Park City & Deer Valley

Downtown Park City is a place with significant history and not just a place with lots of restaurants, hotels and shops. So if you live in Park City real estate, you need to take some time to really understand the roots of this town in order to fully appreciate being its resident.

The place started as a silver mining town in the late 1860's. A big fire had destroyed hundreds of houses and buildings in 1898. But now, you'll find that the Park City downtown is full of hotels, museums, shops, restaurants and bars. Locals and visitors alike are lively. They walk the streets while enjoying the mountain town atmosphere.

Park City has a total land area of 24.4 square kilometers or 9.4 square miles located at 40°39′34″N 111°29′59″W. It can be accessed through State Route 248(Kearns Boulevard), which heads east of the U.S.; and State Route 224 from Interstate 80 to the north. Route 40 and on to Kamas.

The best way to experience downtown Park City is to appreciate the architectural designs from the turn of the century.

When you have your own Park City real estate, you have access to more than 100 bars and restaurants which are located in the center of the town. The city has varied lifestyle choices that can satisfy your taste.  Shopping is a part of the city experience as there are lots of shops for everyone to go to.

The city has many cultural and annual events like the Sundance Film Festival, FIS Freestyle World Championships, Park City Kimball Arts Festival and Deer Valley Music Festival.  In the summer, you can join in the annual Park City Marathon or in one of the several international biking competitions.

Whether you are looking for Park City real estate from a personal or business perspective, Park City is a city on the rise for it enjoys a strong economy. 

It is not just a great place for skiing and other recreational activities. It's also a great and exciting place to live in.

'Superheroes' and 'Fordson' Among Top Honors

Slamdance has revealed its 2011 Award Winners. The 2011 Slamdance Film Festival, which concluded Thursday with an Awards Ceremony at Treasure Mountain Inn, received a record number of over 5,000 submissions and programmed 83 films this year. 2011 marked the 17th anniversary of the Slamdance Film Festival, one of the few remaining film festivals whose sole mission is to support truly independent works from first-time filmmakers staying true to its mission of "by filmmakers, for filmmakers."

There are three competitive divisions at Slamdance: Grand Jury, Audience Awards and Special Sponsored Awards provided by Kodak, Panasonic, Dos Equis and Good Health. In addition this year Slamdance adds a theatrical distribution award to best feature and short film, offering an alternative to the traditional US theatrical system. Theatrical showings of the winning short and feature program, along with selections from the Grand Jury and Audience Award winning films will be screened in several domestic venues throughout the year, including the IFC Center in New York and 14 Pews in Houston.

As always the Feature competitions are limited to first-time filmmakers working with production budgets of $1 million or less. In addition, this year Slamdance donated 10 percent of its Park City box office proceeds back to the filmmakers.

Slamdance continued to create new avenues for its filmmakers expanding beyond Park City during the festival with the second annual Filmmaker Summit and its exclusive VOD/EST distribution agreement with Microsoft. Slamdance presented the second annual Filmmaker Summit, along with the Ford Foundation, IndieFlix and Banyan Branch, bringing together some of the most innovative thinkers in the industry. Speakers included Scilla Andreen (IndieFlix), Tiffany Shlain (Director: 'Connected', 'Yelp'), Brian Newman (subgenre media), Jenny Samppala (Banyan Branch), Amy Powell ('Paranormal Activity'), Lance Weiler ('Pandemic 1.0'), John Anderson (Variety), Orlando Bagwell (Ford Foundation), and Greg Pak (comic book scribe and filmmaker).

As of opening day at the festival, select Competition Feature Films were made available via Zune video Marketplace as part of this year's Festival and VOD Showcase for the duration of the festival, January 20-27. Select films included narrative features "Modern Imbecile's Planet World," "Snow On Tha Bluff" and "The Beast Pageant;" documentary features "Road Dogs" and "Scrapper," as well as films from previous years' festivals. In addition, opening this week at the IFC Center in New York is past Slamdance Grand Jury Documentary Winner, "Strongman."

"Not every filmmaker is going home with a Sparky award but like never before it seems everyone is a winner at Slamdance. coming together as a community, each of our filmmakers has been empowered by what Slamdance has created this week and in the long run I think this experience will be most useful and rewarding," stated Peter Baxter, Co-founder and President of Slamdance.

