I don’t have to look at my watch to knowI’ve been on my road bike for almost three hours. It’s not so much that my legs are fatigued, it’s the aches in my shoulders, neck, lower back and even my ankles that’s telling how long I’ve been pushing at the pedals. It’s no wonder, of course. While my quads, knees and calves are in constant motion and being regularly replenished with fresh oxygen, the rest of me is relatively stationary, and just getting stiffer with each mile I crank out.
Jackie Wheeler from Mountain Yoga Sandy demonstrates the pigeon pose, one of the especially helpful yoga positions to help cyclists recover from and prepare for long rides. Photo credit Gillian Hunter Photography.
Jackie Wheeler, owner of Mountain Yoga Sandy (943 S. 1300 East, Sandy) and avid mountain biker, is all too familiar with the twinges and tightness cycling can cause. “I love cycling, but all that repetitive movement, leaning forward and overworking your hip flexors, quads and hamstrings, can cause some pretty unpleasant discomfort—or even injury—if you don’t do some kind of counter activity off the bike,” Wheeler says. “The benefits that cyclists, and really all athletes, can expect from doing yoga include increased flexibility and strength and gaining better control of the breath.”
Engaging in a regular yoga practice will not only double down on the flexibility and strength benefits offered by the poses outlined below but will offer the bonus of mastering control of your breath—a particularly handy skill when you’re, say, trying to recover quickly in between climbs or want to stay calm through a tough technical section of singletrack trail. And though it might be tempting to engage in more challenging yoga classes on the regular, Wheeler advises that those who cycle three or more times a week take it a bit easier. “I’d recommend gentler classes like a stretch, yin or even restore, versus higher intensity classes like power, vinyasa or flow yoga,” she says. “Most regular cyclists don’t need more intensity and can reap the greater benefits of oxygenating the whole body and active recovery by taking less intense classes.”
5 Yoga Poses For Cyclists
Wheeler says these poses are particularly effective in maintaining cycling-specific muscle flexibility and are great to do anytime but especially immediately following a ride.
Cobra, to relieve neck and lower back stiffness. Lie on your stomach with your arms bent so that your hands are directly under your shoulders and your elbows pointing up. Gently curl your spine upward moving your gaze toward the sky just to the point where it feels good.
Pigeon, to stretch the hip flexors and inner hip. From a low lunge position, with your right leg forward and left leg back, lower your body so that your right shin is parallel, or close to parallel, to the top of your mat. Your left leg should be extended straight behind you with the top of your left foot resting on the mat. Switch sides. A gentler alternative to pigeon is figure four: lie on your back with both knees bent and your feet flat on the ground. Move your left ankle to rest on your right leg just above your knee. Bring your right knee toward your chest. Switch sides.
Downward facing dog, to release your lower back, lengthen your spine and to open your hamstrings. From a tabletop or all-fours position, with your hands and knees shoulder-and hip-width apart, roll onto your toes and lift your hips toward the sky, forming an inverted “V” with your body. Keep your arms straight but maintain as much bend in your knees as you need.
Supine twist, to stretch your core and open your chest. Lie on your back, bring your knees into your chest and extend your arms straight out from your shoulders like a capital “T.” Gently drop both knees to one side while turning your head in the opposite direction and keeping both shoulders on the floor.
To build and maintain all-important core strength, Wheeler also suggests doing regular planks (holding a high push-up position on your hands and toes) and boat poses (balance on your tailbone with your legs lifted and your arms reaching forward).
Kenny Loggins’ 1984 song “Footloose” plays over Payson High School’s football field on a sunny April morning. Cutting loose to the famous chorus, punctuating his stride toward a makeshift stage, is none other than the star of the film of the same name, Kevin Bacon. Payson High School students, wearing their black, green and white letterman sweaters, crowd the base of the stage. They dance and hold tight to one another. Some cry openly, overcome with emotion and excitement, as they celebrate their accomplishment: orchestrating the return of Kevin Bacon to Payson High School, where he filmed scenes from Footloose (1984) 40 years prior.
Bacon speaks to the young crowd, evoking the themes of the 1984 film. It’s a classic intergenerational conflict, where teenagers speak truth to power (i.e.: adults, religious figures), in an era defined by the fear of progress, moral panics and censorship. Like this moment in Payson, the film celebrates the wisdom and tenacity of youth, even in the face of adults who claim to know better but are more lost and stuck in their ways than they realize. As it turns out, we all need to cut loose once in a while.
‘You won’t get any dancing here, it’s illegal.’
When Al Jolson famously declared, “You ain’t heard nothin’ yet,” in the groundbreaking 1927 motion picture The Jazz Singer, he omitted the true artistic glory of the still nascent 20th-century medium. No, not computer-generated dinosaurs. Dancing.
