Salt Lake's Little Mermaid

The Little Mermaid - Danish Garden

Did you know that we have an official replica of The Little Mermaid statue found in Copenhagen, Denmark here in Salt Lake City? My boyfriend recently went on a business trip to Denmark where he learned this and of course I had to see it. It is found at the International Peace Gardens of Jordan Park. The original statue was inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's fairytale The Little Mermaid and completed in 1913 by the Danish sculptor Edvard Eriksen. It has become Denmark's symbol and it is possibly its most famous tourist attraction. While there are many copies of the statue throughout the world, apparently there were only a handful of official replicas made by Eriksen. Something like three or four and we have one of them right here in our city. The Danish Garden at the International Peace Gardens was dedicated on June 5, 1955, Denmark's Constitution Day, and with the permission of the Danish King at the time, the statue was donated to Salt Lake City.

The first time I watched the Disney version of The Little Mermaid was at my brother's house when I was nine years old. I loved it so much that I begged and begged my dad to buy the movie for me. It was probably a luxury we couldn't afford at the time, but he bought it for me anyway and I probably spent the whole fourth grade watching it, but it was a good distraction for me to have during a time when our family was disintegrating. I have a sneaking suspicion that if I watch the movie now I can probably recite most, if not all of it. I still have it. It's the only VHS tape I own today. I don't even own a VCR nowadays, but I could never part with it.

I think this statue is such a gem for us to have here in our city as well as the International Peace Gardens themselves. There is only one other Peace Garden in the whole U.S. and it is located in Dunseith, North Dakota near the Canadian border that symbolizes the peace and friendship between the United States and Canada.

Today the International Peace Gardens of Salt Lake City represent 28 countries. Each country's garden was designed by that country and has some of its native flowers and trees. A lot of the gardens also have some sort of exhibit such as a statue or replica of a landmark. Unfortunately, many of these exhibits seem to be in need of some refurbishment. Also, most of the water features that are part of some of the gardens were without water when we visited, still, it is a lovely place, nonetheless, and it's free. Definitely worth the visit!

International Peace Gardens, Salt Lake City, Utah

Chinese Garden

Greek Garden

Danish Garden

 

Russian Garden

Indian Garden

Indian Garden

French Garden

Until next time!

-Liz

Julieta Venegas viene a SLC / Julieta Venegas comes SLC

Pre-Show Makeup

There she is!

She just rocks the accordion!

 

Enjoying the show with my friend Briseida

El primero de mayo fui a ver el show de Julieta Venegas en el Infinity Event Center aquí en Salt Lake City. Este fue su primer show en Utah y que honor que haya venido aquí a cantar para nosotros. Me alegra tanto cuando artistas como ella vienen a Salt Lake. Ella estuvo absolutamente fenomenal. Cualquier mujer que escriba su propia música, toque la guitarra, el teclado y el acordeón tiene verdadero talento.

On May 1st I went to the Julieta Vengas show at the Infinity Event Center here in Salt Lake City. This was her first show in Utah and what an honor that she came here to sing for us. It makes me so happy when artists like her come to Salt Lake. She was absolutely phenomenal. Any woman who can write her own music, play the guitar, and the keyboard and the accordion has true talent.

Hasta pronto!

-Liz

Back in SLC!

View of Trolley Square Tower (kind of) from my apartment

After almost two years of living in suburbia I'm back in Salt Lake and I am soooooo glad because my whole life is here. My boyfriend, my job, my friends, and my GYM are all here! Also, I am happy to be contributing a lot less to the smog. My commute to work is just three minutes long!!! I could walk there if I wanted to, yea, that's right, IF I wanted to, but let's not get carried away. Same thing with yoga on Sundays, I could walk there if I wanted to, but I like keeping my options open which includes driving.

Until next time!

-Liz

2013 Sundance Film Festival

The Egyptian Theater on Main Street in Park City

For those of you that don't know, the Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization that was started in 1981 in Sundance, Utah by Robert Redford. This organization supports, both creatively and financially, the theater and film works of independent artists. The Sundance Film Festival was started in 1984 and is positively the most well known part of the Sundance Institute. This film festival takes place in Utah every January for 10 days, giving artists from around the world a chance to showcase their films.

Now, to be perfectly honest, some of the films aren't, well.....that great. They are typically low budget films that push the limits of creativity, not just in the production sense, but in the stories that are being told. You might luck out and get to watch a moving documentary or a coming of age love story, or an eye opening historical foreign film, but you might also get a bizarre story without much of a plot. It could be a black and white film with low-tech special effects or something filmed with a shaky camera. Don't get me wrong, the whole experience is fun and very exciting, and if you live in Utah and haven't experienced it yet I highly recommend doing so. I've lived in Utah for 16 years and up until just a few years ago I had never been to the Sundance Film Festival myself (I can't believe it took me so long to go!).

Film Guide & Tickets

Of course you could walk around Park City (the main place of events) and hope to spot some celebrities (though I've never had such luck), but going to The Sundance Film Festival without seeing a film is like going to a restaurant without ordering anything. It takes some planning, but it's worth it. You must register a few months before the festival just to be able to purchase tickets for the films and that does not guarantee that the film or films you want to see will be available, but whatever is available grab it! Even if you get to purchase tickets to a film of your choice, the film may not be what you expected, but what movie ever is? Just remember to have an open mind and go for the experience of watching something unique and different from the mainstream cinema you are used to. Also, since the movies are not rated I do not recommend taking children to watch them, you could end up watching some porno for all you know, I'm kidding, but really, don't take your kids.

One of the best parts of experiencing a film during the Sundance Film Festival is that after the film is over the audience gets to meet the cast and crew and do a Q & A. This way you are able to find out how the film was made or what inspired the story for the film, or anything else you'd like to know. Additionally, at some film showings the members of the audience are given ballots to vote for the film for the Audience Awards given at Sundance, one of many types of awards given.

Cast & Crew of 'Escape from Tomorrow'

This year I only got to see one film called 'Escape From Tomorrow' and it was definitely not what I expected at all. It was weird, it was creepy, it was funny, it was dark, it was satirical, and it was definitely unlike anything I had ever seen before, but I enjoyed it very much and the buzz going on about this film has made the fact that I got to watch it all the more exciting. I'm not going to ramble on and critique this film or anything like that, but I did find a couple of online New York Times and CNN articles about why 'Escape From Tomorrow' has been one of the most talked about films of this year's Sundance Film Festival that I found interesting.

Now go! Experience the Sundance Film Festival (of 2014 that is) for yourself (or any other film festival for that matter)! For more info and to plan for next year's festival go to the festival's website.

Until next time!

-Liz

“Storytellers broaden our minds: engage, provoke, inspire, and ultimately, connect us.” —Robert Redford, President and Founder of The Sundance Institute