The winners of the 17th Annual Slamdance Film Festival and their prize packages are as follows:

Grand Jury Awards

Grand Jury Sparky Award for Best Narrative Film

Winner: "Stranger Things," written and directed by Eleanor Burke and Ron Eyal

Special Jury Mention: "Without," written and directed by Mark Jackson

The Slamdance jury would like to recognize Joslyn Jensen with a special jury award for her creative, nuanced, and moving performance in "Without."

Grand Jury Sparky Award for Best Documentary Film

Winner: "Bhopali," directed by Van Maximillian Carlson

Special Jury Mention: "Forsdson," directed by Rashid Ghazi

The Slamdance jury was moved by this great American story about life, liberty and the pursuit of football.

Grand Jury Sparky Award for Best Animated Short

Winner: "Bottle," written and directed by Kirsten Lepore

Grand Jury Sparky Award for Best Narrative Short

Winner: "Bird," written and directed by Petr Stupin

Special Jury Mention: "Son of None," written and directed by Todd Looby

For its compelling docudrama approach, wonderful lead performance, and stunning final sequence, the Slamdance jury would like to give a special mention to "Son of None."

Grand Jury Sparky Award for Best Documentary Short

Winner: "Oaks," directed by Charles Wittenmeier

Audience Awards

Audience Sparky Award for Best Narrative Film

Winner: "Silver Tongues," written and directed by Simon Arthur

Winner also receives $3500 in Legal Services from Pierce Law Group

Audience Sparky Award for Best Documentary Film

Winner: "Bhopali," directed by Van Maximilian Carlson

Winner also receives $3500 in Legal Services from Pierce Law Group

Spirit of Slamdance Sparky Award

Winner: "Shunka," directed by CJ Gardella

Awarded by the Class of 2011 filmmakers to the film teams that best embodies the spirit of the festival, creatively promoting their film, joyfully participating in screenings and events, as well as showing exceptional talent as an artist. Sponsored by Good Health.

Sponsored Awards

Kodak Vision Award for Best Cinematography

Winner: "Shunka," directed by CJ Gardella

Winner also receives 10,000 feet of Kodak film for the filmmaker to make their next feature

Panasonic AF100 Award for Best "Road To Park City" Short Film Award

Winner: "The Road to Park City is Paved with Artists," written and directed by Kevin Brennan and Doug Manley

Director of Photgraphy, Louis Holland

Slamdance / Adobe Re-cut Competition Award

Winner: Nelson Vunda

Slamdance Theatrical Release Offer Award

Feature Winner: "Superheroes," directed by Michael Barnett; written by Michael Barnett & Theodore James

Short Winner: "Hello Caller," directed by Andrew Putschoegl; written by Tom Lenk

Slamdance 2011 received a record number of over 5,000 submissions. Slamdance Film Festival, presented by Kodak, ran concurrently with the Sundance Film Festival, January 21-27, 2011 in Park City, Utah. For more information, log onto www.slamdance.com and follow Slamdance on Twitter and Facebook.

submitted by Slamdance : The Park Record

For More Information on Park City and Deer Valley Contact:
Michael Lapay
Prudential Utah Real Estate
Mobile: 435-640-5700
Toll Free: 888-410-7653

mlapay@pureparkcityrealestate.com

Festival Gives Filmmakers Much-Needed Feedback

Slamdance 2011 has been a success.

So said the film festival's president and co-founder Peter Baxter during an interview Thursday with The Park Record.

"Attendance this year has been excellent," he said. "I heard Park City has been less busy compared to last year, but we haven't felt it. Most of the screenings have been sold out, and everyone, filmmakers and audiences who have come by this year have had a great experiences."

One of the draws to this year's festival was the quality and topics of the documentary competition films, Baxter said.

"The Dramatic competition has been strong, but what is interesting this year is the fact the documentary program continues to create audience excitement," he said. "A number of documentaries have stood out to be very strong in terms of audience reaction."

The most-notable was Michael Barnett's "Superheroes," which follows real-life, citizens who donned their bullet-proof costumes, masks and helmets and take to the streets to fight or deter crime.

"The film got a lot attention and sparked people's imagination, both on the street and certainly here at the screenings," Baxter said. "I would expect the film to be an audience favorite in the theatres later on this year."

From a social aspect, the film "Fordson: Faith, Fasting, Football," directed by Rashid Ghazi, was a hot item because of its subject matter High school football and the Muslim religion.

