- The Utah State Fair continues at the Fairpark, 155 N. 1000 West, Salt Lake City. The Fair is open until 10 tonight. No big grandstand show tonight, but the Veterans of Foreign Wars are planning a ceremony to mark September 11 at 6:45 p.m. Tickets to the fair $8, $6 seniors and kids 6-12, free for children 5 and young at all Smith's Food and Drug stores. All military, law enforcement and emergency services personnel are admitted free today (bring ID).

- Cowboy poets Brenda "Sam" DeLeeuw and Doug Brewer will read and play music at 7:30 at the University of Utah's Little Theater in the Olpin Student Union Building, 200 S. Central Campus Drive, Salt Lake City. The Johnson Creek Band also will perform Western songs. Free.

- The annual Page-to-Stage Festival, a showcase of local playwrights' short work and featuring a full-length production of John Minigan's "Breaking the Shakespeare Code," starts tonight at 8 at the Studio Theater at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, 138 W. 300 South, Salt Lake City. The festival, presented by Wasatch Theatre Company and Utah Association of Community Theatres, runs through Saturday - and again Sept. 18-20 and 25-27. Tickets are $12, at ArtTix.

(Photo of DeLeeuw by Lori Faith Merritt/Photography by Faith)

Labels: Tonight's schedule, Utah State Fair

It would be possible to traverse the length of the Utah State Fair by sliding on all the greasy food one can eat there.

Last night I hit the Fair with my family, and we shared a tasty but undoubtedly artery-clogging funnel cake. The sharing was not equal, as my 8-year-old only nibbled a bit while my 5-year-old declared it "vomitrocious" after the first bite.

We missed out on what my colleague Kathy Stephenson reports today (in the dead-tree Tribune) is one of the hits of this year's Fair: A deep-fried peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The line at the booth - which also serves deep-fried Snickers bars, Twinkies and Oreos (and faces the barbecue stand that serves "pork chop on a stick") - was way too long, a hidden blessing to my cholesterol count.

We weren't the only ones taking advantage of good food. In the Zion building, we popped in just as Gov. John Huntsman and his family were checking out the pie-recipe contest. My 8-year-old mustered the courage to walk up and shake the Guv's hand.

Labels: Utah State Fair

- The Utah State Fair continues at the Fairpark, 155 W. 1000 North, Salt Lake City. The Fair is open until 10 tonight. Tonight's grandstand show is the VeggieTales Rockin' Tour - with all of your favorite cute, cuddly and Christian plant-based characters - starting at 6. Tickets are $8, $6 seniors and kids 6-12, free for children 5 and young at all Smith's Food and Drug stores.

- A free screening of the documentary "Fighting Goliath: The Texas Coal Wars," narrated by Robert Redford and presented by the Utah chapter of The Sierra Club, is set for 7 at the Tower Theatre, 876 E. 900 South, Salt Lake City.

- Marcus - the man with one name, many tattoos and a second-place showing on NBC's "Last Comic Standing" - will be performing his act in a live taping for an upcoming DVD release, at Peery's Egyptian Theatre, 2556 Washington Blvd., Ogden. Doors open at 6, with a warm-up band and an appearance by Wolf from "American Gladiators," before Marcus takes the stage at 7:30. (Don't be late - they won't let you in, because you might walk in front of a camera or something.) Tickets are $25, at SmithsTix.

Labels: Marcus, Robert Redford, Tonight's schedule, Utah State Fair

- The Utah State Fair continues at the Fairpark, 155 W. 1000 North, Salt Lake City. The Fair is open until 10 tonight. Tonight's grandstand performer, country singer Chris Cagle (pictured), starts at 7:30. Tickets are $8, $6 seniors and kids 6-12, free for children 5 and young at all Smith's Food and Drug stores.

- A Spanish-language screening of the documentary "Critical Condition," about the plight of the medically uninsured, is set for 7 at the Sorenson Unity Center, 1383 S. 900 West, Salt Lake City. Free.

- The Texas-based indie-rock band Centro-Matic plays at 9 at Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, Salt Lake City. Tickets are $10, at SmithsTix and 24Tix.

Labels: Tonight's schedule, Utah State Fair

The Utah State Fair is up and running over at the Fairpark, 1000 W. North Temple - the place to be to see a farm animal, eat a giant ear of corn or lose your equilibrium on the Tilt-a-Whirl.

I walked around the fair today, and picked up a few impressions.

I saw this sculpture in the Creative Arts exhibit. It's really cool - but where the heck do you put it after the fair's over.

The beauty of this rotating display is that not only does it show off the hot tub, but it doubles as a midway ride.

After an hour of trying to avoid stepping in manure, you become the perfect target for somebody trying to sell you cleaning supplies.

