Heber Valley Life

Author: Karen Krueger

  • The Al•che•my of Art

    The Al•che•my of Art

    In a cozy art studio in Historic Old Town Heber, Shanoa Allowitz is facilitating some alchemic transformations for curious artists (and those who wouldn’t consider themselves artists) who walk through her doors. Shanoa’s philosophy is that there’s a “magical transformation of sorts that happens when people are creating art,” which inspired her studio and art school, Alchemy Art. Named after the ancient practice of alchemy and the belief that one could transform ordinary metal into gold, Alchemy Art is adding a little gold to the community, one class at a time.

    The idea of Alchemy Art was something Shanoa often dreamed about, and she finally brought it to life in 2024, shortly after moving to Heber. Growing up in Mapleton, she was drawn to art from an early age, beginning lessons at just eight years old and discovering her passion during an oil painting class. Her love for art never waned—she went on to study art education at Utah State University and spent 23 years teaching art in public schools across the Western United States.

    The landscapes of the West inspired her art. During summer breaks from school, she spent her time hiking and painting with her children, inspired and drawn to the simplicity of nature. The influences of nature can be seen around the walls of her studio and leaning against artists’ easels around the room. Some depict recognizable landscapes, while others are abstract and non-objective. Over the years, as she has grown as an artist, Shanoa has drawn inspiration from nature, often distilling it into its purest forms—swirls, shapes, and movements that are both beautiful and enhance the creative energy of her studio.

    On a table beside the nature-inspired gallery wall of Shanoa’s art, the well-loved tools of her artistic medium sit under a shelf made from an old Coca-Cola bottle crate. The shelf is filled with, not paint tubes, but colorful sticks of wax. When she married her husband, Kit, and their lives started in Heber, Shanoa dove into an art form she’d experimented with in college: encaustic art. Finding an artist in Park City who was selling all her tools for this specific medium, Shanoa felt like it was a call from the universe.

    Encaustic art is an ancient form of painting dating back to the early Greeks in the 4th century. “If you could imagine painting with candles? That’s kind of it.” Using a hot plate, Shanoa heats the pigmented wax and paints with it in its molten state. She referenced how many people as kids would dip a finger into candle wax to watch it dry–just like that, the wax dries quickly, so she fuses it with a butane torch. “It’s all about transparency layers. It’s additive and subtractive.” The encaustic paintings on her gallery wall showcase the versatile ways she can manipulate the wax: carving, scraping, layering, and mixing of both texture and smooth sheen across the surface.

    As Shanoa dove into encaustic art, even winning first place at the International Encaustic Competition in Santa Fe, NM, Shanoa’s creative energy didn’t end with her own art. By day, she teaches art to students at Heber Valley Elementary, and in the evenings, she continues to share her love of art with the community at large at her studio, Alchemy Art. “[Art has] been this constant strength throughout my life that’s given me joy, strength, insight. And I feel so lucky to have that, that I want to share with other people. So that’s part of the mission. . . give as many people as I can that gift.”

    Whether the class is a deep dive into a specific medium, like watercolor or oil painting, or a more casual paint night with friends, Shanoa always strives to offer her students skills that help them progress. Her goal is never a one-and-done painting, but to understand the why and how of certain techniques so they can go home with confidence and create on their own.

    Going above and beyond technique, though, Shanoa is passionate about the transformational power of art–the alchemy in Alchemy Art. Which is why she also offers art therapy classes, where that transformational work can shine.

    Shanoa strives to cultivate a safe, nurturing space that reflects her mission of fostering community and connection. In art therapy class, she directs students in guided meditations and encourages them to work toward being in a “flow state” instead of structuring the class to have artists follow step-by-step instructions. “I try to get people to enjoy the process and be present with the process and become less attached to the results. The results don’t matter.” Often, it’s much easier for children to get into that flow state, whereas adults can be more timid and overthink things. Shanoa’s seen some touching transformations take place when people open themselves up to
    the process.

