Ahhhh Sundance...

Every year for ten days in January, a beast invades Park City. The beast is Sundance.

Sundance, for many, is a time of star gazing, movie going, late night parties, walks up and down Main Street, free gifts, concerts and wine bars, and brushes with fame.

It looks a little different from my perspective.
For me, Sundance is:

Lots of people - everywhere - all wearing black and toting sponsor bags, computer totes, designer handbags and hideous man purses that someone, somewhere should have deemed wrong a long time ago.

Traffic - lots and lots of traffic. What used to be a five minute drive has become a 45 minute drive - all because of the PIBS (People In Black) This is what the local high schoolers around here have labeled them.

More fur coats, fur hats and furry boots than should ever be in one place. It really is a spectacle.

An occassional glimpse of someone famous but it's highly unlikely since they don't hang out at Albertson's and they're probably not going to stop by my house. Last year I did see Screech from Saved By the Bell. Does that even count?

Road Rage! The limosines, buses, vans, taxis and private cars driven by people who don't know where they're going and don't care if they're causing traffic jams get a little old when you are just trying to get to the post office.

No parking spot for my haircut that is WAY overdo! What about the little people who just want to get their hair cut?

Houseguests (which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but we have had them come and go non-stop for the entire festival.) I have had a half day in between departures and arrivals to wash sheets and towels for the new guests. Two left today and two more arrive tomorrow. I literally just heard the buzzer on the dryer - the sheets are done. Time to do the towels.

Snooty people. Remember you are a guest in this town, and just because you are wearing black, were fortunate enough to get credentials and have them so humbly displayed around your neck, and you pulled out your furry boots because we have snow here, that really doesn't mean you are better than me. It just means you can get into more places than me for ten days, and you'll regret having ever purchased those boots.


Don't get me wrong. I am not a hater of Sundance. In fact, these past few days have been really fun. One of our houseguests is a musician who was invited to play at the Sundance Cafe. Others who played there this year were Damien Rice, Wynonna, Gin Blossoms, and the guitar player from the Doors (can't remember his name) to name a few. So, it was fun to hang with our friend Dave and see him perform. He was awesome.

Also, sweet Pete and Jenny invited us to a few films and one of them was a premiere. It starred Kevin Spacey, Dallas Roberts, Saffron Burrows and Robin Williams. Kevin Spacey and most of the cast were there after the show to answer audience questions. So, I actually got to see Kevin Spacey. I even got to hear him say the "F" word in the microphone.
This was all after a girl two seats down told me to shut up. (It's an extremely long story - too long for the blog - but I still can't believe it happened. I have never experienced someone as rude, and let's not forget I was a high school teacher! And let me say that today I discovered that she is no longer a Sundance volunteer. She was relieved of her duties after her behavior last night.)

Then, Jenny and I went to see a movie this morning and it was awesome. It wasn't a premiere so we didn't think there would be anyone special there. Until, the director and Anthony Edwards (Top Gun, ER) came up to the front! They answered questions from the audience and shared insight about the movie. I am a huge fan of Anthony Edwards after today. He was extremely casual and very humble - he was funny too.

To close, we have two more guests coming this weekend for a little Sundance fever. On Sunday they leave, along with the PIBS, the furry boots, the traffic, the congestion, the movies, the stars, and the craziness. It's been fun, but I am not sad to see it all go. The Sundance beast will return next year, only the fashion and the movies will be different. Everything else remains the same. OK, even some of the fashion remains the same - black coats and fur never cease to make an appearance. It is, after all, a beast.

I'm off to wash some towels!