It’s that time of year again! The evenings start to cool down, families start their back-to-school routines and the memories of summer start to fade. That’s why this time of the year is perfect for the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival! Taking place in the parks of beautiful Provo Canyon, the festival is a family-friendly event that caters to the enjoyment of all ages while you sit back, breathe in the crisp mountain air and soak in some great entertainment!

Storytellers of all types (puppetry, music, juggling) from all over, gather together during this scheduled weekend to share their various stories. But these aren’t just “stories,” these are performances. Each storyteller is so animated, vivacious and passionate about their tale that it comes through with so much emotion. They’ll have you doubled-over in laughter, tearing up or in awe with amazement; you’ll feel as though you were just lifted up and transported to another world.

This year from September 2nd – 4th, the Storytelling Festival will take place in Orem and Provo, UT.

Cherish Bound, a proud sponsor of the event, is selling discount tickets from their website.  Be sure to purchase yours now and plan on spending the weekend with your family and friends for an event you’ll soon make a tradition!

And for more information, check out SassyScoops’ preview and review of last year’s festival.

As you read from the Wednesday review of Schmidt’s Pastry Cottage, we all came away HUGE fans.  Ever since that night we’ve been dreaming of their eclairs, rolls, cookies and more.  Basically our bags are packed and we’re ready to move into Schmidt’s Pastry Cottage forever.

Turns out, you CAN buy happiness:

Fantasizing about three-tier cakes can be almost as enjoyable as eating them (fewer calories, that way, too):

While we did get to sample lots of tasties, we couldn’t eat everything in sight (major bummer):

However, we did get to take a yummy assortment home to savor… YAY!!!

And… {insert drumroll}… we get to share the baked delights of Schmidt’s Pastry Cottage with one VERY lucky reader!

Just comment for your chance to win a quarter sheet cake from Schmidt’s Pastry Cottage!!!

Winning would mean you could be the hero of your family; you could share your sheet cake with them and make their dreams come true.

… or it could be a “ticket for one” to the most fabulous tastebud adventure you’ve ever been on. It’s your choice (we won’t tell if you don’t want to share).

Either way, you better hurry and comment so you don’t miss this chance! Meanwhile, run on over to Schmidt’s Pastry Cottage for a quick sweet treat while you wait to find out if you’ve won!

P.S. You can find Schimdt’s online and on Facebook.

If you had a chance to read our preview and review of San Gelato Cafe of SoDa Row you already know that the Sassies are fans for life.   But really, who wouldn’t be?  They have over 110 flavors of of AWARD WINNING gelato.  Honestly, any place that has taken Nutella and turned it into a cold, creamy, and mouthwatering treat is probably going to be in my top 20 favorite places of all time.  That is pretty high ranking considering my standards.

See that in the left corner? Nutella... Oh yes!

Now the Sassies didn’t only enjoy the tempting sweet treats at San Gelato Cafe.  I wasn’t expecting a gelato shop to have such a well crafted menu with such a varietyof food options.  Needless to say my eyes and my taste buds were pleasantly surprised.  The owner, Robert, served us some of the best tasting sandwiches I have had in a long time.  I know my, and some of the other Sassies, favorite was the Ferrari Panini.  Try to say that 3 times fast.

Now that I have had my first taste of gelato, at the San Gelato Cafe, I may never go back to ice cream again.  With all the scrumptious flavors and vibrant color choices, rocky road just won’t ever seem the same.  And thankfully gelato is healthier than ice cream so maybe my waistline will benefit from my new discovery also.

The Sassies always have fabulous time when were are out on the town.  Good food, delicious desserts, and of course plenty of girl talk made our time at the San Gelato Cafe on SoDa Row simply fabulous.  It is the perfect place for a girl’s lunch, family night out, or even a romantic date night.

Did I forget to mention how much fun we had?

Obviously any place that can make Michelle burst into spontaneous laughter is a place you want to be, right?  Of course I’m right.  Well now you have the chance to see why we are raving about the fab food, fun, and friendly atmosphere at San Gelato Cafe.

