Caleb Warnock

Beyond fireworks, watermelon and barbecues, hordes of Utah Valley residents added another activity to their long holiday weekend -- festival shopping.

And as usual, the event continued to be an incubator of sorts for new Mormon-related products. This year's big debut? The talking Nephi doll.

Mark Jolley of Herriman, co-creator of the doll, wore an "I Love Nephi" T-shirt as he took questions from shoppers at the festival. He and a missionary companion came up with the idea while tracting one day in Toronto, Canada. He and investors have spent $20,000 to bring the doll to the public through their company at GuidingLightToys.com. The company's first offering, the 15-inch, soft-bodied doll was selling for $20 and repeated Book of Mormon-inspired phrases including "I will go and do what the Lord commands" and "Trust in God forever."

The doll is a Mormon toy whose time has come, he hopes, said Jolley.

"They don't have toys to inspire kids to read the scriptures," he said. "I have a 15-month-old daughter and another on the way, and they don't have anything but Bratz dolls. Now you have a real hero, not some Spiderman or Hulk."

The doll has been relatively well received, drawing lots of questions and paying for the cost of the booth on the first day, he said.

Others were selling a commodity that is increasingly rare in 2008 -- crafts entirely handmade locally.

Doug Adams of Tremonton, owner of Riverwood Designs, was selling metal garden sculptures with a bit of an Oriental flair in the form of bells made from recycled gas cylinders. Each sculpture was largely made up of recycled industrial or agricultural metal forms artistically welded to include a large river-rock stone.

"In some Asian cultures, stone and steel is good fortune," he said. "I think in this day and age we can use all the good fortune we can get."

All substantial pieces, the sculptures ranged in size and complexity and were priced from $300 to $3,500. Fortune must indeed have been smiling because on Friday, Adams said he sold a $3,500 piece.

Marlene Larsen of Roy also brought her wares to Provo over the weekend -- hand-stitched quilts.

Her mother taught her the basics of this art, and Larsen has since become an expert and has taught her seven daughters, ages 29-45, who now work with her. She had dozens of quilts on display at the festival and even smaller quilted items such as pot-holders.

Her work has been available for 25 years at Mormon Handicraft, and she has had some well-known clients, including Lavell Edwards, the Covey family and LDS Church leaders, she said.

"It's fun to do," she said. "It's relaxing, and it's something I can make money at and still stay home."

Crib-sized quilts started at $65, and prices ran all the way to $750 for king-sized quilts with a lot of detail work, she said. Her work is available at MarlenesQuilts.com.

At least one family took the opportunity of the Festival to make money not for themselves but for charity.

For Shannon and Doug Cannon of Orem, the road to the festival ran through Ecuador. In 2007, the couple and their seven children spent three weeks volunteering at an Ecuadorian orphanage on behalf of Orphanage Support Services Organization, on the Web at OrphanageSupport.org.

"It was an amazing opportunity, eye-opening for us and our kids," Shannon Cannon said.

Her husband had warned her before they left that he did not want to adopt children at the orphanage, just volunteer there, but all that changed once in the country. The couple have since adopted two of the orphans, bringing their brood to nine.

"All the money goes back to help the orphanages," Cannon said, and at that moment a woman walked out of the crowd with some dollar bills and change in her hand. She didn't have enough to buy a card, she said, but wanted to make a donation anyway.

Cannon said she and her husband had the idea to rent the booth after seeing the orphans making cards but not really having a way to market them.

In addition to charitable work, some local families rented booths hoping to expand their own home businesses. Cindi Ellis of Elk Ridge had a large display of Discovery Toys at the fair.

"They are toys for children of all ages, 0 through 199," she said. "Our toys are different from others because they are guaranteed for life." Information is available at DiscoveryToysInc.com.

She has sold the toys at the Freedom Festival before and been successful, and decided to come back, she said.

"We're happy to be here," she said.

The festival also boasted a huge selection of international food -- Mexican, Greek, Peruvian, Navajo and Argentinian, just to name a few -- and inflatable toys and a bungee-jump trampoline, where parents paid a few dollars for their children to play for a few minutes. There were also booths offering face painting, information on political candidates, myriad speciality lemonades and other drinks and ice treats to beat the heat, along with the ubiquitous art, crafts and jewelry. In an ode to Stadium of Fire, there was even a booth selling Hannah Montana shampoo.