    At the end of each art therapy class, if students are comfortable, they can share their art and what it means to them with the group. In self-portrait exercises—where she encourages students to embrace more abstract, non-objective art—Shanoa has witnessed people who struggled with elusive feelings finally experience breakthroughs in self-reflection. When painting a portrait of a loved one, a woman processed and released some of the grief of losing her husband as she painted him. Often, Shanoa notes, the breakthroughs in her classes are about strengthening relationships, connection, and love.

    Shanoa sees this as a process of using art as a visual language. “We all have that visual language, but we don’t access it a lot of times, and there are those things that we know, but we don’t know that we know them. They just kind of reside there. And so, I try to get down to that level.”

    Alchemy Art’s class offerings are as creative as Shanoa is, as she rotates through various classes throughout the year, including art therapy, watercolor, art foundations for children and teens, oil painting, acrylics, and fun paint nights. She even offers private lessons and at-home paint parties. “I just have so much respect and appreciation for art… I think it contributes to people’s lives: making it, sharing it, teaching it.”

    Book your next class
    Artbyshanoa.com
    @artbyshanoa

  • Ink and Roots

    Ink and Roots

    Readers don’t often have a reason to read the copyright page of their favorite fiction novel. But beginning in 2026, if you crack open a book published by Roan & Weatherford Publishing, that copyright page has three extra words that are kind of a big deal: Roan & Weatherford Publishing Associates, Bentonville, Arkansas, and Heber City, Utah. Joining a robust writing and publishing presence in Utah, Roan & Weatherford opened a satellite office in Heber City with Lindsay Flanagan, a Heber City native, at the helm.

    The Small Town Girl

    There’s a favorite fictional trope many of us have read before: A small town girl dreams of getting out of her hometown and making her way in the big, wide world, never to return. Tragedy strikes, and she’s forced back to her hometown, where, eventually, she learns valuable life lessons and appreciates the town that raised her. Fiction isn’t always aligned with real life, but that’s almost the story of Lindsay Flanagan.

    Lindsay grew up a Clyde, part of one of Heber City’s founding families, raised on stories of her grandfather and father riding into the mountains to run cattle like “Wild West” cowboys. But she dreamed of seeing the world and becoming a writer. At eighteen, she left Heber—never planning to return. She stayed close, attending college in Utah County, yet it felt far from her mountain home. After marrying her husband, Shawn Flanagan, she planned to pursue a PhD at Penn State to become a literary professor. Instead, life led her to a Master’s in Creative Writing at Utah Valley University, where she realized fiction and beautiful prose had always been her true love.

    While working for Eschler Editing, a Utah-based editing firm, Lindsay’s father was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a terminal diagnosis. Her plan to never return to Heber melted away, and Lindsay, Shawn, and their two young girls moved back to the mountains, and to have four more years with her dad.

    As it turned out, she didn’t have to leave Heber to be a writer. After her dad’s passing, her family stayed, and in 2020, Lindsay signed on with a literary agent who led her to Roan & Weatherford Publishing and its founder, Casey Cowan.

    The Western-at-Heart Boy

    Casey Cowan knew he wanted to be a writer from the moment his parents put a Hardy Boys book in his hands at age seven. Unfortunately, they also told him to stop dreaming and “go do something real—you’re never going to get published.” Fiction became something he did in the closet, shared with no one until he began dating his now-wife, Amy, a romance writer, who took him to the Northwest Arkansas Writers’ Workshop. Founded in the 1980s and run by legendary Western author Dusty Richards and his writing partner, Velda Brotherton, it became the place where Casey found a supportive community and learned the craft of writing.

    He also learned more about the business of publishing, including what wasn’t working in the industry—particularly for talented but “small-name” authors. The life of a real author didn’t look like the Hollywood Stephen King version. Most authors saw very little support. In the workshop, Casey, a voracious reader all his life, sat alongside some of the best writers he’d ever encountered, yet they struggled to find the resources needed to get their books into the world.

