Art On the Trails is truly a Park City and Summit County event that bridges residents’ love of the outdoors and the performing and visual arts.
This year’s event, made possible by a partnership between the Arts Council of Park City & Summit County and Basin Recreation, is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 27. It’s designed to get people out on McLeod Creek Trail to watch artists create, dance and read poetry, said Jocelyn Scudder, Arts Council of Park City & Summit County executive director.
“The core message and intent with this event is to connect art and nature,” she said. “Many of us moved here because we love our open spaces and love being outside, and a lot of us have a love for arts and culture. So finding intersections between those two core values melds into a fun event that appeals to our local residents.”
The public can register for guided tours that will leave Copper Moose Farms every 20 minutes between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m., according to Scudder.
“Once you register, you will be given a start time,” she said. “We ask people to arrive a few minutes before their time so they can check in and meet their tour guide, who will give them a background of the arts council and this program before leading them through the performances.”
This year’s performances include BalletNEXT, Utah Symphony Ensemble, Artes De Mexico poetry readings, Honky Blue Tonky band and the Tó’áhání Dance Troupe, and other local artists — Anna Leigh Moore, Bridgette Meinhold, Jim Sheeran and Victor Gervacio, among others — will also share their talents along the trail, Scudder said.
“Bridgette Meinhold’s encaustic paintings raise awareness of wildfire prevention,” she said. “Some of her art incorporates the charcoal from the Parley’s Canyon fire that burned nearly 600 acres a year ago last week.”
The Tó’áhání Dance Troupe is a Native American dance company, and it will perform some traditional dances, Scudder said.
“While we are celebrating art on this local trail, it’s important for us to acknowledge that we are technically on stolen land,” she said. “To honor the land and the traditions of the indidgenous people, inviting the Tó’áhání Dance Troupe to the event this year will hopefully be impactful not only for the performers, but for the community members who will watch the performance. We would like to do this every year.”
Scudder is also looking forward to hearing poetry read by members of Artes de Mexico.
“We had them come to Summit Community Gardens for an event a couple of months ago, but the weather didn’t cooperate,” she said. “It hailed, and so we asked them to come back for Art On the Trails.”
Scudder isn’t the only one excited for BalletNext’s return to Art On the Trails. Michele Wiles, the dance company’s artistic director, is also happy to perform again.
“We are the first stop on the tour,” she said. “We’ll have a floor laid down and have a sound system powered by a generator.”
Wiles will perform her original solo work, “Flight of the Inner Bird,” which was inspired by music of the same title composed by Yehezkel Raz.
“It’s always music first for me,” said Wiles, former principal dancer of American Ballet Theatre. “It inspires the concepts of my works. It moves me to the dance floor.”
The music and dancing will be highlighted by an electric cellist, Katlin Findlay from String FX, a Salt Lake City-based electric string quartet.
“Kate overlays the piece with these birdlike sounds that she plays on her cello,” Wiles said. “I don’t know how she does it. But I really wish the composer could hear what she does.”
Wiles premiered “Flight of the Inner Bird” during a Park City Gallery Association gallery stroll a few months back.
“The piece is so beautiful, emotional and uplifting,” she said. “I had people come up to me telling me about all these emotions they felt when they heard the music. It’s certainly a stunner.”
Wiles enjoys performing outdoors, something she did during last year’s Art On the Trails event and earlier this year during the Plein Air Paint Out hosted by Park City Nursery and Gallery MAR.
“I’ve been in theaters all my life where there are no windows and fresh air, so this is an incredible, nice change for me,” she said. “The setting and scenery is so gorgeous here. You feel like you’re part of the universe. Here’s something about connecting with nature that is special to me.”
An outdoor stage also allows Wiles to connect with her audiences on a different level.
“It’s more accessible and intimate, person-to-person, which I love,” she said. “It’s cool to put art on the trail. I mean, who does that? Park City does that, and I’m thrilled to be a part of it.”
Tours will take about an hour and a half on the flat, gravel trail that is ADA accessible to Temple Har Shalom, and guests are encouraged to bring comfortable hiking shoes, sunscreen, and a hat, Scudder said.
“The Arts Council is committed to accessibility, and as we program we prioritize that anyone can participate,” she said. “This trail, which is managed by Basin Recreation, is also shaded and has a water element that adds peace and serenity. There will be free drinking water available.”
Throughout the past four years, the Arts Council of Summit County has also cultivated a relationship with Copper Moose Farm for the event, according to Scudder.
“We’ve been able to host a lounge that features live music, a cash bar and opportunity drawing,” she said. “So people can come and chill out with picnic items from the Copper Moose Farm stand even if they don’t go on the hike.”
The opportunity drawing will raise money for more Arts Council programming, and the prizes include two-day passes to Deer Valley Resort, cooking classes through the Park City Culinary Institute, a golf day at Park City Golf Club and men’s jacket and ski bibs from Spider, donated by U.S. Ski & Snowboard.
Other sponsors include Kuhl, Right at Home, Park City Community Foundation, George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation, Summit County Rap Tax and Utah Division of Arts and Museums, Scudder said.
“This is our fourth year of Arts On the Trails, and while it’s pretty young in our repertoire of arts programming, we always get great feedback from this event,” she said. “We’re happy to be able to continue it.”