Episode 112 The Great Salt Lake Fringe

Once upon a time in a land far, far away a performing arts festival started in Edinburgh, Scotland called the Fringe Festival. Established in 1947, it has grown over 71 years and expanded world-wide with over 200 festivals! You might be asking yourself why you need this history?

This week we had the Nina Vought, founder of Utah’s very own Fringe Festival, join us! It might not be 71 years old, but in it’s short 4 years it has grown from a few shows over a weekend, to 250 over 10 days!

Nina Vought is so much more than just the founder of The Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival. Nina is also a theatre professor at Westminster College in Salt Lake City. With a dream of being an academic gypsy, her roots have now been planted pretty deep in Utah with her husband, who team teaches with her at the college! Nina got real with us and let us know how much heart and soul and countless hours are put into even just a simple 15 minute performance at the Fringe Festival. This is a place for performances to be work-shopped and quite possibly improved at a future festival. Nina said, “the fringe festival does for theater what Sundance does for independent film.” She explained to us that it takes a village to put on this festival, and one of the coolest bits of information about the GSLFF is that all ticket sales go BACK to the performers and that is clearly stated in the 2 rules of the Fringe Festival, which all must abide!

1. It is non-curated. Based on a first come first serve for applications.

2. All ticket sales go to the performers.

The festival goes from August 2-12th with dance and theatre performances at the Gateway in downtown Salt Lake City. Ticket prices starting at $10 or you can buy a performance pack! *which we definitely suggest.* It is said that the Fringe Festival is like Disneyland for theater lovers! We can’t argue with that.

You can learn more about the Great Salt Lake Fringe HERE. You can follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for updates. We will do a follow up show with Nina and her husband about yoga, the vegan classes they teach, and living a green life in Salt Lake City!

We will ALWAYS love your “likes” BUT don’t forget to click that little SHARE button (or retweet) *sharing IS indeed caring* You can find us and subscribe on Soundcloud, Stitcher, or Itunes, and Google Play and TuneIN. Leave us a review and Follow us on the Twitter @tnupodcast, Instagram @Tnupodcast, or on Facebook The New Utah Podcast

Episode 110 Utah’s Natural Wonders

Utah? Natural Wonders? You may only here those in relation to the 5 National Parks in Southern Utah, but this week we found an awesome list that spans throughout the great state of Utah! Mike Godfrey, at KSL, picked out 7 natural wonders of Utah. We loved that we learned something new with this list. Did you know that the Uinta’s are one of only two North America mountain ranges that run East/West? Did you also know there are 1000 lakes throughout them?

We also thought it would be fun to discuss the Salt Lake Tribune’s recent article on 19 Utah Beers that have clever names based on Utah activities, places, and people! Do you have a favorite? Have you tried them all?

We know that a the half tiger, half lion, Liger is Napoleon Dynamite’s most favorite animal ever, but did you know it was an actual real animal? It still resides in Utah at the Bean museum in Provo. Click HERE to read more about Shasta, how she kept the zoo going, and her 24 years at the Hogle Zoo!

Shasta holds the record for longevity among ligers at 24 years. Toward the end, she developed arthritis and her body systems declined — and she was taken off public display. She died July 19, 1972. Farnsworth, who was then the zoo director, decided that because Shasta had been so loved and of such great interest, he sent her body to a taxidermist. “Then we put her on display in the old cat building,” he said, “so she still got a lot of attention.” She was later shipped to the Bean Museum at BYU in 1997. “There was a general philosophical change about hybrids. The thought was that since it didn’t happen in nature, we shouldn’t be doing it either in the zoo,” said Larry St. Clair, director of the museum.

Episode 108 Humans Of Salt Lake City

One day you might be in the Salt Lake Valley and a gentleman with a camera and a cheery disposition will approach you while you are having lunch, a smoke break, texting on your phone, or just enjoying the day. He’s going to ask your story. Maybe not in those words, but Mike Angelieri will come up with a question that will make you think about your life and you’ll want to share it with him. Mike will take your portrait and hen he will share with the rest of us at Humans of Salt Lake City.

