It’s not hard to get excited about food. And wine. Maybe that’s why one of Park City’s newest fests draws the eager and hungry from all over the world during a time when things just start to get interesting around the historic mining town. The July 9-13 Park City Food and Wine Classic features vintners who share their thoughts and spirit(s) with hundreds of folks with a passion for the outdoors and the mountains. With seminars like Hike and Hops, Gallop and Grill, Cast and Cabs, the Fest invites us to do what we love while learning what it pairs well with. I keep wanting to do the SUP and Suds but that one sells out almost as soon as tickets go on sale.

I painted my own bottle when the Paint Mixer in PC hosted an extra special seminar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hurry or you too will be left sitting on the curb outside the State Liquor Store. The tickets-ranging in price from $55-$175- are selling out- at least the ones for the more (really cool) adventurous events.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At least take in the Stroll of Park City ($90) if you can’t get into anything else. You’ll walk the stretch of Main Street with what essentially amounts to a scorecard; sipping wine and scarfing down mouthwatering apps for three hours straight. Each “Stroll stop” offers its own variety of wines and food bites so that you get to know the locals.

2014 Stroll Stops include Wasatch Brew Pub, Bangkok Thai, Miner’s Park, Silver, Riverhorse on Main, Sky Lodge, Kimball Art Center (deck), High West Distillery & Saloon, Town Lift Plaza, Mustang, Zoom, Butcher’s Chop House & Bar, Buona Vita, Rock & Reilly’s and more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

FYI- It’ll be sunny and warm so wear a hat, sunscreen and comfortable shoes.

 Here are a couple of choices if you are in the market for a fresh lid.

 

Flirty

I fell in love with Flipside Hats the moment I saw them at last year’s Outdoor Retailer show. The Pacific Northwest business repurposes scraps into the cutest flora

l hats. The Kyra has a wide canvas brim and a super soft cotton top.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Functional

This new take on the safari hat protects not only your nose but your upper back and neck. The Quick Shade DLX Floppy from Seirus has a built in, ultra-soft nylon bandana for extra UV and sun protection where we often forget to shade. And if the wind starts to kick up dust you can bring it over your face like a bandito.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photos by Erica Jessop

 

Want to launch an unknown brand in a sea of well-known major players and expect to come out ahead? Do one of two things. Create a Questival or hire Davis Smith. The self-professed entrepreneur and BYU grad not only has a track record for finding and filling gaps in ecommerce but he can throw one hell of an event.

 

Questival, a scavenger/adventure race (scaventure?) kicked off in Salt Lake City yesterday to celebrate the launch of Davis’ latest endeavor. Cotopaxi is a benefit corporation that will manufacture and sell outdoor packs, water bottles and apparel direct to consumer online with a portion of sales going to third world countries to aid impoverished kids. Davis is trying to show you that is possible and easy to pay it forward. Buying just one water bottle will create two years of clean water. One pack can educate one child in Nepal for a week.

There were 1300 registrants for the 24-hour event before anyone had ever seen a pack. At the check-in point at Rice Eccles Stadium at 4 p.m. teams of up to four received their first Cotopaxi pack (named after the second highest summit in Equador) along with instructions that sent them all over Utah earning points for performing certain tasks and Instagraming them. Not only are they required to hashtag #cotopaxi #gearforgood #questival and the task number but the photo must have one teammate and four of the packs pictured. After six hours, they had logged more than 21 thousand tags. How’s that for marketing?

“We make money, give it to nonprofits and sell at super-competitive prices. It’s a great business model IF you can build an incredible brand,” said Davis. But with a zillion backpack companies in the outdoor market it’s “dang hard to build a brand.” Questival became his inspiration for mass awareness.

Each team from the three categories- co-ed, all men, all women- has a shot at a trip to Machu Picchu, Angkor Wat, or Kilimanjaro. They accumulate points by choosing “challenges” from a variety of categories like adventure, service, social media, survival and quirky. You can ride a slide at a public park for two points or drive to a national park for 30 points; strike a yoga pose in a natural setting, take a photo of a county line sign; hike to Ensign Peak or do an hour of community service. The photos that have emerged are both hilarious and inspiring.

“The Questival is the perfect culmination of our ideas,” said Davis. “It’s adventure, memories, viral and social all tied to a social mission that we can do good with our packs. There are tons of points for doing the good tasks. It makes you feel amazing.” There’s also a huge bonding aspect as teammates race across the city taking creative pictures with catchy phrases for all the world to see. Like Team Thunder_Ducks going buff at Stewart Falls- “As our good brother Job said: Naked came I out of my mother’s womb and naked shall I return thither save for my “Cotopaxi backpack.”

To learn more about Cotopaxi and feel a pack firsthand, get on down to Thanksgiving Point tonight at 6 p.m. (Saturday, April 12) for the free concert. Mates Of State, Joshua James, and Kenz Hall + Fictionist +Brumby perform.