It was time to grab a deep-fried Oreo, watch dogs fly and jugglers juggle as the Utah State Fair wheeled into Salt Lake City last week. 

The 10-day event brings together the best of carnie rides, livestock (ie ginormous pigs), touring rock bands, greasy foods, boots and boobs. The Fair is a lookie-loo’s paradise!

Blues Traveler, the 90s blues rock band, energized the grandstand and had I known that your fair ticket got you in, I would have been all over that! Instead, I assumed that you had to purchase separately. I’m an idiot.

What we did know was included was the circus and the Canine flyers; and the rows of sheep, chickens, pigs, milk cows, beef cows, pigeons, rabbits and baby animals to pet and observe. There were also cooking competitions, craft-making contests and a family donut stringing comp. Unfortunately, the demolition derby was axed because the arena is closed for construction.  

Sage tried to take it all in. Have a walk with her if you missed this year’s Fair then diet like crazy so you’re ready for all of the fair food in 2017.

Trail runners, it’s time to get your game on when The North Face Endurance Challenge Series’ races into Park City, Utah. The “mountain region” part of the national race event happens Sept. 24 when the resort town hosts not only the highest elevation start within the North America series at 7,000 feet but it will also climb to the highest elevation of 10,000 feet. If you want a run that will push your limits and make you feel like you could hurl, this is it. Heck, core skiers can consider this the ultimate pre-season conditioning. Athletes will navigate Park City Mountain using a mix of double and single track trail, ski runs, mountain bike trails and various dirt access roads.

Welcome to Park City

The Park City Race is one of six across North America, each with seven distances. The GORE-TEX® 50 Mile, 50K, Marathon, Marathon Relay and Kid’s 1K race will be held on Saturday, and the Half Marathon, 10K, 5K races and a Kid’s 1K race are on Sunday. In case you didn’t know, The North Face is the largest trail running series in the world and the North Face Endurance Challenge Championship offers largest prize purse in the sport of trail racing ($30,000 total), awarding $10,000 to the top male and female runners in the GORE-TEX® 50 Mile distance.

Endurance Evolution

The iconic The North Face Endurance Challenge race series was born out of Ultrarunner Dean Karnazes’ 2006 quest to run 50 marathons, in 50 states, in 50 consecutive days. The brand launched the race series the following year and it has since grown into a full-weekend festival with a challenge for every fitness level. In 2015, the series hosted more than 16,000 runners over six weekends. Nearly 90,000 runners have participated in the nine years that Endurance Challenge has been in existence.

“The North Face Endurance Challenge motivates runners at all levels to experience the trails and challenge their physical limits,” said Katie Ramage, director of Sports Marketing at The North Face. “We are thrilled to bring the series back again this year and attract more people to the sport of trail running. We’ve seen urban marathon runners who have never run on trails and novice runners revel in the success of their first 5K.”

Register by September 21 to ensure your slot. Race packet pickup for Park City begins Thursday, Sept. 22, at The North Face stores in Salt Lake City and Park City.

Date nights in Park City just got a little more interesting. Sure there are the free concerts at Deer Valley on Wednesdays, the ones at Kimball Junction on Thursdays and those on Saturday at PCMR/Canyons but when you want a bit more sophistication, take your honey to Hops on the Hill at Deer Valley’s Stein Eriksen Lodge.

Every Tuesday night this summer Hops on the Hill brings you regional craft beer tastings with specially selected food pairings starting at 5 p.m., followed by a concert at 6 p.m. 

Local breweries include Squatters and Park City Brewery, Red Rock Brewing and Epic Brewing Company, Uinta Brewing and Bonneville Brewery, 2 Row Brewing and Bohemian Brewery, Wasatch Brewery and Proper Brewing Company. This summer’s bands feature Mister Sister, Gary Tada, Red Desert Ramblers, Fastback and Utah County Swillers.

Ten percent of the proceeds from food and drink sales go toward the Youth Sports Alliance, an organization dedicated to supporting and enabling youth to participate, learn, compete and excel in sports.

Here’s your 2016 calendar for brews and beats:

The Tuesday events costs $40 in advance and $45 at the door and if you want more than “tastes”, the bar is open with $5 beer, $10 wine and $10 liquor. Hot dogs, brats and burgers will be on sale from $5-15.