We feel like we should call Mike “the collector.” Mike has been a collector of people’s stories and memories in Salt Lake City since 2013 when he realized no one had created a HOSL yet. He estimates that is about 1400+ people he’s had the opportunity to meet. Sounds like a huge responsibility, right? After speaking with him on this week’s episode, we couldn’t think of a better person to carefully record and document these stories. Mike’s memory of conversations is also very impressive, which just goes to show how much of an impact people are on the mind.

If you’re not familiar, Humans of Salt Lake City is a spin-off of the greatly popular; Humans of New York City. They are labors of love by the creators and have sprouted up around different cities around the world. There is no discrimination in the interviewee process. Children, homeless, pets, black, white, gay, veterans, straight, and so on. The magic of this project is that everyone has a story and something to teach, even the creator himself!

What happens when a story is too good to be true? What happens when Mike takes footsteps back to a familiar neighborhood, meets up with someone he interviewed prior, and they flag him down to show him that their life has completely shifted for good since their choice meeting? Mike told us absolutely heart wrenching stories as well as incredibly inspiring ones of people that he’s met along this journey. We don’t want to give away too much, but you may need a tissue for this one!

You can follow Humans of Salt Lake on Facebook and on Instagram.

**disclaimer** If you feel the urge to message Humans of Salt Lake City to tell him he shouldn’t be interviewing particular ethnic, religious, or otherwise types of people… how about you just don’t.

Episode 106 Mobile Coffee Queen of Salt Lake

Once upon a time there was a teacher who was tired of the lack of top notch coffee in her neighborhood and the Sev *that’s the 7-eleven* was just not cutting it on the way to work and on the weekends. She knew she was passionate about her community and decided to be proactive, quit her day job, and do something about this lack of brew! This gal volunteered as tribute and opened up a mobile coffee truck in Salt Lake City. This mobile coffee truck is known as, the Buzzed Coffee Truck!

Future grand-wizard barista Trina Perez, founder of Buzzed Coffee Truck, sat down with us for episode 106. That short story above isn’t just a fairy tale! Trina told us that she saw a need in her community, did the research, and that is how Buzzed Coffee Truck came to fruition. How often do you see people do that? Not often, right? Rose Park is a small and diverse community, and unfortunately with that size came a lack of coffee shops. Odd, right? Especially with a Starbucks on what seems like every corner now days. Trina quit her day job as a teacher, bought an old Fed Ex truck, got certified by the Specialty Coffee Association of America, and took to the streets! Not only is she serving tasty and locally roasted coffee; she offers fair trade coffee to support Cafe Feminino, and she is passionate about local and is partnering with other local Utah artists and food innovators for pop up cafes in Rose Park!

You might not be able to order a frappuccino at her window, but we promise between the Rimini beans and the recipes they use, you will be able to find something that will become your regular drink on their menu! Oh! and no need to feel left out, non-coffee drinkers, there are drinks for you too! We highly recommend the nitro brew, the caramel macchiato, and the hot chocolate! Or you can try Trina’s three favorites; the Nitro, the Mexican Mocha, and the chai! Don’t forget to say YES to the chocolate espresso bean on top!

We hope to see Buzzed Coffee in a brick and mortar sooner than later, so go out and support her dream!

photo: buzzed coffee truck

photo: buzzed coffee truck

Follow Buzzed Coffee on Instagram and Facebook for their weekly schedule. You can find them on Saturdays through October on the north center area of Pioneer Park at the Downtown Salt Lake Farmers market from 8-2pm.

Episode 104 GreenThread Herbs and Josh the Herbalist

We finally had a chance to sit down with Herbalist, Josh Williams, aka Josh the Herbalist at Thyme and Place *that’s on 9th South and 362 East* Not only did Josh educate us about being an herbalist and about plant medicine, we were able to chat with him about how he got his own education and how he found a passion for plant medicine. The cherry on top were the amazing teas he brought for us to try. One of them was his name sake, GreenThread, which is a Navajo-Hopi tea and super tasty if we might add!

Josh is always educating our community! Josh is the creator of the Utah Tea Festival (Dec 15th), the upcoming SnowBrush Herb Festival (June 23rd), as well as his monthly tea classes that he teaches at the Marmalade Library in Salt Lake City **which you can find dates on his Facebook page (link below)** Josh reminded us, and our listeners, that you probably shouldn’t eat the house plants. Josh also reminded us all that plant medicine belongs to the people.

