As the weather warms, people are heading out, to the fields and trails, looking for ways to enjoy the sun. And while Summit County already has much to offer from rock-strewn mountains and clear reservoirs to public parks and sidewalk shopping Park City is always looking to add to its attractions.

The Park City Public Art Advisory Board is responsible, in part, for deciding how City Hall does that. As the group enters its third year, the organization can point to a pair of accomplishments around the city, including the decorated bus stops and the new Park City Sound Garden. But since that attraction opened in August, the Art Advisory Board has avoided the spotlight, working instead behind the scenes.

"We're kind of finishing up some projects," said board chairman Ron Butkovich.

The eight-member group, he said, is currently finalizing plans for the signs and plaques at the newly redecorated bus stops and the Sound Garden, while at the same time approving the finishing touches on those structures and figuring out which projects to tackle next.

According to Butkovich, the group's next project will be a group of installations called "Sound Treasures."

"Those are four more installations that are similar to the Sound Garden," explained Art Advisory Board member Julie Hopkins, "but instead of putting them down in a cluster, they're going placed along a trail in a linear fashion."

The Sound Treasures, Hopkins added, have been privately funded by an anonymous donor. She said the board will finalize project's location which will likely be in the eastern portion of Park City proper pending its approval. There is no set timetable for the project's completion.

"We're just trying to get everybody's ducks in a row," said Butkovich.

In addition to the Sound Treasures, the board is also working on installing some other works around town. In the near future the group will fund two additions to the seven sculptures representing seven of the nine muses in Greek mythology installed at the south end of the Old Town transit center.

According to Hopkins, the city only had the funding to build seven sculptures when they were installed after the completion of the transit center.

"We're going to use the public art board budget to fund the last two," Hopkins said.

The two muses to be built will be Euterpe, the muse of music and Melpomene, muse of tragedy. The seven sculptures already constructed represent Urania, Thalia, Clio Terpsichore, Erato, Polyhymnia, and Calliope the muses of astronomy, comedy, history, dance, romantic poetry, sacred poetry and epic poetry. The final two sculptures would complete the group.

The Art Advisory Board will also be working to install some more practical works of art.

"We're going to partner with the Parks and Recreation board to get some benches and bike racks designed," Butkovich said.

"Bike racks and benches are two of the priorities right now," said Hopkins.

The board is preparing to send out a request for proposals (RFP) for colorful, creative and artistically designed bike racks, park benches and trashcans.

"They've got some in Salt Lake [City] that are fun shapes and colors," noted Butkovich.

Hopkins said the board is waiting to finalize the dimensions of the pieces. When that happens, the group will announce the official RFP. In the meantime, though, the group will see some changes. The board's June 14 meeting will be the last for four of the seven regular board members (the eighth is city liaison Sharon Bauman), so between now and June 1, the board is seeking applications from Parkites interested in joining the group.

The group meets on the second Wednesday of each month from 5-7 p.m. at the Miners Hospital. Hopkins said applications are available at www.parkcity.org or at City Hall. The Park City Council, which oversees the board, will interview applicants after the June 1 deadline.

"We'd love [for] people to apply," said Hopkins, "and it's such an awesome board to be a part of."

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When the Friends of the Farm holds its annual membership meeting next Saturday, May 20, at the McPolin Farm, the quilt show will doubtlessly be the most colorful part of the afternoon, but the textiles won't be the only things to take center stage for the afternoon.

The event will also feature a lecture about the history of the McPolin Farm from Park City Historical Society researcher Hal Compton, along with an opportunity to see some of the improvements made at the farm in the past year.

"There are three buildings that have had extensive interior work," Friends of the Farm board of trustees president Lola Beatlebrox said.

Last spring, the Friends of the Farm refurbished the tool shed with vintage tools, including many from the McPolin family. Since then, the group has also redone two other buildings on the property. The bunk house now has cots and a wood-burning stove, mirroring the simple manner in which the farmhands would have lived, and the main house, which is a recently built replica of one that burned down in the 1950s, has been partially redecorated to match how it might have looked in the 1940s. The house should be fully redecorated by the end of the summer.

