A message from Cedar City Mayor Maile Wilson
Summer is finally here, and as usual there are a wide variety of events coming up in our community. “Festival City” certainly hits its stride during the summer months!
On June 8 and 9, the Paiute Tribe will host the 38th annual Paiute Restoration Gathering and Pow Wow featuring a parade and many other activities highlighting the ancient Paiute culture. For more information and schedules, contact Patrick Charles at (435) 586-1112 or (435) 238-5058.
This same weekend, there will be the Cedar City PRCA Championship Rodeo at the Cross Hollow Arena. For additional details on the event and tickets, visit cedarcityprcarodeo.com.
Following the above-mentioned events, the festivities here in town don’t slow down. June 14 is the opening ceremonies for the Larry H. Miller Utah Summer Games at the SUU Eccles Coliseum. I’ve asked Pace Clark, the interim director of the games, to share some information about one of Cedar City’s defining events.
“Residents of Cedar City, we cordially and excitedly invite you to find a way to be involved with the Larry H. Miller Utah Summer Games. We are in our 33rd year of operation, proud of our rich heritage, and excited to blaze a trail into the future! We want the residents of Cedar City to feel part of what we do, and there are several ways in which you can be involved, whether as an athlete, a volunteer, a sponsor, or a spectator. There is a place for all, and we encourage your participation.
The mission of the USG is “Celebrating excellence in the human spirit and healthy lifestyles through extraordinary sporting events and competition.” Our mission is currently being realized by organizing more than 40 different sporting events primarily in Cedar City each year in the month of June. Since the inception of the Utah Summer Games in 1986, we have grown our participation numbers from the 700’s to having a five-year average as of June 2017 of 9,200 amateur athletes. Our goals consist primarily of the following:
—Organizing and hosting high quality sporting competitions.
—Keeping registration affordable for athletes.
—Creating opportunities for athletes of all ages and levels to compete in their respective sport.
—Supporting the local community in partnership opportunities with higher education, tourism, and economic development.
—Helping athletes develop values such as good sportsmanship, personal development, health and wellness, teamwork, and excellence in the human spirit.
In a study conducted by the Iron County Tourism Bureau, we discovered that each athlete (on average) brings an additional 3.5 people to Cedar City with them. With a five-year average of 9,200 athletes, we can assume, based on the study, that we are getting an additional 30,000–40,000 people in Iron County throughout the duration of the USG. The 50,000 people who come each year for the Utah Summer Games certainly have a positive impact on the economic impact and tax revenues for Iron County!
New this year to our lineup is the Summer Games Movie in the Park. The USG and SUU’s Office of Community and Academic Enrichment are partnering to bring a fun event to the Cedar City Main Street Park. On June 8, 15, and 22 from 7 to 11 p.m., all are welcome to come to Cedar City’s Main Street Park to enjoy a fun-filled evening of music and the movie in the park. The music will begin at 7 p.m., and the movie will begin at 9. There will also be food vendors, so why not come and make a night of it?
The opening ceremonies and the block party will take place June 14. The block party begins at 3 p.m. on 800 W between Center Street and 200 S. The opening ceremonies will then begin at 8 p.m. at the Eccles Coliseum. This event is always a spectacular kickoff to the summer season in Cedar City, and this year is no exception! We are proud to announce that the opening ceremonies will feature Journey’s former lead vocalist, Steve Augeri, who toured with Journey for 10 years. This will be a full Journey show! The opening ceremonies is a tradition for many families, athletes, and residents of Iron County and Utah, and we invite you to come once again and be amazed!
As mentioned above, there is an opportunity for everyone at the Summer Games! Archery, horseshoes, shotgun shooting, basketball, soccer, disc golf, running, and walking are only a few of the more than 35 different sporting events that we offer each year. For a full list of events and/or to register, please visit utahsummergames.org or call us at (435) 865-8421. We look forward to seeing you at the 2018 Larry H. Miller Utah Summer Games!”
The Utah Shakespeare Festival, another of Cedar City’s defining events, is gearing up for another great season and is preparing for the excitement that comes along with it. Guests of the festival, as usual, will be thrilled with the festival and with Cedar City and all we have to offer, from the new theaters at the Beverley Center for the Arts to our restaurants, hotels, shopping, and beautiful scenery. However, visitors have consistently expressed one concern the past couple of years: the amount of traffic noise from University Boulevard. Thus, Cedar City, Southern Utah University, and the Utah Department of Transportation have teamed up to create a solution.
This year, to mitigate this noise and improve the experience of the 100,000 people who will visit Cedar City to see the festival, UDOT has agreed to allow closure of University Boulevard from 100 W to 300 W during evening performances in the Englestad Shakespeare Theatre. The approximate hours of the closures will be from 7:45 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays, from June 25 to Sept. 8.
The festival will have detour signs and barricades in all the appropriate places to direct traffic to 200 S. The barricades and signage will be set up and removed nightly. We believe that this will improve guest experience and allow visitors to focus on the exciting, fun, and wonderful performances as much as possible during their stay here in our beautiful community.
On June 14 and 15, Cedar City will host a two-day regional workshop to assist our region with local historic preservation issues and community needs. In coordination with the Utah Division of State History and Preservation Utah, this workshop offers the chance to receive preservation training from multiple organizations and state agencies, engaging with inter-disciplinary professionals one-on-one to learn about the resources available to assist with preserving our history and heritage. All workshops are open to the general public and require a nominal registration fee. For more information, go to preservationutah.org/resources/item/1002-utah-community-preservation-training.
The Frontier Folklife Festival will be June 22 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and June 23 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Frontier Homestead State Park. Admission to the event is free. Visitors can enjoy music, food, art, a unique shopping experience, and living history demonstrations all in one place. The event will feature live music from local artists as well as many vendors selling their handmade crafts throughout both days of the event. For more information, go to frontierhomestead.org.
Whew! Obviously, Cedar City is super busy this time of year! But I need to make sure to find space in this month’s newsletter to extend a special thank you to the Southwest Junior Livestock Association and the Heritage Festival.
Cedar City’s Cross Hollow Event Center is a very busy venue. In the summer months, the indoor arena had a problem with poor air circulation, but thanks to generous donations from the Southwest Junior Livestock Association and the Heritage Festival, the city was able to install large fans to move the air in the indoor arena.
Thank you so very much for your support!
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