San Gelato Cafe on SoDa Row is giving away a $25 gift certificate

to one lucky SassyScoops reader.

You can almost taste that gelato melting in your mouth can’t you?  Well it is easier than you think to win!  To enter this giveaway you must:

Visit the San Gelato Cafe website and tell us what you think your favorite flavor of gelato would be.

For extra entries:

• 5 extra entries-Tweet about this giveaway and comment with the URL of your tweet
• 10 extra entries-Become a fan of San Gelato Cafe on SoDa Row on Facebook and comment you did so
• 10 extra entries-Facebook update about this giveaway and comment that you did
• 15 extra entries-Blog about this giveaway and comment with the URL of your post

Good luck!  This contest will end on Friday, February 5th at midnight MST!

So what did a couple of our Sassies think of the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival? Read on to find out!
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QUESTION

What was your first impression?
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THE SCOOP

Allison: I’ve been before, so I knew what to expect, but I was really happy to see how crowded it was!
Marie: Beautiful scenery! I love being up in the mountains.
Rachael: Loved the atmosphere! It’s so beautiful up Provo Canyon! I also dig the artwork that they have branding the event.
Vanessa: Wow, this is a BEAUTIFUL location! Just flat out enamored (am I using the right word?) by some of the story tellers and musicians!

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QUESTION

What did you like the most?

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THE SCOOP

Allison: The storytellers, they were phenomenal.
Marie: That my kids were so enthralled with each story! They really got sucked in and listened to every minute. The Bed Time Stories were perfect for my kids.
Rachael: felt like a good parent :D (you know, taking my kids to a festival that would stretch their brains a bit)
Vanessa: The story tellers, my girls adored the mimes, the food vendors were such a great pick, everything was spaced out nicely (the tents, booths, etc.) even though there were tons of people there it didn’t feel uncomfortably packed. I also loved all the wonderful children’s books for sale.

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QUESTION

What didn’t you like?

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THE SCOOP:

Allison: I wasn’t sure where to go to redeem my ticket, where I should have been at any given time. It would have been nice to get a brochure in the mail ahead of time with instructions. But then again, I’m slow like that.
Marie: That I didn’t have time to be there every minute. Next year, I’ll be going for 3 days straight!
Rachael: Parking, Shuttles, Directions . . . I even brought their site up on my phone and it didn’t help me much. I don’t live in Utah County so I needed some more clear cut info.
Vanessa: The bus system, how they didn’t have signs at the festival telling you what bus to get on and no one around that knew how to help. My girls and I weren’t feeling well and we just needed to get home! Also the schedule, it wasn’t as detailed and organized as it should have been. We lost a lot of time and missed out on things we came to see because of the schedule or the volunteers not knowing the answers. Also the golf carts, they were everywhere and didn’t seem like it was necessary and it got annoying having to make sure they didn’t run us over every 5 seconds.

.

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QUESTION

Would you visit again?

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THE SCOOP:

Allison: In a heartbeat. My kids are already begging for next summer. Can’t wait.
Marie: Yes, and I’ll be going every year now!
Rachael: Definitely, I will go back and spend more time. Once you actually get to the festival it’s amazing and I wished that we had carved out more time to stay there.
Vanessa: Yes, we will be attendees for life ALTHOUGH I will go out of my way to figure out when exactly things are so we don’t miss out this next time, even if it means tracking down the head honcho!

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QUESTION

If you could only send out one tweet about the business, what would you say?

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THE SCOOP:

Allison: Timpanogos Storytelling Festival, where storytellers win awards for being Liar of the Year! Don’t miss it!
Marie: For a fun filled family weekend, visit the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival!
Rachael: Check out the amazing Timpanogos Storytelling festival – but plan ahead for parking and schedule! Kids loved it!
Vanessa: Frustrated with the organization but in awe of the talent at the Timp Story Festival, attendees for life!

…

Atmosphere	Family friendly	Location
Prices	Quality	Service

…

Return to SassyScoops.com on Friday. You won’t want to miss our Follow-up Friday on the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival. It’s always entertaining when the Sassies get together!

