The Summit Land Conservancy’s Blue Sky Bash is designed for a group of generous buckaroos who want to save open space and protect the Great Salt Lake. The nonprofit’s annual fundraiser, which is scheduled this year for Friday, July 31, at the arena at the Lodge at Blue Sky Auberge Collection in Wanship, includes custom libations, tasty grub and an evening of fast-paced auctions, dancing and even a water-pistol shoot up, said Executive Director Cheryl Fox. “The first year of the bash in 2015 was really hot, and one of our board members at the time, Dr. Nicole MacLaren, thought it would be a great idea to bring some little squirt guns,” she said. “That tradition has continued. There are no Super Soakers, but the water guns are still part of the fun.” Fun is a key element of the hoedown because Fox and her team tone down the stuffiness. “It starts with a beautiful cocktail hour at the patio, and our friends from Hawkwatch International bring in a selection of their raptors,” she said. “You can talk with the Hawkwatch staff or even the raptors and learn all about these friends who enjoy and need wide-open spaces. And at the Blue Sky Ranch you have such a great view of some open space in the Wasatch Back.” During that first hour, attendees will enjoy hors d’oeuvres and curated “cowboy” cocktails by High West Distillery, Fox said. “This is a wonderful opportunity for people to socialize and mingle with folks who hope for the same outcome — save land, water and the places that are so important to us in northern Utah,” she said. After the cocktail hour, the party moves inside the Blue Sky Ranch arena for a meal provided by Blue Sky Ranch. “They do a lot of farm-to-table and local sources (for) their menus,” Fox said. Fox is grateful to the Blue Sky Ranch, which has been Summit Land Conservancy’s partner since it established the bash in 2015. “They have been incredibly generous and supportive over the years, and the arena is a terrific venue that has evolved,” she said. “When we started there, it was pretty rustic, and they had kind of just decided to start using the existing arena as an event space. Over the years, many people have come to the Blue Sky Bash and have decided they or their children should get married in the arena.” The evening continues with a short after-dinner program and then hops into a live auction, Fox said. “We have a few live auction items,” she said. “Some of them are carefully curated experiences, and two are traditional items that are offered year after year.” The first traditional item is what Fox and longtime attendees call “The Sparkley Jacket.” “It’s a festive, rainbow-sequenced jacket that one of our attendees wore to the bash a few years ago,” Fox said. “Our auctioneer, Larry Flynn, saw this guy wearing it and saw an opportunity to raise more money. The man was willing to auction off the jacket, and it’s … coming back this year.” The jacket will feature a new component this year, Fox said. “We also added a list of names in the lining of the coat of people who have purchased it over the past five years,” she said. The other traditional auction item is the mounted jack-a-lope. “The jack-a-lope is my mascot because I believe in the impossible,” Fox said. “We always auction it off in case someone needs that for their gameroom or to put over their fireplace.” The curated auction items are as follows: A summertime guided hike with former Olympian Nick Hendrickson in the Dolomites in Italy. A yurt-yoga experience in the mountains for a group of people and donated by Park City Yoga Adventures. An Blue Sky Ranch escape package that includes an overnight stay, massage and a choice of activities that include fly fishing, guided fly fishing, skeet shooting and trail riding.  A ski trip experience with Park City Powder Cats.  A tipi dinner for 12 people donated by Bill White Restaurants. “The dinner is a perennial favorite because there is nothing like it,” she said.  Guests travel during the winter by snow cat to two tipis located in a secluded location in the Wasatch Back. “The tipis have a round table lit by a chandelier, and the food-and-wine pairing is exquisite,” Fox said. “It’s always prepared and served by Bill White Restaurants senior staff, those who have been with him for many years. Bill has been a tremendous friend and supporter of Summit Land Conservancy for many years.” The restaurant owner will not be the only Bill White in the room that night, Fox said. “We will have another Bill White who has also been very supportive of our work because he’s a land owner,” she said. Summit Land Conservancy has worked to secure two conservation easements with land owner Bill White, according to Fox. “The most recent was the former monastery property up in Huntsville, so we call him Monastery Bill White,” she said. Monastery Bill White is a significant figure to Summit Land Conservancy because he was the  land owner to use the Great Salt Lake Water Enhancement Trust, Fox said. The trust, led by a partnership between the National Audubon Society and The Nature Conservancy and funded by Utah, works to preserve the lake’s ecosystem, according to its mission. “So Monastery Bill is a hero,” Fox said. “In fact, both Bills are heroes.” After the auction, attendees will participate in a paddle drop. One of the fun items offered in Summit Land Conservancy’s Blue Sky Bash fundraiser is this sequined tuxedo jacket. Other items include an exclusive dining experience with restauranteur Bill White and a hike in the Dolomites with former Nordic Combined Skiing Olympian Nick Hendrickson. Credit: Photo courtesy of Summit Land Conservancy “We don’t do a silent auction, so we do this, which is supported by Deer Valley Resort and The Montage Deer Valley,” Fox said. “I should also say our annual sponsors are High West Distilling and Park City Mountain/Vail Epic Promise.” The evening’s festivities will close with line dancing, led by BronCo Entertainment. “We tried for years to figure out something fun that people would want to do to wrap things up,” Fox said. “Line dancing is really fun because people can get up and wiggle. Also the callers tell people what to do, so this is great if you skipped cotillion as a kid or were like me who tried to learn how to dance to Led Zeppelin.” This year, the Blue Sky Bash will introduce a shuttle option with a ticket purchase for those who don’t want to drive the winding road between Park City and Wanship, Fox said. “The shuttle will pick up at Park City High School, and the return shuttles start right after festivities end,” she said.  Since 2002, Summit Land Conservancy has helped save and preserve nearly 26,000 acres and 63 properties across Northern Utah, and the Blue Sky Bash plays a significant part in continuing the nonprofit’s mission, Fox said.  “The Blue Sky Bash is a significant funding source for Summit Land Conservancy,” she said. “The money from this, as well as gifts from donors, Live PC Give PC and the Conservation Breakfast, enables us to bring in federal dollars and work through the lengthy processes with city and county governments and the more lengthy and red-taped processes with the federal government.” Summit Land Conservancy is currently working on a number of projects that involve federal funding, Fox said. “We have 2,800 acres outside of Hoytsville that may close before the Blue Sky Bash, and 3,000 acres on the other side of the valley that we are moving forward with,” she said. “We also have 4,800 acres near Mountain Green that we are moving to close, and we have 99 acres in the Kamas Valley that we are moving to complete.” The nonprofit is also working on projects that don’t involve federal funding, according to Fox. “We have some of the Ure Ranch parcels in Kamas,” she said. “Two of those areas will be agricultural, and one will be recreational. And we are also working with Park City on putting easements on some of the land in Round Valley that is not permanently protected.” Summit Land Conservancy is also knee deep in the fourth year of its Utah Waters Initiative, a $100 million capital campaign launched in 2023.  “We have commitments from land owners who are helping us reach our 36,000-acre goal, but it will cost a little more than we initially anticipated three years ago,” Fox said. “So we are asking people to dig deep because, when we save these farms and ranches, we are saving the watershed for the Great Salt Lake.” Summit Land Conservancy’s Blue Sky Bash When: 5:30-10:30 p.m. Friday, July 31 Where: Blue Sky Ranch in Wanship Registration:wesaveland.org/happenings Web: wesaveland.org The post Summit Land Conservancy promises unlimited fun at the Blue Sky Bash appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less