    Joining with other members of the workshop, Casey formed a group to solve those problems and lift up other authors. What began as a marketing group—helping with branding, editing, and cover design—quickly grew into a publishing company. One of their first authors was Dusty Richards from the workshop, and Western historical novels became their bread-and-butter genre. As they grew, they added new imprints, remained as author-centric as possible, and became what Casey proudly called a “scrappy community alternative” to the larger New York publishing houses: small-town in spirit, but an international press.

    The Professional Meet-Cute

    Roan & Weatherford Publishing took on Lindsay’s debut novel, Anna Grey and the Constellation, a middle-grade fantasy about a girl and her horse, and invited Lindsay to attend an author-publisher retreat in Arkansas. At the retreat, in an overwhelmingly personal approach to publishing, not typical for the industry, Lindsay met Casey, the president of Roan & Weatherford.

    Upon hearing that Lindsay was an editor at Eschler Editing, he invited her to edit for Roan & Weatherford. She declined, but Casey didn’t give up. The next time he saw her in person, he tweaked his offer: What about being a publisher instead?

    This time, Lindsay said yes. She partnered with her fellow Eschler Editing editor, Sabine Berlin, as co-publisher, and together they took on the young adult imprint Mad Cat, along with Radiance, which focuses on romance and women-centric fiction.

    The Hometown and the Western Roots

    Bringing on Lindsay and Sabine made the company’s growth–and its ability to expand enough to open the satellite office in Heber–possible. “Lindsay and Sabine are willing to take the bull by the horns and actually go out and do their part of ownership in running the business,” Casey said, which gives him the ability to turn his attention to other parts of the business, leaving their work in their capable hands.

    With Lindsay as a partner and Vice President, and the Utah team growing, it made sense to open a satellite office in Heber City. Announced in January 2026, the Heber City office currently includes Lindsay, Sabine, and Janay Thornton as publisher for Dragonbrae, the science fiction and fantasy imprint, and two members of their marketing team, Alan Smith and Staci Gonzalez. The Heber team will launch a YouTube channel this spring, called West of the Page, where they’ll share the stories behind the stories they publish.

    Lindsay stands a bit in awe of her story, which is almost like fiction. She’s now been back in Heber for a decade. “I’m kind of going back to my Western upbringing, and I’m with this publisher who has Western roots as well. . . I really feel like it almost couldn’t have happened in a better way.”

    In April, Roan & Weatherford will publish two Western anthologies Lindsay worked on. Rough Country and Hard Country each feature twelve New York Times bestselling authors, with proceeds from Rough Country benefiting the U.S. Marshals Survivors Benefit Fund. Hard Country is especially personal to Lindsay, as proceeds will support the Heber City–based Horse of Many Colors Cancer Foundation, which helped her father during his battle with cancer. “I wanted to honor what they’re doing—honor my dad, honor my childhood—and also… tell some good stories.”

    She’s proud to tell people that Roan & Weatherford’s satellite office is in her hometown. “This is going to sound super sappy, but I didn’t think my dreams could come true in this town, and all of a sudden, I’m like, ‘Wait a minute. They’re here. I’m making them in my little town.’”

     

    roanweatherford.com
    youtube.com/@WestofthePage

  • Small Theaters, Big Shows

    Small Theaters, Big Shows

    There’s a renewed twinkle of marquee lights on Heber City Center Street. After more than a year of revitalization, the century-old Ideal Playhouse has reopened its doors, while its sister theater, the Avon, is getting a retro-style makeover that celebrates its own historic era. Both theaters have rich stories—and so do their new owners, Steve and Karyn Anderson, whose love of historic cinemas began three decades ago.

    For Steve Anderson, owning a historic theater is the culmination of a dream that began in the 1990s when he was a Music, Dance, Theater major at Brigham Young University. Built in 1912, the Uinta Theater, on Provo Center Street, was slated for demolition, and Steve attempted to save it. Unfortunately, he didn’t succeed. To this day, he feels a pang of regret when he drives by the still-empty lot across from the Provo City Center Temple. Back then, it was a dream that would have to wait.

