2018 Olympics

Last Friday Gallery Stroll

March 30, 2018 by Colony PR Leave a Comment

The Park City Gallery Association hosts a gallery stroll on the last Friday of each month, falling on March 30th this month. Running from 6 – 9 PM, light refreshments are served to art patrons as they discover some of the incredible local artists who call Park City home.

Most of the twenty or so galleries are on, or within a couple blocks, of Main Street, making for an enjoyable walk – especially if you start at the top of Main and wind your way downhill. Printing out this handy gallery map before heading to town makes finding your preferred stops a breeze.

Some of our favorites are Gallery MAR, and J GO – both between 4th and 5th Streets on Main. The next block uphill is home to seven galleries, including Mangelsen – Images of Nature Gallery, featuring the work or famous nature photographer Thomas Mangelsen. His limited edition prints of wild places and animals would be a perfect complement to a mountain home at The Colony.

Don’t miss galleries on Lower Main as well – each are worth the walk to the other side of town. Julie Nester Gallery is a must stop to take in the ever-rotating collection of contemporary art pieces.

Find up to date information on the Gallery Association facebook page and website.

Park City: The Home of Past, Present and Future Olympic Athletes

February 20, 2018 by Colony PR Leave a Comment

The 2002 Olympic Winter Games were officially held in Salt Lake City. Ask any fellow local where the Games were held and they will respond with “Park City!” Which makes sense, since most alpine skiing events were held at our two resorts, as well as bobsled, luge, and skeleton, along with Nordic jumping over the Olympic Park. Plus, all the cross-country events took place just around the corner at Soldier Hollow in Midway.

Our local newspaper, The Park Record, published an excellent article highlighting the legacy of the Games: a tradition our town carries on today.

The venues that began opening in the early nineties ushered in an era where athletes from across the world would relocate to Park City to train, Take for example gold medalists Nikki Stone and Eric Bergous, who both won gold in 1998 after relocating from Boston and Montana, respectively.

This makes complete sense since Park City was one of two American towns with bobsled, luge and skeleton tracks, but we also had alpine skiing and Nordic facilities, including a pool, for athletes to train.

Fast forward to 2002 where Park City locals had a front row seat to the Games, which included medaling performances by Shannon Barhke, Jonny Moseley, and Travis Mayer. Local children left the Game inspired to try the same sports, launching a new crop of Olympic athletes.

Do you recognize the names Ted Ligety, Joss Christensen, and Sage Kotsenburg? Yes, they all have gold medals in common. But they are also each a product of our Park City community. We’re proud to call this gold medal town our home.

The Park Record does a great job of chronicling the newest crop of Park City athletes, such as Madison Olsen, who will compete in PyeongChang. The legacy of 2002 lives on through the dreams and accomplishments of our local athletes like Madison. And keep an eye out for familiar faces on the podium – there is a good chance they are one of our neighbors!

Park City Events: Weekend of Feb 16-19

February 16, 2018 by Colony PR Leave a Comment

Listen:

Chubby Checker, yes THAT Chubby Checker brings his #1 hit “The Twist” to The Egyptian Theatre on Main Street for four nights (Thurs – Sun). Don’t miss seeing a legend live, including an opportunity to show off your twisting skills on stage with Chubby himself.

Do:

If you’ve ever wanted to try your hand at ceramics, Kimball Art Center offers an open clay studio event each Friday. Perfect for first-timers, you’ll begin with a wheel throwing demonstration (don’t worry, it’s much easier than it sounds), and can then create anything you wish. Space is limited, so it may be a worth a call before heading over.
435.649.8882

Watch:

I, Tonya, the life story of figure skater Tonya Harding, plays for three nights (Fri-Sun) at the Jim Sandy Auditorium. The film, directed by Craig Gillespie, covers everything from Harding’s Olympic career to her life following the attack on fellow skater Nancy Kerrigan.

Play:

President’s Day is roughly the mid-point of the ski season. So, if you haven’t done it yet, book a day of heli-skiing with Wasatch Powderbird Guides. With locations at Snowbird Resort and in Park City, Powderbird’s gets you to the goods – fast!

Olympics:

We called around town to find a few places to catch up on the Games. Here are our picks:

No Name Saloon, Butcher’s Chop House & Bar, and Boneyard & Wine Dive will be airing the games at all three locations. Butcher’s does have a 166″ projector screen as well.

The Eating Establishment will be airing the Olympics on all three of their TVs, from opening to closing ceremonies.

Fletchers will have the Olympics on as well, with the lounge being a great place to watch the Games.

Deer Valley Resort will have TV’s set up in the EBS lounge, and also the clock room for viewing anytime.

Versante at Park City Peaks Hotel will offer food and drink specials during the Games, with live action on several TV’s.

Billy Blanco’s (at the Jeremy Ranch exit) will be showing all the Olympic action on their 8+ large HDTVs.

Sixteen Years Later the 2002 Olympic Traditions and Cultures Live On!

February 12, 2018 by Colony PR Leave a Comment

The Park City area played host to most of the alpine and freestyle ski events during the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games. It’s hard to believe the Games were held sixteen years ago, as the Olympic tradition lives strong each day in Park City. In fact, you can easily experience many of the venues today to walk, ski and sled in the footsteps of past competitors.

