Aerial dance company Bandaloop will highlight the Utah Arts Festival

This week the Utah Arts Festival will celebrate its 29th year — its third year at Library Square. And the event will literally have people climbing the walls.

"This year we've landed Project Bandaloop," said Robyn Nelson, the festival's executive director.

An aerial dance company, Project Bandaloop was inspired by rock climbing and rappelling. The idea, said Nelson, is to use all areas of space for movement.

"They are a group of eight dancers and they will do six performances on Saturday and Sunday," she explained. "They have danced up and down water towers in Kansas, the Space Needle in Seattle and the granite face of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.

"They will be dancing up and down the walls of the City Library. And while that isn't as tall as the other places, it is wide and reflective."

The Oakland, Calif., troupe is directed by Amelia Rudolph and is part of the festival's effort to come up with fresh ideas and interesting artists each year. "The hard thing is to look at the festival from different angles. Each year we try to find a unique performance artist."

Nelson said everyone involved is very happy with the festival's current home. "It's nice to work with the library, and it's a central location — and it's expensive to move, so we know a good thing when we see it. This is the third year of a lifetime."

After 29 years, she said, the festival is grateful for continued local support. "This year we have a lot of new exhibits and performances that are exciting and thought-provoking. We have had a huge impact on the community. The feedback we've had over the years has shown us how much we have enriched people's lives."

Another addition to the festival is the Fear No Film Screenings. "The short film and video screenings are geared toward mature audiences," said Nelson. "They will take place in the library auditorium."

However, if films aren't your cup of tea, there are new exhibits this year. "There will be works created by the French artist Yorga, who uses recycled material to create astral and womb-like webbed structures. And we will have an exhibit on the fourth floor of the library called 'Art of the Book,' which focuses on the art of bookmaking."

True to Utah Art Festival form, performance art will be everywhere, said Nelson. "Our musical headliners this year include blues musician Charlie Musselwhite, the California Guitar Trio, the funny Saliva Sisters, the Latin music of Salsa Brava, jazz vocalist Madeleine Peyroux and the Neil Diamond tribute, the Diamond Experience."

In addition to music, there will be dance and poetry, said Nelson. "The Children's Dance Theatre and the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company are scheduled to perform, and we are having three days of poetry reading at the Big Mouth Cafe, which will be in the southwest part of the square." For a complete entertainment schedule, see Arts Festival kicks off this week.

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If you go

What: Utah Arts Festival

Where: Library Square, 210 E. 400 South

When: Thursday through Sunday

How much: Adults, $7; children 12 and younger, free

Phone: 322-2428

Web: www.uaf.org

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E-mail: scott@desnews.com