Despite heavy, destructive winds decimating vendor’s booths Friday night, the haze of smoke, and the uncertain nature of Hwy. 6, the 24th annual Helper Arts and Film Festival finished a successful three-day testament to the Helper community spirit and its dedication to creating the “vibes and energy” that patrons and vendors say will keep them coming back for many years to come.
Although effects of wild fires caused concern with festival organizers and some cancellations for lodging, big crowds persevered and flocked to Helper’s Main street from states near and far, making this year’s event a huge success according to vendors and organizers.
Over the course of the three-day festival patrons had the opportunity to purchase art from a unique and international selection of artists, enjoy live music by 14 different performers on two stages, view seven select independent films, help children create original art at the Art Yard, engage local student artists and Sterling Scholars, eat great food, stroll through an impressive line-up of classic cars for the most dedicated automotive enthusiasts, and interact with an eclectic and energetic community of locals, visiting artists, and patrons.
The success of the festival was in jeopardy, however, when violent gusts of wind tore through Main Street at midnight Saturday morning destroying booths, tents, and threatening vendor’s artwork. Festival Co-Director Kate Kilpatrick Miller was still helping clean up when the gusts started toppling and tearing tents and booths. She and other organizers attempted to mitigate the damage to booths and called vendors to solicit help from anyone who would answer. She found community members scrambling to assist while the winds blew for more than two hours. Lightening then blew a transformer darkening North Main Street just before torrential rain poured down on volunteers and what was left of vendor’s booths laying broken and strewn across the street.
Volunteers were bringing people’s art into shelter in cars or businesses – the Alcove, the Bowling Alley, and K-2 Gallery all took in art and wares attempted to reduce loss or damage while the rain drenched everything, according to Kilpatrick-Miller. By 4 a.m. the rain and wind had subsided, and artwork and vendor’s wares were secured, but Main Street and all booths had been reduced to heaps of twisted metal and canvas.
Kilpatrick-Miller posted a call for help on Facebook and started calling others around 6:30 a.m. Saturday. By then there were only two booths left standing that the wind had blown over 20 feet from their original post. What was left of other booths were only fit for the dumpster. By 9 a.m. the street was filled with vendors and community members working together to clean up, set up borrowed tents, and somehow make the festival a reality for another day.
Art Festival founder and co-owner of the Boxcar Gallery, Thomas Elmo Williams, said that what he saw on Helper’s Main Street Saturday morning are all the reasons why Helper has progressed and risen as a community.
“When I got here that morning and saw a crowd of my community members out there on Main street bringing their own tents and supplies from their own homes, and setting up booths for the artists – everyone working right along side each other for the good of the community – I got emotional,” he said. “I have never seen anything like that anywhere and I was travelling doing shows for 18 years. I could not be prouder of this community.”
Shortly after 10 a.m. when the festival was scheduled to begin for the day, the Main Street looked perfect and ready for patrons. Booths were ready, and no one could tell anything had occurred in the night, according to Kilpatrick-Miller and other vendors.
Mike Thompson from East Carbon, sold handcrafted canes and walking sticks and saw two truckloads of what was left of people’s booths being taken to the landfill. His pop-up was ruined and residents helped them put up a new one.
Kilpatrick-Miller said she is still in awe of how amazing and responsive the entire community was and how they came together.
“I thought I knew a lot of people in this town, but there were so many there helping, I had never met anywhere before, who just saw what was happening and just started to help,” she said. “I had EZ-Ups coming out of my ears from people in town. All these people were there for the community – for Helper – they just pitched in and made it all happen together.”
Kilpatrick-Miller expressed her gratitude to all the vendors who stayed after the storm and worked with the community. “We are so grateful to the vendors for staying. We believed in them and they believed in us.”
People come to Helper, to live or for the day, to be a part of the festival, to be a part of a unique and exciting community, according to sculptor, painter, and co-owner of K-2 gallery, Karen Jobe Templeton. She has been a part of the Art festival since its humble beginnings 24 years ago, and said that everyone she speaks to expresses their love being in Helper and feeling the energy of the community.
“This year’s Festival is the best example of the community spirit that people everywhere want to be a part of. Saturday morning brought artists and community members together in a way that was beautiful to see.” Templeton said. “Helper is an up and coming art district and that has a lot to do with the fact the community is very supportive and wants to be a part of it.”
Rylee McDonald from Salt Lake City is part of the band Shuffle who played on the Main stage Saturday night. He has been coming to the festival for 10 years, since he was 16, and said the ambiance of the town and restoration of the buildings is incredible, and makes coming back even more of a pleasure. He adds, however, that although the town is busier now that it was, and more businesses fill the store fronts, the vibe and energy of Helper is what brings him back every year.
“Helper feels like a community that is bigger than the people who live in it,” he said. “The number of people who live here may be small, but there are so many from all over, like me, who feel like this is home, and want to be a part of it.”
