Festival creates township identity

The great outdoors were the words of the day at the first Venture Outdoors Festival in Millcreek Township June 17.

More than 80 vendors were on hand to present information about outdoor recreation from rock climbing to cycling to fishing or hunting. A rock wall in the center of Canyon Rim Park, 3100 S. 2900 East, where the festival took place, gave youth the opportunity to try rock climbing.

A performing stage featured entertainment including the Paisley Sky Band, Incendiary Circus, Zerrubbabel Band and the Skymasters Birds of Prey show. Various clinics on recreational opportunities were also held throughout the day. They included basic bike tuning, kayaking, gardening, golfing and skateboarding.

The festival was designed to help establish an identity for Millcreek Township and let residents know about recreational opportunities in their own backyard.

"Millcreek Township is in an unincorporated area of Salt Lake County, and so what happens is there's no real identity," said Aimee McConkie, festival co-chair. "Why we chose Venture Outdoors is that down the road we would like to brand our community as a vibrant, active community and encourage people to get out there and enjoy outdoor recreation. This might be people's first exposure to new recreation."

The outdoors aspect of the festival drew Park City resident Toni Hansen, who brought her entire family to the event.

"We're a big outdoors family," she said, pointing out that the family's repertoire of activities already includes climbing and paddling. "It made sense to see what this was about."

Melissa Parkin brought her children Taylor, 16, Rob, 14, Kaitlyn, 11, Jacob, 9, and Kourtnee, 6, to the festival after hearing all the hype surrounding it.

"It sounded interesting . . . It's a lot of fun for everyone," she said. "I'm interested in emergency preparedness and things like the (Parley's) Trail master plan as it comes down I-80. . . . It's always fun to come to the park for all kinds of activities."

Sisters Hannah and Sara Bezdjian, 14 and 15 respectively, came to the event with their parents, who are Millcreek residents. They enjoyed the extreme obstacle course and were eyeing the rock climbing wall with interest. Both felt the festival was beneficial for the Millcreek area.

"I think it's a good idea to see people in the area and do something together," Hannah said, and Sara added, "It's a fun way to bond with community members."