Nothing will ever match the litheness Fred Astaire and Ginger Rodgers or the athletic/erotic hoofery of Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse in Singin’ in the Rain. Then came Reynolds, Sammy, Travolta, Hines…electric performers all, and absolutely the highlight of every musical or quasi-musical they sashayed into.
The young cast of Footloose (1984): Jim Youngs, Sarah Jessica Parker, Elizabeth Gorcey, Lori Singer, John Laughlin, Christopher Penn and Kevin Bacon. Photo courtesy Everett Collection.
Except for 1978’s Grease, the traditional musical gradually fell out of fashion with box office failures like The Wiz and Annie. But the aesthetic joy of dancing never lost its kick. Films built around dancing once again began to catch fire in the 1980s. The breakthrough work was Flashdance, which, despite lacking a marketable star, grossed a stunning $92 million domestically in 1983 (outpacing pop cultural phenoms like Trading Places and WarGames). And then there was the NBC special Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever, wherein Michael Jackson popularized his backward gliding moonwalk—thus introducing urban-based breakdancing to the suburbs.
With hip-hop’s emergence, for the first time since the 1970s disco craze, people needed to dance. After Flashdance, Paramount knew this, so they fast-tracked a dance-centric project called Footloose.
Christopher Penn as small-town Willard Hewitt with Kevin Bacon in Footloose (1984), inside Payson High School. Photo courtesy of Mary Evans/Ronald Grant/Everett Collection
Written by Dean Pitchford (a songwriter who’d written hits for Dolly Parton, Kenny Loggins and Irene Cara), the script was based on an Oklahoma City town that had banned dancing for 80 years. In the real 1980s, the Satanic Panic and the Parents Music Resource Council were in full censorious swing. Meanwhile, on the newly launched MTV, Twisted Sister was proclaiming they weren’t ‘going to take it,’ Cyndi Lauper asserted that “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” and Paramount had a kids versus adults powder keg in the wings.
With a hot-button hit-in-the-making, the studio swung for the hottest young names on the market—and they whiffed. Tom Cruise and Rob Lowe passed on the rebellious new kid in town, Ren McCormack, while Madonna and Jennifer Jason Leigh were briefly in the running for the troublemaking preacher’s daughter, Ariel. The final choices, Kevin Bacon (familiar-ish from Diner) and Lori Singer (a big-screen newcomer) weren’t promotional rainmakers. John Lithgow, a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nominee for his portrayal of a transgender football player in The World According to Garp, was easily the biggest name on set as the dance-despising Reverend Shaw.
‘This is our time to dance.’
The upside of the film’s low-star power casting? No paparazzi were going to schlep out to Utah County for Kevin Bacon in 1983. The Footloose production team found unconventional locations like the Lehi Roller Mill, The Hi-Spot hangout (where Ariel gets busted by John Lithgow’s Shaw for gyrating to Shalamar’s “Dancing in the Sheets”) and, most notably, Payson High School. Thus, Payson became forever synonymous with the fictional Midwestern town of Bomont, the dance-banning town in the film. (Note: Kids then and now can actually dance in Payson.)
Lori Singer in Footloose (1984), filmed in Payson, Utah, driving through McMullin Orchards. Photo courtesy Everett Collection.
It’s easy to find plenty of folks who rate Bacon’s breakout film their favorite Utah-made movie; the image of Bacon dancing around the Lehi Roller Mills is as iconic to ’80s-raised kids as the shot of John Wayne at the end of The Searchers is for Western fans. The Footloose story is simple: city boy Ren (Bacon) moves to a small town, only to find local religious zealots have outlawed—gasp!—dancing and rock music. Rallying the repressed teen populace (including a young Sarah Jessica Parker) to his cause, Ren convinces the fire-and-brimstone preacher (John Lithgow) that dancing is good, clean fun, just in time for the senior prom. The Wasatch Front looms in the background of nearly every scene—the production bounced from Lehi and American Fork to Payson and Orem—and we can thank Footloose for Bacon’s spiky haircut becoming the iconic look for American men in the mid-’80s.
No one can forget the game of tractor chicken between Ren and the physically abusive Chuck (Jim Youngins) outside the Roller Mill, or the clandestine jaunt to the county-adjacent bar where Ren, Ariel and plucky lil’ Rusty (pre-stardom Sarah Jessica Parker) gleefully cut a rug (before Christopher Penn’s hot-headed Willard starts a fight), the high school is the hub of the conflict, the bonding (particularly between Ren and Willard).
Payson High is indistinguishable from every rural high school in the United States of that era. Brick walls, narrow lockers, beige-colored classrooms tinted for maximum drowsiness: we know it, we loathed it and, 40 years later, it, like the movie, offers nostalgia. But, most importantly, in 1983, it made the perfect “Anytown-USA” backdrop for the film’s conflict between youth and age.
And then, 40 years later, Kevin Bacon returned to Payson High School to inspire a new class of upstart seniors to cut loose anew.
