My first Shred Fest
Yesterday, I attended my first ever Shred Fest at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City, UT. Honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect. The event name was quite intense and could mean a lot of things. Here is how Shred Fest's website describes the two-day event:
"Shred fest is SLC's premiere winter kickoff festival featuring live music, real-snow ski & snowboard rail jam, film screenings, breweries, food, trucks, vendors, activities, and more!"
My friend Johnny and I got to the event around 5pm on Saturday, November 6th. We did a quick lap and got a lay of the land.
The event is set in the middle of Liberty Park with various vendor tents, games and activities, food trucks, and bars scattered around the grounds. The main feature is the large snow setup on a hill with rails and a quarter pipe looking ramp. In the background of this was a large stage with purple lights spilling out color onto the crowd.
Overall, we had a great time. All of the vendors were awesome to talk to and many offered really great deals on their products. Johnny ended up picking up some ski goggles at 75% off, as well as some gloves as he prepared for the upcoming ski season. I took advantage of the bar and had a few Montucky Cold Snacks (beer).
The main event for us was the rail jam though. I had never seen anything like this before. Skiers and snowboarders competed to win $1000. Although there was some structure to the event, it felt like 15 minutes of chaos with each section. Riders went down one after the other attempting to land crazy tricks off the rails. I was pretty blown away because I would have certainly have broken some bones if I attempted any of the tricks these people pulled off.
It was an entertaining evening, and although tickets were fairly expensive at $40, I was glad I saw this event at least once in my time here. It made for a great Saturday evening activity. In another year I might have stayed longer for the headliners act and the after party at a club in Salt Lake City. I was pretty tired though and Johnny and I headed out after the Rail Jam finals.
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Until next time!
-Hawkin