"This is a fascinating film that centers around American high school football at Fordson High School where all the players on the team are Muslim," Baxter said. "The reaction has been tremendous because we all see in this film that, as Americans, we really do all want similar things in our lives. Regardless of our background, our goals and wants are similar if not the same."

Among Slamdance's international films, Baxter cited Van Maximilian Carlson's ""Bhopali" as a standout. The film looks at the second generation of children affected by the Union Carbide gas tragedy of 1984, where thousands of people died after exposure to leaking methyl isocyanate.

"It showed how a community and environment in India is still coming out of the tragedy," Baxter said. "This has to do with a lot of what's on people's mind now with their own environments and how we must protect it."

Those are only three examples of the quality of films that premiered at Slamdance 2011, Baxter said.

"I have to say, if you look at every feature in competition, each has been able to spark something in and unto itself, which has made this year quite special," he said. "With independent filmmakers taking a more do-it-yourself approach to promoting, marketing and distributing their films, having Slamdance continue in Park City is very special and important to us.

"When people in Park City go and see Slamdance films and meet the filmmakers, it creates the momentum and belief that the filmmaker can make a successful and popular film after being alone for so long I the filmmaking process."

Slamdance 2011 culminated with the award announcements Thursday evening.

by Scott Iwasaki OF THE RECORD STAFF : The Park Record

For More Information on Park City and Deer Valley Contact:
Michael Lapay
Prudential Utah Real Estate
Mobile: 435-640-5700
Toll Free: 888-410-7653

mlapay@pureparkcityrealestate.com

Kamas Event Highlighted Summit County Foods & Products

Fall is a time for chunky sweaters, brisk walks through crunchy leaves and pumpkin-flavored, well, anything. If you feel like the season is slipping by without the necessary indulgences, the Harvest Fest at High Star Ranch in Kamas gave you your fall fix.

The event, sponsored by Recycle Utah and the Uinta Headwaters RC&D Council, featured local food and drinks, dancing, live bluegrass music, animal displays, crafts and kids' activities. Admission was free and open to the public.

According to Recycle Utah Executive Director Insa Riepen, who created the event with Michelle Devaney of the Uinta Headwaters RC&D Council, the Harvest Fest is a farmers' market-slash-county fair with a strictly local focus.

"This event was the first of its kind," she said. "We were trying to promote all things Summit County. Where else can you get Summit County beef and pork sausages and also go straight to the source and buy a cow or piglet?"

The festival was geared toward locavores, or people who pay attention to where food comes from and commit to eating local food whenever possible. It provided an opportunity for people to learn which foods are produced in Summit County and where local products are available.

"Understanding the importance of growing and buying local is something that is crucial in creating more sustainable and profitable communities," Riepen says. "We were hoping to highlight what we have in Summit County already and to also point out what we don't have."

Food offerings ran the gamut from fresh produce to meat and dairy products to baked goods. In addition to local farmers and growers, restaurants including Gateway Grill and Done to Your Taste Catering were on hand to provide tasty treats. Locally brewed beer and coffee was served, with a portion of proceeds from beer sales benefiting Recycle Utah.

Aside from sampling the smorgasbord, guests had the opportunity to browse local crafts, engage in line dancing and clogging lessons, and enjoy a variety of kids' activities including potato-sack races, egg-toss competitions and hula-hoop contests.

Students from Kamas' Future Farmers of America (FFA) program were slated to set up farm animal displays and local alpaca ranchers were on hand to provide information about their trade.

Participation in the Harvest Fest was limited to vendors and farmers based in Summit County, and people from every area were involved. "It's time for the West to meet the East and vice versa," Riepen says.

The event was designed to be eco-friendly and waste-free, Riepen notes. Guests were encouraged to bring their own water bottles and refill as needed at the water station.

High Star Ranch is located along State Route 32 north of Kamas. For more information about the Harvest Fest, visit www.recycleutah.org or call 649-9698.

by Alisha Self OF THE RECORD STAFF : The Park Record

For More Information on Park City and Deer Valley Contact:
Michael Lapay
Prudential Utah Real Estate
Mobile: 435-640-5700
Toll Free: 888-410-7653

mlapay@pureparkcityrealestate.com

Canyons Regular, U of U Student & Freestyle Skier Extraordinaire

Produces All-Female Ski Video

Grete Eliassen has made a living walking on air.