#BacontoPayson
This past April, Payson High School students successfully spearheaded a campaign to bring Kevin Bacon back to Payson High for the 40th anniversary of filming Footloose there. They started on social media with the hashtag #BaconToPayson to promote the grassroots efforts, attracting support from the Utah Film Commission and Utah Gov. Spencer Cox. The students choreographed elaborate recreations of the film’s iconic scenes that went viral.
For a while Bacon demurred, but they finally wore him down and he accepted the students’ invitation on NBC’s TODAY show, promising to make an appearance at Payson High for the first time since he filmed Footloose in 1983. Payson students were ecstatic.
Kevin Bacon returns to Payson High School on the 40th anniversary of Footloose (1984) in April 2024. Photo credit Melissa Majchrzak.
“We’ve worked so hard this year and done our absolute best to make this crazy dream a reality,” said Student Body President Rubie Raff. “I can’t believe that it’s finally happening and that we can say we did it! It was all worth it—we got Kevin back to Payson!”
The students were not the only ones who were ecstatic at the event. Payson High School Student Council Faculty Advisor Jenny Staheli was 11 years old when Footloose came out in 1984. She watched it with her friends, they listened to the soundtrack and, of course, they talked about how cute Kevin Bacon was. “It’s just been one of those things that’s been in the background of my life, honestly, since I was 11,” said Staheli. “I got to meet Kevin Bacon. Come on!” It was a teenage dream come true. “And it’s not just fulfilling for me. Working with these kids on this project has been just the most special experience. One of the best things I think we’ve ever done. It’s shown them, in an impactful way, that it’s okay to have a huge dream, to have something that feels impossible and to reach for it. Because, sometimes you get it. Sometimes it happens.”
Bacon’s visit was a part of his work with his non-profit foundation, SixDegrees.org. Along with Payson High School, local charitable organizations and the Payson community, they assembled and distributed 5,000 Essential Resource Kits to young people in need throughout Utah. He took the occasion to remind everyone of the film’s still relevant themes of “standing up to authority, being forgiving of people who are not exactly the same as you, standing up for your own freedoms and your right to express yourself and having complete compassion for other people,” said Bacon, addressing students. “And that’s what all of you have shown here, by turning what could be just a movie star coming back to get a pat on the back…into something really positive.” The moment came just in time as well, as the old Payson High School building is set to be closed down and demolished next spring.
The event at Payson High and the anniversary of Footloose also happened to coincide with 100 years of film in Utah. “Throughout the 100th anniversary, we are celebrating not only film and television moments that were made in Utah, but the people and places behind those moments,” says Virginia Pearce, Director of the Utah Film Commission. “Footloose is one of those iconic moments in Utah’s film history that made both an impact on Utah and the world. I am so proud of the Payson High School students and hope this celebration reminds everyone of Utah’s rich film history.” —Christie Porter
The Footloose Cast — Before and After
Lori Singer as Ariel Moore, the Reverend’s daughter, and Kevin Bacon in Footloose (1984). Photo copyright Paramount, Courtesy Everett Collection
Kevin Bacon (Ren McCormack)
Most recently, we saw Mr. Bacon at the Payson High School prom, where he led some lucky students through a tour of the soon-to-be-demolished high school. Before that, he was in Tremors, Diner and a bunch of other movies that aren’t as good.
Lori Singer (Ariel Moore)
Singer made her feature debut in Footloose and collaborated with A-list filmmakers like Robert Altman, John Schlesinger and Alan Rudolph, but she has split her time between acting and performing as a Julliard-trained cellist.
John Lithgow (Reverend Shaw Moore)
With two Tony Awards and six Emmys to his name, Lithgow is one of the most celebrated actors of his generation. Does he have a defining role? I’ll go with his Brian De Palma one-two punch of Blow Out and Raising Cain, and his gloriously unhinged villainy in The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension.
Dianne Wiest (Vi Moore)
As the tender-hearted wife struggling to mend the rift between Shaw and Ariel, Wiest is saddled with a semi-thankless role here. But Wiest is always worth watching, and Oscar voters agreed by awarding her Best Supporting Actress in Woody Allen’s Hannahand Her Sisters and Bullets Over Broadway. Since then she’s kept incredibly busy in theater and on television (you can watch her now on Mayor of Kingstown).
Sarah Jessica Parker (Rusty Rodriguez)
She’s been one of our most gifted comedic actors for 40 years and was spectacular in classics like L.A. Story, Honeymoon in Vegas and Ed Wood, but those two Emmys and two SAG Awards are for her iconic portrayal of Carrie Bradshaw on Sex and the City.
Christopher Penn (Willard Hewitt)
The youngest brother of Sean and Michael Penn made an impression in All the Right Moves and Rumble Fish, but he became a go-to character actor as rhythm-challenged Willard in Footloose. The cliche that he was always worth watching, even when the film was not, held true for Penn. Tragically, we haven’t been able to watch Penn do his sui generis thing since his death from heart disease at the age of 40 in 2006.