    Young Steve changed his major to film and television, which (he jokingly added), he chose so he could have a “more steady day job.” For over two decades, he worked in the corporate film and television world, partnering with major brands, including Disney, Nickelodeon, McDonald’s, and Nintendo, and collaborating with celebrities like Brittney Spears, Kobe Bryant, N’Sync, Matt Damon, and Steven Spielberg. His wife, Karyn, a special education teacher and lawyer, came from a talented musical family. Her grandmother wrote the LDS primary hymns “Book of Mormon Stories” and “Pioneer Children Sang as They Walked.”

    Together, they launched Popcorn Media, a company focused on creating entertainment opportunities for children. The venture took them across the country with their seven children as they operated their Movie Star Camp. Later, inspired by one of his heroes, Walt Disney, Steve created Small World Studios. The studio creates audio-visual shows for theme parks and museums. Using special effects such as projection mapping, lasers, smoke, and fire, he and his team created immersive three- and five-dimensional experiences.

    Ten years ago, Steve and his family decided to settle in Heber City. “One of the first things I did when I got here was drop off my business card to the current owner of the theaters and said: ‘If you ever decide to sell, this has been a dream of mine to live in a small town with a little theater on Main Street.’” His dream was so close, but it took another eight years to become a reality. Thirty years after Steve first imagined owning a historic theater, his dream came full circle when the chance to revive the Ideal and Avon Theaters, and the adjacent sweet shop, finally presented itself. For Steve and Karyn, it felt like they had “come home.”

    Coming from the corporate scene, you might think owning a business in Heber would slow down the pace, but “I’m actually probably working harder than I ever have in my life right now,” Steve said with a laugh. In addition to running the business, Steve has also directed most of the musicals at the Ideal Playhouse, with Karyn at his side as the musical director. While “wearing all the hats” has its challenges, it’s also gratifying and joyful, especially with the support the Andersons have received from family, friends, and the community, some of whom have become regulars as audience members, set builders, and choreographers. All in all, owning a theater was a dream worth waiting for.

    Get lost in the story

    So, what is the appeal of a small, historic theater? Steve feels like you can get lost in the story in small venues. As a child, he recalled going to see Into the Woods with his mother, also a big fan of theater, in a tiny venue in Phoenix, AZ. “I’ve seen bigger productions of Into the Woods, you know, in grand halls, but there was something about that night where I couldn’t see anybody else. I could just see the show, and it was so enchanting to be in this small little place and have the whole place just transform.”

    Immersion is at the heart of every Heber Valley Entertainment venue, and Steve’s background in creating multi-dimensional experiences has made attending the revitalized theaters truly memorable.

    Built in 1914, the Ideal Playhouse is one of Utah’s oldest theaters, and stepping through its newly renovated doors feels like the perfect blend of nostalgia and modern comfort. The exterior windows glow with rows of warm marquee bulbs, while inside, the scent of buttery popcorn drifts from a slightly old-school concessions counter. Rich, earthy tones fill the lobby in what Steve calls a “rustic, mountain art deco” style—an aesthetic that deepens the theater’s cozy, old-time charm. Posters and décor inspired by the current musical line the walls, drawing you in before you even reach your seat. It has all the small-town charm a theatergoer could hope for.

    The shows themselves spill out into the seats, doing more than just bringing the story to life on the stage. In their production of the musical Little Women, a kite flew out over the audience. Sebastian and Chef Louis chased each other through the aisles in The Little Mermaid. And, in an experience unique to the Ideal Playhouse, images are projected onto the walls, creating the illusion of being right there in the scene with the characters. In their latest production, Big River, Huckleberry Finn and Jim, played by singer, actor, and TV host Yahosh Bonner, paddled their raft on stage, while wall projections moved down the river with them. In another scene, the audience experienced being inside a rainy and rumbling Southern thunderstorm. As an audience member, it was magical, especially for the children.

