The Arts Council of Park City and Summit County and Basin Recreation’s annual Art on the Trails event was dispersed over a roughly one-mile stretch of McLeod Creek Trail Saturday.
During the 1.5-hour tours, over 200 attendees experienced high-caliber performances and visually stunning artwork with the natural Park City landscape as a backdrop.
First on the tour was Rhythm Nation Tap Company, which features dancers aged 18-50 years old. The group of seven was set up in a grass field next to the trail, each tapping on their own square wooden board.
Founder and Director Wendi Isaacson said she choreographed the second dance to the tune of “What a Wonderful World” after hiking in the mountains.
Onlookers clapped as dancers took the lead for short solos.
A short walk later, Jessica and Christoper Danz played duets under shady trees. Jessica Danz has been the principal French horn player for the Utah Symphony since 2021, and Christopher Danz is a trumpet freelancer who has performed with the Utah Symphony, Ballet West and more.
Jessica Danz said the couple met and first played together over 10 years ago in piano class. They now focus on other instruments, but the pair missed playing together.
“We're practicing so much separately, we got this idea of we would really love to play together,” she said. “Chris started arranging things for us probably about five years ago, and ever since then, he's built up this awesome library of wonderful things that we can play together.”
One arrangement they played was Clair de Lune by Debussy, which Christopher Danz arranged specifically for his brother’s wedding. Jessica Danz said while horn and trumpet duets are uncommon, the famous piano tune works well with the brightness of the trumpet and the depth of the horn.
Next, Native American dancers Eric Watchman, Patrick Willie and Rocklyn Merrick showcased their skills. They’re part of Cultural Fire Events, an indigenous-led nonprofit supporting Native American culture and community.
Watchman, who is Navajo, said Native American dancers originally wore simpler clothes when dancing, but over time, they grew more intricate. Now, dancers wear colorfully beaded regalia, varying depending on the dance.
Merrick, who is Navajo, Oglala, Lakota and Omaha, performed the jingle dress dance. She said it’s a medicine dance originating from the Ojibwe tribe.
“When people dance this dance, it was with the purpose of healing,” Merrick said. “Nowadays, we still carry that tradition on. And when we dance, we dance with prayers and with the intent to share those with the people that need that.”
Merrick’s regalia featured gold cones all over the skirt. She said originally, indigenous people used tobacco can lids to make the cones, as tobacco is sacred. When the cones jingle together while the dancer performs, it sounds like rain, signifying renewed earth.
Watchman performed a dance meant to imitate a male sage grouse mating dance. Originating from the Blackfoot tribe in the Montana and Canadian region, Watchman said the dance came about after a young man killed a sage grouse to feed his family.
Later, the bird came to him in a dream, saying that since he had taken a sage grouse’s life, he must learn and teach his people the mating dance.
As Watchman danced, bells on his ankles jingled and feathers on his regalia waved.
Willie, who is Navajo, performed one of the most popular Native American dances: the hoop dance. He said it comes from the Taos Pueblo tribe in New Mexico and the hoops signify that everyone is created equal in the sacred circle.
Over the years, more and more hoops have been added to the dance. Willie said it’s also a storytelling dance, and he used eight hoops to create different formations, including one representing the eagle’s journey through life.
Watchman encouraged the crowd to cheer Willie on.
Park City-based musician Elizabeth Bee was the next stop on the tour. She shared two original songs on guitar, with the sounds of the creek as backup vocals. One song, called “Thinking Problem,” was about her journey getting sober from drugs and alcohol.
“I’ve got a thinking problem, sometimes I want what I can’t have. It’s like chasing a rainbow,” she sang.
The final stop on the tour was a performance from lyric soprano and Park City Opera co-founder Lisl Wangermann and Utah Symphony violinist Hugh Palmer.
It was Park City Opera’s first time participating in Art on the Trails and Wangermann said it’s a great introduction to the art. Shaded from the hot, sunny skies under a canopy, the duo performed Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Along the Field.
Wangermann was very expressive with her movements and facial expressions when she sang, opening her arms to add to the vibrato of her voice.
The performance was followed by cheers and a couple “bravos.”
Three artists creating plein air paintings — painting done in the open air based on nearby scenery — were also at work on the trail.
As the group headed back to the trail’s start, they observed the progress the artists had made since first passing by.
Once back at the Copper Moose Farm Stand, many attendees stayed to reflect on the art they had seen and enjoy more music from the Changing Lanes Band.
Art on the Trails is a fundraiser for the Arts Council of Park City and Summit County.
