Urban Adventures.

• Author: Goodsell, Brittny
• Position: SPECIAL SECTION: CORPORATE MEETINGS & RETREATS

Bringing collegues to Utah? Keeping them entertained will be a breeze

Google "Utah's tourism office" and click on the first link. You get directed to a site full of stories about Utah's mountainous landscapes and outdoor activities.

But if you scroll down ever so slightly, you get to read a prominently placed story about Utah's coffee shops. Scroll even further and a story pops up about a local blues musician telling you his top picks for live music.

Coffee entrepreneurs. Live music. Locally crafted beer. In Utah?

Heck yes.

Urban offerings

Some may think Utah's unique urban experience is in its infancy. But Scott Beck of Visit Salt Lake says Utah's urban experience has always been there. Think Abravanel Hall where the Utah Symphony plays, or Capitol Theatre where Ballet West performs. These places aren't new. But Beck, president and CEO, says energies combined since the 2002 Winter Olympics to shine a greater light on Utah's urban pockets. Some places--Salt Lake City--gained more strength. Others--such as Ogden--got a makeover. Even some traditionally conservative neighborhoods--we're looking at you, Provo--surprised us by offering a vibrant, young music and culture scene despite limited bar access.

Today, the Utah image may be morphing into something new. Vicki Varela, managing director at the Utah Office of Tourism, calls it the beginning of an urban renaissance.

"We want to tell the story--the true story--of Salt Lake City, which is that we're like no other place because we do have this rich interest in heritage that continues to thrive," Varela says. "And then we have these urban pioneers who experience and offer up the valley in new ways."

She wants to tell the story of these urban pioneers so much that her office is getting ready to launch a major urban marketing strategy. Varela wants to persuade people to see the undiscovered Salt Lake City.

"A whole metropolitan area has really grown into itself with beautiful heritage that defines these communities in many ways," she says. "The great evolving food destinations, culture destinations, brew pubs--really sort of the insider stuff that have evolved right in our urban core that a lot of people don't know about."

Density of experiences

Jay Kinghorn works with Varela and says each city along the Wasatch Front has its own personality--so don't try to lump them together. He recently met with residents in the Utah County area and they touched on Provo's music scene.

"I don't know what I can...