Deseret News (Salt Lake City)

Happy New Eve

New York City may have the ball drop in Times Square, but years from now, people may be talking about Salt Lake City's New Year's Eve bash in the same conversation. At least that is the ultimate goal behind downtown Salt Lake City's newest venture, said Jason Mathis, director of the Downtown Alliance.

Bands, Djs, Exhibits to Fill New Year's Celebrations

TUESDAY, DEC. 29 Gallivan Stage:

Book Gives Glimpse of 'Antiques Roadshow'

"ANTIQUES ROADSHOW BEHIND THE SCENES: An Insider's Guide to PBS' No.1 Weekly Show," by Marsha Bemko, Touchstone/Stonesong Press Paperback, $16.99 Ever wonder how you can get on "Antiques Roadshow," PBS' powerhouse that draws more than 10 million viewers each week? Wonder what happens to some of the antiques after they've been appraised?

Art Canvas: Events and Announcement On Utah's Visual Arts

ARTini,a New Year's Eve fundraising extravaganza for High Road for Human Rights, featuring live music, dancing and extraordinary art auction, Dec. 31, 7 p.m., at Sterling Lofts, 35 W. Broadway, $50 per person including all food and drink, RSVP required. For more information go to www.highroadforhumanrights.org (801-364-3560). Art in Transit announces the availability of public art commissions on the North Temple TRAX line. There will be five commissions awarded at $90,000 each. Two of the com...

Art Galleries and Exhibitions Throughout Utah

* Members of the Salt Lake Gallery Association MONDAY

Bookmarks: Books That Have Recently Arrived at the Deseret News

Here are some books that have crossed our desks recently. HARDBACKS

'Becoming Jane Eyre' Gets Off to a Slow Start

"BECOMING JANE EYRE," by Sheila Kohler, Penguin, 256 pages, $15 (f) The Bront sisters, Charlotte, Emily and Anne, are in style right now.

Eccles Grant Brightens Outlook for Utah Symphony

The Utah Symphony|Utah Opera received a welcome Christmas gift about two weeks ago when the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation presented it with a check for $500,000. That's the first installment of a $1 million grant from the foundation, and it caps off a year that's been both financially challenging and artistically rewarding.

Attorney-Author Examines Mississippi Racial Struggle

JACKSON, Miss. -- Harry MacLean was a daily spectator in 2007 when federal prosecutors put part of Mississippi's troubled racial past on trial in a courtroom in downtown Jackson. A tall, lean figure with a notebook always at hand, the Denver lawyer recorded his impressions as reputed Ku Klux Klansman James Ford Seale was tried and convicted of kidnapping and conspiracy in the abductions and killings of two black teenagers, who disappeared from the deep woods of southwestern Mississippi in May...

Broadway Whirlwind Is Exciting and Exhausting

NEW YORK -- For theater lovers, the only way to do New York City, is with a "stack 'em deep" philosophy. That means roll into town (for me it's usually Friday), see a show Friday night, two shows on Saturday, two on Sunday and fly home.

'The Cove,' 'Hurt Locker' Among Viceroy Winners

The end of the year is always a time for reflection, and I've been a longtime fan of making lists. So I'm currently working on my top 10 list of 2009 movie releases. For those who have been asking, that list will run Jan. 1.

'Too Much' Is Entertaining

"TOO MUCH MONEY," by Dominick Dunne, Crown Publishers, 275 pages, $26 Gus Bailey has a lot on his plate. In addition to his writing career and busy social life, he is being sued for slander by powerful California Congressman Kyle Cramden. On a radio show, Gus repeats a bogus story whispered to him by an unreliable source implicating Cramden in the disappearance of a young woman, Diandra Lomax.

Concert Calendar This Week in Salt Lake City

"Christmas on Temple Square," through Dec. 27, free performances daily (www.lds.org/events) "The Nutcracker," Ballet West, through Dec. 30, 7 p.m.; also Dec. 27 and 31, 2 p.m., Capitol Theatre, 50 W. 300 South, $17-$71 (801- 355-2787, 888-451-2787 or www.arttix.org)

'Sleepy' Chosen for Regional Fest

A big bravo and hearty congratulations are in order for the theater department at Weber State University. The school's production of the original musical "Sleepy Hollow" has been selected as one of five plays to be presented at the American College Theatre Festival, Region VIII regional competition, which will be held at Dixie State this year.

The New York Times Bestsellers List

Fiction: 1. The Lost Symbol, by Dan Brown 2 13

New Dvds: 'District 9' Delivers Chills, Thrills

One of the year's best sci-fi thrillers leads off this look at movies released on DVD this week. "District 9" (TriStar/Blu-ray, 2009; R for violence, language; two discs, $39.95). Filmed in documentary style and with a startling immediacy, this South African allegory about fear, racism and apartheid in particular, grabs you and doesn't let go. The story has aliens from a hovering spaceship over Johannesburg living in a large slum, from which they are to be herded into an internment camp, segr...

Gehry to Design Arts Center for N.Y.

NEW YORK -- A nonprofit theater selling tickets for just $20 is bringing one of the world's most renowned architects to New York's pricey theater district. An arts center designed by Frank Gehry and originally intended for ground zero will anchor a new complex that will also include apartments with some low-income housing, a hotel, a cafe and a bookstore, the city announced Tuesday.

5 New Cookbooks Offer Recipes for Diabetics

Almost 24 million Americans have diabetes, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. With diabetes, weight management is important. Five food-focused diabetes books new this year offer up everything from smoothies to grilled eggplant moussaka with roasted pepper cream. USA Today asked nutritionists, people living with the disease and endocrinologists to test the recipes: "The Best Life Guide to Managing Diabetes and Pre-Diabetes," by Bob Greene, John J. Merendino Jr., M.D., and Jan...