Park City High School students on Friday morning rallied against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency at the start of the closing weekend of the Sundance Film Festival.
Although the demonstration did not seem to be timed specifically to occur during Sundance, the walkout by the students nonetheless happened with the spotlight of the festival remaining on Park City.
It appears the protest on Friday will be the last one of any sort in Park City during Sundance before the festival moves to Boulder, Colorado, starting with the 2027 edition. City Hall on Friday morning indicated it was not aware of additional demonstrations planned before Sundance closes on Sunday.
Sundance for decades has been seen as an opportune time for organizers, particularly those from the political left, to plan demonstrations in Park City. The international entertainment media provides a platform and celebrities occasionally join the protests, attracting even more publicity.
Demonstrators this year were especially unhappy with the Trump administration’s immigration policies and marched on Main Street on Monday. There was another gathering the day before.
The demonstrations over the years during Sundance involved a variety of issues, including the anti-war movement during the conflict in Iraq, Occupy Wall Street and animal rights.
Some of the demonstrations during Sundance in the 2000s have included:
- The Women’s March on Main, which was held in 2017. The demonstration drew up to 9,000 people to Main Street and Swede Alley. It was not designed as a Trump protest, but many of the marchers condemned the president on the day after he was inaugurated.
- The Occupy Wall Street movement, which was active during the festival in 2012. A small group of demonstrators rallied at the Wells Fargo bank branch on Kearns Boulevard, with some of them storming into the lobby, chanting and dancing before police officers ordered them out almost immediately.
- The conservative Westboro Baptist Church, which visited Park City for the festival in 2011. The church stationed a small number of people outside a Sundance screening of a film that depicted a fictional congregation that resembled the Kansas church. Upward of 200 students from Park City High School staged a demonstration to counter the Westboro Baptist Church. The students overwhelmed the contingent from the church.
- The gay rights movement, which was present during Sundance in 2010. Approximately 30 demonstrators gathered outside a Sundance screening, expressing displeasure with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ stance on gay marriage.