BYU NewsNet - Utah County begins traditional celebrations

From strawberries and cream to raining pingpong balls, Utah County offers festivals filled with activities for the young and old.

Most cities in Utah County will celebrate the summer with unique festivals commemorating traditions and heritage.

Pingpong balls are going to rain from the sky at Springville’s Art City Days, June 6-13, said Chuck Keeler, director of recreation. Along with many activities such as the best firework show in the county, there will be a series of pingpong drops from hot air balloons and bucket trucks which can be redeemed for prizes or chances to play “Let’s Make a Deal,” Keeler said. Daily activities range from a motorcycle show to a carnival. Visit www.springville.org for more information.

“Everything we do, we focus on family,” Keeler said.

Provo has a series of events associated with the America’s Freedom Festival, June 27-July 4.

“Our mission is to support traditional American values: family, freedom, God and country,” said Paul Warner, executive director.

Warner said these activities try to honor, teach or celebrate these values celebrating Independence Day. Stadium of Fire and a baby contest are some of the events to look forward to. Visit www.freedomfestival.org for more information.

Spanish Fork’s Fiesta Days, July 18-25, is known for its genuine cowboy rodeo, said Steven Money, rodeo chairman and special event coordinator.

“Fiesta Day’s Rodeo has as much excitement as a BYU-Utah rivalry game,” Money said.

Top cowboys from the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association will compete for large prize money. He said crowd favorites are bull riding and mutton bustin’, where more than 100 children come out of the chute riding sheep.

“It used to be sparse but now people clamor for a ticket to the rodeo,” said Terry Shepherd, chairman of the event.

Fiesta Days has developed tremendously over the years and is a celebration of the 24th of July commemorating the Mormon pioneers, said Lilian Shepherd, chairman of the event. Visit www.spanishfork.org for more information.

A cup of fresh strawberries with sweet cream is enticing on a hot summer day and plenty can be found at Pleasant Grove’s Strawberry Days, June 14-20. This event is the longest continuing celebration in Utah, said Frank Mill, the Pleasant Grove City administrator.

In the 1920s, farmers grew strawberries within the community. At the end of harvest, the strawberry farmers would meet with the dairy farmers for strawberries and cream, combined with horse races and rodeos, Mill said.

A free concert with all-you-can-eat strawberries and creams will take place June 16 at Veteran’s Memorial Park. Other festivities include a children’s parade, rodeo and fishing. Visit www.plgrove.org for more information.

Payson’s Golden Onion Days, September 4-7, won’t bring a tear to anyone’s eye. Coralee Wilson, Payson’s community events coordinator, said this will mark the town’s 80th celebration. Originally, farmers grew golden onions in the outlying fields and when the harvest was over around Labor Day, they returned to have a festival complete with onion cook-offs and a carnival, Wilson said.

A Payson native, Sherrie Ewell, said she’s been going to the festival ever since she can remember and doesn’t recall ever missing it. Thirty-five years ago, Ewell and her husband had their first blind date at that same carnival.

“One of my favorite memories was hearing the sounds and seeing the lights of the Ferris wheel and the merry-go-round,” Ewell said.

Golden Onion Days will have a range of activities from class reunions to swim parties to an appearance by Olivia Onion, the festival’s mascot, Wilson said. They will also host Fireman’s Water Polo, where participants will squirt a ball into opposite goals using fire hoses. Wilson recommended home-sick college students come to be around good people. Visit www.payson.org for more information.