Danielle Nicole, the multi-award-winning soul siren, returns to The State Room on Friday, August 9, 2024. Those lucky patrons, like me, who caught her concert in Salt Lake City last year know this is a must-see musical event. The power trio of Danielle Nicole on vocals and bass, Brandon Miller’s searing guitar licks, and Go Go Ray’s great time on drums promise to light the fuse for a rock, soul, and blues concert explosion.
Signed to a new label and in full control of her artistic direction, Nicole taps into the retro R&B grooves that showcase her powerful vocal range. The show will feature Nicole’s new soul-soothing album, The Love You Bleed, a long-awaited record that explores themes of love, loss, and perseverance. “Love On My Brain,” a song they’ve been working out on the road for a few years has finally found a forever home. The record has already reached #1 on Billboard, Amazon, and iTunes Blues Charts. It’s packed with so many great tunes that I can hardly wait to see them come to life on The State Room stage.
Danielle Nicole’s storied music career began in 2000 as a member of Trampled Under Foot, a heavy blues band she formed with her two brothers. In the decades that followed, she was inducted into the Kansas Music Hall of Fame and received seven Blues Music Awards. The group’s 2013 album Badlands won the Blues Music Awards Contemporary Blues Album of the Year. Her 2015, critically acclaimed solo debut album Wolf Den reached the top of the blues charts and her 2018 follow-up Cry No More earned her a Grammy nomination.
Fans of Aretha Franklin, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Janis Joplin, Samantha Fish, Miko Marks, and Danielle Ponder will want to check out this Salt Lake City concert.
Summer is in full swing and we have compiled a list of local events happening this week for you to enjoy. From free outdoor concerts to arts festivals and pop-up markets, the city is as lively as ever. For even more events this week and throughout the month, visit our community events calendar!
Monday 08/05
What: Mondays at the Park Free Concert Series Where: Chase Home Museum in Liberty Park When: 08/05 from 7 p.m to 9 p.m. The Salt Lake City Arts Council has put together a series of free concerts featuring traditional folk music and cultural dances on select Monday evenings. Come with lawn chairs, blankets, picnics and friends and family of all ages to enjoy two acts throughout the evening: Sinchi Allpa & Somos Bolivia, and Venezuela Cantando.
What: Paranormal Cirque Where: 1055 W. North Temple, SLC When: Select showtimes on 8/05 An adults-only show featuring illusionists, mysterious creatures, acrobats and more in an eccentric fusion of circus, theatre and cabaret. In true circus fashion, the Paranormal Cirque embraces the darker, creepier side of showbiz. Guests 17 and under are required a parent guardian, no one under 13 is permitted. Purchase tickets here.
Tuesday 08/06
What: Big Band Dance Nights Where: The Gallivan Center When: 08/06 at 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. A free concert at The Gallivan Center’s outdoor amphitheater. Timpanogos Big Band will be performing on August 6th, led by globe-trotting woodwind player Ray Smith.
What: Pop-Up Food Market Where: Utah State Fairpark When: 08/06 at 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. The International Market presents a pop-up food market with Majestic Meats, Rocky Mountain Honey, Utah State Fairpark Produce, Deliciously Flakes and Aguas Frescas/bread.
Wednesday 08/07
What: Zoo Brew Safari Soul Train Where: Hogle Zoo When: 08/07 at 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. This month’s Zoo Brew is a 70s-themed extravaganza with local brews, bites and unique wildlife activities. Attendees are encouraged to dress in their best throwback attire!
Thursday 8/08
What: Yappy Hour Where: Pioneer Park When: 08/08 at 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Bring your four-legged bestie along for an evening of socializing, live music, vendor booths and plenty of treats. The event is free to attend and open to all ages, outside food and drinks are prohibited.
Friday 08/09
What: Craft Lake City DIY Fest Where: Utah State Fairpark When: 08/09-08/11 Utah’s largest local-centered art festival returns to the Fairpark for its 16th year. Slated to be the biggest yet, the DIY fest showcases 500 local artist booths, vintage vendors, performers and more.
What: Westside Culture Fest Where: Mid-Valley Performing Arts Center When: 08/09-08/10 Celebrate the Westside community at a two-day block party with local craftspeople, food trucks, kids activities and 25+ live performances. The event is free to attend.
What: Sandy Balloon Festival Where: Various Venues in Sandy When: 08/09-08/10 Get up-close to hot air balloons on early Friday and Saturday mornings as you help pilots set up, and sign up for a chance at a free tethered ride 50-80 feet in the air. After the launch, enjoy food trucks, music, face painting and a drone show.
