Freedom Festival Follow-up

I am sure that many of you participated in one or more events of Provo's Freedom Festival (It was certainly more crowded than I remember in the past!).  Festival organizers are interested in knowing what you thought about it.  Here is a message from them:

It's been an exceptional year for the Freedom Festival! We've had a great time celebrating Family, Freedom, God, and Country with you. We want to make next year's activities even better and we need your help!

In order to improve our events in 2012, we would like your feedback regarding our 2011 activities. Please take between 5-10 minutes to fill out our follow-up survey (click on the highlighted text). 

Please refer to this page, any friends and neighbors who participated in this year's Festival.  

We deeply appreciate your support. Without you, we would not be able to continue this great tradition of family events in Utah.

Holiday Weekend Travel

The following information is from UDOT in anticipation of traffic congestion because of Provo's Freedom Festival activities. If you have family and friends who will be traveling to and from events, pass this on to them:

Drivers traveling through UDOT’s Utah County I-15 Corridor Expansion (I-15 CORE) should plan ahead to reduce projected one- to two-hour delays at the busiest travel times over the Independence Day weekend. Motorists are advised to plan ahead and schedule their travel before noon on Thursday, Friday and Monday to reduce the chance of encountering heavy delays through the 24-mile construction zone.

No new construction activities are scheduled to take place over the weekend, but drivers should plan to encounter existing restrictions such as narrowed lanes, reduced speed limits and lane shifts that will remain in place to ensure safety.

Other tips include:

*             Check the Map: Motorists can save hours of waiting in traffic by taking five minutes at  dot.utah.gov. Click on Know Where, Know Why to see the interactive map of where all the road construction is happening in the state along your travel route and what delays might be expected.

Look at live cameras and check traffic reports on the site before heading out.

*             Avoid the Fire Frenzy: On Saturday, UDOT will be working with Stadium of Fire organizers to coordinate traffic signals on major roads during heavy travel periods before and after the event. Drivers coming from the north are encouraged to use 800 North and Center Street in Orem and University Avenue in Provo. From the south, drivers should use State Street in Springville to 900 East and University Avenue in Provo.

Provo Center Street is under construction and should be avoided. A special text on traffic conditions before and after the event will be sent to subscribers who text *I15* to 53535. The project will also provide frequent updates on open routes, delays and crashes on twitter (twitter.com/i15core). These recommendations are also for those traveling to and from the Freedom Festival on Monday.

*             Extend Your Stay: Motorists are encouraged to support in-state travel and reduce delays this weekend by leaving a day earlier or staying a day later. UDOT, in partnership with the Utah Office of Tourism, created the *Stay an Extra Day* program to provide special offers at lodging properties and tourism attractions for those who extend their stay. A list of offers is available at www.udot.utah.gov/stayanextraday. Drivers reduced delays by more than an hour by traveling on Thursday and Tuesday over Memorial Day weekend.

Routes around the stadium following the Stadium of Fire event on Saturday, July  2 is diagrammed below--

Freedom Festival Volunteers

I was on vacation for the past week so some of these posts may be a little bit dated.  I hope they still are timely enough.

The nationally-recognized Freedom Festival in Provo requires a lot of volunteer help.  You can apply on their website (click here) and scan the various positions that need to be filled.

Alec Fowler is the Volunteer Coordinator for the Freedom Festival Grand Parade on Monday, July 4th.  There are quite a few positions to fill, most requiring 2-4 hours that day.  Contact Alec directly by clicking on his name at the beginning of this paragraph if you want to join in the fun.  He needs Balloon Wrangers (people who can walk the parade hanging on to a rope tethering a giant balloon character), Security Volunteers ("Please stay back behind the line"), Banner Carriers (carrying title and award banners), and Parade Route Beautifiers (passing out trash bags to spectators, etc.).  Most positions require that volunteers be 18 or older but some, such as the Beautifiers, can be as young as 10, so think of making it a family affair! 

Memorial Day Service

You are invited to attend a Memorial Day Service at the Provo City Cemetary on Monday, May 30th, at 10 AM.  The following information is from the Facebook page for this event:

Please join us in remembering the sacrifices of those who have served our country. The hour-long service will include musical numbers by the Timpview High School Band, a flag ceremony by the Independence High School ROTC, remarks by America's Freedom Festival at Provo Executive Director Paul Warner, and a wreath-laying ceremony led by Provo Mayor John Curtis. It will end with a 21-gun salute by the Provo Police Department and "Taps." The event, which was planned by the Provo City Veterans Council, America's Freedom Festival at Provo, and American Legion Post #13, is free and open to the public. Thank you to Provo Florist for donating the wreath.