As I mentioned last week the Park City Arts Festival was held this past weekend and was a huge success. The weather couldn't have been better. Bright blue skies, temps in the high 70s to low 80s, and not a cloud to dampen the spirits. Arts Fest is such a great time with Main Street Park City turned into one big art show, with vendors from all over the country: artists from Tennessee, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Washington, Arizona, California and many others that I can't recall. Each displaying their unique wares. The festival over the years has become so popular that artists start applying for entry early during the winter, then by spring the Kimball Arts Center--who is the sponsor--makes their determination as to who will be allowed to participate in that year's festival. All the artists that I spoke with said that the festival was very profitable for them and most have participated for many years.
Unique to the Rocky Mountains, the weather starts cooling off in August. Daytime temperatures are not as high, evenings are a little cooler, and this summer has been a little cooler than usual. Salt Lake City, which is about 3,000 feet below us in elevation, has yet to hit 100 degrees, and if they haven't by now it's doubtful that they will this year. It's not uncommon during the hot month of July for Park City to get a few days at or near 90, but not this year. With the late start of summer and all the rain, the mountain flowers are still in full bloom and absolutely spectacular.
Nothing real exciting in real estate news this week. Sales continue to be brisk but will be very interested to see what if any effect the government's mess with the economy will cause. With the stock market in a freefall for the last two weeks I'll be very interested to see if this makes buyers more inclined to put their money in the safety of real estate or just afraid to do anything. Needless to say, here in the resorts, where our economy is so tied to both the US and world economies, we are just a little nervous right now and wishing that the politicians in Washington DC would get their act together and quit creating these crises. The next month should be very telling, so come back and let's see what happens.
This coming Saturday the Utah Symphony will be performing under the stars at Deer Valley and will be featuring the music of Queen. I'm really looking forward to this show. It should be a delightful evening and I'll be very interested to see who the symphony brings in for the main performers for Queen.
Here it is the second week of August and we are actually starting to think about the upcoming winter. Next month I'll give a wrap-up of what improvements the resorts have made this summer and what to expect for the upcoming ski season. In the meantime, enjoy your summer and start getting in shape for ski season!