Saturday 08/10
What: Macabre Art Festival Where: Spoox Boutique When: 08/10 at 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Celebrate all things Halloween early this year at a fun “summerween” art festival. Spoox Boutique is throwing its 11th Spooky Summer Festival with dozens of local artists, raffle drawings, and even trick-or-treating!
What: Bugfest Where: The Natural History Museum When: 08/10-08/11 Bug fans rejoice at NHMU’s BUGfest, a weekend packed full of collection showcases, live insect interactions, lectures and more.
What: Oktoberfest Opening Day Where: Snowbird Resort When: 08/10 at 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Dust off your stein and head up Little Cottonwood for Snowbird’s first Oktoberfest day of the season! The annual festival includes a Biergarten, Bavarian food vendors, live music and more. New this year, the Brewer’s Dinner is held on select Fridays during the festival and offers attendees an elevated experience with beer pairings at The Summit.
What: Back to School Market Where: Publik Coffee Roasters When: 08/10 at 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. A free pop-up market with local, BIPOC and women-owned small businesses. Shop all your back-to-school needs while the kids enjoy face painting, crafts and more.
Sunday 08/11
What: Urban Flea Market Where: The Gateway When: 08/11 at 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Vintage lovers and thrift flippers will love the year-round Urban Flea Market. The yard-sale-esque event features a curated selection of vintage, antique and pre-loved items. During the summer, the market takes over a spot in The Gateway every second Sunday of the month from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
If Bruce Springsteen had a twin sister it would be Melissa Etheridge and Jewel would be their angelic alter ego. Monday night’s show offered the perfect yin and yang of smoky passion and sweet soul. Their co-headlined, sold-out show thrilled the Salt Lake City audience with two masterful performances.
Fans hoping to take a trip down memory lane weren’t disappointed. Jewel opened her 14-song set with two of her Top 10 hits, “Standing Still” and “Hands.” She also satisfied those wanting to hear something fresh and new with her upbeat “Long Way ‘Round,” from her latest album. Jewel borrowed Melissa Etheridge’s band for the first four songs and then, as she put it, called an “audible” (a football term for a last minute change to the next play) and gave them a break for the solo portion of her set. She then scored a touchdown with “No More Tears.”
Jewel at Red Butte Garden Ampitheatre. Photo courtesy of Kevin Rolfe, Utah Concert Reviews.
Jewel seemed at home in our lovely garden and continuously engaged the energized audience. She even solicited requests. A fan suggested “Somewhere Over The Rainbow ” and she knocked out a fabulous acapella version, her rich vocals filling the mountain air. She turned her mega-hit “You Were Meant For Me,” into a singalong with the Red Butte Garden Choir (us). Some songs endure for generations!
The boys in the band returned and played “Foolish Games.” Jewel admitted she was trying to emulate Leonard Cohen when she wrote that tune. She then added an unexpected cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love,” starting it off with a ‘90s yacht rock slow-burn before igniting it into a full on rock jam. She ended her captivating set playing the first song she ever wrote, at age 18, “Who Will Save Your Soul.” The song’s 167 words changed her life. She then invited us on an extended, jazzed up journey of playful scat singing; a joyful call and response with the lead guitarist.
Like Jewel, Melissa Etheridge and her hard-working band played well-loved hits and introduced new music to the crowd. They launched into “If I Wanted To” followed by “Angels Would Fall.” Then, she played “An Unexpected Rain,” a deep track from 2006 that she included on a new live album I’m Not Broken (Live From Topeka Correctional Facility,) a concert filmed as a two-part docuseries now streaming on Paramount +. She also played an amazing, new power ballad, “A Burning Woman,” from that project. After a quick tutorial, all the women in the audience were alight, singing along.
To the crowd’s delight, the stage crew rolled out her piano and she banged out “Nowhere To Go,” her epic 1995 heartland rock ballad. She switched to her slide guitar for the deep cut rocker “Monster” then she grabbed her sparkly black 12-string guitar and began her rafter-shaking final run with “Come To My Window.”
The crowd continued to sing along with “Bring Me Some Water,” and she reached fever pitch with “I’m The Only One.” She put an exclamation point on her 11-song set with “Like The Way I Do.”
Jewel and Etheridge delighted a garden full of adoring fans with some great new music and played the older hits with a fiery passion. Alas, I had hoped that Jewel would join Etheridge on stage for a duet of “You Can Sleep While I Drive.” Now that would have been an epic finale. As always, kudos to the sound crew.
Who: Melissa Etheridge and Jewel What: Co-headlining show Where: Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre When: 7/29/2024 Info: https://redbuttegarden.org/concerts/
Garden designer Emily Brooks Wayment welcomes our sister publication Utah Style & Design magazine into a few of her formal gardens and shares the insights and inspiration that ignited these swoon-worthy creations
For more than two decades, Emily Brooks Wayment has been crafting lush landscapes for clients throughout Utah and beyond with a focus on formal, classic design. “I’m drawn to the past and enjoy infusing it into my work,” she explains. For this green-thumbed tastemaker, each project is a labor of love, bringing boundless joy and beauty to her residential and commercial properties alike. From lush estates in Holladay to intimate courtyards in Sugarhouse and mountainside retreats in Park City—and even portions of the prestigious grounds of Grand America Hotel in downtown Salt Lake City—Wayment’s touch of classic style and timeless design is evident.
