Opinions

“Dumbledore put you up to this, didn’t he?”

“Harry Potter rocks!” shouted Draco Malfoy. No, this is not a line from the new Harry Potter movie – rather, it was Bill, a college student dressed as Harry’s rival. Surrounding him, witches and wizards of all ages mingled with muggles at a midnight release for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Summer Travel Tips: The Road Trip

Ah, the summer road trip. The essence of youthful spontaneity, adventure and insanity all rolled into one. While there are some tips here that might be considered no-brainers, they’re still rather important. And hopefully, with a few dozen road trips under my belt, I can offer some advice on things you may not have thought of.

Book review: Tao Te Ching

Ancient wisdom speaks to modern times through the dusty annals of long forgotten words of wisdom. Few, however, have been able to adequately bring back one of Asia’s timeless and most insightful classics: the Tao Te Ching (Dow Day Jay-ing, or Jing). A book wholly remarkable, since its first creation by Lao Tzu 2500 years ago, The Way And Its Virtue has been re-written perhaps more than any other book in history.

Theater reviews

Henry V This year, Henry V is the Festival’s standout production. The story is portrayed with a rare honest humility. The themes of conflict, leadership, and warfare are explored thoroughly and with an uncluttered sense of purpose. Henry V is the story of the English king’s invasion of France.

Summer Travel Tips: Taking the Bus

I’ll admit I was warned. Still, I couldn’t beat the price, and I really needed to get to Fort Worth. So, I paid for round- trip tickets on a national bus line, the Greyhound. No amount of warning could have prepared me. Of course, if people had given me more advice and less “Well, (snort) have fun with that,” I think I would have been much better off.

Time for the closet quilters to expose themselves

The Springville Museum of Art will be accepting entries for this year’s Quilt Show July 9-11. The entries will be juried and accepted quilts will be on display at the museum July 17 to Sept. 2. The exhibit is sponsored by the Museum alongside the Utah Valley Quilt Guild.

Kelly Clarkson performs at UVUphoria

Former American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson performs barefoot at UVUphoria on June 11, 2009. Her crowd-pleasing favorites were a hit that engaged the crowd, which included recently appointed UVU president Matthew Holland and family.

Vocal competition showcases local talent at the SCERA

It’s time for the fourth annual Celebrity vocal competition at the SCERA Shell Outdoor Theatre. This Utah County tradition is performed prior to outdoor movies shown all summer long and is a great opportunity for Utah vocalists to shine. Competitors perform to live music by This Is Your Band, a Salt Lake based karaoke band.

Going Downtown with The Vibrant Sound

Northplatte Records, the label of local favorites such as RuRu, Desert Noises, and Joshua James, recently signed another band: The Vibrant Sound. Their fresh and catchy tunes will have the audience dancing at the Velour during their CD release party on June 27 at 8:00 p.