thejerk, I lived in Provo for two years, Park City for seven, and SLC for three. I think I know what it's like there. To be fair, I haven't lived there since 99, and no plans on returning except for brief forays every so often.
SLCJanedoe0, I do believe it's called the Zion Curtain. It's amusing to go to Liberty Park and look for the polygamist families out and about. Sometimes they do dress like
Mennonites for some reason.
The 2002 Olympics brought about the first big alcohol revolution here as huge impetus was seen to lift restrictions and ordinances. I don't know too much about the details of that time as I was still underage (and actually out of the country serving a Mormon mission...*smirk*), but as an example you can now buy alcohol 24 hours a day in Summit County (which as a former PC resident I'm sure you'll appreciate). The election of Jon Huntsman brought about a lot more change last year, as he was committed to increasing tourism in the state and also pushing SLC as a convention city. Voila, no more private clubs, liquor pours increased to 1.5 oz maximum, and homebrewing is finally legal in this state! The only big hurdle we really still have to get over is the requirement that strong beer be served from a bottle, which is huge, I know.
Don't expect any forward progress this year, JaneDoe. The legislature has backed off, saying they don't want the public to feel they are undoing years of control and safety measures after last year's big shake up. Maybe had Huntsman not left us for his ambassadorship position we could have hoped.
Provo, as I found out this weekend when I went down for the Utah game, is an entirely different story. I am 28 years old and could not get a drink. There were NO open bars and the restaurant we went to decided that Utah liquor laws are not restrictive enough, so they required a minimum purchase of $10+ in food per person to be able to order any alcoholic beverage. We walked out, bought a 12 pack of Miller Lite, and hid in a shock of trees down by the river. I felt like a 17 year old kid doing something illegal, hiding from the Po Po. Absolutely ridiculous.
On the off-topic of polygamy, there has also been change there. They used to be integrated fairly well into our communities, but with Warren Jeffs in the national eye and the underage coerced marriages there has been a lot more legal scrutiny and pressure. They've basically all moved down to Colorado City, which is deceptively in Utah just this side of the Arizona border, nowhere near Colorado or any other civilization, for that matter. You might drive by Colorado City if you drive your 4-wheel drive vehicle to the remote parts of the northern Grand Canyon Rim. You won't see the polygs in the parks anymore, just heroin junkies and bums now. I preferred the polygamists and their old fashioned, home-made dresses, jeans and long-sleeve shirts.
But SLC itself has several brewpubs within walking/streetcar distance of each other, with some world-class offerings. The homebrew presence is just creeping out of the shadows, because it was technically illegal for so long, and I've been shocked to see the number and talent of homebrewers here.
