a corn maze, a pumpkin patch, and a hay ride.  It runs from October 3 through November 1.  Go here for more information.

 Pumpkin Days & Festival of Scarecrows at Wheeler Farm

Wheeler Historic Farm has a really fun fall festival called Pumpkin Days which runs from Sept. 26 to Oct. 31.  There is a hay maze, a pumpkin patch, and a hay ride.  You can also make a scarecrow (Tashena named hers Toby) for fun prizes.  The scarecrows will be on display throughout Pumpkin Days.  Go here and here for more information.

Schmidt's Pumpkin Patch

There are a lot of pumpkin patches out there but Marilyn and I always take the kiddos to Schmidt's.  It is located in West Jordan at 9000 S. and 3400 W.  Try not to wait until the last Saturday before Halloween (like we did last year) because it is kill or be killed gets really crowded.  Schmidt's also has a really great Farmer's Market.

Crazy Corn Maze

Again, there are a lot of corn mazes out there but I really like the Crazy Corn Maze.  I usually go through it every year with or without Sean and Tashena.  My friend Tony and I once got so lost inside we paid an attendant $5.00 to get us out!  Last year Marilyn and I followed Sean and he had us out in about twenty minutes!  Go here for more information.

Frightmares at Lagoon

Lagoon, our local amusement park, is a great place to go in the fall for Frightmares!  The park is decorated for Halloween and there are a lot of fun activities, spook alleys, hay mazes, and Halloween-themed entertainment.  Lagoon-A-Beach isn't open but all of the other rides operate and I think Lagoon is a lot more fun when the temperatures are a little bit cooler!  Marilyn and I take Sean and Tashena every year and we shut the park down!  Frightmares is open from September 19 to October 30.  Go here for more information.

Note:  Obviously there are a lot of haunted houses in the SLC area.  I had a really bad experience at one when I was in high school so I don't like to go to them!  If Tashena wants to go to one, Marilyn will have to take her!

Five Fall Drives Near SLC

I absolutely love fall and the leaves are starting to turn in my neck of the woods.  Here are my suggestions for taking a fall foliage drive if you live near SLC.

Little Cottonwood Canyon

To get to Little Cottonwood Canyon, take I-215 to the 6200 S. exit and follow the signs to Snowbird/Alta.  The foliage is beautiful but there are not very many opportunities to stop and take pictures so I recommend taking a hike to Red Pine Lake.

The hike is a bit strenuous (at least it was for me) so I also suggest stopping off at Snowbird for Oktoberfest while you are there!

Big Cottonwood Canyon

Big Cottonwood also offers some beautiful vistas for foliage viewing.  Take the 6200 S. exit on I-215 and follow the signs to Brighton/Solitude.  There are lots of opportunities for hiking around the Brighton Ski Resort.  My favorite place to hike is Silver Lake.

Alpine Loop

The Alpine Loop is a 24 mile drive between American Fork Canyon and Provo Canyon and it is my favorite fall drive.  Take exit 284 from I-15 and follow SR 92 east into the mouth of American Fork Canyon.  There is a $6.00 fee to enter.  Follow the road all the way to the Sundance Ski Resort and through Provo Canyon.  As you climb in elevation you will see beautiful golden stands of aspens (which I love).

While you are in American Fork Canyon you can visit Cascade Springs which is beautiful in the fall.

Nebo Loop

The Nebo Loop is a  32 mile byway between the cities of Payson and Nephi (an hour away from SLC but definitely worth the drive).  Take I-15 south to exit 248 and head east on 800 S.  Turn right on 600 E which eventually becomes the Nebo Loop Road into the mountains.  The views are spectacular and there are many pullouts along the byway.

Mill Creek Canyon

Mill Creek Canyon is one of my favorite places any time of year but in the fall it is glorious!  Take I-215 to Wasatch Blvd. and turn on to Mill Creek Canyon Road.  There are lots of popular hikes for viewing the leaves but I really enjoy having bonfires at one of the many campsites.  There is a $3.00 fee per vehicle as you leave the canyon.

Definitely make plans to enjoy the beautiful leaves!  I went on my first drive of the season to the Alpine Loop yesterday and it was so relaxing.  I have so many memories of fall drives on Sunday afternoons with my family growing up!

