From Deseret News archives:
Church cuts Cache pageants to every other year
The change will reduce the number of tourists and tourist dollars the pageant lures to the area, said Julie Hollist, director of the Cache Valley Visitors Bureau.
"We're certainly disappointed to see it cut back to every other year," Hollist said. "It draws tour buses full of people from other regions."
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been staging the pageant at Clarkston's amphitheater for more than 20 years. But the LDS Church decided the annual pageant was too taxing on the volunteers, church spokesman Rob Howell said.
"This will relieve any burdens of an annual production on the local members who put this on," Howell said.
Instead of dampening enthusiasm for the pageant, Howell said, the new schedule might increase anticipation. But pageant committee President Donald Jeppesen said staging the pageant annually keeps volunteers enthused.
"I think, actually, it will be harder to put it on every other year," Jeppesen said. "It's easier on an annual basis to keep motivation up."
The production runs for 11 nights in August and attracts 22,000 to 25,000 people. Clarkston Mayor Boyd Pugmire said the pageant draws more people than any other event in Cache Valley.
Pugmire said the church leases the amphitheater and the adjacent cemetery where Martin Harris is buried to stage the pageant. The town also makes money on nightly barbecues during the event, he said.
He said the new schedule might cut into the small town's coffers. Although the city will miss the revenues, Pugmire said, Howell might be right about the volunteers needing a rest.
"There are a lot of people who sacrifice their time," he said. "So it might be nice to have that break."
In conjunction with the decision on the Martin Harris Pageant, the church also decided to switch the Castle Valley Pageant from yearly to every other year. The Castle Dale pageant recounts LDS pioneers settling in Castle Valley.
The Castle Valley Pageant will be held on even-numbered years, and the Martin Harris Pageant on odd-numbered years. So the Martin Harris Pageant will not be held this year but is scheduled to resume in 2009.
E-mail: mikewennergren@yahoo.com
Recent comments
I don't say what I said naively -- truly, a lot of experience stands...
Ray | May 17, 2008 at 3:37 p.m.
Opportunity Knocks,
Aha! One of the positive, naive people of...
Ray | May 10, 2008 at 10:45 a.m.
Sometimes we don't know why Church leaders give certain instructions...
Opportunity Knocks | May 10, 2008 at 10:11 a.m.
- Soccer MVPs know how to win 1:56 a.m.
- Alta's Ohai is Ms. Soccer 2009 1:56 a.m.
- High school soccer: Past MVPs 1:37 a.m.
- Senators want food tax restored 1:27 a.m.
- Utah women lag in higher education 1:16 a.m.
- Hatch empathizes with Muslims 1:14 a.m.
- Matheson gets no thanks from GOP 1:13 a.m.
- Mitchell seeks to block witnesses 1:12 a.m.
- Party insiders may take on Bennett 1:11 a.m.
- Input sought on nondiscrimination 1:11 a.m.
- TCU showdown has big implications
- Seniors helped BYU regroup
- Lambert surprisingly tops news
- Hope for single moms
- Bystanders framed for child porn
- Korver and Miles to be evaluated
- Soccer MVPs know how to win
- Utah Jazz Extra: Whose hot/not
- Matheson gets no thanks from GOP
- Newhouse Hotel, an explosive end
- House passes health care bill
228 - TCU showdown has big implications
183 - Lobo suspended
182 - Cougars crush hapless Cowboys
154 - Utah Jazz fall apart against Kings
131 - TCU 4th in AP poll; U. 16th, Y. 22nd
118 - Thousands protest health bill
114 - RSL rallies to advance
103 - No 'backlash' for pioneers, gays analogy
97 - Utes pound winless Lobos
89
Meghan McCain, the daughter of former presidential candidate John...
Why do so many people live so close to refineries in Utah and elsewhere?
Sounds like a good option if you can't or won't switch to AT&T for the...
I worked with and around Bill Sederburg for 5 years while he was at...
hand. He needs to work on his moves to the basket and rebounding. Lateral...
play Fez or Koufos tonight. He went with a smaller line up and Boozer, Okur...
I've met Bennett before and he is a nice man. He also knows the Constitution...
That's never been a secret. Everyone will pay for it except those that don't...
I agree with NonMormon. I am active LDS, and I enjoy Ash's articles, and I...
I kept saying don't resign Milsap, especially after Portland offered that...
BYU is the slowest team that has ever been in the top 25. Utah will put up a...
i think u have the cowboys ranked too low! at least an A- LOL nice work!

