Sundance film festival | m.davis xoxo

January Getaway: Sundance 2012

Oh, Sundance, how I’ve grown to love you so. It all started 5 years ago for my 18th birthday…

{one of our best memories – gangsta parents}

{at Robert Redford’s Sundance resort for my birthday}

{beautiful.}

{best trip ever!}

{wish it didn’t have to end…}

We vowed to go back, and now that we have for my 23rd birthday we would LOVE to make it a yearly trip. Here are some tips for your trip to Sundance, because trust me, you need to plan one whether you’re a film lover, celeb obsessed, winter-weather lover or simply someone who loves a unique vacation.

1. Plan early. Ticket packages start with a sweepstakes you must enter into in the summer, and resorts fill up fast.

2. Didn’t get a package of tickets? Or didn’t get a movie you wanted? You can still stand in the wait list line. Yes it’s freezing, and yes there’s no guaranteed chance you’ll get in, but there’s always a way to make things fun.

{entertaining ourselves with Rock,Paper, Scissors}

3. Recommended movie showings: one in the morning, one at lunch time and one at night. Unless you plan on renting a car, it’s almost impossible to get through the city to see more than that with the city shuttles or resort shuttles.

4. Where to stay: Want to focus on shopping, the nightlife and the constant buzz of the festival? Stay on Main Street. Want more of a relaxing vaca with fabulous spa amenities, beautiful views and close ski lifts? Stay anywhere off Main Street, like the Canyons or Stein Eriksen Lodge.

5. What to wear: Fashion + warmth necessities – Tall, warm boots with good traction (i.e. lace-up Uggs); thick, down jacket with a hood (i.e. black, to go with everything, and preferably with a fur hood); scarves, scarves, scarves – these are the one thing that can set you apart and add fun colors and prints to your bundled up outfit, oh and to keep you warmer; a large purse to hold earmuffs, hats, hand warmers, gloves, festival passes, festival books, shopping bags, bottle of water, chapstick, bus schedule, sunglasses camera. Because baby, it’s cold outside.

6. Where to spot celebs: (Yes, this is a very important topic.) Movies are the best place to celeb-spot. Premiere weekend they’re almost always there to promote their films. (Side note: we went to see Ice-T’s documentary The Art of Rap and he and Coco sat a row in front of us! Awesome.) However, they’re also all over Main Street, on the slopes and staying at resorts. So keep your eyes peeled everywhere!

{movie: Lay the Favorite, cast: Bruce Willis, Laura Prepon, Joshua Jackson}

7. Most importantly, there is a lot going on in the small town the week of the film festival – VIP parties and concerts, midnight movie showings, music cafes, bar specials – go out, see it all, experience it all. The atmosphere of a film festival is second to none.