The exhibits are currently on display at the farm and will remain available for viewing throughout the year.

"If I want to emphasize anything, it's these ongoing exhibits," Beatlebrox said, "because I don't think everyone knows they're there."

In addition to the building exhibits, the lecture and the quilts, the Friends of the Farm will have volunteers with information about the nonprofit, along with opportunities to become a member of the organization.

In the coming months, Beatlebrox said the friends hope to host more events at the farm.

But, she assured, like the quilt show, everything the Friends host or present will adhere to the City Hall permit regulating events at the venue. So after the quilts accompany the friends' meeting this weekend, Parkites should expect more activities in the farm's future.

"This is a new partnership and a new chapter," said Beatlebrox about the quilt show. "We're going to be looking at more things to do."

Friends of the Farm membership dues are $15 for individuals and $25 for families. Proceeds help defray costs of farm improvements and events. To join, send a check to the Friends of the Farm, Attn: Denise, P.O. Box 1480, Park City, UT 84060.

The post Friends’ meeting to highlight historical exhibits appeared first on Park Record.

This year, for the first time, online travel agency Travelocity is a sponsor of the festival, contributing thousands of dollars in advertisements to the festival.

The Kimball hopes it can translate those dollars into new visitors. While the Arts Festival has long drawn tens of thousands of visitors from around the Wasatch Front, this year, the event is aiming for a bigger crowd. While some familiar names, like the Ken Garff Automotive Group, remain sponsors of the festival, there are also more nationally known names, like Travelocity, that are part of the Arts Festival's quest for greater exposure.

Susan Thomas, public relations director at the Kimball, was planning the Arts Festival's advertising campaign when she came across Travelocity. Trying to find where she should place ads, she called the company after talking to a number of local and regional organizations, including the Park City Chamber/Bureau and Ski Utah.

"I kind of just took everybody's ad plans and figured out where the best place is to spend the money," Thomas said.

One of the organizations she talked to was the Salt Lake City Convention and Visitors Bureau, which has a partnership with Travelocity. When Thomas called Travelocity, the company offered her a partnership.

In return for a sponsorship, Travelocity agreed to give the Kimball $28,000 worth of advertising on the company's Web site. The Arts Festival's presence on Travelocity will include online ads, flight and hotel packages, and a special Arts Festival site.

"I would like to think it's going to bring more people from out of state here," Thomas said.

In addition to the Travelocity package, Thomas said the organization has also obtained $45,000 for advertising from the Utah Tourism Board, the Park City Chamber/Bureau and the Summit County Restaurant Tax.

With that money and with the Travelocity campaign, the Kimball is targeting several areas, including San Diego, Southern California, Arizona, Nevada and Jackson, Wyo. According to Thomas, another big-name sponsor of the Arts Festival, Tesoro, is including Arts Festival advertisements in the company's radio campaign in Utah, Idaho and Wyoming.

The organizers want to make the Arts Festival a premier national event, drawing bigger crowds and a more diverse collection of artists to Park City.

"I'm so looking forward to seeing the benefits these tourism marketing dollars will bring," Thomas said.

The Park City Kimball Arts Festival will run Aug. 5-6, 2006 on Main Street in Park City.

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A new showcase for independent film made its debut in Park City this past weekend. But it had nothing to do with the Sundance Institute, and everything to do with the locals. The New Reel Short Film Competition came to town courtesy of the Park City Film Series, bringing a variety of films and filmmakers to the screen at the Santy Auditorium.

Friday night, the event featured 11 films from Park City High School students, with entries ranging from the cleverly shot, 3-minute rap video "It's Nuthin," directed by Spencer Stuard, to the existential cinema of "Squab," a short film about a pair of friends trying to regain a piece of their past childhood.

