The fall 2019 edition of FanX brought out much of the same excitement as last spring’s. Lines and lines of nerds (are we still feeling like nerds? Or just the smart people?) assembled to see what Utah’s most anticipated pop culture/sci-fi/fantasy convention had in store. From Tom Holland (Spider-man: Far From Home) as a featured celebrity to the cosplay rising to another level, there was a lot to unpack. While the event was put together to help make fan dreams come true, Star Wars charity cosplay groups at the event were on hand to make wishes come true. 

Five local charity cosplay organizations gathered to raise $5,000 for Make a Wish.

The 501st Legion, Rebel Legion, Droid Builders, Saber Guild and The Mandalorian Mercs combined to form one massive block in the convention hall. Each of these clubs represents a larger international organization with chapters everywhere, including Utah.

The Droid Builders build custom droids and remotely operate them. Massive crowds gathered around to see the droids in action. A miniature R2D2 and BB-8 rolled out and stole everyone’s heart. 

The Madalorian Mercs formed a massive circle that gained the attention of many onlookers. More and more people made their way towards the Mandalorians, as they chanted and marched throughout the entire convention center. This tradition is referred to as the Mandalorian Death March. They do this at every convention, and it is quite the spectacle. 

 From the costumes to the choreographed death march, these groups really care about what they are doing. At the end of the day, each group was motivated to bring happiness into someone’s life through their costumes and live performances.

You can support their goal of raising $5,000 to make someone’s wish come true by making your own donation. Please show some support for these local groups. They love what they do and are way fun to see live! 

See more of our FanX coverage here.

Another FanX in the books, and this year’s spring event left many fans, including myself, very satisfied. The event was supposed to be the “smaller” of the two Fan-X events but it definitely didn’t feel that way.

Walking up to the event, I could see the same level of dedication that I witnessed at last fall’s event. Nerds from everywhere gathered together with some impressive costumes. As I walked through the doors,  I could hear the lyrics to Backstreet Boys’, “I Want It That Way.” It turns out that someone had the idea of having an impromptu karaoke sesh with most of the songs being a throwback to the Backstreet Boys. I mean what’s not to like?

The theme of this year’s event seemed to revolve around the fans again. Go figure. The setup was pretty much the same as last year, with the exception of the Evermore booth not being there. I was able to make my over to the PlayStation booth which had a pretty decent line to get in there. The booth was one of the new installments for last year’s event and was pretty successful. This year was no different. A couple of new games were available to play like Days Gone, a zombie thriller, and Mortal Kombat 11, the popular fighting game that’s been around since 1992. They were also handing out some coupons for discounts on items in the PlayStation Store. Free merch is always a bonus when coming out to a gathering like this.

This year had no shortage of stars bringing out names like, Asher Angel (Shazam), John Cleese (Monty Python), Mike Colter (Luke Cage), Tom Felton (Harry Potter series), Seth Gilliam (The Walking Dead), Clark Gregg (The Avengers) and many more. One of the amazing features about this convention is bringing out stars like this to do meet and greets, pictures, autographs etc. The fans are the focus. I happened to run by one of my heroes, Brian Baumgartner (Kevin from The Office) and it made my weekend.

Overall, FanX has done it again. They managed to put together an incredible event that made the fans the focus. There were questions and maybe there still are about the rebranding of the event and how it would affect future conventions. After attending the last two events, I think they’ve done something amazing in managing to bring out an insane amount of fans and making it all about them. Thank-you FanX! Until next time.

See all of our Fan X coverage here.

Can it be? Has another year gone by? Yes. The Utah Arts Festival is coming, again. The surest sign of summer in SLC and the folks at UAF just rolled out the music line up for 2019. So picture yourself paying too much for beer at Library Square, as is tradition, and decide which of these shows you will be sipping your drinks at.

The Slackers will be kicking things off on June 20th bringing their Ska, Reggae, and Soul blend to Salt Lake City. They are deeply rooted in ska and bring a unique “Jamaican Rock n’ Roll” sound that sets them apart.

The Steel Woods will follow on Friday June 21st. They are labeled as a southern blues-rock band with a little bit of R&B, country, gospel, bluegrass, blues, folk and metal sprinkled in there.

Caroline Rose will be closing out Friday night with a lot of instruments, a sense of humor, and some angsty pop music.

Saturday, June 22nd Christine Lavin grace us with her musical roots of contemporary folk music. Based out of New York City, Lavin has recorded numerous solo albums and has also done some work with other female folk artists.

Head for the Hills will be play the Amphitheater Stage on the 22nd. They are rooted in bluegrass but have been pushing for more futuristic sounds. Their music is a little bit of jazz, indie, hip-hop, soul, and folk that have all been mended together to create a very, well, whatever that mix makes. Just go.

The Festival Stage will play host to Tinsley Ellis, the Southern blues-rock guitar wizard. This bona fide “guitar hero” will bring the heat.

Hot Buttered Rum ‘s  five amazing musicians will bring the jam on string-bass, fiddle, guitar, banjo, mandolin make up some of the incredible sounds this group has put together. Get ready for some twirlers and noodlers in the pit.

MarchFourth will close out the festival on Sunday the 23rd. They are an explosion of brassy funk, rock, and jazz. This will be a performance delivered by 20 performers on stage. Yes, 20 people will be up on stage.

Get tickets and info about under the Utah Arts Festival link.

See all of our A&E Coverage here.

Get your corned beef and cabbage ready, because St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner and so are the many celebrations that have turned this holiday into a classic American tradition. One of the very first St. Patrick’s Day celebrations happened in Boston over three centuries ago in 1737. Since then, the holiday has been celebrated primarily as a secular holiday here in the United States. We get excited here for St. Patricks because it signals that we are close to Spring and Winter is pretty much over! Here are 4 things happening in the Salt Lake area for St. Patrick’s Day.

St. Patrick’s Day Parade

The Hibernian Society of Utah will be hosting their 41st annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade, March 16th at 10AM. Rain or shine, we’re hoping for shine, the parade will go on. Make sure to wear your best green outfit, and if you don’t have a green outfit grab a shamrock button, and if you don’t have that we don’t know what to tell you. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to come out and celebrate at this years parade.

St. Cody’s Magical Pub Crawl

The holiday wouldn’t be complete with out a proper pub crawl and Beehive Sports and Social Club is here to save the day. Similar to last year, they will be hosting a bar scavenger hunt. You will have to do your best to find all of the clues while enjoying drinks along the scavenger route. So, assemble your squad and get ready for a day full of drink, clues, stumbling, and great memories with friends. RSVP today.

4th West Fest

Mountain West Hard Cider will be there after the parade is over to keep the fun going and to keep everyone hydrated (beer, cider, and whisky). Local vendors and live music will be providing food and entertainment that will keep the celebrations going throughout the day. The legendary triple distilled Irish whiskey, Tullamore Dew, will also make a special appearance so you won’t want to miss this after-party. Visit their event page for more information.

Discovery Gateway Children’s Museum

This year you can celebrate St. Patrick’s day traditions at the Discovery Gateway Children’s Museum. Make sure to wear your favorite green outfit and celebrate all things St. Patty’s. Some of the activities include origami joke tellers, leprechaun beards, hats, rainbow binoculars, and more. Visit Discovery Gateway for more information.