So, what does a woman who rides down a mountain at 61 miles per hour and soars 31 feet into the air do when she's not winning medals at the Winter X Games?

Well, for one thing, she's studying to obtain her Bachelor of Science in business management from the University of Utah.

But the 24-year-old professional freestyle skier wanted something more.

An avid skier at Park City Mountain Resort and The Canyons, Eliassen felt she needed to do something that would leave her mark on the sport on a long-term basis.

She made a ski film featuring a cast of all-female skiers, which is a landmark achievement in the extreme sports film industry. It is one of the first films with an all-female cast.

"It's always been a dream of mine," Eliassen said. "I've always wanted to make a movie about skiing."

Eliassen, along with the cast and crew, produced the film over a period of two years. The film, "Say My Name," debuted last week in Los Angeles at the Red Bull headquarters.

On October 4th, 2010, the film was made available for purchase on iTunes, and Eliassen is beginning to see the fruits of her labor.

"The dream has never been just to throw out content," Eliassen said. "It's about getting better and watching and taking advantage of we really wanted to do with this."

The film, which was shot primarily in the Wasatch backcountry, also includes footage in the nation's capitol, as Eliassen and her female co-stars trekked out to Washington DC, to partake in the historic snowstorm that hit last winter.

"It was awesome out there," she said. "It was totally different, but so cool."

Eliassen was recently designated on the Action Sports portion of ESPN.com website as the "Best Female Performance in a Leading Role" for her role in the film and has been receiving praise for her job on the project.

Skiing is something that the up-and-coming star was familiar with even at a young age.

Eliassen grew up in Minnesota. Born to an American mother and a Norwegian father, she put on her first pair of skis at age two, and eventually moved to Norway at the age of 13 where her affinity with the sport really took off.

While living in Norway, Eliassen took Winter X Games gold in the halfpipe two years in a row in 2005 and 2006. She later earned a three-peat at the U.S. Open halfpipe competition, winning in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

In 2007, she won a $25,000 prize at Whistler's "Üllr Girl" competition. The competition consisted of four components: A big-mountain competition held in bounds at Whistler, along with a parks and halfpipe run and concluded with an arts element such as photography, film, art or music that each rider chose.

Grete donated all of it to charities such as the Women's Sports Foundation, and Stand Strong Again, a charity based for athletes with spinal-cord injuries.

Eliassen has twice traveled to Afghanistan on goodwill trips with fellow snow athletes to support troops in combat.

The state of Utah had always intrigued her, though.

She figured if she moved to Utah, she'd be able to get an education while being 15 minutes away from four or five top-notch resorts.

"It was the best option," she said. "It's the most convenient spot."

She has been a summer and fall semester student at Utah, taking off spring semesters to ski and travel.

This April, Grete etched her name into the record books; maybe permanently.

Eliassen eclipsed the Hip Jump World Record at the Canyons. After being approached by the resort and Red Bull, she decided she wanted to give it a shot.

A hip jump is jump designed to reach maximum height. The rider goes up off a straight jump and comes down on the left side.

Reaching speeds of 61 miles per hour is not for the faint of heart, especially considering she was preparing to hit the custom 30-foot hip jump.

"It was noticeably different," she said. "I had never gone that big. Ever. I hit (the jump) 10 times a day for two days before getting 31 feet.

"I wanted to go the biggest any girl ever has before."

She said she fell once after one of her skis caught an edge of the lip on the jump and became dislodged.

"It was scary," she said.

Eliassen's dream has been played out the way she planned, and she couldn't be more energized about it.

"(The film) works for women's skiing, for women who want to go out and hit a cliff for the first time," she said. "It's all about progressing the sport of women's skiing."

Grete's film, which continues to receive buzz in the extreme sports realm, will pave the path for her to work on more projects later on.

"It's a unique opportunity," she said.

As for staying around the Wasatch Front, Eliassen put her signature in cement.

"Ski-wise, I want to stay here for the rest of my life. I'm addicted to the Utah snow," she said.

by Jay Hamburger OF THE RECORD STAFF : The Park Record

For More Information on Park City and Deer Valley Contact:
Michael Lapay
Prudential Utah Real Estate
Mobile: 435-640-5700
Toll Free: 888-410-7653

mlapay@pureparkcityrealestate.com