City plans days of free fun and entertainment
By Diane Urbani
Deseret News staff writer
Published: Thursday, Jan. 31, 2002 12:14 p.m. MST
The Beach Boys will bring some much-needed sunshine to Washington Square the first Saturday of the Olympics during Salt Lake City's free, all-day-and-most-of-the-night festival.
The Olympic torch will fire up the festivities next Thursday night. It's scheduled to arrive at the City-County Building at 10:06 p.m.
"People are urged to come early," mayor's spokesman Josh Ewing said. "If they come at 10, there won't be a spot for them." A throng of 35,000 is expected on torch night.
The Salt Lake Organizing Committee is planning the torch party, but after that the place will belong to Utah-based bands, dancers and singers again. The free entertainment "is our chance to showcase the openness, diversity, culture and talent of our community," said Mayor Rocky Anderson. "It's for the people who may not be able to afford tickets to sporting events or who didn't have time to wait in line at Smith'sTix" for Medals Plaza wristbands.
The city's epic party features dozens of performing groups, from Salsa Brava and Soul Patrol to GiGi Love, Voice Male and Samba Solstice. Tongan, Bosnian, Cajun, Motown, mariachi and Chicago blues musicians will mix on the square, from 10:30 a.m. until 1 a.m. nearly every day of the Olympics. The only shortened days will be Feb. 8 and 24 when the downtown festival will run from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m.
The Beach Boys are slated for 3 p.m. Feb. 9, and will be followed that evening by rocker GiGi Love at 6:30 p.m.; the Saltaires show choir at 7:45 p.m., and Salsa Brava from 10:15 p.m. until closing time. The next day, Sunday, dawns with pianist Fiona Adeline Smith, the New Orleans Spirituals gospel group, and in the evening, the Saliva Sisters and Insatiable.
A complete schedule of downtown festival performers is on www.slcgov.com/Olympics.
The 18 days of Olympic revelry culminate the mayor and City Council's yearlong debates over whether and how to serve alcohol in the city's front yard. Anderson joked about running a mayor's hot-toddy stand at the downtown festival — and while he'll probably be busy at other venues or stuck in traffic, other vendors will offer hot buttered rum, hot brandy and mulled wine, beer, soft drinks and cafeteria-style food inside two heated tents.
There also will be jumbo video screens on the square, so festivalgoers can watch Olympic competitions, medals ceremonies and probably a snippet of that night's Medals Plaza concert on NBC's "Tonight Show."
The mayor, however, hopes downtown partygoers won't be glued to the TV. The city festival is "giving us all a chance to mingle with visitors from around the world," Anderson said. And a lot of those "visitors" are now Utahns who'll give performances at the downtown festival: The 2002 Festival of India, Japanese Church of Christ, Polynesian Association of Utah, the Utah Scottish Association, the Peruvian Club and the Greek Orthodox Church are among the groups who will appear on Washington Square.
A multimedia center with an enormous photo mosaic of pictures taken by children, a small Internet cafe and a karaoke booth will also be set up, alongside the restored "Avenging Angel" movie set, which gives one side of the square an Old West look.
Free shuttle buses will transport people from all over Salt Lake City to the square. Liberty Park, Sugarhouse Park and the 1575 S. State campus of Salt Lake Community College are a few of the park-and-ride lots served by the buses, and more details are on www.utahcommuterlink.com.
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E-mail: durbani@desnews.com
© 2009 Deseret News Publishing Company | All rights reserved
By Diane Urbani
Deseret News staff writer
Published: Thursday, Jan. 31, 2002 12:14 p.m. MST
The Beach Boys will bring some much-needed sunshine to Washington Square the first Saturday of the Olympics during Salt Lake City's free, all-day-and-most-of-the-night festival.
The Olympic torch will fire up the festivities next Thursday night. It's scheduled to arrive at the City-County Building at 10:06 p.m.
"People are urged to come early," mayor's spokesman Josh Ewing said. "If they come at 10, there won't be a spot for them." A throng of 35,000 is expected on torch night.
The Salt Lake Organizing Committee is planning the torch party, but after that the place will belong to Utah-based bands, dancers and singers again. The free entertainment "is our chance to showcase the openness, diversity, culture and talent of our community," said Mayor Rocky Anderson. "It's for the people who may not be able to afford tickets to sporting events or who didn't have time to wait in line at Smith'sTix" for Medals Plaza wristbands.
The city's epic party features dozens of performing groups, from Salsa Brava and Soul Patrol to GiGi Love, Voice Male and Samba Solstice. Tongan, Bosnian, Cajun, Motown, mariachi and Chicago blues musicians will mix on the square, from 10:30 a.m. until 1 a.m. nearly every day of the Olympics. The only shortened days will be Feb. 8 and 24 when the downtown festival will run from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m.
The Beach Boys are slated for 3 p.m. Feb. 9, and will be followed that evening by rocker GiGi Love at 6:30 p.m.; the Saltaires show choir at 7:45 p.m., and Salsa Brava from 10:15 p.m. until closing time. The next day, Sunday, dawns with pianist Fiona Adeline Smith, the New Orleans Spirituals gospel group, and in the evening, the Saliva Sisters and Insatiable.
A complete schedule of downtown festival performers is on www.slcgov.com/Olympics.
The 18 days of Olympic revelry culminate the mayor and City Council's yearlong debates over whether and how to serve alcohol in the city's front yard. Anderson joked about running a mayor's hot-toddy stand at the downtown festival — and while he'll probably be busy at other venues or stuck in traffic, other vendors will offer hot buttered rum, hot brandy and mulled wine, beer, soft drinks and cafeteria-style food inside two heated tents.
There also will be jumbo video screens on the square, so festivalgoers can watch Olympic competitions, medals ceremonies and probably a snippet of that night's Medals Plaza concert on NBC's "Tonight Show."
The mayor, however, hopes downtown partygoers won't be glued to the TV. The city festival is "giving us all a chance to mingle with visitors from around the world," Anderson said. And a lot of those "visitors" are now Utahns who'll give performances at the downtown festival: The 2002 Festival of India, Japanese Church of Christ, Polynesian Association of Utah, the Utah Scottish Association, the Peruvian Club and the Greek Orthodox Church are among the groups who will appear on Washington Square.
A multimedia center with an enormous photo mosaic of pictures taken by children, a small Internet cafe and a karaoke booth will also be set up, alongside the restored "Avenging Angel" movie set, which gives one side of the square an Old West look.
Free shuttle buses will transport people from all over Salt Lake City to the square. Liberty Park, Sugarhouse Park and the 1575 S. State campus of Salt Lake Community College are a few of the park-and-ride lots served by the buses, and more details are on www.utahcommuterlink.com.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E-mail: durbani@desnews.com
© 2009 Deseret News Publishing Company | All rights reserved
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