Designer Emily Brooks Wayment. Photo by Mikki Platt.
Interestingly, garden design wasn’t initially Wayment’s planned career path. After studying English and Art History at the University of Utah, she worked as a floral designer for a major event-planning firm while pursuing her Master Gardener certification from Utah State University. She then resumed her academic studies abroad. While schooling in England, she was offered the opportunity to attend a landscape design program at a small college in Oxford.
Photo by Mikki Platt.
Inspired by vibrant Flemish paintings, the picturesque English countryside and classic garden style, she immersed herself in the 18-month landscape design course. This transformative experience planted the seed for the flourishing career she now enjoys.
Surrounded by a recent project’s neatly trimmed hedges, espaliered pear trees and expanses of hydrangeas, Wayment reflects, “Formal gardens—particularly English gardens—hold a special place in my heart. I’m captivated by their simplicity, intricate details and calming symmetry.” She loves collaborating with passionate homeowners and skilled designers as she creates memorable, site-driven landscapes. And she has many on the drawing boards waiting to take root. Come take a stroll with us through a few of her charming gardens and cull some of Wayment’s formal garden design tips and techniques.
SYMMETRY AND BALANCE
Balance and symmetry are hallmarks of formal garden design. Achieving balance involves distributing visual weight evenly throughout the space, while symmetry refers to mirroring design elements on either side of a central axis. “Symmetry and balance are calming to the eye and create a sense of harmony,” says Wayment, who uses them to enhance traditional homes and architecture.
Photo by Mikki Platt. Photo by Mikki Platt.
PATTERN
“What’s not to love about the diamond pattern?” exclaims Wayment, gushing about one of her beloved design motifs. Formal gardens embrace structure with their clean lines, geometric shapes and classic patterns like diamonds, checkerboards and traditional knots. Wayment masterfully uses trimmed shrubs, clever combinations of lawn and pavers, and striking patio tiles to craft familiar patterns that truly elevate her designs.
FOCAL POINT
“One of the most important parts of any garden is where your eye lands,” says Wayment. She carefully creates focal points to draw the eye in and anchor her designs. Head-turning water features, benches, planters, specimen plants, garden structures and sculptures are among the elements that can do the trick. “They help draw visitors in and guide their movements throughout a garden.”
Wayment layered rows of eye-catching topiaries and lush hydrangeas in the formal gardens of a home designed and built by The Fox Group. Photo by Mikki Platt.
STRUCTURED PLANTINGS
Nailing that polished, structured look is everything. It’s all about those crisp lines and orderly beds. Creating clean edges for garden beds is key, and Wayment often relies on clipped hedges and evergreen shrubs like trusty boxwoods to establish clear definition. By repeating these and similar plants, she crafts a harmonious, unified appearance. “They’re the guardians,” she says, “delivering structure and guiding movement.”
TOPIARY
Topiaries epitomize the precision of formal gardens, with their meticulously trimmed foliage and artful forms. Wayment favors hornbeams, boxwoods, arborvitae and linden trees for her shapely creations. She uses topiaries in an assortment of impressive roles, from framing entrances to anchoring planters and accentuating focal points. They infuse her gardens with classical elegance and the interest delivered by shapes and height changes.
Photo by Mikki Platt. Photo by Mikki Platt. Photo by Mikki Platt.
GATES
With their decorative flair and eye-catching designs, gates are more than just functional transitions—they’re focal points that catch the eye. Wayment takes cues from the architecture of a home, crafting gates that harmonize with its style and selecting colors and materials that complement the overall aesthetic. “Metal structures are my favorites; they stand the test of time. But you can’t deny the timeless charm of wood, especially in English gardens,” she muses.
CALMING COLOR
Formal gardens of the past embellished their evergreen shrub, hedge and tree plantings with readily available blooming plants, predominantly whites, pinks, lavenders and other subdued tones. Wayment favors these paler tones in her designs. Yellow? Maybe. Buttercream? Absolutely. “I lean towards the softer hues reminiscent of English gardens,” remarks the designer, who strategically echoes these colors throughout her designs to amplify the soothing simplicity and cohesion of the landscapes.
WATER
“I love water everywhere,” Wayment declares with a laugh. This explains the fountains, ponds and pools she integrates throughout her formal garden designs. “Water has an amazing way of cooling things down visually, and its sound is so serene.” Plus, it draws birds and wildlife. With tiered fountains stealing the show and serene pools and ponds creating refreshing backdrops, Wayment’s gardens become inviting outdoor oases. “They help draw visitors in and guide their movements throughout a garden.”
