There will be a potluck BBQ turkey dinner at 7 p.m., so create something wonderful to share and stick around for live entertainment from 8:30 to 11 p.m., courtesy of Phat Old Professors.

On June 28, put on those running shoes and get registered at 6:30 a.m., for the 5K Fun Run at 7 p.m., This year, the kids have a .5 Fun Run.

At 7:45 a.m., a flag raising ceremony will take place and breakfast at 8 a.m., sponsored by Wales Town Council. Also at 8 a.m., strong man registration will take place.

Relax and enjoy the mammoth parade at 10 a.m. and then go watch the strong man competition at 10:30 a.m. There will be strong man T-shirts available for purchase.

From 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., take a break and watch the kids enjoying children’s games before lunch from Noon to 2 p.m., with hamburgers and hot dogs. Sit and visit with old friends and maybe even a few new ones.

­History

Wales lies on the west side of the Sanpete Valley, at the foot of the Sanpitch Mountains. The population was 219 at the 2000 census. The town is governed by a mayor and several council members. As of December 2008, Wales had no stores, gas stations nor stop lights. It does have a park, fire station, library and cemetery.

The small mining town of Wales was named for the country of the immigrants that were sent there by Brigham Young in 1859 to mine the “rock that burns.” A Native American Indian named Tabiyuna, a prominent Ute, had shown Young, then president of The LDS Church, a small sample. Young recognized it as coal and asked if any of his group knew how to mine the coal. The Welsh immigrants, having experience with coal mining in the U.K., were sent to the west side hills to set up mines.

The community’s original name was Coal Bed, but was changed to Wales in 1869. There once was a railroad depot and it was an important and busy mining center. The mines and town were abandoned when more productive mines were discovered in Scofield. Many of the present residents are descendants of the original miners.