Throughout the evening, each of the films that screened brought its own crowd, with viewers filing in to clap and cheer. That kept the atmosphere light and gave the screenings a sense of urgency.

"I think I was very happy and surprised with the student films," said Park City Film Series executive director Frank Normile.

"I'm just very proud of all the kids," said Chris Maddux, the media technology and filmmaking instructor at Park City High School.

In an ultimately unexpected turn, films from PCHS students captured not only first three spots in the student competition, but also the first spot in the adult competition. "Forget About It" shot and written by Park City senior Spencer Stuard took the top honors after the judges decided to move the film from the student division to the adult one.

"The judges thought it was a head and shoulders above everything else," said Normile.

"I was really pleased with Spencer Stuard," said Maddux.

For his part, the young filmmaker who, at 18, initially fit with the student category didn't even know his film had been switched to the new category. His film screened Friday night with those of his friends, but while his peers' works won the awards announced at the end of the night, Stuard was left empty-handed.

"I had no idea," Stuard explained, "until the following night."

Then he saw his film screen with the rest of the adult pieces and realized what was happening. His first place finish was announced after the screenings on Saturday.

"It was a huge honor," said Stuard.

In the student category, for those 18 and younger, "The Tell-Tale Heart," directed by Jake Topkis, took first, while "Bored," a comedy by Brad Douglas about boredom, took second and "Squab," by Connor Long and Joseph Amici, took third.

Among the adults, Stuard took first with "Forget About It," which was directed by James Bereece. Second went to "Innocence Lost," by Ben Rosch and third was a rock 'n' roll documentary, "Blessid Union of Souls: I Still Believe," by Todd Hougaard.

First-place winners in each category took home checks for $600, while second-place finishers took home $300 and those in third place received $100 each.

Perhaps the biggest differences between the categories, Normile noted, came with the styles. While many of the adults focused on documentary subjects and storytelling. The students focused on less linear, more stylistic narratives.

"The adults are more Ken Burns," said Normile. "The kids, they're more Quentin Tarantino."

Maddux said the students put in the work to succeed with their projects. Because of that, he said he wasn't surprised with their success.

"I know how much time and effort [they put into the projects] and how meticulous they were with the productions," he noted.

"The high school is obviously producing some great, great students in film," said Normile.

For his part, Stuard, who also won the top prize at the White Room winter sports film festival in December, credited Maddux with the high school students' filmmaking prowess.

"Park City continues to amaze me with the films people produce," said Stuard. "I think he has drawn a lot of interest."

Stuard speaks from a position of relative authority. In addition to working as the cinematographer and writing "Forget About It," and directing "It's Nuthin" he also did extensive work on two of the other films in the festival, participating as the cinematographer and producer of the surreal "Last Day of Winter" and shooting and directing the ski film, "Kidz."

Stuard said he is focusing on cinematography, although, he noted, he's doing his best to do as much as he can in hopes of finding a way to make a living in filmmaking.

"I definitely want to do it as a career," he said.

In keeping with that goal, he plans to attend Chapman University to study film this fall, and in the meantime, he's looking for investors to help him turn a few of his scripts into movies.

Normile said he was happy to see the New Reel Competition exposing talented filmmakers both student and adult and fostering further growth in Park City's filmmaking community.

"You see, so many people in town are involved in this," he said.

And while the Sundance Film Festival, with its Hollywood stars and well-known films, will likely remain the most significant purveyor of independent film in town, Normile noted that independent film is, at a local, grass-roots level, becoming increasingly ingrained in Park City's fabric.

"People want to make films," said Normile. "It's pervasive, and persuasive."

The post Student filmmakers highlight New Reel Comp appeared first on Park Record.

When the Kimball Art Center announced the lineup for its summer classes last week, a few new opportunities appeared on the schedule.

Among the offerings are combined classes for adults and children, paired classes for adults and children, a series of drawing courses and a new class with Spy Hop Productions.

"We're trying to expand," said Kimball Art Center education coordinator Annie Kennedy. "People are asking for summer classes."

