Packed lineup set for Sanpete’s holiday weekend

From the Scandinavian Heritage Festival running Friday through Saturday to the “Take-the-Oath” Xtreme Bulls Rodeo on Monday, there will be plenty to do in Sanpete County this coming Memorial Day weekend.

Aside from those two “headliner” events, Friends of Historic Spring City will stage its annual Heritage Day on Saturday. And various towns will put on breakfasts, programs and flag ceremonies on Memorial Day.

The weather should be great. While the National Weather Service is forecasting partly cloudy skies with temperatures in the lower 70s on Friday, the forecast for Saturday, Sunday and Monday is for mostly clear skies with highs in the lower 80s.

Scandinavian Festival: The Scandinavian festival, which typically attracts about 10,000 visitors, starts Friday at 11 a.m. with the Scandinavian Heritage Conference in the Huntsman Library Auditorium.

At noon, just under 200 booths—the most ever—go into operation along College Avenue (200 North) next to the Snow College campus and at Pioneer Park.

Like last year, there will be three physical areas or villages—Viking, Scandinavian and Pioneer. The Viking and Scandinavian villages will be in front of the Noyes Building at Snow College. The Pioneer Village embodies essentially everything going on at Pioneer Park.

“If you’re looking for more authentic and thematic vendors, you’ll want to visit the villages,” says Amanda Hansen, festival chairwoman. “If you just walk down the main street, you’ll miss the culture, the Scandinavian part, of the festival.”

The main entertainment stage will again be on the Snow College practice field. The featured performers will be Sofia Tavik, a singer-songwriter from Sweden Friday at 6 p.m., and Ryan Shupe and his RubberBand, one of Utah’s best-known groups, Saturday at 12:30 p.m.

Families will be interested in the free live-action movie, “How to Train Your Dragon” Friday at 8:30 p.m. at Pioneer Park behind Maverik. The forecast calls for night temperatures to drop into the 40. So, bring your lawn chairs and lots of blankets.

For a full schedule of activities, a map and articles on nearly everything going on at the festival, see the Sanpete Messsenger’s 24th edition of the Scandinavian Heritage Festival magazine inserted in this newspaper.

Spring City Heritage Day: The main activity at Spring City Heritage Day is tours of historic home tours. Last year, the tours attracted nearly 5,000 visitors.

Fifteen homes dating to the 1800s and early 1900s, plus the town’s historic cemetery, are on this year’s tour. At many of the homes, docents will be available to give guided tours.

You’ll want to start your Heritage Day experience by picking up a guidebook and tour tickets at the Old Firehouse, 44 N. Main, or at the Old School Community Center, 45 S. 100 East. Hours are 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tickets for the home tour are $15 for individuals 17 and older, and $10 for ages 6-15.

The day also includes art sales and music performances. Internationally known tenor Brian Stucki will perform in the historic Spring City meetinghouse (Rock Church), 164 S. Main, at noon.

The Phat Olde Professors from Ephraim, who perform rock numbers from the 1970s and 1980s, will be at the park pavilion behind the Old School/City Hall at 1 p.m.

At 2:30 p.m., the Mountain West Chorale based in West Jordan, which has been performing for the past 40 years, will perform at the Rock Church.

Finally, there will be a bluegrass concert at 4:30 p.m. at Victory Hall, a restored theater at 35 N. Main Street.

Take-the-Oath Xtreme Bulls Rodeo: On Memorial Day itself, gates for the Take-the-Oath Xtreme Bull Rodeo open at 4 p.m. at the Sanpete County Fairgrounds. Mutton Bustin’ and Rescue Relay Race events will be at 5 p.m. The grand entry and the PRCA Xtreme Bulls competition will begin at 6 p.m.

In PRCA Xtreme Bulls, riders attempt to remain aboard a bucking bull for 8 seconds while being scored on performance and control. The event is expected to draw rodeo fans from across central Utah and surrounding regions.

For tickets or additional information, go to taketheoathmemorial.com.

Lions Club Breakfasts: Memorial Day will start early in Mayfield and Fountain Green. In both towns, the Lions Club will serve breakfast at the town parks.

In Mayfield, the gathering will start at 8 a.m. with a prayer and flag ceremony, followed by a pancake breakfast for $5 per plate.

In Fountain Green, breakfast, to be served at the north bowery of the park, includes pancakes, ham, eggs and fruit for $7 per plate. The event runs from 7:30-9:30 a.m.

Memorial Day programs: The most substantial Memorial Day program will be at the Ephraim Park Cemetery on Main Street at 10 a.m. Seating will be south of a gazebo in the center of the park.

Soldiers from the Utah National Guard unit based in Manti will post the colors, followed by Cub Scouts from Ephraim Pack 527 leading the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Each year, the Cemetery Board honors an Ephraim veteran who was killed in action. This year, the honoree is Kimball Canute Peterson, who was killed in Fance during World War I. A moment of silence will be observed and a wreath laid at the Killed in Action Monument near the gazebo.

Sgt. William Branham of Ephraim, who spent more the 10 years in the Marines, will give a patriotic address. The program will conclude with Vance Larsen, retired professor of music from Snow College, playing the anthems, and a volunteer veteran posting the colors, for each branch of the service.

The Manti American Legion, Post 31 will also present brief programs in the Manti and Sterling cemeteries. The Manti program begins at 11 am. Bruce Erickson, post commander, will welcome visitors and present a biographical sketch of three veterans who are buried in the cemetery. That will be followed by a gun salute and raising the flag from half to full staff.

Essentially the same program will be presented at noon in Sterling, except Erickson will present sketches of two deceased Sterling veterans.
Memorial Day flag ceremonies in cemeteries: In other towns, veteran groups will perform flag ceremonies, but there won’t be any accompanying public programs. Generally, flags in the cemeteries will be at half-staff, and the groups will perform a gun salute and raise the flags to full staff.

American Legion Post 103 will put on such a ceremony in the Fountain Green City Cemetery at 9 a.m. American Legion Post 107 will do a gun salute and flag raising in the Moroni City Cemetery at 9:30 a.m.

American Legion Post 4, combined with the Veterans of Foreign Wars Unit 9276, will be at the Fairview City Cemetery at 10:30 a.m., the Mt. Pleasant City 11 a.m., and the Spring City Cemetery at 11:30 a.m. In each location, Robert Buckner of the VFW will read a prayer, followed by the gun salute and flag raising.

In the Gunnison Valley, American Legion Post 105 will do a gun salute at 9 a.m. at the Gunnison City Park near the town’s Veterans Memorial.