Spaghetti Sauce and Sculpture

Get Cultured This Weekend

By Lucy Burningham, 8-19-05

It’s Friday, and time to make plans to get out of the house. Instead of coming up with a Home Depot shopping list, why not opt for some culture and save home repairs for a rainy weekend.

Start with the Salt Lake Gallery Association’s Gallery Stroll, which takes place on the third Friday of every month. If you visit the organization’s web site, which offers a handy map identifying each participating gallery, you’ll notice that the range of locations creates a distinctly non-strollable area. But pick a concentration of galleries, or an intriguing exhibit, and you’ll have a great art experience.

I prefer the Pierpont Avenue stretch, which officially includes only the Art Access Gallery. But artists open their studios to the public and organizations such as the Women’s Art Center also sell art. Or hit Phillips Gallery and peruse the rooftop sculpture garden and the Summer Group Show, featuring works by some of Utah’s best artists.

Tomorrow, celebrate Italian culture at the Ferragosto Italian fair at Pioneer Park. The Italian Center of the West is putting on the festival for the third year in a row, and expects at least 10,000 people to attend. Festival-goers can watch a bocce ball tournament, vote on the best spaghetti sauce (through extensive tasting, of course), sip wine, listen to live music and learn about Utah’s Italian immigrants.

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