In addition to offering another beginners filmmaking class with Spy Hop after the first this past spring the Kimball will call in the Salt Lake City media education nonprofit to offer an intermediate filmmaking class in July.

With a film made by the spring filmmaking class and a couple of new movies on the way, the Kimball might have enough pieces to present a mini festival later this summer.

"I'm hoping that we'll have three films we can screen at the Arts Festival," said Kennedy.

While those works of art will be some rather public results from the Kimball's classes, most of the rest will go home to grace the walls and refrigerators of students of all ages. Among those courses the two newest categories are the adult and child combined classes and the adult and child paired classes.

The combined classes offer a chance for parents to take a class with their children, while the paired classes will allow parents to take one class while their children take another.

The slate of combined classes includes two Wheel Thrown Ceramics classes for parents and children nine and older and a class called Making Memories for parents and children from ages three to seven.

"A lot of people asked me about taking classes with their kids," said Kennedy.

She said the Kimball decided to program the paired classes so parents can take classes without worrying about childcare.

The pairs will include a Kids' Drawing and Adult Ceramics, Kids' Jewelry Making and Adult Jewelry Making, and Kids' Clay and Adult Drawing.

Meanwhile, the drawing series will offer two different drawing classes children, one for kids ages four to seven and one for youth ages eight to 12. At the same time, the art center will have two adult drawing classes, including an introductory course and a figure drawing course.

Kennedy said the adult classes were made to help art students looking to improve their skills and for adults with a simple interest in drawing.

"A lot of kids need portfolio design and drawing is the most basic technical skill," she noted.

One other course will cover some other artistic basics. Art 101 will be the single new entry among the adult classes.

"It's sort of a survey of all the artistic mediums, and it includes art history," Kennedy said.

The class, she noted will cover everything from painting to drawing and printmaking, along with mediums like collage, photography and sculpture. Anyone interested in learning more about art or working with a variety of media might be interested, she added.

For those looking for more in-depth skills the Kimball also has four other classes for adults Sculptural Welding, Oil Painting, Watercolor Painting and Introduction to Photography.

Kennedy said that from the classic adult offerings to the newest youth filmmaking classes, the Kimball is working to expand its slate of educational offerings.

"We're constantly building program," she said, "and I'm really excited about this."

Those interested can sign-up online or at the Kimball. Kennedy noted that, even if a particular class doesn't show up on the summer list, the art center still offers classes on demand one-time lessons about specific subjects.

"As long as we have a minimum of six students, we can do that," she said.

But with the Kimball's ever-expanding list of classes, fewer should have to take that option. The art center is offering more and more opportunities for education, and according to Kennedy, the organization will do so as long as it can find enough students.

For now though, Kennedy said she is focused on the art center's current offerings.

"I think" she said, "we have a great lineup."

For a full schedule of Kimball classes or to sign up, stop by the art center, visit www.kimball-art.org or call 649-9014.

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Recycle Utah is getting ready for a big weekend with a variety of events. Fittingly enough, from garage sales to movie screenings, all aim to help the environment.

First will come a pair of movie screenings this Thursday at the Jim Santy Auditorium, when the organization joins the Park City Film Series to present the short film, "Kilowatt Ours," about the sources of America's energy, and "Nobelity," a feature-length documentary featuring a look at the world's problems through the eyes of a group of Nobel laureates.

"It's enjoyable viewing and it's educational," said film series executive director Frank Normile.

The films, which will screen as a belated part of Recycle Utah's Earth Day celebration and will signal start a weekend of events for the organization.

Saturday, the nonprofit will host a pair of events starting with a community garage sale from 8 a.m. noon, and concluding from 1-4 p.m. with Art Attack, Recycle Utah's annual program with Arts-Kids.

While, with its ongoing Good Wood project, Recycle Utah already offers opportunities for Parkites to recycle tables, chairs, lumber and old appliances, the garage sale will give people a chance to dispose of additional items like clothing, textiles and other housewares.