The Timpanogos Storytelling Festival has been around since 1990 and grown each year‚ now totalling at 26,000 attendeds. The Festival is recognized throughout the national storytelling world and is something Utahns look forward to every single year.

The festival is full of wonderful musicians, amazing story tellers, hilarious mimes and is held beautifully out in nature at the new Mt. Timpanogos Park in Provo Canyon.

So is this event Family Friendly? Is the customer service up to our standards? Did our families and did we ourselves enjoy attending? So how to you think the Sassies enjoyed it?

For many of us it was our first time to the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival, will we will be back next year? This is a mixed and very honest review so you will want to check out our offical review posted this Wednesday!

I do!! After last week’s Salt City Derby Girls game, I’m hooked! I’m ready for quad skates, funky pink argyle socks, and a stylin’ helmet to protect me from those killer crashes!

Here’s some video of these Derby Girls in action and an interview with “China White” from the Leave it to Cleaver team!

It was a great night, a double header with the teams Death Dealers vs. Sisters of No Mercy, then Leave it to Cleavers vs. Bomber Babes. The point of the game is to get the “jammer” (star helmet skater) to pass the other team’s blockers the first time around, then back around to pass them all again, and she gets a point for each person she passes. There’s a lot of pushing, shoving, and skating round and round in circles.

You even get to pick your own Derby Girl name. Maybe I could be the “Sassy Scooper” or “Scoopin’ Sass”! But first I need take skate lessons from Axta Grind!

Here’s me with Brew Haha, the President of the league. But I need to work on my stare down! With my cheesy smile, maybe I don’t have what it takes to Derby… Brew looks soooo tough!

Giveaway: Salt City Derby Girl Tickets!

So if you’re ready to watch the next Derby Girl Bout, you’re in for a treat. Salt City Derby Girls is giving away 2 pairs of tickets to the next bout, June 27th. 2 winners who can each take a friend! To enter, Leave a comment on this post by Thursday June 25th at midnight for your chance to win a pair of Derby Girls tickets for Saturday night’s game! If you tweet about it, you will get a second entry, just add the Tweets URL in a second comment. We’ll announce the winner from random on Friday June 26th. Good luck and happy skating!

The winner was Evonne, this giveaway is now closed!

So what did our Sassies Marie and Jyl think of Salt City Derby Girls after they recovered from their initial shock at finding out Salt Lake City had a roller derby team? Read on to find out!
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QUESTION

What was your first impression?
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THE SCOOP

Jyl: Wow! Look at those hot pants and fishnet stockings! Who knew such a tough sport could be so sexy!
Marie: Tough chicks on Skates! I want to be one!

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QUESTION

What did you like the most?

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THE SCOOP

Jyl: Sitting right on the ground near the skaters with a big group of really fun people, rooting for skaters we all knew.
Marie: Being able to sit on the floor at the front, right up at the action!

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QUESTION

What didn’t you like?

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THE SCOOP:

Jyl: The fact that this was my first bout. Honestly, I feel like I’ve wasted half a lifetime when I could have been watching Roller Derby and having a blast!
Marie: The location isn’t my favorite, we had to walk around for 10 minutes inside the Salt Palace before we found it.

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QUESTION

Would you visit again?

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THE SCOOP:

Jyl: Absolutely! And dragging more friends with me next time. It was awesome!
Marie: Yes, going in 2 weeks!

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QUESTION

If you could only send out one tweet about the business, what would you say?

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THE SCOOP:

Jyl: @slcderby is one of the best kept entertainment secrets in UT. Roller Derby Rocks!
Marie: For a fun girls night out, come see the SLC Derby Girls battle it out in a bout!
…

Atmosphere	Family friendly	Location
Prices	Quality	Service

…

Return to SassyScoops.com on Friday for behind-the-scenes video. It’s always entertaining when the Sassies get together!

Post preview image by beernutmark, shared via Flickr.

What event sports housewives in hot pants, students in fishnet stockings, skating nuns, and referees in radical socks? None other than roller derby—the blast-from-the-past sport that has recently made a come back and is heating up with regular bouts right here in Salt Lake City.

