Utah Food Gifts for Last-Minute Shopping
Christmas is just a week away, and I'll bet most of us still have gifts to buy for friends, relatives, neighbors and coworkers. Giving food gifts is a good option - after all, everyone loves to eat. I like to give Utah-made food gifts. It supports Utah's economy, and it shows that you've put some thought into your selection. Most manufacturers of giveable Utah specialty foods have ready-made gift packs, or you could create your own. For example, you could put one of the following combinations in a pretty basket or gift bag:
- Artisan bread from a local bakery like Vosen's Bread Paradise, plus some Miller's honey and a few oranges
- Coffee from Beans & Brews, plus some pecan brittle from Western Nut Company
- Rico Brand chips and salsa, plus a bottle of A & W Root Beer
- Fernwood chocolate mint sandwiches and a Fernwood pecan log
- A wedge of Beehive Cheese Company's SeaHive cheese, plus hearty crackers and some Utah apples
I'm making myself hungry just thinking of the possibilities. What are your favorite Utah-made foods for gift giving? Leave your comment below.
Image courtesy of Beehive Cheese Co.
Conan and Max's Christmas Gift to Mormons
Having recently written about Orrin Hatch's new Hanukkah song, I couldn't resist passing along this hilarious video clip from "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien." Conan's sidekick Max Weinberg, "The Tonight Show's only Jew," has written "A Song for the Mormons!" as a Christmas thank-you for Hatch's Hanukkah gift.
Unlike the creators of Comedy Central's "South Park," who when they parodied Mormons showed that they knew quite a bit about the church's history and doctrine, Conan and crew freely admit that they know almost nothing about Mormonism or Mormons.
Photo by Getty Images
Learn about Mormonism from About.com's guide to the LDS Church, Rachel Bruner
Christmas at the Cathedral of the Madeline
Attending Christmas Eve Mass at midnight in Salt Lake's beautiful Cathedral of the Madeline has become a beloved tradition for many Utah families. This season, in addition to Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services, the Cathedral Choir will present carol services Dec. 18, 21 and 22. Christmas events at the cathedral are popular, so it's advisable to get seating passes in advance by calling 801-994-4663 or 801-328-8941, or by visiting cathedral offices in person.
Here's the schedule of musical Christmas services at the Cathedral of the Madeline:
- Friday, Dec. 18 and Tuesday, Dec. 22 at 12:15 p.m. - "A Ceremony of Carols" by Benjamin Britten
- Monday, Dec. 21 and Tuesday, Dec. 22 at 8 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 24 at 4 p.m. - "Christmas Carol Services: Music of Morales, Sweelinck and Grier"
- Thursday, Dec. 24 - Midnight Mass with the Cathedral Choir and Orchestra
- Friday, Dec. 25 - 10 a.m. Mass with the Cathedral Treble Choir, Noon Mass with the Cathedral Choir and Orchestra, 3 p.m. Mass in Spanish with the Cathedral Spanish Choir, 5 p.m. Vespers and Benediction with the Cathedral Choir
Photo courtesy of the Cathedral of the Madeline
What's EVE?
Salt Lakers are curious about "EVE," a new three-day celebration being launched this year by The Downtown Alliance. EVE will take place Dec. 29, 30 and 31 and will replace the 16-year Salt Lake New Year's Eve tradition of First Night.
"EVE will be a colossal indoor/outdoor urban extravaganza, with snow on the ground, fire in the sky, music in the air and a party in the streets," said Jeffrey Berke, EVE's artistic director and creator.
EVE will include fine art performances, live music, dance parties, sports competitions, DJs, film screenings, laser shows, art installations, activities for kids and pet lovers, interactive resolutions, story telling and a midnight fireworks show on Dec. 31. Dozens of events will be held each day from noon to midnight at venues throughout downtown SLC including Gallivan Plaza, The Gateway, Temple Square, Pierpont Avenue, the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, the Broadway Cinema, the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and the Off Broadway Theater.
Read more...H1N1 Swine Flu Vaccine Released to General Public
The Salt Lake Valley Health Department has determined that the H1N1 Swine Flu vaccine has been adequately distributed to high-risk priority groups, and the vaccine will be released to the general public on Monday, Dec. 14.
"Last week we surveyed local healthcare providers and pharmacies that dispense the vaccine in Salt Lake County. Together we determined that those most at risk who wanted the vaccine have successfully accessed it," said Gary Edwards, executive director of SLVHD. "With this knowledge, and the continued increase of vaccine supplies, now is the perfect time to offer the H1N1 vaccine to the general public."
Vaccines will be available at all SLVHD locations and through Harmons, Jolley's, Smith's or Walgreens pharmacies.