Those interested in donating items for the sale simply need to drop them off at Recycle Utah's facility on Woodbine Way.

Recycle Utah staffer Lola Beatlebrox said the sale is perfect for anyone in the throes of spring cleaning, particularly those who don't want to hold garage sales of their own.

"All they need to do is bring their items here," noted Beatlebrox.

The organization will accept goods all week long. Items should be in useable condition. All donations are tax-deductible.

At the sale, everything will be available to the public for garage-sale prices. Proceeds from the items sold will go toward Recycle Utah's operating budget, and in keeping with the organization's mission, any items purchased will stay out of the trash.

"We want to keep the landfills as slim as possible," said Beatlebrox.

In the afternoon, Art Attack will use a different method to accomplish a similar task. The event, which pairs Arts-Kids with Recycle Utah, gives kids a chance to create works of art from recycled materials.

"You take things that would go into the landfill and turn them into art," said Beatlebrox.

Creations, she said, range from wire sculptures to fish with compact disc-scales and old chairs and lampshades painted a whole rainbow of colors.

"It's really very cool," said Arts-Kids program director Pat Drewry Sanger.

The event will be open to all kids in the community. Those interested should simply come prepared to do some painting and creating. Recycle Utah volunteers Greta Andrieni and Sheri Russell will join Park City artists Paul Jakubowski and Bill Kranstover to help the young participants.

The afternoon will follow the same pattern as Arts-Kids' regular after-school programs, with artists offering their expertise and creativity to help the children express themselves.

Sanger said Art Attrack is entering its third year.

"The idea was to do something that would just be fun to bring families out," she said.

The event will also include face painting for children and a chance for parents to become members of Recycle Utah.

Beatlebrox said she is excited about the event. Seeing what the kids decide to make, she noted, is always interesting.

"It is," she said, "a really good thing."

"Kilowatt Ours" and "Nobelity" will both screen Thursday, May 18 at 7 p.m. in the Jim Santy Auditorium, the event is free and open to the public. Recycle Utah's community garage sale will run Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon, while Art Attack runs from 1-4 p.m. the same day. Both events are free and open to all. For more information, visit www.recycleutah.org or call 649-9698.

The post Recycle Utah readies for big weekend appeared first on Park Record.

A walk around the McPolin Farm can evoke memories of the past, images of a Park City that made its living from the hills and fields surrounding the town.

The farm is a reminder Park City's early-century tradition as a small rural town shipping minerals and milk down the canyon to Salt Lake City. And while the memories of those times are always present in the farm's fields and buildings, next weekend, they may ring even truer with an added dash of color. Saturday, May 20, from 2-4 p.m., Park City's local quilting guild, the Silver Queen Quilters, will join with the Friends of the Farm to present a quilt show at the farm, filling the machine shed and, weather permitting, the farm yard with nearly 100 multi-hued creations.

The show will run in conjunction with the Friends of the Farm's annual membership meeting. Silver Queen Quilter Linda Thomas said she approached the friends to see about using the venue. Lola Beatlebrox, president of the Friends of the Farm board of trustees, said the quilt show could add another dimension to the organization's meeting.

"We like to combine lots of fun and lots of history with our membership meeting," she noted.

"We are so thrilled about doing it at the farm in conjunction with The Friends' annual meeting, because it's just a choice location," Thomas said.

The quilters were happy to have the venue, which seemed to match their creations so well, she added.

Beatlebrox agreed.

"The board felt that this synergy between the two groups presented a unique opportunity," she said.

The quilts on display are the creations of the Silver Queen Quilters' members.

"We have a very small guild of 12 or 15 people in Park City," said the group's president, Melba Willard, "but they make a lot of quilts."

A local nonprofit associated with the Utah Quilt Guild, the Silver Queen Quilters is a group dedicated to helping quilters and those interested in quilting in the Park City area.

