Your own Backyard...

You know, how you never do things in your own back yard. I have lived in Salt Lake for over 20 years now, and one thing that I have never done is go to the Sundance Film Festival. I never pay attention to what's going on to remember to look into buying tickets ahead of time (December I think), and when the festivals rolls around and I think of the crowds and hassle and freezing temperatures I think "eh, maybe next year".

This year is no different, except that we've been skiing Deer Valley this year, which is out in Park City where the festival takes place. So on saturday, after skiing, I was foolish enough to say to Bob and Matt, "We're right here, let's go into town and check out the Sundance crowds". So we left Deer valley and took a backroad up to the top of Main Street. Park City is an old mining town, the main street through town in a narrow one that runs or a half a mile or so up a hill that eventually leads to an old mine. I never would have guessed it would have taken 45 minutes to drive down the hill. Cars were lined up bumper to bumper, and occasionaly one would stop to load or unload people or something. Others would just stop suddenly, in the middle of the road, just to gawk at the crowd. Stylish (according to my son who actually recognizes designer duds) people were everywhere, and they didn't think twice about just walking out in front of moving cars. Many photographers were roaming about, one ran right in front of are car to the other side of the street and started snapping shots of some presumably famous person we didn't recognize. Bob and Matt saw one "celebrity" - an actor from the movie American Pie. I missed him, since I was the one trying to make sure I didn't rear end the car in front of me or run over pedestrians, but I was assured he was a guy from the front of the DVD case. I'm sure there were many more celebrity seekers than celebrities on the street, although, one of the guys from work was there (on foot) an hour before we where and stood feet away from the crowd mobbing a fur clad Ashley Simpson. My friend was a bit apalled by her head to toe furriness.

This whole celebrity chasing thing seems kind of silly to me... I can honestly say I'm not sure I can think of any celeb I would especially want to meet, and if I did, what would I even say to them? I think it wouldbe really weird. Wait, here's one... William H. Macy...apparently he was at a party my friend's (the one who saw Ashley), friend went to... I know he makes wooden bowls for a hobby... I could talk to him about turning bowls on a lathe... that would be my kind of celebrity discussion!

Here is the thing I found the weirdest... one of the Main Street storefronts had been transformed(temporarily I presume) in to a big Botox store!
That's right, a whole store just for Botox.
I guess if that's not bringing Hollywood to Utah, nothing is.