To book a vaccine appointment at any SLVHD location, call the SLVHD vaccine hotline at 801-743-7280 Monday, Dec. 14 between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m., or Tuesday, Dec. 15 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. You may also book an appointment online between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday or Tuesday or between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Tuesday. However, it's best to book early, because appointments are limited. Appointments will be scheduled for:
- Tuesday, December 15th, 1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
- Wednesday, December 16th, 8:30 a.m. -7:00 p.m.
- Thursday, December 17th, 8:30 a.m. -7:00 p.m.
- Friday, December 18th, 8:30 a.m. -4:30 p.m.
Vaccines will also be available at the following pharmacies:
Jolley's Corner Pharmacy (Salt Lake City 1300 S. and West Jordan Redwood Rd. locations only) - Jolley's is booking vaccine appointments now. The cost is $19.50.
Harmons - Vaccine clinics will be held either Thursday, Dec. 17 or Friday, Dec. 18, depending on location. Call for an appointment. The cost is $10.
Smith's Food and Drug - Smith's is also booking appointments now. The cost is $18.
Walgreens - Some Walgreens locations will be accepting walk-in appointments, but others require booking in advance. The cost is $18.
Note: some insurance plans will cover the cost of the vaccine.
You may be able to get a regular seasonal flu vaccine with the Swine Flu vaccine at the SLVHD, depending on supplies and whether you receive the nasal mist or injectable vaccine. Ask for details when booking your appointment. Most pharmacies are out of the regular seasonal flu vaccine, but others still have doses available. You can use the SLVHD's online vaccine locator to find both H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccine clinic locations.
Photo by Getty Images
Orrin Hatch's Hanukkah Song
Our own Senator Orrin Hatch is a prolific songwriter, and it seems he has a new hit.
Hatch has written a new "hip-hop Hanukkah song" entitled "Eight Days of Hanukkah." The song was posted on the Jewish lifestyle online magazine "Tablet" Tuesday night and has been the subject of at least a hundred news articles and blog posts. Madeline Stone, a Jewish songwriter from New York City, collaborated with Hatch on the song.
"Anything I can do for the Jewish people, I will do," Hatch told the New York Times' Mark Liebovich. "Mormons believe the Jewish people are the chosen people, just like the Old Testament says." As most Utahns know, Hatch is a member of the LDS church.
Hanukkah begins Friday, Dec. 11 at sundown. Mazel Tov, and Happy Hannukah!
Photo by Getty Images
Watch a video of Orrin Hatch's Hanukkah song
Read about Hanukkah on About.com: Judaism
Is TCU's Bowl Matchup a Sign of Disrespect?
I admit that strictly speaking this isn't a Salt Lake City story, but like many Salt Lake football fans I'm excited about Mountain West Conference champion TCU's unbeaten season. TCU (4) is the second Mountain West team to "bust" the BCS, after Utah did it in both the '04-'05 and '08-'09 seasons.
TCU's situation this year is a little different from Utah's last year because they aren't the only NCAA Division I team with a perfect record. There are five unbeaten teams this year, including the Alabama Crimson Tide (1) and the Texas Longhorns (2), who will play for the national championship Jan. 7 in Pasadena, California.
TCU came within a hair's breadth of playing for the national championship themselves, something that likely would have happened except for a a last-second (literally) field goal that allowed the Longhorns to beat the Nebraska Cornhuskers last Saturday. Now, the Horned Frogs will play the unbeaten Boise State Broncos (6), another team from a non-BCS conference (the WAC), in the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona Jan. 4 in what has been dubbed the "BCS Buster Bowl" or the "Mid-Major Bowl."
The TCU-Boise State matchup is a repeat of last year's Poinsettia Bowl, which TCU won 17-16. Publicly, TCU coaches and players say they're thrilled with the matchup, but their fans have been vocal about their disappointment, saying TCU deserved the chance to prove themselves against a leading team from a BCS conference, such as Florida (5) of the SEC or Cincinnati (3) of the Big East.
What do you think? Is this year's Fiesta Bowl the "kids' table" of BCS bowls, or is it a great rematch of unbeaten teams who played in an exciting bowl game last year?
Read about this year's bowl matchups on About.com's college football guidesite
Photo by Getty Images
PTC's "A Christmas Story" Delivers Holiday Nostalgia
Like many people, I love the 1983 film A Christmas Story, based on the semi-autobiographical short stories and personal essays of Jean Shepherd, and I watch it every year. Shepherd's story is sweet but not syrupy, capturing the preoccupations of American childhood: bullies, teachers, loving but clueless parents, the feverish anticipation of Christmas morning, and the mixed hope and fear that Santa Claus may or may not make all your dreams come true.
