This year’s Concerts on the Slopes series was not only music to Park City Performing Arts Executive Director Ember Conley and her staff’s ears, but also opened their eyes. “We’ve had a couple of shows this year that have expanded our thoughts about who we are and how we serve the communi ty,” she said. “Our community has been so good to us, and a lot of families attended those shows. There were tons of kids on the mountain side, and it got us thinking about the (Amphitheater at Canyons Village’s) expanded capacity of up to 5,000 audience members, which we haven’t reached yet. And we began surmising about a way to fill the lawn and give back to the community.” So, the live-performance nonprofit decided to launch its “Love Our Community Campaign” that started with last Thursday’s Rick Springfield show and Friday’s Dylan Scott concert. The initiative will continue through the Concerts on the Slopes last 2026 summer show, “I Love the ’90s,” featuring Vanilla Ice, CC Music Factory and Color Me Badd, on Sept. 4, where grass-seating tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for kids, Conley said. “We want to fill the lawn,” she said. Tickets are available now at parkcitypa.org or concertsontheslopes.com. The idea for the Love Our Community campaign organically emerged, Conley said. “We went to a movie the other day, and it was very expensive,” she said. “So, we thought, ‘Could Park City Performing Arts offer an experience at a cost of a movie ticket or less?’” Reflecting back on the season up to that point, Conley realized family-friendly shows were the most popular. “We’re Utah, and we are family-focused, and that opened our eyes about us doing more for families,” she said. One of the popular concerts was country-reggae artist Maoli, whose music also features Hawaiian and RB.  The concert, which took place Aug. 21, had the highest first-ticket purchases since Park City Performing Arts started Concerts on the Slopes four years ago at the Amphitheater at Canyons Village, Conley said. “The show also was one of the shows with the highest children’s tickets sold,” she said. “The data we’re showing right now (cites) 85% of our tickets are purchased by people outside of Park City and Summit County, which means that over 750 of the purchases, which accounted for about 1,800 tickets, were by people who have never been to a Concerts on the Slopes show. And they brought money into the county. It was wonderful.” The ticket sales astonished Conley.  “I knew Maoli had a pretty strong following in Utah, and the agent told us the show was going to do great, but it was still one of the surprises of the season,” she said. In addition to coming to the live performances, concert-goers are also staying at hotels, Conley said. “They’re doing that spur-of-the-moment rental for the night,” she said. “Occupancy rates went up this summer, and that also generates money for the area.” That is an added bonus for Park City Performing Arts, which is a mission-driven nonprofit. “What we do is bring live performances to this community and to the people who are visiting,” she said. “We partner with Canyons Village Management Association and Vail Resorts for use of the amphitheater stage. They are great partners, but we don’t receive any money from them.” So, offering discount ticket prices was something Conley and her staff seriously considered.  “The thing is, we’re not a big concert promoter like LiveNation, and we definitely don’t make it through ticket sales alone,” she said. “We rely heavily on our donors and fundraisers.” Memberships are also a way to support Park City Performing Arts, Conley said. “We are doing our membership drive right now, as well,” she said. “Members get four VIP tickets to any of our shows, either for the Main Stage Series at the Eccles Center for the Performing Arts or the Concerts on the Slopes series at the Canyons Village amphitheater. Our first Main Stage show will be Richard Marx coming up on Sept. 26.” Membership information is available at parkcitypa.org/membership. Meanwhile, Conley is looking at “I Love the ’90s,” Park City Performing Arts’ last performance of the 2026 Concerts on the Slopes series. “It’s over Labor Day weekend, and we want to fill the lawn,” she said. “We’re Park City, so people can bring picnics and non-alcoholic drinks. And I know it’s going to be a lot of fun.” I Love the’90s — Vanilla Ice, CC Music Factory and Color Me Badd When: 7 p.m. Sept. 5 Where: Amphitheater at Canyons Village Web: parkcitypa.org or concertsontheslopes.com The post Park City Performing Arts dotes on the community with ‘I Love the ’90s’ appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less