There are three types of plant medicine that Josh taught us about this week: Ayurveda, Chinese Barefoot, and American Civilization. Josh also let us know (for Jessica’s moms sake) that those pills of curcumin that you are buying are completely lacking the properties you need in tumeric and can have awful side effects! Make sure if you want to partake that you stick with the pure stuff!

Josh’s apothecary, GreenThread Herbs, opens officially on June 30th! Check out the website at GreenThread Herbs and of course please follow his new business on Instagram and Facebook! You can also follow Josh Williams on Instagram and Facebook.

This week we also discussed some of our most favorite Utah stereotypes!!

What are some of your favorites??? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter!

Episode 101 We did it! We Found the Illusive 5th Dentist

Every time this year local Utah dental office, Stonehaven Dental, holds a very special community event called Stonehaven Smiles. During this event they offer three types of dental work for free during the morning of the first Saturday every May. Last year we got to sit down with Dr. Nate Tobler told talk about their Stonehaven Smiles event. This year we had his brother, Dr. Eric Tobler, join us!

Stonehaven Smiles is an event that the Tobler’s started because of previous humanitarian work they had done in countries like Haiti. Eric told us they had been doing all this work in other countries and when they got back home realized that we have similar issues here in our own back yard. On the first Friday in May they offer free cleanings, extractions, and fillings during limited hours. It is first come first serve and lines do start early! This years event will be at the Lehi and South Jordan locations.

Other things we learned this week during our chat with Dr. Eric include; dentists being scared of the dentist, his short stint as an MMA fighter, and yes you heard it here… Meth stains teeth. Listen below to hear how Dr. Eric got his start into dentistry and how we decided that MMA is just violent cuddling!

Episode 95 How NOT to Sell Your Kids to a Farmer.

When you think farm talk, you would think of some kind of NPR conversation, but not this farm talk! First of all, you’ll want to listen because you want to hear about how a mom tried to sell her son to the farm!

Farmer Luke Petersen, of Petersen Family Farms, joined us this week on the New Utah Podcast. As a 5th generation farmer, on the same land in Riverton Utah, Luke’s passion for what he and his family do for the community and for farming was apparent as soon as he started telling us about it.

What is better than knowing that this is what you wanted to do when you grew up? That you were day dreaming of being a farmer. Luke taught us this week that farms are more than food, but rather they are a place where you can grow connected to the essence of the farm, learn about it, and create an understanding. Luke also dispelled Utah algae bloom myths for us! Teaching us that Utah Lake is a eutrophic lake and what is growing in the lake is actually a type of bacteria, zombie bacteria, but bacteria. Great news, no one is going to lose hair unless you are drinking it in copious amounts.

Luke’s passion for finding a better place to live where life slows down is apparent. At Petersen Family Farms there is no shortage of education which gives the farm intrinsic value. They offer a pre-school for 3-5 year old kids. Then summer camp comes along for 5-12 year old kids, as well as continuing education classes you can find on their website and Facebook events. In the fall and winter he offers the community pumpkin picking and Christmas tree’s, and then the farm gives a space to recycle the tree’s at the end of the season! You can find Petersen Family Farms on their website, you can go visit their store where you can purchase a lot of local business goods as well as what is grown on the farm at 11800 S 4000 W in Riverton Utah, and you can follow them on Facebook & Instagram for updates!

Also, the farm is NOT for sell.

We will ALWAYS love your “likes” BUT don’t forget to click that little SHARE button (or retweet) *sharing IS indeed caring* You can find us and subscribe on Soundcloud, Stitcher, or Itunes, and Google Play and TuneIN. Leave us a review and follow us on the Twitter @tnupodcast Instagram @tnupodcast and on Facebook The New Utah Podcast

LISTEN HERE: Ep95 Planting Rooster Seeds

Music: Bootleggers Dance by local Utah Band Folk Hogan

Episode 94 A Patchy-Tan Irishman in Utah

Once upon a time we joked that “all roads lead to Peter.” It is really true now! It’s officially been a year since we started talking about our favorite patchy-tan Irish man, host of The Sod Show, Peter Donegan. *And by patchy-tan we mean an American farmers tan*

What better way to celebrate St. Patrick’s day than inviting a real-life Irish dude on The New Utah Podcast? Peter is the creative director/laborer/etc. of Donegan Landscaping and host of one of Ireland’s top podcasts, The Sod Show. Peter has had a dirty soul *see what we did there, dirt… get it* since he was just a wee lad. Cultivating his love for gardening and for plants since he was just a small child, Peter has become a world renowned landscaper that is in high demand. We learned from Peter how St. Patrick’s is celebrated in Ireland vs. here in Utah! Peter talked to us about his time here in Utah last year. Peter might be gardening and landscaping in Ireland, but plants are relevant everywhere. Peter’s advice now that spring is upon us, is be willing to fail in your gardens. That is how you will learn.

