Parades, a festival, and a whole lot of fireworks

Need something to do this 4th of July? I can guarantee that at some point, you will be able to see some fireworks from your front door, but if you want to get away from home, here are some of the big events happening in Utah county to celebrate our nation's birthday.

- Thanksgiving Point and Lehi city fireworks at the Electric Park in Thanksgiving Point. Lehi city lights up the sky in celebration of our Nation's birthday. Come sit back, relax, and enjoy. This year the Crescent Superband will be performing a free concert. Gates open at 6 pm. Fireworks start at 10pm and admission is FREE. For more information, click here.


- Stadium of Fire in Provo. Saturday, July 4, 2009, starts at 8 pm. The Jonas Brothers will be performing with special guests SheDaisy. Event will be hosted by Glenn Beck. Tickets range from $35 to $120 each. For more information click here.



- Freedom Festival in Provo. This festival includes various different events in the first week of July but the ones that will be happening on the 4th are the Grand Parade, the Freedom Run, and the Freedom Days Festival.
The Grand Parade is on University Avenue in Provo and starts at 9 am. It will highlight freedom through bands, giant helium balloons, professionally crafted floats, and local and national performers. For more information, click here.

The Freedom Run consists of a 10k, 5k, or the Mayor's one mile Fun Run. They all start at 7 am in various locations. Thousands of participants at all levels and abilities join this event each year. There are registration fees and prizes will be awarded to the winners of the 5k and 10k. For more information, click here.

The Freedom Days Festival is from July 2nd to the 4th and it is located in downtown Provo on the corner of Center Street and University Avenue. On Saturday, it starts at 8 am and goes until 8 pm. This event showcases some of the regions finest specialty products, fun hands-on activities, local entertainment, and unique foods. There is something for everyone including handcrafted jewelry, books, paintings, quilts, and more. Make sure to visit the free Freedom Village on the Tabernacle grounds. Activities include amazing local entertainment, face painting, jump houses, Scales and Trails reptile exhibit, juggling performances, kid's art yard, hair braiding, and a sand pit! For more information, click here.


I'm planning on spending time with my family, bbq-ing some amazing food, and then going to see the fireworks at Thanksgiving Point. It's going to be an awesome 4th of July.

Julianne Best
Recruitment Ambassador
julianne.best@uvu.edu

Moving!

In 2008, UVU opened up our new library, leaving our old library (near the Computer Science building) empty. So after a year of construction, various departments on campus have now moved into the old library (now called the Losee Center). Our office, Prospective Student Services, is one of the lucky departments that got to move and our new location is LC 408. So if you want to get a campus tour, our location is different but our phone number is still the same, (801)863-8811.

Some of the new locations of other departments are:

Career and Acacemic Counseling: LC 402

Advisor Training and Development: LC 403

Career Services and Student Employment: LC 409

Prospective Student Services: LC 408

Accessibility Services: LC 312

Center for Advanced Leadership: LC 302

Jentrie Darling
Recruitment Ambassador
darlingje@uvu.edu

and

Trevor Tippetts
Recruitment Ambassador
10288508@uvu.edu

UVU & Sundance Summer Theatre Present "The Fantasticks"

The world’s longest running musical is now the latest collaboration between Utah Valley University‘s School of the Arts and Sundance Summer Theatre. "The Fantasticks" comes to the Eccles Stage at the Sundance Resort opening July 31 and running through August 22, Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.

"The Fantasticks" marks the second year that UVU’s School of the Arts and Department of Theatrical Arts have partnered with Sundance Resort.

"Last year, audience members told us again and again how thrilled they were to be back in the beautiful Sundance mountain setting to see high quality, family-oriented theater," said Kathie Debenham, interim dean for the School of the Arts. "They also expressed delight at the partnership with UVU. We are thrilled to continue our partnership with Sundance and invite everyone to share the Sundance/UVU magic."

The original production of "The Fantasticks" ran off Broadway for 42 years with 17,162 performances, becoming the world’s longest running musical. The popular play centers around two fathers who, in an effort to make their children fall in love, erect a wall between their houses to keep them apart "since children never do what you want them to." The plot works and the young couple fall in love only to discover their fathers’ scheme. As a result, the two strike out into the world separately to find their own paths, which eventually lead back to one another more worldly wise and mature.

