The Lehi Round-up Rodeo is regarded as a valued tradition in the city. For over 80 years, the annual spectacle sees residents fill bleachers at the rodeo grounds for multiple nights of action.

Ahead of the 2024 Round-up week, the public is invited to an unveiling of the Lehi Round-up Rodeo historical marker Saturday morning at the west entrance of the Rodeo Grounds.

It’s the first of 36 historical markers to be placed at landmarks throughout the city over the next three years.

“With Lehi Round-up week being one of Lehi’s biggest traditions, we thought it would be appropriate for the first sign that goes into the ground to be the one celebrating the rodeo and the awesome tradition that it is,” said Lara Bangerter, director of the Lehi Historical Society, a nonprofit organization spearheading the project.

Bangerter said the idea for the markers came during a visit to Philadelphia in 2022. While touring the city, she noticed blue and yellow signs that featured small informational tidbits about various sites.

Shortly after that, the Lehi Historical Society won grant funding through the city’s PARC tax. Lehi voters approved the PARC tax 2021 to enhance funding for recreational and cultural facilities and cultural organizations within the city. They also secured funding from HADCO Construction and “within just a couple of months, we had the funding to do the entire project,” explained Bangerter.

In all, the project will cost just shy of $120,000.

The black, aluminum-cast markers will stand close to 10 feet tall and celebrate some of Lehi’s most historic sites, a press release states. Each will feature two to three sentences about the person, place, thing or event memorialized. Individuals will be able to learn more about the historical site by scanning a QR code on the sign.

The historical marker launch comes just in time for the 2024 Lehi Round-Up Rodeo next week, running Wednesday through Saturday.

“The rodeo is an important event in our community,” Mike Southwick, president of the Lehi Round-Up Rodeo Committee, said in the release. “It brings us together. I think it’s pretty neat it gets to be the first event honored.”

Lehi Round-up week runs June 24-29 with a host of activities including concerts, outdoor movie nights, a baby contest, a comedy night, a miniature float parade and the annual Grand Parade.

This Saturday’s celebration begins at 9 a.m. and is expected to be short and sweet, with remarks from Lehi Mayor Mark Johnson and Southwick. This year’s rodeo queens will unveil the marker, the press release said.

The Lehi Round-Up Rodeo Grounds is located at 105 N. 500 West.

The Lehi Historical Society expressed its gratitude to the John David and Danaca Hadfield family for recognizing the importance of this historic project and backing it from the very beginning.

Bangerter said the tentative plan is to unveil a different marker each month until all 36 are in the ground. “I think it’ll be a draw, (a) reason to come to Lehi … something you can do and kind of a touristy thing,” she said.

The next unveiling is set for July 18 at Wines Park.

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