We gave Peter a “one thing in Utah he would tell people to do,” months ago but we will get his new one posted soon! In the mean time, you can follow Peter and The Sod Show on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter and subscribe to his podcast! Peter will also be joining KRCL locally for some guest spots. He is an absolute legend!

LISTEN HERE: The New Utah Podcast

Music: Bootleggers Dance by local Utah Band Folk Hogan

Episode 93 Vegan Grindr should exist.

**WARNING* We did indeed eat our chicken sandwiches from Pretty Bird Chicken in front of a vegan… our deepest apologies.

We, at the New Utah Podcast, have been very fortunate to build relationships in the community and keep them going over the past 93 weeks! Nicky Passey joined us for episode 37 when his solo album was released and we were so glad he was back to celebrate his upcoming vinyl release of “Working Through Some Shit” on April 21st. We like to think his sound is a combination of greats such as Ben Folds, Johnny Cash, and They Might Be Giants. You will have to listen and decide for yourself.

Nick taught us this week about how his vinyl was pressed, how he chose the company that he did (Pirates Press), what happens when you put out to social media that a band member has died when they really haven’t, and the importance of Vegan Grindr. It’s not really a thing, but we think that Nick should snatch up that name and create a vegan app. Nick is also still deep in the process of creating his own and custom buttons/pins/coasters for businesses and consumers! We definitely love our buttons! If Nick isn’t out touring bass with Folk Hogan, you can catch him doing solo shows all around the Wasatch Front. Oh, and he is for hire! Check Nick out on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and of course his website. Tune into this episode for a great list of vegan restaurants in Utah!

This week we also talked through important issues like getting tattoos and the different types of buffet eaters that exist. Pressing, right? This is the last week of the Utah Legislation session. We will have a run through in the upcoming weeks of bills that passed.

LISTEN HERE: The New Utah Podcast

Music: Bootleggers Dance by local Utah Band Folk Hogan

Episode 92. Damn the man, Save the Empire!

With only 1 week left on the legislative session, we can’t help but celebrate that at bill was passed to get rid of the condescending, “this is a bar, not a restaurant” signs that have been plaguing our cities in Utah. However, Jeremy did come up with the best bar name ever and if anyone decides to utilize, “This is a bar, not a Restaurant” we just ask to get a little bit of credit.

With only 1 week left in the session, there will be over 500+ bills passed. Each week we’ve kept you up to date with a recap of some of what is important on the Utah hill. From more ecological ways for cremation, allowing breast-feeding in public, and cyclists being able to run through red lights if it is safe, we make sure to give you our opinions on what is happening!

This week we also celebrated, at the dismay of Chris, the 50th anniversary of Purple Turtle!

Jessica’s favorite Italian restaurant in Utah is moving across town. Per Noi Trattoria has taken over the old Michelangelo’s location at 3005 Highland Drive. Going from their quaint little space in Sugarhouse, they will now be able to accommodate twice as much, if not more, business! If you want some of the best Italian food you can find in Utah, this is the place! Click HERE for their menu.

Photo: Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune

Photo : Jessica Richardson

Do you know if the city you live in is in Utah’s top safest cities? Lucky for you, we went through the list of Utah’s safest cities this week, so know you can know! Did you also know that Utah/Salt Lake City is one of the top best places for LGBT seniors? Q Salt Lake Magazine broke down the cities and Salt Lake is in the top 15 best!

A lot of talk is going on in our country about gun control after the Florida shooting two weeks ago. We decided because it is relevant and could happen in Utah at anytime that we need to have a discussion about it. Where do you stand?

LISTEN HERE: The New Utah Podcast

Music: Bootleggers Dance by local Utah Band Folk Hogan