"This is UVU community engagement at its best," said this year’s director, UVU theatre artist-in-residence David Tinney. "Not only are we partnering with Sundance to produce a first rate theatrical experience, but we have engaged performers from UVU, BYU, the Utah Valley community and former Utah residents who are now working in the professional theater."

Group tickets are $15 per person for groups of 20 or more and are available now. Individual tickets are $18 and will go on sale starting June 1. You can purchase tickets by calling toll free (866) 571-3379 Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Erin Brown

Transfer Coordinator

erin.brown@uvu.edu

UVUPhoria '09 Kelly Clarkson Concert Videos

Erin Brown
Transfer Coordinator
erin.brown@uvu.edu

Start Something Beautiful

When Ali Johnson became the development officer of institutional development at UVU, she noticed that women’s contribution to UVU were low. She realized that many women have a lot to share & enjoy being involved, but sometimes just don't know how. She came up with the idea of “Start Something Beautiful”. This program engages women of all ages throughout our community and provides an avenue to give time, talent, and treasures - whatever they might be - to Utah Valley University students.

“I saw the real need to get women more involved,” said Johnson. “This is really a way for women of success to share in one way or another. It engages inspired women to share their time, talent, treasures, friendship and their success. Here is the catch....UVU is different and better because of women's contributions. It's not simply because they are women... it is because they possess and project feminine values in our families & communities. Feminine values come from a place of goodness."

In this organization, women contribute to UVU by initiating what they think is “something beautiful." For example, one woman chose to start something beautiful in the dance department. By using her business expertise to teach dance students how to make the transition from student to business owner, starting their own dance company.

Jeanette Clyde wanted to start something beautiful in the family study room at the library. She used her time and resources to buy hundreds of children’s books for this room. Another woman saw the need to contribute a scholarship. "We have so many women in the state of Utah that have much to share. Make a splash," Ali says, "And have our lives provide inspiration and hope to others. And don't forget to wear your red lipstick, while your doing just that."

For women to get inspired and learn how to “Start Something Beautiful,” two yearly events will be held. The first will be for them to get together to share ideas and be inspired by other contagious successful women while listening to Natalie Gochnour - Chief Operating Officer of the SLC Chamber of Commerce Speak on Sept. 25. They also are planning on a large fund raising event for UVU. Johnson hopes that this organization, in partnership with UVU, will lead other Universities to provide involvement opportunities for women as well. "It might be the first of it's kind. We are anxious to find out."

Johnson was also inspired to start “Start Something Beautiful” by her late husband Greg, who she said when they first were married 30 years ago, he gave her “golden wings” and told her to “go fly and be her best.” She wants to share this message with other women and give them the opportunity to share their “wings” with UVU students or even find their own wings.

She is looking for you to join her in a collective aim to build a better community.

"The way people feel about you is most closely associated with the way they feel about themselves when they are with you."

For more information and to find out about future events, go to: http://www.uvu.edu/giving/startsomethingbeautiful

Julianne Best
Recruitment Ambassador
julianne.best@uvu.edu

Extreme Makeover: Leadership Edition

The Prospective Student Services Office at UVU hosted our first EVER leadership conference this week!!! Elected student government officials from several Utah high schools were invited to spend 2 nights on our campus for some rip-roarin', mind-boggling fun. Man did we deliver!The UVU Prospective Student Services team in our spray painted t-shirts...hot as all get out!Playin' games

We split the event between the UVU Wasatch Campus in Heber City, and the Orem Campus (in Orem...duh). We began with a keynote speaker, Mr. Kyle Reyes. He spoke about the power of sharing your own personal life story.Kyle Reyes ladies and gentlemen

We had a lot of fun later that night with a free-for-all at the Wasatch Campus. Some students watched movies, while others played board games, Guitar Hero, Mario Kart and Rock Band. I think we went through about 10 lbs. of candy.

The next day we broke into sessions about event planning, poster making and team building. We made it to the Orem Campus and checked in to Wolverine Crossing before heading over to the highlight of the conference...the KELLY CLARKSON CONCERT!!!We thought the concert might get rained out, but the rain stopped just in time for the show. We did get a stellar rainbow out of the deal, however! Kelly is amazing live. If you didn't come you missed out.After the concert we relaxed in the hot tub and did a little swimming at Wolverine Crossing.

Our final keynote speaker was Tyler Wilkinson. Tyler spoke to us about a car accident that left him paralyzed and the challenges and opportunities that come with being in a wheelchair. He was awesome! We even snuck in some time to play Warewolf (Mafia).

To all the students who participated in Extreme Makeover: Leadership Edition this year, THANK YOU! We wish you the best of luck throughout your upcoming school year!!!

Erin Brown
Transfer Coordinator
erin.brown@uvu.edu

Construction!

This week we've had some construction in our office! Very exciting, I know. Haha. They took out one of our walls and replaced it with new and updated material. We were all pretty happy about it (especially my manager because it was in her office) because it got quite drafty in the winter and somehow ants would always find their way into the office (gross!). So here are some pictures of our wall-less office...

This is what it looked like from inside the office...

And this is the view from outside. That lovely red head is our manager, Jennica.

In case you were wondering, UVU's famous colored pipes are in our office too. Come in for a campus tour sometime and we'll tell you why we have exposed colored pipes...

And this is what they took out of the wall. Pretty crazy huh!

You see that window in the middle of the picture? That's what it looked like before they took out the wall/window this morning. I think that window is next on their list of ones to replace.

Pretty cool huh!

Julianne Best
Recruitment Ambassador
julianne.best@uvu.edu

UVU on kutv.com

When looking at local news online, I found this lovely article about Utah Valley University and it was pretty exciting!

Check it out! Here's the link:

http://www.kutv.com/content/news/local/story/Utah-Valley-University-Summer-Enrollment-Soars/LE6Wt2pdHUK3MCt7Fk4kxA.cspx?rss=991


Julianne Best
Recruitment Ambassador
julianne.best@uvu.edu

grassroots shakespeare

Sometimes, UVU students do amazing things. Take the Grassroots Shakespeare Company, for example. This is a small group of students who are producing an "original practice" version of Much Ado About Nothing this summer in local parks!

In contemporary Shakespeare lingo, "original practice" refers to the way plays were performed 400 years ago. Basically, there was no director, no "concept," no design team, and no full copy of the script! Instead, a bunch of actors just got together, memorized their own lines, and threw the show together for dirt cheap.

So, this summer, some UVU students have banded together to explore this crazy production method. They tour to local parks, arts festivals, and schools to perform a 1-hour cutting of Much Ado About Nothing, which is a really funny and fast-paced Shakespeare play.

If you're interested in seeing one of their shows, or just learning more about their process, check out their blog, or become a fan on facebook!

They open on Friday night at the Riverton Arts Festival, and the best part: its free!

(Well, actually it's "Pay-What-You-Will," so it could be free...)



Mark Oram
Recruitment Ambassador
oramma@uvu.edu

Blue Lemon

So I want to take a break from talking about all things UVU and talk about this phenomenal restaurant that I went to called the Blue Lemon, in Highland, Utah. I think everyone should go there because it's so fresh and new, and everything on the menu tastes amazing.


My sister and I went there for last week for lunch to celebrate our birthdays. I got the raspberry chicken salad, a side of sweet potato fries, and a little bowl of butternut squash soup. My taste buds were in heaven!


My sister got a grilled vegetable sandwich, a side of fresh fruit, and a small bowl of the butternut squash soup. She loved it!


I also ordered a Pineapple BBQ Beef Brisket sandwich for my husband and brought it home for him to eat for lunch. He was pretty happy with it.


The meals we ordered were all under $10, but they also serve entree's that are between $10 and $13 each. They also have great kids meals like mac and cheese, chicken skewers with veggies, and three cheese quesadillas.

Oh, and I found out a cool fact about their restaurant... Blue Lemon Chef Todd Leonard teaches at UVU in our Culinary Art's program.

To check out their menu, get directions, or even check out their blog, go to: http://www.bluelemonutah.com

Julianne Best
Recruitment Ambassador
julianne.best@uvu.edu