Utah County is known for hosting a variety of festivals and celebrations year-round, but this year, many festivities are centered on America’s 250th anniversary.
Explore Utah Valley kicked off the celebrations with a National Tourism Day event on May 7 at the Provo Municipal Airport.
Speakers included Executive Director of America’s Freedom Festival Jim Evans, Utah County Commissioner Brandon Gordon and Explore Utah Valley Executive Director Lee Adamson.
They spoke about what Utah Valley has to offer, from events and festivals to organizations and values.
The event welcomed travelers arriving at and departing from flights at the Provo Airport, as well as members of the public who wished to attend.
The booths featured companies hosting America 250 events this summer, including Explore Utah Valley, Thanksgiving Point and Cornbelly’s.
McKella B. Crapo, visitor experience specialist with Explore Utah Valley, explained the purpose of the event.
“We want to celebrate and honor everything that Explore Utah Valley does. We want to honor our partners and celebrate what tourism gets to do every day,” Crapo said.
Charlene Christensen, director of marketing for Explore Utah Valley, stressed why tourism is important to the community.
“It’s really important to let the community know and understand how valuable visitors are to our area,” she said. “It really is a matter of friends and family. Once we get our local residents to understand that there are so many fun things for their friends and family to participate in, that’s our goal.”
Christensen also emphasized how National Tourism Day brought the community together to celebrate all that Utah County has to offer
“National tourism week gives us an opportunity to spread love among our own community,” Christensen said.
In addition to promoting tourism, the event emphasized American pride. America's Freedom Festival Executive Director Jim Evans spoke about the importance of supporting American values.
“Our mission is to promote four things: God, family, freedom and country,” Evans said. “I’m excited that we can promote the things that the rest of the country is promoting this year.”
Willow Becke, an attendee at the event, echoed the sentiments of many others who came to see what the celebration was all about.
“We are about to have the world here again in just about eight years, so we want to make sure that up to that point we are having positive interactions with the world,” Becke said.
The event emphasized the importance of community and celebrating America 250.
“I honestly believe that 250th in Utah is going to be a destination,” Becke said.
National Tourism Day was just the start of the summer-long festivities that Utah will host for America 250.