Artist Boubakary Konseimbo, originally from South Africa currently residing in Santa Fe, NM brought stunning works painted with red-rock dust, oil pastels, acrylics, and clay. His first time visiting the state of Utah, he said he could not believe the support of the community, and planned on returning to the festival next year.
“When the community came out to help with all of the tents blown down and clean up the disaster that was waiting in the morning, that was truly awesome and a good feeling,” Konseimbo said. “You just don’t see anything like that anywhere else.”
A Nigerian master drummer, offering handmade, mahogany Djembe drums and other percussion instruments and handcrafted baskets made of sweetgrass, said this was the most unique place he had attended an arts festival. He had asked about the name of the town, and said locals talked to him and had been welcoming and open and taught him about the history behind the name of town.
“This place is so unique. I love a place with history, and the formations are so interesting. I like the feeling and the energy here,” he said. “I will totally come back again.”
Courtney Guidry flies in from Florida every year to attend the festival.
“I love it and I look forward to coming here every year. The art is fantastic,” she said,” There is an amazing feeling here – the artists and the people. There is nothing quite like it anywhere.”
Not all vendors were seasoned artists or traveled from far away. Cheralee England from Sunnyside finally drummed up the courage to participate in her first Art Festival and share her work with others. She also allowed others to make their own art at her booth. She said it was a good experience, and she will come back every year.
“I have been really impressed with all the people here – the patrons, the community and organizers. It feels good to be here” she said. “It reminds me of Park City back in the day.”
The festival furthered its own mission to support the work of new artists and bring quality art to the surrounding communities, by including more booths hosted by artists and artisans and fewer craft booths, according to Kilpatrick-Miller.
The Art Yard allowed children to create their own art work and have fun in a child-centered environment. Sharon Miller, owner of Aunt Sharon’s Early Care and Education Program, hosted booths that she said gave children the opportunity to explore the artistic process with developmentally appropriate art projects. Kids could make bubble paintings, rice pictures, and paint pictures out of safe, homemade paint. Miller colored 125 pounds of rice, and made 10 gallons of paint for the event.
“My goal was to expose kids to art and the joy of the artistic process.” She said. “Art is messy – there are so many developmental milestones in making a mess.”
Pinnacle Canyon Academy provided Face Painting, and there were water stations and other activities provided by Rocky Mountain Power and Helper City.
New this year were information booths at each entrance of the Arts Festival, Helper Mayor Lenise Peterman said. The booths not only allowed for a better experience for patrons, but will aid in obtaining grants and tracking from where visitors travel to attend.
“The organization is working very well together, and the directors have done a great job to ensure we can make this better every year,” she said. “All the elements of the festival worked together flawlessly.”
Kilpatrick-Miller said that the car show was a big success, drew its own crowds, and offered more for festival’s patrons.
“This was the biggest selection of cars I have ever seen,” she said. “They really did an amazing job, and people really enjoyed it.”
Peterman said the whole event went extremely well this year, and she is continually impressed and amazed at the dedication of the City of Helper, the directors and the community to make the festival a success and the community as a whole a better place.
“People here have hope and excitement – they see good things happening, and they want to be a part of it, and do it together, “ she said. “I am so proud of our community. People all coming together here has been a process over the last years, and we are seeing what happens when a community has hope and starts to believe in itself.”
The newest part of the Art Festival was the inclusion of the artistic medium of film.
This is the third year the Film Festival has been a part of the Arts Festival, and Co-Director Cindy Lund said that a main goal is to offer people a chance to engage the artists and see the creative process involved in making the films, and to feature films that connect to the community.
All the films this year were chosen from winners in categories at the Utah Film Festival. The films were offered free of charge to audiences.
One film featured the heroic work of a local citizen documented by a filmmaker from Finland. “How to Save a Life” was the winner in the category of films that cost under $500. Although this seems like a very small amount, the film was a well-produced work that highlighted the work of Carbon County resident, Debbie Souza-Pappas, Director Second Chance Wildlife Rehabilitation.
Lund said it was a real privilege to feature this film and allow audiences to witness the miraculous work of Souza-Pappas.
“Lore” was a thriller that will play in theatres this fall, and its director Brock Manwill was at the Q&A to speak with patrons.
Lund said that this is a new tradition for the community and it will take time for people to make it a part of their festival experience and take advantage of this opportunity. She expressed her certainty, however, that once festival goers give the films a chance, it will become an exciting event people look forward to each year. She added that they were expecting turn out to be low as it is a new event, but their attendance was greater than expected.
Another popular film was the comedy, ”Thorn, Thank You for Coming” about a man who wants to watch the last Charlton Heston movie he has not seen before the world ends at midnight. The lead Actress in the movie, Whitney Palmer, joined the panel for a Q&A after the film.
“We want to offer a total experience here that rivals every other quality film festival,” Lund said. “This is going to be something that people can really look forward to, and love being a part of.
Art in the Heart of Helper
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