As its first in-person event in nearly two years, the 13th Annual Craft Lake City DIY Fest faced a lot of challenges. Still, through it all, the spirit of creativity persevered—and we’d even say successfully, too!
This was only the second year the festival took place at the Utah State Fairpark, and with it saw numerous changes, the biggest of them being an entire outdoor section of artisans. A new partnership with Pasifika Enriching Arts of Utah (PEAU) brought beautiful craftsmanship, tasty food and lively music to the fairgrounds in celebration of Utah’s Pacific Island Heritage Month. From street performers roaming the crowds, the barking of dogs from the Best Friends Save Them All Dog Park and the delicious smells wafting from various food trucks, the 2021 DIY Fest was a playground for the senses.
As always, the local talent of both artisans and bands blew us all away. Viral indie music sensation Ritt Momney kicked off the Festival Friday night, signing autographs in our Harmons VIP Lounge and rocking out on our SLUG Mag Stage. Artisans, many of them vending at their first festival ever, made record sales and enjoyed the palpable creative energy in the Makers, Dreamers and Google Fiber STEM buildings. Hopefully, we’ll be seeing many of the same artisans at the upcoming Holiday Market in Ogden!
If you’re like us and already counting down the days until next year, don’t worry: While we can’t make next August come any faster, we can definitely reminisce, and what better way to do that than an extensive photo gallery? Thankfully, our team of talented photographers can help the spirit of the 2021 DIY Festival live on forever, especially if you weren’t able to make it out. Plus, you can even learn more about the people behind the photos with our August 2021 issue of SLUG.
Until next year, happy creating!
Friday, Aug. 13
Colton Marsala // ColtonMarsalaPhotography.com
Saturday, Aug. 14
Talyn Behzad // @tbzdphoto
The 13th annual Craft Lake City went off without a hitch thanks to our sponsors and the Utah State Fairpark.
Sunday, Aug. 15
All Weekend, Aug. 13–15
John Barkiple // @johnbarkiple
The Ritt Momney show drew hundreds of teens to Craft Lake City; they browsed the outdoor vendors before singing along to “Put Your Records On” at the DIY Festival’s opening night. Photo: John Barkiple
The Google Fiber STEM building offered junior rocket scientists a chance to build and launch soda pop bottle rockets. Designs included fins, racing stripes and parachutes. Photo: John Barkiple
Fans meet Ritt Momney’s Jack Rutter (right) in Craft Lake City’s VIP area on Friday night. Photo: John Barkiple
Ritt Momney’s Jack Rutter (left) signed posters for fans in Craft Lake City’s VIP area on Friday night. Photo: John Barkiple
Fans press against the stage and shoot selfies during the sound check before Ritt Momney performed at Craft Lake City on Friday night. Photo: John Barkiple
Neuer Geist infused its spooky products with a global corporate brand identity via a synergistic infusion of sucess-oriented forward thinking on the bleeding edge of their core competencies. Photo: John Barkiple
Cynthia Wainscott (center) teachers her workshop participants to use torches to anneal copper or bronze before hammering texture into their earrings. Photo: John Barkiple
Hussein Aldaghestani appeared as a guest entrepreneur in Andy Joy Chase’s booth on Saturday morning during Craft Lake City’s DIY Festival. Photo: John Barkiple
On Kid Row, the Pom Pom Sisters add colorful pom poms to decorate hair clips, bookmarks, head bands and frames. Photo: John Barkiple
When it comes to entertaining a seven-year-old, it’s hard to beat sparring in a Kids’ Area bounce house. Photo: John Barkiple
When kids yanked the launch cord, springs released the bottles and allowed air pressure to push water from the bottles to create thrust. Photo: John Barkiple
An unsecured parachute immediately diverted its rocket at launch — waivers were signed! Photo: John Barkiple
For the first time, dogs were allowed to join their people with special ticket pricing at Craft Lake City’s DIY Festival. Chews toys were boondoggled from fleece scraps in square or twisting designs. Photo: John Barkiple
Count on the Trashpaca booth for eclectic, vintage finds. Photo: John Barkiple
Bird and Bee Bungalows drew an outdoor crowd eager to learn about the birds and the bees. Photo: John Barkiple
Chris Blackburn kept it old-school as he exposed and developed tintypes beneath his ether-scented canopy. Photo: John Barkiple
Hand Drawn Photo Booth’s Natalie (left) and her artistic accomplice sit on the other side of the easel as they demonstrate poses worthy of hand-drawn photo booth portraits. Photo: John Barkiple
The Hex Press delivered fresh, block-printed tees and totes in the lobby of the Dreamers building. Photo: John Barkiple
Harmon’s sponsored Craft Lake City’s VIP area on Friday night. Tickets included two drinks and VIP-only samples from Harmon’s vendors. Photo: John Barkiple
Fulfilling their Utah-only mission, Craft Lake City invited Ritt Momney to perform as the headliner at the opening of the 2021 DIY Fest. Photo: John Barkiple
Craft Lake City volunteers take a cookie sandwich break on Kid Row. Sannd’s Ice Cream Sandwiches joined dozens of other 14-and-under artisans who offered a variety of hand-made goods on Saturday from 10-2 p.m. Photo: John Barkiple
Craft Lake City couldn’t host its three-day festival without help from dozens of enthusiastic volunteers. Photo: John Barkiple
The rocket launch crew filled bottles, pressurized bottles, and counted down launch times. Photo: John Barkiple
Stylists from Paul Mitchell staffed the Festival Hair station in the “Leave Your Mark Park” Kids’ Area presented by Mark Miller Subaru. Photo: John Barkiple
The glitter guys pressed pause as they toured the outdoor artisans at Craft Lake City 13th annual DIY Festival. Photo: John Barkiple
Volunteers from Best Friends Animal Society joined volunteers from Craft Lake City to staff the Best Friends Save Them All Dog Park complete with water bowls, cooling stations and dog-friendly crafts. Photo: John Barkiple
The Best Friends Save Them All Dog Park gave friendly dogs a chance to meet friendly volunteers from Craft Lake City. Photo: John Barkiple
Craft Lake City Production Manager John Ford helps his loyal pup and his volunteer pal deliver ice to foodie artisans. The festival melted 5000 pounds of ice to keep it cool as the Parley’s Canyon Fire burned. Photo: John Barkiple
Liz Vowles, Craft Lake City’s artisan and programs manager, sneaks in a little shopping as she visits vendors during the 2021 DIY Festival. Photo: John Barkiple
Craft Lake City executive president Angela Brown joins Jessica from HONOVI. Jessica participated in Craft Lake City’s Business Academy where she connected with mentors and learned about business and marketing. Photo: John Barkiple
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