    The Avon Theater, just a block down Main Street from the Ideal, is being spruced up to provide a similar immersive experience, but with a flair that draws on its own history. The Avon, originally the Reel Theater, opened as a movie theater in 1948 and has a claim to fame as being one of the first theaters in the country to have surround sound, a system installed by the “father of surround sound,” Jim Fosgate, himself in 1986. The Andersons’ vision for the Avon is to put it into its heyday in the 1950s by giving it a “neon kind of Drive-In movie theater feel.”

    Fences line the theater walls, carpeted walkways mimic gravel paths, and in front of the traditional theater seats lies a patch of faux grass dotted with lawn chairs. With projectors casting scenes onto the walls, moviegoers step into an immersive outdoor cinema—complete with chirping crickets, honking horns, and a canopy of twinkling indoor “stars.” It’s an indoor drive-in experience that blurs the line between nostalgia and innovation. In time, live concerts currently hosted at the Ideal will move to the Avon, where the lawn chairs will be cleared to make room for dancing on the “grass” in front of the stage.

    Attached to the lobby of the Avon is a 1950s ice cream shop, rebranded as Kbop’s, named for the nickname Steve gave his wife, Karyn, early on in their relationship. The black and white tiled floor, jukebox, and vintage red-seated soda shop chairs give the impression that one has stepped back in time. Karyn is hard at work creating their own homemade ice cream flavors dubbed with fun local names that will reflect the Heber area.

    Going to the Ideal, Avon, or Kbop’s is more than just seeing a great show or getting a tasty treat—it’s an experience.

    More Exciting Things to Come

    When Steve first got started, he filled three notebooks with thirty years’ worth of ideas he had been saving. He and his team were ready to try them all and see what the community would support. As their current season comes to a close, Steve reflects, “It’s been an exciting year of launching all kinds of entertainment, and we’ve listened closely to the public to see what they enjoy.”

    As audiences leave the theater, they often pass feedback along to Steve and Karyn: “Do more of that,” or “I didn’t love that one.” Sometimes, Steve admits, it’s difficult to “kill your darlings”—a phrase from creative circles meaning letting go of (or in this case, postponing) ideas to focus on those that really work. However, community feedback has been invaluable in helping narrow down his notebooks of ideas to the ones audiences truly love. Some of the results include the recent launch of Five-Dollar Tuesdays, offering showings of new blockbuster films, and Throwback Thursdays, featuring classic retro movies.

    The 2025 season at the Ideal will close with something entirely new: A Heber Valley Christmas. This inaugural Christmas spectacular is an original production featuring everything “from Santa to Jesus,” with a touch of Heber history woven in. The show will bring to life stories the team has uncovered, combining story and song in a unique stage experience. While some of the music will be traditional, Steve and his collaborator Kevin Kelly—the co-creator of the 2005 off-Broadway musical The Ark with Michael McLean—are also composing original songs for the show’s debut. Steve describes it as “all the things we love about Christmas, wrapped up in a beautiful, inspiring show that will touch the hearts of grandchildren, grandparents, and everyone in between.”

    In the future, audiences can expect more original works at the Ideal. The season began in the spring with Michael McLean’s original musical Threads, and will end this winter with A Heber Valley Christmas. The team hopes to continue introducing original musicals over time—further building the distinctive, signature experience they are creating on Main Street.

    Ultimately, Steve and Karyn want to create entertainment that feels like home to locals while also attracting a regional audience with experiences that are immersive and unique. “Had I gotten my theater when I was 20, I wouldn’t have had any experience. But now,” Steve reflected, “we can wow some people.”

    Tickets to their shows, including A Heber Valley Christmas, and 2026 Season Tickets are available at:

    hebervalleyentertainment.com
    @hebervalleyentertainment

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