West of Zion: Zion Canyon Music Festival

Monday, September 26, 2011

Zion Canyon Music Festival

What an amazing weekend!!! The Town of Springdale is located in one of the most beautiful places on Earth - the mouth of Zion National Park and the Town Park sits at the base of the West Temple. Now imagine some of the best music echoing off those canyon walls. The audience could not get enough of the music, the food, the art and the atmosphere. That was my weekend - The Zion Canyon Music Festival.

The Festival couldn't take place without the great Town staff and so many volunteers. I spent my weekend in The KidZone which was strategically place next to the Army National Guard activities. This worked out well for me, since my girls love to participate in with the ROTC Cadets and their advisors. This great group of individuals also pitched in and helped pick up the park in time for Day Two of the Festival.

Lela showing that she really can do pushups.

Lela throwing the football into the tank cannon. The goal was to get four in a row to win a T-shirt.

The girls with their swim coach Isaac, who is now in the ROTC at Dixie State College.

Yes, there is my mountain goat. This time she did climbed the wall with bare feet.

Brittney and Kristy helped me keep the KidZone hopping with games, crafts and bounce houses - all FREE!!!

The crowds this year were the largest ever. There were also more vendors than ever before. In prior years the Festival has been mainly a one-day event on Saturday. This year the decision was made to split it in to two events with a country/bluegrass theme on Friday and a rock-n-roll/funk/jazz theme on Saturday. The performers are a mix of local groups and nationally recognized performers. I liked this idea, because even in September, the temperatures can reach into the 90s in Southern Utah and so it was nice to take better advantage of the cooler evening temperatures.

My favorite story of the event was a couple who planned their wedding around attending the Festival. They came to the Festival Friday with the bride still in her wedding dress.

Here are some quotes from people who attended, along with pics from the festival:

Thank You!!!Danced the nights away!!

Can't wait for next year!

We had a brilliant time! Black Carl rocked the house!

My first time to this event! WOW! AND the location is sooo beautiful... its beyond words... Can't wait till the next event!

Great show last night from Porterhouse Bob!... and really good pizza.

My son Wil and my niece Brittney took these pictures. The quotes were taken from the Zion Canyon Music Festival Facebook page. Here is a link to the Festival website.

This was the third year for the Festival and I think it keeps getting better every year. For those of you who could not attend, here are some YouTube links for the performers so you can see what you missed. Hope to see you next year. I can hardly wait!!!