I don’t know about you, but my roller derby experience was limited to down and dirty, rough and tough bouts on TV with lots of elbowing. While those shows were certainly exciting to watch from a distance, nothing beats the athletic and strategic roller derby I watched Saturday, June 6 during Salt City Derby Girls’ double header at The Salt Palace. At any moment, the probability was high that a speedy skater could take the corner just a little too fast and come crashing right into me and all of my friends as we snuggled up to the sidelines.

Looking for the perfect friend’s night out or date night? Check out the Salt City Derby Girls website, where you’ll learn:

Utah’s first all-female flat-track roller derby league, the Salt City Derby Girls (SCDG), formed in August of 2005. The league currently has more than 60 participants, divided into four local teams: Bomber Babes, Death Dealers, Leave it to Cleavers and Sisters of No Mercy, and an All-Star team, the Salt City Shakers.

SCDG is a true grassroots organization. Members do their own recruiting, purchase their own equipment, and pay monthly dues to support the league. Members also support community charities and make appearances at many local events.

Images from Salt City Derby Girls website.

Last week at Provo Farmer's Market

June 10th: Shakespeare for Kids: Othello

Need to inject a little more culture into your kids’ lives? Orem City Library has partnered with the BYU Young Company to present Shakespeare for kids! Catch Othello this Wednesday at 4pm—and it’s free! This event is for those aged 5 and up only, please.  Check out the library’s website for info on upcoming performances.

Orem City Library
100 North 50 East
Orem

The Bean Museum Live Shows

June 10th: Utah Plants & Animals at 7:30 PM

June 11th: Ecosystems at 7:30 PM

June 12th: Invertebrates at 7:30 PM

June 13th: Reptiles at 1:00 PM

Are you ready for a classic outing? Do you remember the first time you saw live reptiles? Don’t forget about BYU’s Bean Museum’s Live Animal Show!  The show starts at 7:30 tonight, and every weekday night, but if you want a prime spot on a bench, make sure you arrive at least 15 minutes early.

Wednesdays at 7:30pm

Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum

645 East 1430 North
Provo

June 13th: Provo Farmer’s Market

One of my favorite events happens every Saturday from 9am to 2pm: the Provo Farmer’s Market! Way more than just produce, the farmer’s market offers handicrafts, local dairy, and a myriad of lunch choices for your gang. My vote will always be for the kalbi taco (you heard that right—Korean-Mexican food!)

Saturdays
Provo Farmer’s Market
500 West 100 South at Pioneer Park
Provo

Ongoing: Hogle Zoo’s Madagascar

I’ve been hearing good things about the new Madagascar exhibit at the Hogle Zoo. Call me crazy, but I think these overcast and mild days are perfect for hitting the zoo with your brood.

Hogle Zoo
2600 E. Sunnyside Ave
Salt Lake City

Do you need a night out with the ladies? Wanna find something fun for the whole family to do? Or maybe you need a date night out on the town. Here’s the local scoop for What’s Happenin’ this week around town!

Girls Night Out:

• May 16 & 23: Repertory Dance Theatre African Dance Classes
• May 16: So SHE Can at Thanksgiving Point
• May 22-23: Dance Conservatory: Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters

Date Night:

• May 16: The Thrillionaires at the Covey Center
• May 16: Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover at the E Center
• May 16: 43rd Annual Art Ball – The Enchanted Garden in Springville
• May 14, 15, 21, 22: Repertory Dance Theatre Ballroom & Flamenco Dance Classes
  
• May 17: Flight of the Concords at Abravanel Hall

Fun for the Whole Family:

• May 13-15: Off”spring” Fling at The Living Planet Aquarium
• May 15 – Sept: Heber Valley Railroad Soldier Hollow Express
• May 16: May Day Festival at Wheeler Farm
• May 23: Eyes to the Sky at Red Butte Gardens

Do you know of an upcoming event for us to feature on What’s Happenin’ Wednesday? Leave a comment or email us at sassyscoops{at}gmail.com