"I don't care if the other kids go to the bathroom inside, young man. In this family, we leave our manure outside before come into the house."

"Oh, did you see Mabel this year? Just between you and me, I think she's had some work done on her udder."

I have never been more creeped out than when I walked past this booth. Seriously.

Labels: Utah State Fair

- The Utah State Fair continues through the weekend, open from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. today and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday, at the Utah State Fairpark, 1000 W. North Temple, Salt Lake City. Tonight features the big headliner on the grandstand: "High School Musical" sweetheart Vanessa Hudgens (pictured), at 7:30 p.m. Gospel singer Natalie Grant sings Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and the "Country Gold Tour" arrives Sunday at 5 p.m. Tickets for the fair are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and kids 6-12, and free for children 5 and under. Tickets for Hudgens are $23, at SmithsTix. Admission to the other grandstand shows is included in the fair ticket price.

- The Salt Lake Greek Festival continues this weekend, through 11 p.m. tonight, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., at Holy Trinity Cathedral, 279 S. 300 West, Salt Lake City. Admission is $3. And don't forget the fun run Saturday morning, starting at 7:15 a.m.

- The Avenues Street Fair - with entertainment, street vendors, community organizers (and when did it become OK to boo community organizers?), a children's parade and public art gallery - is set for Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., on Third Avenue between I and N Streets. (Here's a challenge: Hit the Avenues fair, the Greek Festival and the State Fair all on the same day.)

- LAHPAH Fest, a one-day event to benefit Utah's homeless community, runs Saturday from noon to 10 p.m. at the Gallivan Center, 239 S. State, Salt Lake City. A slew of local acts - Afro Omega (pictured), Colin Robison, Gentri Watson, Debi Graham Band, Andale!, James Shook, Brinton Jones of The Devil Whale, Shaky Trade, Jebu, RuRu, Radio Rhythm Makers, Mad Max & The Wild Ones, Chaz Prymek, The Mandalas, Our Time In Space and Jackie Campbell - will perform at the event, sponsored by Wasatch United Front and KRCL. Tickets are $8, at the gate or through 24Tix.

- Singer-songwriter John Hiatt plays Sunday at Red Butte Garden, 300 Wakara Way, Salt Lake City, with Joan Osborne - who is probably as sick of singing "(If God Was) One of Us" as much as you are of hearing it - as the opening act. The show starts Sunday at 7 p.m. Tickets are $30 for garden members, $35 for the public and $25 for children, available at redbuttegarden.org.

Labels: Utah State Fair, weekend schedule

- The Utah State Fair starts its 11-day run today, open 'til 10 at the Utah State Fairpark, 1000 W. North Temple, Salt Lake City. Tickets are $8, $6 for seniors and for kids 6-12, and free for children 5 and under.

- The Salt Lake Greek Festival, the city's largest ethnic festival, starts its four-day run today, 5 to 11, at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 279 S. 300 West, Salt Lake City. Admission is $3 at the door.

- The Hinckley Institute of Politics is having a party to watch John McCain (pictured here with his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin) accept the Republican Party's nomination for president. The party starts at 7 in room 253 of Orson Spencer Hall, 260 Central Campus Drive, on the University of Utah campus.

- New Zealand-born singer-songwriter Tim Finn, known both as a solo artist and as founder of the '80s band Split Enz, plays at 7:30 at Bar Deluxe, 666 S. State St., Salt Lake City. Tickets are $25, at SmithsTix.

- Heavy-metal warriors Dokken, on the comeback trail with their new album "Lightning Strikes Again," will rock out at 7:30 at the Murray Theatre, 4961 S. State St., Murray. Tickets are $20, at SmithsTix.

Labels: John McCain, Tonight's schedule, Utah State Fair

The Utah State Fair kicks off today - 11 days of farm-raised fun, locally produced art, fried foods on sticks, carnival rides to make you puke up said stick-based cuisine, the chance to blow several bucks to win stuffed animals you could buy for half as much money, and the opportunity to introduce your city-fied kids to real live cows and all the smells that accompany them.

Here, in random order, are the fair events I always look forward to:

• The canned food award winners, if only to imagine the long-running rivalries between Ida Lou from Hurricane and LaVerne from LaVerkin.
• The commercial exhibits, to marvel at the fine art of hawking dust mops and kitchen knives.
• The giant butter sculpture.
• The Fine Arts and Creative Arts exhibits, to gush like a proud papa over my children's entries.

The Tribune kicks off its coverage of the fair with a full schedule and - if you pick up the print edition - a "Fair Libs" game so you can create your own wacky Utah State Fair story.

Labels: Utah State Fair