Pioneer Theatre Company's stage version of A Christmas Story, which opened Friday, Dec. 4 and plays until Dec. 19, is an amusing, nostalgic look at Christmas through a child's eyes, or more accurately, through the eyes of an adult recalling his best childhood Christmas. In the story, young Ralphie Parker, who lives in pre-World War II Hohman, Indiana, dreams of receiving an "Official Red Ryder carbine action 200-shot range model air rifle with a compass and this thing which tells time built right into the stock," but he's thwarted by his mother, teacher and even a department store Santa Claus who tell him, "You'll shoot your eye out!"
All the jokes from the film are in the stage version, including Ralphie's friend Flick getting his tongue stuck to a flagpole, Mr. Parker winning a ridiculous "major award," and Ralphie's fantasies of protecting his family from outlaws with his trusty air rifle.
All the actors in PTC's A Christmas Story do a fine job. I particularly liked young Mason Johnson of Park City as Ralphie. I also liked Jack Koenig as the adult Ralphie, the story's narrator, although the narrator, who wanders through the action, is somewhat intrusive in the stage version when compared with the film version. (In the film, Shepherd narrates his own story and doesn't appear on camera except for a short cameo.) PTC's A Christmas Story is played broadly for laughs, and I thought the warmth and love between Ralphie and his family that are shown in the film version were missing from PTC's version.
Pioneer Theatre Company
Pioneer Memorial Theatre
300 S. 1400 E. at the University of Utah
801-581-6961
Tickets: Mondays-Thursdays and Saturday matinees, $22 and $34
Friday-Saturday nights, $26 and $40
Photo: L-R: Don Burroughs, Caden Maynes, Gabra Zackman, and Mason Johnson. By Alexander Weisman, courtesy of Pioneer Theatre Company
HCT's "A Christmas Carol": A Touching, Entertaining Holiday Tradition
I have to confess I've become tired of the Charles Dickens story A Christmas Carol. Over the years I've watched too many ridiculous sitcom/cartoon/movie adaptations of the story, in which various miserly curmudgeons undergo a change of heart through the efforts of various ghostly ministers. So even though Hale Centre Theatre has been putting on its production of A Christmas Carol every holiday season for 25 years, I haven't seen it until this year.
I was happy to discover that HCT's version of A Christmas Carol is faithful to the spirit of the original and wonderfully entertaining. A Christmas Carol endures as a story because it's both touching and clever, and HCT's production retains both of those qualities.
HCT's production weaves text from the 1843 story into the script and narration. The novel was adapted with the help of Richard Wilkins, a Dickens scholar who has portrayed Ebenezer Scrooge for the production's entire 25-year history. Wilkins, a former Brigham Young University professor, began playing Scrooge when he was 32 and now returns to Utah from his home in Qatar each year to play the role. A Christmas Carol is not a musical but incorporates original songs and carol arrangements by Utah composer Barlow Bradford.
As with most productions at HCT, the visual elements of A Christmas Carol are outstanding. The costumes are excellent, and the cast, stage and set are in constant motion. Special effects associated with the three ghosts are particularly entertaining. Standouts in the cast include Wilkins as Scrooge, Eric B. Armstrong as Jacob Marley and the Undertaker, Adam Dietlein as the young Scrooge, and young Andrew Lake as the Ghost of Christmas Past. (Note: This article reviews the Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday cast. Monday/Wednesday/Friday shows use a different cast, including David Weekes as Scrooge.)
Although I appreciated the script's faithfulness to the original, it became ponderous at times. I also thought the musical numbers could have been more effective. But I would highly recommend HCT's A Christmas Carol for just about anyone, including children ages six and older.
A Christmas Carol typically sells out, and early reservations are recommended. Performances are at 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, Nov. 28 through Dec. 23, with an additional evening performance each night at 5 p.m. beginning Dec. 4. Matinées will run each Saturday at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. with an additional matinee at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 23.
Hale Centre Theatre
3333 Decker Lake Dr. in West Valley City
801-984-9000
Tickets: $24-$30 for adults, $17-$20 for children ages 5-11
Child prices higher the week of Christmas; call for details.
Photo courtesy of Intrepid Agency and Hale Centre Theatre
Brighton Lift Passes $15
It's December, which makes me feel like giving, and feel like skiing. Fortunately, it's easy to do both with Brighton Quad Wednesdays. For three Wednesdays in December, starting tomorrow, you can get an Area Day Pass at Brighton Resort for $15 just for bringing a donation for a specific charity.
Dec. 2 - Bring a new blanket, warm hat, socks or gloves for The Road Home homeless shelter.
Dec. 9 - Bring a new, unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots
Dec. 16 - Bring a grocery bag of non-perishable food for the Utah Food Bank
All donations must be worth $10 or more
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