The organization holds meetings, which are open to the public, on the third Tuesday of each month. The meetings feature educational seminars and chances for networking, along with opportunities for new members to get together with other quilters. At the meetings, the group also organizes its charitable efforts. In addition to facilitating its members in their quilting, the organization also makes quilts to donate to other nonprofits, like the Peace House and the Children's Justice Center.

Most recently, the group created a quilt to donate to the Friends of the Farm. A "log cabin quilt," the piece features a traditional design dating back to pioneer times, when a group of women would gather to sew the quilt while the men raised a barn.

Beatlebrox said that while the friends haven't decided what to do with the quilt yet, the group is considering displaying the piece in the newly restored house at the farm.

The quilt featuring a series of concentric squares with red hearts composed of beiges and greens forming still larger squares framed by swirling patterns represents one design in the range of those created by the Silver Queen Quilters.

"What's going to be in the show is a wide, wide variety," Thomas said. "You will not see any two quilts that are too much alike."

Among the quilts will be traditional designs, like the log cabin, along with more modern patterns, and art quilts, free-form creations featuring a particular scene or graphic.

"It's fun, because every quilter has their own style and their own things they like to do," said Barbara Brauer, the vice president of the Silver Queen Quilters.

"It's an outlet for creativity," said Peggy Stuart, the secretary and a past president of the group. "And besides being an outlet for creativity, it's useful."

While quilting might call to mind the image of a woman sewing together fabric scraps by hand, most quilts are now pieced together with machines and are often made of new fabrics. Afterward, the designs are quilted attached to a quilt's insulation and backing sometimes by hand, but often, because of the lengthiness of the process, by machine.

When asked why they enjoy quilting, the quilters responded with a range of answers. Many talked about how they liked working with the patterns and the fabrics, while others talked about how they like the work.

"It's kind of fun working out and seeing what the blocks look like and the different fabrics and techniques," Willard said.

Almost all the quilters talked about starting out slowly, making one quilt of a few, but then something clicks.

"You learn the basics, and you're hooked," Thomas said.

The ladies said that learning to quilt was also easier than it looked. Anyone interested can go to the guild.

Many of the women suggested finding a quilting shop, because they frequently offer classes for beginners. The guild also offers

"They should come to one of our meetings," said Stuart, "and if they've never quilted before, we have a lot of people with a lot of experience."

"We have a lot of ladies in there that are good teachers and very good quilters," Willard added. "You can get a lot of stuff just from getting acquainted with the folks in the guild."

The Silver Queen Quilters are working with the Friends of the Farm in part to let people in Park City know about the group.

"We're definitely looking for new members," Willard said.

And while the quilters will gain some exposure with their show, the Friends of the Farm get an added element for their membership meeting.

"We wanted to offer much more than just a lecture," Beatlebrox said.

The Silver Queen Quilters quilt show and the Friends of the Farm's annual membership meeting will take place Saturday, May 20 from 2-4 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Visitors cannot park along S.R. 224 and are encouraged to carpool. For more information, call 649-5368.

The post Silver Queen Quilters bring their art to the farm appeared first on Park Record.

A walk around the McPolin Farm can evoke memories of the past, images of a Park City that made its living from the hills and fields surrounding the town.

The farm is a reminder Park City's early-century tradition as a small rural town shipping minerals and milk down the canyon to Salt Lake City. And while the memories of those times are always present in the farm's fields and buildings, next weekend, they may ring even truer with an added dash of color. Saturday, May 20, from 2-4 p.m., Park City's local quilting guild, the Silver Queen Quilters, will join with the Friends of the Farm to present a quilt show at the farm, filling the machine shed and, weather permitting, the farm yard with nearly 100 multi-hued creations.

The show will run in conjunction with the Friends of the Farm's annual membership meeting. Silver Queen Quilter Linda Thomas said she approached the friends to see about using the venue. Lola Beatlebrox, president of the Friends of the Farm board of trustees, said the quilt show could add another dimension to the organization's meeting.

