The shine off of polished vintage cars and the sound of carnival games surrounded Utah Tech University as it hosted its annual carnival and car show.
Through the school’s Homecoming Week, Utah Tech had the opportunity to boost student spirit on campus while connecting with the St. George community.
“One thing I love that Utah Tech does is that there’s always something going on, and I think that helps to bring the community together,” Gavin Glasgow, a junior finance major from Little Rock, Arkansas, said.
While some activities are geared more toward students, this event was aimed at both students and the community, which was clear from the attendance at the carnival.
“I was surprised to less students and more families here,” Easton Brooks, a sophomore secondary education major from Herriman, said. “I think intermingling the students and the people outside the campus allows outsiders to meet the students and get familiar with them, and the campus is great for everyone.”
The carnival featured various activities that gave different options for everyone in attendance. Utah Tech students ran many of the booths, which had games such as the ring toss, Plinko and Skee-Ball. Several of the different booths also had a variety of carnival snacks such as snow cones, churros, popcorn and cotton candy. Several different food trucks like the Corn Dog Company were also serving food near the booths.
Along with the carnival, a car show also took place along with it. The car show featured a variety of different vintage cars that allowed those with only a surface-level interest, along with car experts, to enjoy it and learn more.
“I just love cars and everything about them; the way they sound, the way they’re built, just everything about them,” Aiden Ezziyara, a freshman electrical engineering major from Salt Lake City, said.
The car show also showed how many people in the St. George community have a shared interest in cars, which made it a great place to have a car show.
“There’s a lot of people down in St. George that have cars and that like cars,” car show participant Roger Beutler said. ”Then, of course, down here you can have them out almost all year anyway. I just think that this is a great place for car shows, similar to how Vegas is.”
Beutler’s interest in car shows started through his interest in Mustangs when he got his first one and has continued to now, where he has six Mustangs. Stories such as this demonstrate how events like a car show can introduce people to cars and help that interest grow. From Mustangs to Hellcats and Bel Airs, there was something for everyone to get interested in cars, learn more about them and the culture surrounding them.
Through activities that bring together both students and people outside the campus, Utah Tech continued to build a welcoming community.
