Things to Do in North Salt Lake

With multiple performance areas set up throughout the picturesque park, this year's Salt Lake City Jazz Festival trumpets in an impressive lineup of jazz acts tuned to a variety of tastes. Sheila E. and The E Family take to the stage Friday night, plucking their signature sound from a family tree dripping with virtuosos. Performers such as Pete Christlieb and Linda Small tickle ears without invading personal space, and The Orbit Group mingles jazz, hip-hop, and the unique sound of a snowflake hitting the earth to form its inimitable style.

In his final appearance as associate conductor of the Utah Symphony, David Cho joins 2010 Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition silver medalist Serhiy Salov in the acoustically pleasing confines of Abravanel Hall. Together, the note-channeling duo performs Sibelius' Third Symphony and Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 before breaking into a superbly amusing Laurel and Hardy impersonation. While descending the stage of his farewell performance, David Cho will step into the orchestra pit and, like a classically trained butterfly, emerge as the musical director of the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra. The architecturally impressive Abravanel Hall is worth the trip in and of itself, as its luscious acoustics allow symphony-goers to pinpoint staccato eighth notes and falsetto pin drops.

The clatter of victimized pins echoes across Orchard Lanes's 18-lane alley and family-fun center. Unless there is a league on the floor, Orchard Lanes's staffers are happy to bring down the lights for glow-in-the-dark bowling at a customer’s request during any of its daily open-bowling hours. For special occasions, party packages are available to equip revelers with the necessary pizza, ice cream, and goody bags, and Orchard Lanes has even played host to a wedding. A computerized scoring system logs each player’s achievements, and between frames, a stop at the full-service snack bar yields pizza and soda to refuel sphere-tossing muscles. The center is also home to billiards tables and an arcade that, like the fairest time-out corners, has a redemption center.

More than two decades ago, Angy Ford, the owner of Bravo Arts Academy, taught her first piano lesson. In the years that followed, Angy’s student base steadily grew, taking over her home-studio space and filling it with noise like a college roommate with no conception of personal space. Angy was heartened by this positive response and overwhelmed by the number of students knocking at her door, so she moved her operation to its current Ogden studio space, which, like the home studio that came before, has continued to expand. Here, Angy couples her bread-and-butter music classes with a host of other engaging pursuits—from art classes to dance lessons—that help kids develop confidence, coordination, and artistic skills. The academy’s facilities invite tots to tumble over thick foam, ballerinas to pirouette over a floating marley floor, and pianists to tickle the ivories in a group setting.

Broken down by age group, the academy’s offerings include preschool, where classes are kept small and incorporate sign language into the curriculum, and extends all the way to private music lessons for adults. Angy models her daycare after the best practices she observed while visiting more than 50 childcare centers, encouraging creativity and learning rather than running infants through daily gauntlets of strength.

The experienced instructors at The Front Climbing Club's summer camp guide restless, rock-bound children ages 6–14 through a work-week-long clinic in cave climbing, wall scaling, and skill building. Strength- and agility-improving activities on the indoor facility's climbing walls and caves transform scrambling amateur lizards into scaling connoisseurs, developing skill sets and learning to respect gravity like a bully with the power to de-pants the solar system. Group work, games, and competitions elevate the fun and encourage team building, and an emphasis on safety and equipment use ensures educated climbing. Campers learn to elevate their problem solving skills as they work together to plan their way around obstacles, simultaneously honing their motor skills, balance, and ability to turn adrenaline into sugar cookies. The camp runs weekly, Monday through Friday, and campers can attend four-hour classes in the morning or the afternoon.

Challenge Nation pioneered the urban-adventure race with a race season that includes visits to 35 cities across the country. Each scavenger hunt is personalized to the hosting city, exploring its many diverse neighborhoods with a series of clues that would test even the most skilled children's-book detective. The teams—comprised of at least two people—vie for a $300 first-place prize. The _Amazing Race_–style competition rewards quick wits and wise planning over physical fitness, so the best way to prepare is by doing logic puzzles while eating Funyuns and lounging in a La-Z-Boy. The top 25 teams qualify, the top five receiving free entry, to compete in the national championship, which rewards winning teams with a $5,000 cash prize.