"We like to combine lots of fun and lots of history with our membership meeting," she noted.

"We are so thrilled about doing it at the farm in conjunction with The Friends' annual meeting, because it's just a choice location," Thomas said.

The quilters were happy to have the venue, which seemed to match their creations so well, she added.

Beatlebrox agreed.

"The board felt that this synergy between the two groups presented a unique opportunity," she said.

The quilts on display are the creations of the Silver Queen Quilters' members.

"We have a very small guild of 12 or 15 people in Park City," said the group's president, Melba Willard, "but they make a lot of quilts."

A local nonprofit associated with the Utah Quilt Guild, the Silver Queen Quilters is a group dedicated to helping quilters and those interested in quilting in the Park City area.

The organization holds meetings, which are open to the public, on the third Tuesday of each month. The meetings feature educational seminars and chances for networking, along with opportunities for new members to get together with other quilters. At the meetings, the group also organizes its charitable efforts. In addition to facilitating its members in their quilting, the organization also makes quilts to donate to other nonprofits, like the Peace House and the Children's Justice Center.

Most recently, the group created a quilt to donate to the Friends of the Farm. A "log cabin quilt," the piece features a traditional design dating back to pioneer times, when a group of women would gather to sew the quilt while the men raised a barn.

Beatlebrox said that while the friends haven't decided what to do with the quilt yet, the group is considering displaying the piece in the newly restored house at the farm.

The quilt featuring a series of concentric squares with red hearts composed of beiges and greens forming still larger squares framed by swirling patterns represents one design in the range of those created by the Silver Queen Quilters.

"What's going to be in the show is a wide, wide variety," Thomas said. "You will not see any two quilts that are too much alike."

Among the quilts will be traditional designs, like the log cabin, along with more modern patterns, and art quilts, free-form creations featuring a particular scene or graphic.

"It's fun, because every quilter has their own style and their own things they like to do," said Barbara Brauer, the vice president of the Silver Queen Quilters.

"It's an outlet for creativity," said Peggy Stuart, the secretary and a past president of the group. "And besides being an outlet for creativity, it's useful."

While quilting might call to mind the image of a woman sewing together fabric scraps by hand, most quilts are now pieced together with machines and are often made of new fabrics. Afterward, the designs are quilted attached to a quilt's insulation and backing sometimes by hand, but often, because of the lengthiness of the process, by machine.

When asked why they enjoy quilting, the quilters responded with a range of answers. Many talked about how they liked working with the patterns and the fabrics, while others talked about how they like the work.

"It's kind of fun working out and seeing what the blocks look like and the different fabrics and techniques," Willard said.

Almost all the quilters talked about starting out slowly, making one quilt of a few, but then something clicks.

"You learn the basics, and you're hooked," Thomas said.

The ladies said that learning to quilt was also easier than it looked. Anyone interested can go to the guild.

Many of the women suggested finding a quilting shop, because they frequently offer classes for beginners. The guild also offers

"They should come to one of our meetings," said Stuart, "and if they've never quilted before, we have a lot of people with a lot of experience."

"We have a lot of ladies in there that are good teachers and very good quilters," Willard added. "You can get a lot of stuff just from getting acquainted with the folks in the guild."

The Silver Queen Quilters are working with the Friends of the Farm in part to let people in Park City know about the group.

"We're definitely looking for new members," Willard said.

And while the quilters will gain some exposure with their show, the Friends of the Farm get an added element for their membership meeting.

"We wanted to offer much more than just a lecture," Beatlebrox said.

The Silver Queen Quilters quilt show and the Friends of the Farm's annual membership meeting will take place Saturday, May 20 from 2-4 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Visitors cannot park along S.R. 224 and are encouraged to carpool. For more information, call 649-5368.

The post Silver Queen Quilters bring their art to the farm appeared first on Park Record.

