The Park City Kimball Arts Festival celebrates its 55th anniversary this year, and in some realms that number signifies transformation and adaptability.
True to form, the festival, which has adjusted and transformed since its inception in 1969, will feature some new programming this weekend, said Event Director Hillary Gilson.
“For the first time, we are featuring the Kimball Art Center’s Young Artists’ Academy booth, which will be located on the corner of Heber Avenue and Main Street,” she said. “We’re excited about that, because the YAA is a group of incredible teens who want to pursue a career in creative fields.”
In the past, the festival has featured YAA with live-art demonstrations, silent auctions and opportunity drawings, Gilson said.
It is not lost on me and the rest of the staff how historical this event is, and how important it is to Park City’s identity as a cultural hub in Utah and the country.”
Hillary Gilson, Park City Kimball Arts Festival director
“Year after year their commitment to the Arts Festival has grown, so it’s been incredible to give them this opportunity to have a booth this year,” she said. “They are so passionate and professional about creating work to sell at the booth. So, 80% of the sales will go to the artists, and 20% will help cover operational costs for the program.”
Speaking of YAA, the designs on all of this year’s merchandise were created by Sadie AbuHaidar, a local artist who grew up in Park City, Gilson said.
“Another blind jury selected her works that will adorn T-shirts, sweatshirts, tank tops and travel coffee mugs that we’ll hand out for free to the first 100 people who come into Brass Bear gate, across from the Park City Transit Center,” she said. “We’ll hand those out on Sunday morning with free coffee and bagels as long as supplies last.”
One more new element at the festival this year — which runs Friday, Aug. 2, through Sunday, Aug. 4, on Main Street — is on-site shipping, Gilson said.
“We are partnering with a company called Ship Utah, who specialize in artwork shipping,” she said. “They will be located at the Post Office parking lot. You can visit them and pay to have them pack up and ship your purchases to anywhere in the country.”
Art lovers and collectors will have the opportunity to buy art from more than 185 artists who have been selected by a blind jury to participate this year, Gilson said.
“We’re always looking for people who are exhibiting top-quality artwork, and we have 13 different mediums — ranging from printmaking, painting, sculpture, wood, metal work, digital art, photography, jewelry, ceramics and more,” she said.
This year, the festival, which is a fundraiser for the Kimball Art Center, received 1,200 applications. During the application process, the artists submit their information, four photos of art, as well as a picture of their booths, according to Gilson.
“The jury only sees the artists’ statement, which does not include the artists’ name, the images of their works and the image of their booths,” she said. “The booth shot really helps us not only see the quality of individual items, but the quality of their portfolio as a whole and their manner of presentation.”
The festival can only accept around 180 artists, and among them are a handful of new and emerging artists, Gilson said.
“The Kimball Art Center feels passionate about developing artistic careers and endeavors, which is also reflected in all the classes we offer that the Arts Festival helps to fund,” she said. “We are intentional about this so emerging artists can learn from the experience and hone their crafts of becoming festival artists. We want the Park City community to not only see returning artists, whom they have developed relationships and collections with. We also want collectors and art lovers in the community to discover new artists.”
The festival also makes it a point to accept local artists.
“We usually showcase a minimum of 10 local artists every year, and our requirement for being ‘local’ is that their primary residence has to be located in Summit or Wasatch counties,” Gilson said. “In addition to those locals, we also have many artists who are regionally based in Utah as well.”
In addition to visual arts, the Park City Kimball Arts Festival includes culinary arts, which are represented by artisan food trucks that will be set up at the Top of Main parking lot, according to Gilson.
“We bring in around eight food vendors that are part of this ‘Food Truck Roundup,’” she said. “We also have more snack and concession vendors throughout Main Street, as well as a Spirit Garden and Food Truck Roundup bar, managed by Top Shelf, where adults can enjoy libations.”
Live music has always been part of the festival, and Mountain Town Music, a locally based live music nonprofit organization, is programming the two stages, Gilson said.
“The Main Stage is located at Heber Avenue and another stage will be set up at the Food Truck Roundup,” she said.
Children will also get a chance to get hands-on artistic experiences with the Creation Station, located at the Town Lift Plaza.
“We have some paid activities that include items that can be taken home,” Gilson explained. “One is clay beads, a wearable piece of art, and the other is window art. The cost is $3 for one and $5 for two.”
The festival will also feature two Studio on Main locations, where the public can try their hand at creativity, Gilson said.
“One studio at Heber Avenue and Main Street will offer a friendship bracelet activity that ties into the Kimball Art Center’s exhibit, ‘In the Shadow of the Wall’ and face-painting on Sunday,” she said. “The other location will be at Miner’s Park, and it will feature another exhibition-related activity, ‘The Reflection Wall,’ and wheel throwing on Sunday.”
One of Gilson’s favorite programs is handing out the Best of Show awards.
“We’ll do that on Saturday around 6 p.m.,” she said. “We give out 16, which includes one per medium, overall artist, local artist and emerging artist.”
All Best on Show winners are automatically accepted into next year’s festival, and they get a banner that they display throughout the rest of the festival, Gilson said.
Since the Park City Kimball Arts Festival attracts more than 30,000 people over the weekend, attendees are encouraged to bus, bike, walk or carpool.
“We have a complementary bike valet run by the Park City High School Mountain Bike Team at 7th Street, and people can catch free shuttles and buses at our satellite parking lots — Park City High School and Park City Mountain Resort,” she said. “Parking is pretty scarce in Old Town, but there is paid parking available at the north end of China Bridge parking garage.”
The Park City Kimball Arts Festival’s roots reach back to 1969 when a group of local artists decided to celebrate visual art with an open-air event on Main Street.
The idea was to present a cultural event during the summer, after Park City had transformed from being a mining town to re-establishing itself as an attractive ski town and winter-recreation destination.
Back then, local philanthropist Bill Kimball helped further support the local artists and their mission by establishing the Kimball Art Center, which would become the festival’s headquarters.
Throughout the years, the Park City Kimball Arts Festival — which is made possible through a partnership with the Kimball Art Center and Park City Municipal Corp. — has attracted thousands of visitors, and not only showcased local artists, but also pushed national and international artists into the global spotlight.
“Celebrating the 55th annual event is really cool,” Gilson said. “It is not lost on me and the rest of the staff how historical this event is, and how important it is to Park City’s identity as a cultural hub in Utah and the country.”