Bronfman Plays Brahms

Every time I attend a Utah Symphony performance I learn something new about classical music!  There is so much I don't know!  Last night I heard an amazing piece by a composer I had never heard of before and I absolutely loved it.  The piece is called Transfigured Night and the composer is Arnold Schoenburg.  It is based on a poem of the same name by Richard Dehmel in which a couple walk through a forest on a moonlit night.  The woman confesses to her lover that she bears another man's child and the man ultimately forgives her at the end of the poem.  The music reflects all of the emotions the couple experience beginning slowly, softly, and mournfully then building to a frenzy as the man ponders what the woman has done.  The ending is absolutely beautiful signifying the man's acceptance and love of the woman.  Sometimes music can have a profound effect on me and this piece certainly evoked many emotions as I listened to it!  I must add it to my growing list of favorites!  After the intermission, world renowned pianist Yefim Bronfman joined the orchestra to play Piano Concerto No. 2 by Johannes Brahms.  It was quite spectacular and I literally could not look away from his fingers deftly moving up and down the keyboard.  I found this piece to be very emotional and I loved the motif played by the woodwinds in the first movement and the theme played by the solo cello in the third movement.  Bronfman received a rousing standing ovation after which he favored the audience with a delightful encore.  It was a lovely concert which will be performed again tonight.  Go here for tickets and information.

The Maze Runner

Last night (this morning?) I went to the first screening of The Maze Runner in IMAX!   The movie is based on yet another adolescent series that many of my students are currently reading but I have been a fan of the novels by James Dashner for quite a while.  I really loved this adaptation.  In fact, maybe for the first time ever, I liked the film more than the book!  It definitely exceeded my expectations!  In a dystopian future, a sixteen year old boy named Thomas wakes up in a metal elevator with no memory of who he is or where he came from.  He is met by a group of boys who have been trapped inside an elaborate maze for several years.  He soon takes over the group and convinces them that they should risk the dangers of the maze to escape.   The glade inside the maze and the maze itself are very much how I pictured them when reading the book.  The movie is very dark and the sequences inside the maze are intense and often quite scary.  I would definitely not take children to see this movie.  At one point the maze moves vertically, almost trapping the boys, and I was literally holding my breath.  The Grievers (who guard the maze) are pretty terrifying and the atmospheric music during the maze sequences only heightens the suspense.  I was unfamiliar with much of the cast but the acting is excellent (not always the case in adaptations of adolescent literature) and I was very impressed with Dylan O'Brien (Thomas).  I was also impressed with the pacing of the movie because I was always completely engaged with what was happening on screen and I was left wanting more (the sequel is already in pre-production).  I thoroughly enjoyed watching this movie (when I wasn't holding my breath and sitting on the edge of my seat), especially with the rowdy opening night crowd!  I highly recommend it, just not for children!

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at PTC

Last night I attended Pioneer Theatre Company's production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and I loved it.  It is a musical about six painfully awkward misfits who come together for a middle school spelling bee and hilarity ensues!  Chip Tolentino (Jacob Hoffman) is the girl crazy winner of last year's bee who is disqualified in an early round because of an "unfortunate distraction."  William Barfee (Kendal Sparks) is a highly-strung asthmatic who had to pull out of last year's bee in the final round for medical reasons.  Leaf Coneybear (Austin Archer) is a free-spirited home-schooled student who is participating because the winner and first runner-up of his local bee had to drop out to attend a bat mitzvah.  Marcy Park (Shannon Tyo) is an over-achieving Catholic school student who skipped two grades and speaks six languages but just wants to have fun.  Olive Ostrovsky (Emily Walton) can't pay her entrance fee because her mother is living in an ashram in India and her father has not yet claimed the seat she has been saving for him.  Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre (Elise Groves) desperately wants to please her two fathers who have been coaching her for this moment for years.  Mary Fanning Driggs plays Rona Lisa Peretti, the moderator and former winner of the bee, while Jeff Talbot is hilarious as Douglas Panch, the vice principal who has had to step in as the announcer at the last minute after being banned from the bee for the past five years.  Talbot is responsible for many of the funniest moments when he reads the definitions and uses the words in sentences!  Rounding out the cast is Erick Pinnick as Mitch Mahoney, an ex-con completing his community service requirements by giving the eliminated spellers a juice box.  Additional spellers are added from the audience each night which adds a bit of spontaneity to the show.  Last night there was a young girl who had to be given quite a few words before she was eliminated (I think she stole the show).  All of the performances are fabulous and I loved all of the songs, especially "I'm Not That Smart" by Leaf, "I Speak Six Languages" by Marcy, and "Magic Foot" (which had some great choreography) by William.  I also loved it when Chip came out into the audience selling candy for a fundraiser during the "snack break" (intermission).  I was literally laughing out loud through much of the show.  It is a delightful homage to teenage angst and  I highly recommend it!

Note:  I enjoyed last season at PTC so much that I decided to get a seven-play season ticket this year and I am really looking forward to some of the upcoming productions!