When the Friends of the Farm holds its annual membership meeting next Saturday, May 20, at the McPolin Farm, the quilt show will doubtlessly be the most colorful part of the afternoon, but the textiles won't be the only things to take center stage for the afternoon.

The event will also feature a lecture about the history of the McPolin Farm from Park City Historical Society researcher Hal Compton, along with an opportunity to see some of the improvements made at the farm in the past year.

"There are three buildings that have had extensive interior work," Friends of the Farm board of trustees president Lola Beatlebrox said.

Last spring, the Friends of the Farm refurbished the tool shed with vintage tools, including many from the McPolin family. Since then, the group has also redone two other buildings on the property. The bunk house now has cots and a wood-burning stove, mirroring the simple manner in which the farmhands would have lived, and the main house, which is a recently built replica of one that burned down in the 1950s, has been partially redecorated to match how it might have looked in the 1940s. The house should be fully redecorated by the end of the summer.

The exhibits are currently on display at the farm and will remain available for viewing throughout the year.

"If I want to emphasize anything, it's these ongoing exhibits," Beatlebrox said, "because I don't think everyone knows they're there."

In addition to the building exhibits, the lecture and the quilts, the Friends of the Farm will have volunteers with information about the nonprofit, along with opportunities to become a member of the organization.

In the coming months, Beatlebrox said the friends hope to host more events at the farm.

But, she assured, like the quilt show, everything the Friends host or present will adhere to the City Hall permit regulating events at the venue. So after the quilts accompany the friends' meeting this weekend, Parkites should expect more activities in the farm's future.

"This is a new partnership and a new chapter," said Beatlebrox about the quilt show. "We're going to be looking at more things to do."

Friends of the Farm membership dues are $15 for individuals and $25 for families. Proceeds help defray costs of farm improvements and events. To join, send a check to the Friends of the Farm, Attn: Denise, P.O. Box 1480, Park City, UT 84060.

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This year, for the first time, online travel agency Travelocity is a sponsor of the festival, contributing thousands of dollars in advertisements to the festival.

The Kimball hopes it can translate those dollars into new visitors. While the Arts Festival has long drawn tens of thousands of visitors from around the Wasatch Front, this year, the event is aiming for a bigger crowd. While some familiar names, like the Ken Garff Automotive Group, remain sponsors of the festival, there are also more nationally known names, like Travelocity, that are part of the Arts Festival's quest for greater exposure.

Susan Thomas, public relations director at the Kimball, was planning the Arts Festival's advertising campaign when she came across Travelocity. Trying to find where she should place ads, she called the company after talking to a number of local and regional organizations, including the Park City Chamber/Bureau and Ski Utah.

"I kind of just took everybody's ad plans and figured out where the best place is to spend the money," Thomas said.

One of the organizations she talked to was the Salt Lake City Convention and Visitors Bureau, which has a partnership with Travelocity. When Thomas called Travelocity, the company offered her a partnership.

In return for a sponsorship, Travelocity agreed to give the Kimball $28,000 worth of advertising on the company's Web site. The Arts Festival's presence on Travelocity will include online ads, flight and hotel packages, and a special Arts Festival site.

"I would like to think it's going to bring more people from out of state here," Thomas said.

In addition to the Travelocity package, Thomas said the organization has also obtained $45,000 for advertising from the Utah Tourism Board, the Park City Chamber/Bureau and the Summit County Restaurant Tax.

With that money and with the Travelocity campaign, the Kimball is targeting several areas, including San Diego, Southern California, Arizona, Nevada and Jackson, Wyo. According to Thomas, another big-name sponsor of the Arts Festival, Tesoro, is including Arts Festival advertisements in the company's radio campaign in Utah, Idaho and Wyoming.

The organizers want to make the Arts Festival a premier national event, drawing bigger crowds and a more diverse collection of artists to Park City.

"I'm so looking forward to seeing the benefits these tourism marketing dollars will bring," Thomas said.

The Park City Kimball Arts Festival will run Aug. 5-6, 2006 on Main Street in Park City.

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