SUMMER IN PARK CITY
Park City, Utah, has long been known as a winter destination. From world-class skiing to the acclaimed Sundance Film Festival in January, this quaint mountain community is brimming with tourists, locals and part-time residents during the colder months. Park City’s summer season, however, now rivals what was once this historic mining community’s tourism peak. As the temperatures rise and the snow melts from the mountain, outdoor enthusiasts replace their skis and snowshoes with hiking boots and mountain bikes and hit the 400-plus miles of public trails. Deer Valley, Park City Mountain and Canyons ski resorts even offer lift service for bikers. Park City is also known for its flyfishing, water sports, hot air ballooning, horseback riding and easy access to 15 idyllic golf courses. Mild summer temperatures due to the city’s high elevation create an ideal environment for its abundance of outdoor activities. Visitors who are drawn to Park City for outdoor recreation may be surprised by what else the city has to offer. Arts and culture is an increasingly strong point for this community and, in addition to outdoor tourism, attracts a demographic of its own. Art collectors, artists and art enthusiasts from Utah and around the country come to Park City for its year-round gallery stroll, film series, festivals, theater performances, concerts and more.
“It’s a mountain community, it’s a ski community, but arts are the other anchor,” says Jory Macomber, executive director of the Kimball Art Center. “The more we can become an arts destination in the fall, spring and summer, the better it is for everybody.” The Kimball Art Center plays an important role in this mission as it hosts the defining and biggest event of the summer. The
Kimball Arts Festival brings in national artists for a juried competition and fair that stretches down historic Main Street. Out of nearly 1,000 applicants, 220 artists are chosen to participate and sell their work during the festival. Attendance reaches over 50,000 Utah and out-ofstate visitors during the course of the event, which takes places annually in early August.
According to Macomber, the three-day art festival compares favorably with three days of attendance during the Sundance Film Festival and continues to rise