Entertainment Web site all-encompassing

How many times have you had a some free time on the weekend and wanted to get the kids out but finding something to do seemed overwhelming?

Perhaps you're involved with an arts organization and a limited budget means no marketing.

Maybe you're looking for a musician to play at a party or your wedding.

Now, rather than clicking on numerous different Web sites, trying to jot down times, places and prices, you can go to one: www.NowPlayingUtah.com

Thanks to the combined efforts of The Utah Arts Council, Zoo, Arts and Parks, and the Salt Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau, Utah now has a comprehensive location to find information on all things entertainment related.

With the click of your mouse, you can access theater, dance, music and art events across the state. Interested in poetry? There is a Poetry & Literature category as well as History & Heritage.

Getting your family out will be easy and affordable with the Kids & Families category and the Free Events.

It also covers Festivals & Special Events as well as Sports & Outdoors.

And if you're an artist looking to get your name and your work in the public eye, the Web site also has a place for Artist Profiles. "This is for all types of artists: visual, theater, music. Utah has so many artists," said Victoria Bourns, ZAP program manager.

Those artists can go to NowPlayingUtah.com and post a profile for free, which will eventually be an in-depth resource for anyone looking to hire a musician, for example.

In addition to providing the largest database of cultural events, which include Web links, venue information and ticket-buying options, the Web site will also have lists of classes, workshops, jobs and auditions.

And there are additional benefits of such a Web site, which Scott Beck, president of the Convention and Visitors Bureau, describes as "comprehensive, content-relevant, indexable, and searchable, with the newest and latest technology."

Utah's numerous arts and entertainment organizations, from community to professional, many struggling with budget constraints, now have another means of marketing themselves, by posting events on NowPlayingUtah.com for free.

"When I started two years ago, it became quickly evident that there's just a really enormous amount of all of the arts and cultural events around the Wasatch Front, more than I thought," Beck said.

"As I went out to find ways to communicate that to our visitors, it was evident that there was 100 points of light. There was no comprehensive way to get information. You had to go to all these separate Web sites."