Talisker on Main’s 2012 Savor the Summit Table

Savor the Summit is one of the most unique culinary events around. Each year, Park City closes Main Street for the evening, and local restaurants set up tables at the town’s largest outdoor dinner party. Here’s how it works: Guests pick a Park City restaurant to eat at, make reservations, and then head to the mountains for an evening that’s sure to be one you won’t forget. This year, Savor the Summit will be held on June 22, and there are more than 30 participating restaurants with unique menus, so there’s sure to be something for every taste. Prices can range from $40 to $150, and most restaurants offer a wine pairing for an additional cost.

In addition to dining, the event also plays host to some of Park City’s best local live music. The Spirit Garden is located at the intersection of Main St. and Heber Ave. Here you can enjoy cocktails and live

Appetizers and wine at Savor the Summit 2012.

music starting at 4 p.m. If you don’t have a reservation at any of the Savor the Summit tables, you can still be involved in the exciting Main St. experience by hanging out here. Many restaurants also recruit their own bands to play near their tables, so as you walk up the street you’ll be sure to hear a variety of music. This year there will also be a Savor the Summit “After Party” at Park City Live featuring folk-rock musician James McMurtry.

Reservations for this event sell out quickly. Click here to view participating restaurants and menus. Call Park City Lodging, Inc. for a great deal on Main Street lodging during the event! Our destination specialists are here to answer all of your lodging and Park City, Utah questions.

By: Colette Maddock, Marketing and Social Media Coordinator

Park City is widely known as a winter vacation destination because of our three world-class ski resort areas, the Sundance Film Festival, and the town’s Olympic legacy. What’s not as widely known about our quaint mountain town is that summers here are just as spectacular. There’s no shortage of live music, food and wine events, and art festivals to be enjoyed. Park City locals like to say,”I moved to Park City for the winters, but I stayed because of the summers.”

Whether you want to experience nature at it’s finest while hiking, mountain biking, fly-fishing, rock climbing, and paddleboarding; or revel in Park City’s cultural offerings during Savor the Summit, The Kimball Arts Festival, the Park City Food and Wine Classic, or any number of weekly events that take place on Main Street, the town has something for everyone.

Utah Olympic Park offers guests a one-of-a-kind experience that can’t be found anywhere else in the mountain west. Freestyle ski jump performances by Olympic athletes and Olympic hopefuls are performed on a weekly basis, and guests can enjoy comet bobsled rides down the Olympic Bobsled course year-round.

Locals and visitors look forward to Park City’s Silly Market on Main St. each Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. This open-air market provides local food, arts, crafts and a petite farmers market. We love the build-your-own Bloody Mary Bar, delicious corn on the cob, and gourmet grilled cheese stand are some of our favorite offerings. The Silly Market is a zero-waste, eco-friendly event. Last summer, the market resulted in only 16 bags of trash sent to the landfill for the entire season.

Much like the dining scene in Park City, the music scene rivals that of many large cities–especially in the summer months. The Deer Valley Music Festival plays host to a number of well-known performers. This year Steve Martin, the Indigo Girls, and many others will play during the festival, among others. Park City Lodging, Inc. guests get a special rate on DVMF tickets, click here for more information. The St. Regis Big Stars, Bright Nights concert series is also held at the Snow Park Amphitheater. Look forward to Jewel, One Republic, Lyle Lovett, and others performing during the series. In addition to paid concerts, Deer Valley hosts the Grand Valley Bank Free Community Concert Series each Wednesday evening during the summer at the Snow Park Amphitheater, Canyons hosts free concerts each Saturday evening starting July 20, and there are also free concerts each Thursday at Newpark Town Center starting June 20, 2013.

Want to experience the Sundance Film Festival during the summer? Avoid the mega-theaters on Friday through Sunday and join local non-profit Park City Film Series at the Library Theatre. They feature a selection from the best independent, documentary, world and local cinema. Prize giveaways and popcorn served with ‘real’ butter are a unique highlight of the film series.

Other local favorites include Friday night wine and hors d’oeuvres gallery strolls, outdoor dining on street-decks along Main Street, and Park City’s 4th of July celebration. Check our events calendar for a full list of upcoming events, or call one of our destination specialists to book a summer stay–it will be a mountain experience filled with activities and events that you’ll want to experience year after year.

One of the great things about choosing a rental property for your vacation lodging is that each property is unique. This makes it easy to find a rental that is absolutely perfect for the group you’re traveling with. We know that guests have an abundance of lodging options to choose from for their vacation in Park City, and one of the best things about Park City Lodging, Inc. is that we offer guests a variety of accommodations, from hotel rooms to 6-bedroom houses that range from economy to premier, in order to fit every traveler’s taste and budget. We know that our guests are savvy, and we do everything we can do add value at every property rating level.

While the uniqueness of each property is what can make choosing a specific lodging option so fun, it can also be a source of confusion. This is why Park City Lodging, Inc. has adopted a rating system that we apply to each of the properties we manage—in order to relieve some of the confusion you might have about what exactly you can expect out of your vacation rental.