Deer Valley

Deer Valley Resort hosted the freestyle moguls and aerials, as well as slalom, in 2002. Take Carpenter lift from the Snow Park base area and look left: that is Champion, the site of freestyle moguls, and its neighbor Know You Don’t, site of alpine slalom. You’ll also pass over White Owl, where the freestyle aerials were held (it’s the run with the small rope tow/Poma lift). All three of these runs can be skied in their non-competitive form.

Park City Resort

During the 2002 games PCMR hosted both men’s and women’s GS (giant slalom), as well as the men’s and women’s snowboarding GS and halfpipe events. The Eagle Race Arena and Eagle Superpipe were used as Olympics venues. Ironically the 22-foot high Eagle Superpipe looms above the First Time (bunny) slope area and is still kept in competition specifications at over 500 feet. The Superpipe annually hosts Grand Prix, World Cup, and other qualifying events.

Utah Olympic Park

The Olympic Park, located in Kimball Junction, was the venue for bobsled, luge, and skeleton, as well as ski jumping. Today, the venue is used year-round as a world-class training ground for Olympic hopefuls, even providing rides with a professional on the bobsled track in both summer and winter if you are up for an adrenaline-inducing adventure!

The Park also houses two museums, the Alf Engen Ski Museum and the George Eccles Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games Museum. Visitors can see everything from medals to uniforms, as well as an Olympic torch in front of the cauldron.

Soldier Hollow

About 30 minutes away lies Soldier Hollow, host to the all the cross-country events: biathlon and Nordic combined. Due to its hour-plus distance from Salt Lake City, spectators during the Games had the option to arrive via railroad and sleigh ride and were treated to western-themed activities and shows between events. Today, cross-country skiing is available in winter and golfing on 36 holes in summer.

Aiming for something more? Register for the Biathlon Experience, where you’ll be coached to shoot a rifle similar to equipment Olympic athlete Sgt. Lawton Redman (featured image above) used the men’s 10km sprint biathlon race during the 2002 Winter Olympic Games on Feb. 13, 2002. (U.S. Navy photo by Journalist 1st Class Preston Keres).

Check back this Friday, as we round up our favorite places to cheer on other Park City locals during the Pyeongchang Olympic Games.

Park City Athletes to Watch for in the 2018 Olympic Ceremony and Games

February 10, 2018 by Colony PR 1 Comment

We’re fortunate to live in an Olympic town where the Games were held less than two decades ago. Thanks to Park City – and Utah’s – foresight and fiscal planning, our home has built upon that tradition with the continued use of nearly all of the venues. Another great community legacy was the creation of the Youth Sports Alliance (YSA), whose goal is to increase the number of children participating in winter sports programs in the greater-Park City area. Imagine growing up with one of your “gym class” options the mogul course at Deer Valley, a quick hop in the Superpipe at Park City and or an afternoon ski jumping at Olympic Park. Not bad, right?

These opportunities have quickly bred a new crop of young skiers, snowboards, Nordic athletes and more hailing from Park City. Add to that the dozens of athletes with Olympic dreams who relocate to the Wasatch to train at the place we call home. The YSA, dubbed this collective “Park City Nation,” a group of athletes who will compete in PyeongChang with ties to Park City. The total? 54! Here are a few to keep your eyes peeled for in PyeongChang (and at the grocery store when they return home).

Ted Ligety

Ligety became just the fourth American male skier to win gold when he upset the field by winning the combined (downhill and slalom) at the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy. The versatile Ligety took home gold, this time in giant slalom, in 2014 at Sochi.

Look for the three-time Olympian to compete in the slalom, giant slalom, Super-G, downhill and combined events in Pyeongchang.

Sarah Hendrickson

Park City High School grad, Sarah Hendrickson is heading into PyeongChang strong! Hendrickson won the women’s ski jumping competition at the Nordic Combined & Ski Jumping U.S. Olympic Team Trials in December.

After having solid seasons early in her career, with several World Cup podiums from 2011 – 2013, then being sidetracked by knee injuries, Hendrickson is poised for a solid Games. Her other claim to fame? Four years ago in Sochi, she was granted the historic honor of being the first female to ever jump in a ski jumping event at the Olympics. Women were finally allowed to compete and participate in Olympic ski jumping events for the first time in history in 2014.

Will Rhoads

22-year old Will Rhoads is a newcomer to the ski jumping scene. With only 17 individual starts and seven team starts under his belt, Rhoads could be a surprise story of the Olympics. Hey, there’s always a few medalists who seemingly come out of nowhere, right? Keep your eyes and ears peeled for his name.

Rhoads has continually improved his standings in his few short years in competition and is looking to top his personal best of 200m in Pyeongchang.

Bradley Wilson

Wilson is gearing up for his second Olympics, having also competed in Sochi. The Wilson name may also sound familiar, as he is the younger brother of Olympic bronze medalist Bryon Wilson. Let’s hope the Wilson family is adding some additional hardware to their trophy cabinet in a few weeks.

Don’t Miss WinterFest!

On Saturday, February 10th, Park City will be the 10th stop on the Team USA Winterfest tour. While this is not an event for watching the games, but it is a block party to celebrate our local athletes who are currently in South Korea, by mingling with some of our former Olympians. This free event includes a concert by Sleeping With Sirens and Good Charlotte.