RHYTHM AND REPETITION
“Repetition creates a rhythm and connects you to the space,” notes Wayment. She deliberately selects a refined palette of plants, repeating them strategically to establish rhythm and balance, reinforcing the formal design. This intentional repetition at precise intervals fosters a harmonious, unified appearance while preserving the elegance and simplicity inherent in formal style gardens.
ARCHITECTURAL TIES
Wayment emphasizes the importance of aligning a garden with the house’s architecture by complementing and embracing its style, scale, massings and materials. “This helps to create a sense of harmony and flow between the house and its landscape,” she says. The designer also considers views from indoor spaces, making certain that garden scenes are perfected, inside and out.
Find more outdoor and interior design inspiration at Utah Style & Design magazine. And while you’re here, why not subscribe and get six annual issues of Salt Lake magazine’s curated guide to the best of life in Utah.
John Hiner has seen a lot from the storied Utah bar at The Alta Club. From making classic cocktails to mixing it up with movers and shakers, he’s been a fixture there for over 30 years, and he has tales to tell.
“I’ve had to reinvent myself perhaps 12, 15 times in the course of bartending,” Hiner says. “There’s nothing new under the sun as far as bartending. People have been bartending for 2,000 years, but we have trends that come upon us. One day, we are mixologists, throwing everything but the kitchen sink into our drinks. Other times, we are purists and ‘refine’ all the old drinks.”
The taste of nostalgia
The old drinks are really what Hiner likes to make more than anything. His Old Fashioned is famous. “John Landis, the director, his wife likes my Manhattan, so they come sometimes,” he casually mentions as an aside. “What I like to make are the ‘memory drinks,’” he says. “It’s one of my specialties. These older fellows and ladies will come in, and I’ll bring out a drink they loved from the ’50s or ’60s. I’ll try to make it just so. They get that look on their face, and suddenly, they are back with their babe, back in the day. That is the biggest reward. The taste of nostalgia. They’ll order a second one, and you’re like, yes! I got it.”
The biggest secret to Hiner’s long career behind the bar? “Just be friendly. People don’t know how to be friendly,” he says. “I knew everybody’s kids’ names. I knew everybody’s dogs’ names. I knew where they lived. I knew what they liked, knew what they liked to eat. You get to know your clientele.” Especially in a place like The Alta Club, where the clientele are regulars. “But oftentimes, you’re just making their day better. That’s what a bartender needs to do. You need to leave that outside world out.”
When you think of your clientele as family and The Alta Club as their home away from home, like Hiner does, everyone is a relative. “I like the variety of people you meet here,” he says. “Like the old jazz coach, Frank Layden. He brings me books all the time. I also got to work with Mitt Romney quite a bit during the Olympics. And he still talks to me about things he’s doing. And I used to know Senator Hatch and Neil Armstrong, who walked on the moon. I met Diane Keaton and Danny Trejo, from both ends of the acting spectrum.”
John’s Famous Muddle Old Fashioned. Photo by Adam Finkle.
A new chapter for a storied bar
Hiner is a self-proclaimed bookaholic, to the point the members of the Alta Club bring him books all the time. He talked with relish about some of the great authors who have visited over the club’s long history. “Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has been here,” Hiner says. “His first Sherlock Holmes book, A Study in Scarlet, was about blood atonement within the early Mormon Church. They’d sent a killer to England to effect revenge. And so the Mormon Church wrote him a letter, ‘Dear Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, we’re not savages. Please come visit us.’ And to their surprise, he did. He came and stayed at the Hotel Utah. But he likes to have a drink and a cigar. So he came to the Alta Club.” Hiner says the Club also hosted Mark Twain when he famously passed through Utah on his way to San Francisco and eventually the Sandwich Islands. “Of course, when he came to Salt Lake, he needed a drink,” Hiner says. “So he came here. He’s a Sagittarius man. Same as myself.” If Mr. Twain happened to be a bartender in modern-day Salt Lake City, he’d be John Hiner. Gruff, observant, studied in human nature, dedicated to his craft without taking it too seriously, skilled at reading people and bookish—with a winking sense of humor.
The bar at the Alta Club is changing. It was recently remodeled from top to bottom, and Hiner is at the bar a little less frequently these days. “It’s been an interesting ride here,” he says, winking. “I’ve enjoyed all of it, mostly.”
Social media, especially TikTok, has been going crazy for the ‘Utah Girl’ aesthetic. Here’s how to get the look of your favorite Utah influencers.
No. 1—No Utah Girl outfit is complete without a little Lululemon. Grab your belt bag to hold everything you need from the receipt from your latest Free People haul to the spoolie for brushing your lash extensions. Available at Lululemon, $36
No. 2—An armful of youthful beaded bracelets is a must. Complement with a dainty chain choker and a pearl-encrusted “GRWM” headband. Available at Claire’s, $16.50.
