While many of the pop-up gifting areas during the Sundance Film Festival offered the usual meet-and-greet with various companies and a bag full of swag, Oakley- makers of ski and snowboard gear- once again took things a step further. The Learn-To-Ride lounge at the Downstairs bar on Main Street dressed up celebs and brought them out for an afternoon of snowboarding. If they needed a little help, they got it from prosnowboarders

Celebrity like Adrian Grenier (Entourage), who’s band played in the Oakley venue at night, Dermot Mulroney (My Best Friend’s Wedding), Octavia Spencer (Academy Award Winner, The Help), and approved media (that’s me) were gifted New Era hats and scarves, some slick soft shell Oakley pants, matching insulated jackets, goggles or sunglasses and hit the slopes with the pro boarders. If they would rather chill at the Lounge and wait for friends to return, they could taste the new chocolate-flavored Cream of Wheat and sign a bowl that will be auctioned for the Ronald McDonald Foundation, or down a healthy ‘mocktail’ made with Emergen-C- dissolvable vitamins and antioxidants to support your immune system and boost energy. The pink lemonade was one of the tastiest.

Photos by Ryan Freitas

Check out my new Oakley Changeovers.

Supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio snags some Oakley gear for her husband too.

Tim Daly Getty Images for Oakley

It’s not the floor of the NY stock exchange but the buying is brisk in Park City this week as film distributors, filmmakers and acquisitions departments hustle to find the next “Beasts of the Southern Wild.”

After the slew of 2013 Oscar nominees that came from last year’s Sundance pool in the best documentary category, it was expected that distributors would have their eyes on the documentaries.    HBO Films has just purchased Pussy Riot- the film that chronicles the story of the radical, feminist punk rock band that went to jail after a Moscow performance. This becomes the fifth documentary purchase so far after Twenty Feet From Stardom (Radius), Dirty Wars (Sundance Selects), The Summit (Sundance Selects) and History of the Eagles (Showtime) sold early this week.  Michael Winterbottom’s “The Look of Love,” was the first dramatic feature sold do far at Sundance. It premiered last Saturday night at the Eccles Theatre. 

I just got stopped on the street and invited into the HP Tent for some live music. Must have been my new doo from the DoveColorCare popup salon that’s winding down today at the TR Suites Gifting Lounge. But actually, the tent is open to anyone! It’s yet another opportunity for the general public to participate in Sundance. HP is serving fresh hot cocoa and offering free “Festival Tours” to “enhance your Sundance experience”. Guides leave from the tent at 10 a.m. and noon every day and walk you all over Main Street to show you the inner workings of the Fest venues and offer a low-key introduction to the mayhem.

If you already know your way around, hang out at the tent and take in some excellent live music. The spot next to the Kimball Art Center has been rocking all weekend. This morning it’s a new rock band out of Vancouver, B.C. called Lift Off. But you”ll never know what you’re going to hear and like throughout the day so make the HP Live Tent a regular stop on your own Fest tour. Not to mention that the location has the best WiFi hotspot I’ve found in Park City so far.

Is it really almost 3 a.m.? I’m finally in bed. The night ended with a brilliantly themed party at the Sundance Channel Headquarters at the top of Main Street in Park City. Hosted by AnnaLynne McCord, the “skinny bitch” from the CW’s 90210, Catdance drew a huge crowd to celebrate Fresh Step Litter’s feline film fest. The event goes beyond YouTube cats getting cute. It celebrates the best original, scripted cat short films.

I have a cat. I get it. People are passionate about their pusses; passionate enough to make movies about them and now they have a chance to make $10 thousand off them.

Fresh Step selected five films from a nationwide search, and premiered them last night. The finalists were then awarded with a golden scoop. The contest, however, has just begun as Fresh Step wants you to vote for the winner. There’s “Catalogue,” a short about a couple who order a bedroom set and it comes with the cat in the catalog picture; a mock biography of an aging YouTube cat sensation called “Fallen Star,” an animated film that brought tears to our eyes called “Dear Rocky,” a how-to video called “A Cat’s Guide To Caring For A Human,” and a story that shows cat love defies stereotypes in “A Change of Heart.”

Each film has its own charm but the standout was “Fallen Star”. Funny, charming, clever; the story of a cat who has lost his fan base is a tongue-in-cheek allegory for every one-hit wonder ever farmed by YouTube – or Hollywood for that matter.

To screen all of the Catdance finalists and cast a ballot for the viewer’s choice award, visit www.freshstep.com Jan. 20 through Feb. 28, 2013.  All voters will have a chance to win great prizes, including the limited-edition cat hat gifted at last night’s party.

The hat, designed by Sunghee Bang, is popcorn knit in a black and grey stripe complete with two pointy cat ears. It can be a bit itchy if you are sensitive to wool but otherwise it’s adorable. If you want one of your own go to www.aspcaonlinestore.com to purchase for $39.99. One hundred percent of the purchase price will benefit the ASPCA (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals).