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Hundreds if not thousands of people converged on Utah Lake State Park on Saturday for free fishing day and the annual Utah Lake Festival.
The crowd was by far the largest yet for the festival, now in its fourth year.
Freebies abounded. Visitors were given free hot dogs, snow cones and popcorn. Santaquin manned a booth to give away free Mountainland apples. The Sierra Club gave away free energy-saving compact light bulbs. And the line for free boat tours of Utah Lake never grew shorter than the length of the pier.
Courtney Lee, a Provo employee who worked the snow cone stand, said the lines had been constant until ice temporarily ran out around noon.
"We've had no breaks and I've got red hands from tiger's blood," she said with a laugh. Tiger's blood is a blended strawberry- and coconut-flavored snow cone syrup.
Robyn Knowlton of American Fork brought her five children ages 4-11 after reading about the event in the city's newsletter.
"I think all the free things were very family-friendly," she said.
The kids had their faces painted, made necklaces, and painted pictures of fish, just for a start.
Which was their favorite?
"I say everything," said 7-year-old Ethan Knowlton.
The family had been camping at Utah Lake State Park last year and the kids had a great time jumping off the dock into the lake, fishing, and paddling in a blow-up raft, said Robyn Knowlton. The festival inspired the family to think about coming back to camp again.
Susan Wilson of Magna took a free brochure of archeological sites and history around Utah Lake from the Utah Valley Sierra Forum. She brought her daughter and two grand-daughters to the festival.
"We caught four fish," said 8-year-old Martha Wilson excitedly. "I caught the very first fish."
June suckers, one of the most endangered fish in the world, native only to Utah Lake, were also on display in a tank.
"So when the pioneers first came to Utah, do you know what they used for money?" said Kristen Bonner to a group of visitors at the Living Planet Aquarium booth. She pointed to the June suckers in answer. "
They also paid tithing with them. There were millions and millions of them, and when they ran out, the pioneers replaced them with carp."
Scott and Briana Grow came from Salt Lake City with their three children, ages three weeks to four years old.
"We want to go out to the lake to do a little fishing with the boys," Scott Grow said.
"If they get bored of fishing they can do the booths," said Briana Grow.
Public interest in Utah Lake has bumped up a notch since last year, with the formation in January of the Utah Lake Commission, said Reed Harris of the June sucker recovery program.
"We are finding that once people know, they want to come and be a part of what's going on here," he said. |