No. 3—Whether your tumbler is filled with Texas Tab or a dirty Diet Coke, Stanley Cups and Swig go together like Utah and Utah Girls: they’re inseparable. Available in store or online at Swig, $35.
No. 4—Though they may come with cavities, your daily dirty soda doesn’t have to give you fine lines, too. Invest in an anti-wrinkle straw to prevent wrinkles and save you money on your next medspa trip. Available online at Amazon, $18.
No. 5—Utah Girls are busy, so one-item outfits, like rompers, are always stocked in their closets. This romper is perfect for date night or a Target run. Available at OneLovedBabe, $52.
No. 6—Platform Converse are all the rage right now. Dress them up with your outfit for the third wedding this month or dress them down as you take your Goldendoodle for a walk up the canyon. Available at Converse, $75.
Find more of our Life & Style coverage here. If you like what you see why not subscribe and get six issues of Salt Lake magazine delivered to your door. Sign up for The Hive our free E-Newsletter that delivers food, fun and adventures to your in-box. And it’s free.
“I will never play football again.” This thought raced through Barry Sims’ mind as he listened to the orthopedic surgeon discuss his injury. It was 1998, and the National Football League was scouting the college senior. During practice for the All-Star Hula Bowl game, Sims suffered what could be a career-ending knee injury.
After undergoing surgery, Sims’ doctors referred him to a state-of-the-art training and rehabilitation program. Despite being listed as a long shot, he focused on recovery, hoping to return and get his shot in the NFL.
If you are a football fan, you know that Sims did make it back onto the field. Week after week, he showed that he was ready for anything (or anyone) that came his way. In 1999, he was drafted into the NFL’s European league as an offensive tackle for the Scottish Claymores and then signed as a free agent by the Raiders.
Sims spent the next nine years in the starting lineup for the then-Oakland Raiders (now Las Vegas) and another three years for the San Francisco 49ers. Looking back, he says, “The rehab training program was the thing I needed to do to play football.” And afterward, “My 12-year NFL career was a true blessing.”
Sims can add to his blessings the continual support of his wife, Shae. The couple met in 1998 at a sports bar with an NFL game playing in the background. “I was a server at Iggy’s, a popular U of U hangout at the time,” Shae says. “Barry came in with his teammates to watch the game. We started flirting over the food menu, went on a date and have been inseparable ever since.”
With a degree in exercise physiology, Shae supported Barry during his post-injury rehabilitation and his professional football career. Now she partners with him in his post-NFL life, teaming up to get involved with numerous philanthropies. These include the Special Olympics and Foster a Dream—an organization supporting foster care youth.
With Sims’ backstory, it’s no surprise that they excel at work that helps those with physical challenges. “We like to instill the message that even if someone tells you that you can’t do something, don’t give up,” Barry says. “It’s all about overcoming adversity.”
As first-hand witnesses to the effectiveness of science-based physical training, they wanted to be involved when they learned that the Athletic Republic—a private training facility to assist athletes of all ages to improve and excel—used the same program that aided Barry’s recovery.
In 2021, they moved from San Francisco back to Park City and became the owners of the Athletic Republic in Pinebrook.
Barry and Shae immediately started working with athletes of all ages and abilities to help them attain their goals. The training program places a strong emphasis on accident prevention and recovery time.
“Severe injuries are occurring at very early ages,” says Barry, speaking from experience. “Competition has improved over the years and athletes are specializing in sports at younger and younger ages. Unfortunately, many youth athletes are going back and forth from practice to games. They are not giving themselves a chance to recover, rest and train outside of the sport. This increases their chances of major injury.”
Encouraged by the successes achieved through the Athletic Republic regimen, in 2023, the Sims opened a second AR location in West Jordan. “We have just scratched the surface of what these two communities can gain through our education and training programs,” says Shae.
The Sims tend to gravitate toward “underdog stories” and recalled one in particular, “There was this little kid who wanted to play football,” Shae explains. “He had never played the sport before and his mom felt strongly that he needed to train and get physically ready before he tried it. He had such a good work ethic and a great attitude. He just excelled. After training with us, he tried out for a youth passing league and made the team. By the end of the season, he was awarded ‘most inspirational player’ and he has continued to excel!”
The Sims feel fortunate to be able to support a program that helps make dreams come true. As Barry can personally attest, “I know the benefits of this type of training and how well it works because I was a recipient of it.”
Shae adds, “And now we can assist those in small communities, like Park City and West Jordan, find their passion and help them be the pearls they can be.”
Barry Sims’ NFL Career
1988-1992: Park City High School, Offensive Lineman
1994-1996: Dixie College, Offensive Lineman
1996-1998: University of Utah, Offensive Lineman
1998: Graduated from the University of Utah with a B.A. in Sociology