Park City Lodging, Inc. adheres to a strict quality rating standard established by a nationally recognized authority on resort quality ratings. Using a standardized rating system enhances both our guests’ and our owners’ experiences. Guests feel confident in their property choice because they know exactly what they’re getting before they arrive in Park City, and owners know that our highly-trained staff members will give them appropriate recommendations for improving their property according to industry standards.   “Owners appreciate having a set standard. There is a definition as to what each rating requires and they appreciate the fact that they’re all being treated equally,” says our Owner Services Manager, Connie Williams. “And the travel partners we work with love our rating system,” she says. “They deem it more reliable than other companies.”

Our quality rating evaluation addresses furnishings, property décor and quality. We evaluate the flooring and window treatments, the paint, updates and renovations that the kitchen and bathrooms might need, and furnishings that are starting to wear or electronics that need to be updated. We also evaluate whether artwork, lamps, and bedding has become dated.

We know that a large part of being successful in the vacation rental industry is the ability to keep our properties on-trend with amenities that travelers have grown to expect. Keeping this in mind, we reevaluate the ratings of our properties on a yearly basis, giving owners upgrade suggestions that keep their properties fresh and attractive. We know that adhering to these standards gives all of our customers—both owners and guests—confidence in choosing Park City Lodging, Inc.

The moguls course for the FIS Freestyle World Cup at Deer Valley.

We’re lucky in Park City to play host to many unique events year round. As a winter sports enthusiast, I get particularly excited when our town hosts winter skiing and snowboarding events. Last week, and through the weekend, two of our resorts hosted major competitions: Deer Valley hosted the annual FIS Freestyle World Cup and Park City Mountain Resort hosted the Sprint U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix and Visa U.S. Freeskiing Grand Prix. For those of you unfamiliar with the ski and snowboarding competition circuit, Deer Valley hosted moguls, aerials and dual moguls; and Park City Mountain Resort hosted both snowboarding and skiing big air and halfpipe competitions.

The Eagle Superpipe at Park City Mountain Resort for the Park City Grand Prix.

Besides going to the events, which are all free and open to the public, there is also a free concert each year that kicks off the long weekend. Lower Main Street is closed and the crowd gathers, snow or clear skies, to hear the music each year. This year we were very excited when we found out that Cold War Kids would be playing, and they certainly did not disappoint.

Men’s FIS Snowboard World Cup results:
1. Shaun White
2. Scott Lago
3. Luke Mitrani

Women’s FIS Snowboarding World Cup results:
1. Jiayu Liu
2. Arielle Gold
3. Kaitlyn Farrington

Men’s FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup results:
1. David Wise
2. Torin Yater-Wallace
3. Kevin Rolland

Women’s FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup results:
1. Maddie Bowman
2. Ayana Onozuka
3. Virginie Faivre

Men’s Paul Mitchell Progression Session Big Air results:
1. Gus Kenworthy
2. Alex Schlopy
3. Joss Christiansen

Women’s Paul Mitchell Progression Session Big Air results:
1. Tiril Sjastad Christiansen
2. Alexi Micinski
3. Catherine Warchal

16-year-old Kyle Mack won the Paul Mitchell Progression Session Big Air competition for snowboarding on Jan 30, 2013.

The Cold War Kids played a free concert outside at the bottom of Main Street in Park City January 30, 2013.

By: Colette Maddock, Marketing and Social Media Coordinator

Each year, Hollywood descends upon Park City for the ever-popular Sundance Film Festival. Founded in Salt Lake City in August 1978, one of the little known facts about the festival is that it was not founded by Robert Redford, as many have come to believe. It was actually co-founded by Sterling Van Wagenen (the husband of Redford’s cousin and head of Wildwood, Redford’s company) and John Earle of the Utah Film Commission. Robert Redford was the chairperson. Since Redford’s name was attached to the festival, it received a lot of attention. In 1981 the festival was moved from Salt Lake City to Park City, reportedly to attract more attention from Hollywood. At that time Park City was just an up-and-coming ski town, a far cry from the internationally-renowned resort town that it’s known as today.

In 1984 Redford founded the Sundance Institute and took over the Utah/U.S. Film Festival, changing the name to Sundance. Since then, the festival has grown to attract over 45,000 visitors from around the globe, making it one of the largest independent film festivals in the United States. Each year the third Thursday in January turns this small and vibrant resort town nestled in the Rocky Mountains into a booming artistic community with a cacophonous urban flair.

While many locals joke about the folks in black flock to our community, we truly feel lucky to have such an amazing cultural gathering right in our own backyard. The live music, events, and stargazing are all fun pastimes during the festival, but what we love most is the chance to see films that we might not otherwise see on the big screen. This year, we’re especially excited to see Dirty Wars, Pandora’s Promise, Fire in the Blood, Valentine Road, and Blackfish.

And so, here we sit in 2013, 35 years from the festivals inception, and with only 6 days until Park City, Utah once again metamorphoses into a buzzing epicenter for Hollywood stars, musicians, indie film enthusiasts, star chasing fans and all those caught in between.