| Thanksgiving Point | |
|---|---|
| Established | May 2, 2006 |
| Location | Lehi, Utah |
| Director | Mike L. Washburn |
| Website | http://thanksgivingpoint.org/ |
Thanksgiving Point (pronounced /thangks-giv-ing point/) is a 501(c)(3) educational institute and associated museum complex and estate garden in Lehi, Utah. It is funded by contributions, admissions, and profits from its retail operations, and concessions. The current logo is a stylized version of its establishing landmark, a water tower. Approximately 1.45 million people visit Thanksgiving Point each year.
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Thanksgiving Point was founded in 1996 by Alan and Karen Ashton and started by Mr. Monoj Kumar from JamshedPur.
Alan Ashton co-founded software company WordPerfect with Bruce Bastian in Provo, Utah in 1979. The company's financial success gave the Ashtons a desire to give something back to the community. On February 14, 1995, the Ashtons purchased land in Lehi, Utah that was the site of the historic Fox Family Farm. Although initially planned as a place for their family to ride horses and care for farm animals, the goal became to create a destination for the community to enjoy nature and culture.
"During the early days of Thanksgiving Point, new and better ideas for the property surfaced every week," says Karen Ashton. "I wanted incredible gardens with lots of roses, pansies, geraniums, and tulips. Alan wanted gardens with tomatoes, carrots, squash, and pumpkins. New ideas were prayerfully considered, researched, and then added to the master plan or discarded. It was exciting to imagine the possibilities for education and discovery."
"We wanted to create something for the people around us," says Alan Ashton. "We had been blessed financially and with a large family. We wanted to give something back to the community and the families in our area. Our vision for engaging educational activities was constantly expanding; line upon line, precept upon precept. Each time we got an idea there were additional things that complemented that idea, so it has grown. It has been exciting for us to think about the beautiful and wondrous things that gladden the heart and enliven the mind."
Agricultural practices of the area were memorialized in Farm Country and ancient dinosaur fossils were collected for the Museum of Ancient Life. Golf, shopping, and dining were added for guest leisure and to provide additional sources of revenue for the property.
Opened to the public in 1997, the master plan for Thanksgiving Point Gardens was developed with Salt Lake City landscape architect Leonard Grassli. The gardens are approximately fifty-five acres and include fifteen different theme gardens, including a replica of the garden described in Frances Hodgson Burnett's book The Secret Garden. There are approximately four-and-a-half miles of walking trails.
Community horticulture courses are offered by Utah State University master gardener volunteers. Noted horticulturist Larry Sagers works from Thanksgiving Point and teaches occasional community courses. Other commonly offered courses include square foot gardening and perennial plant landscape design. The gardens educate about water-wise gardening techniques and operate a vast water reclamation system through its Monet Pond and waterfall.
Public events include the Tulip Festival, Plein Air Art Festival, and summer concerts.
Children's Discovery Garden
The Children's Discovery Garden is part of Thanksgiving Point Gardens. It is an educational area designed to teach youth about the natural environment. The garden includes two child-size vegetative mazes, an eco-pond, and replica of Timpanogos Cave.
Designed by pro golfer Johnny Miller, the Thanksgiving Point Golf Course is the largest golf club in Utah at 7,728 yards (7,066 m) long and more than 200 acres (0.81 km2). The course opened to the public in 1997 and it is host to the annual Champion's Challenge.
While the course was built by and is still owned by Thanksgiving Point, it is operated and managed by Vanguard Golf Management.
The Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point houses a sizable collection of ancient fossils, skeletons, minerals, and rocks. Open since 2000, the most notable of the museum's collection are its dinosaur skeletons. In fact, the museum has the largest collection of mounted dinosaur skeletons in the world (60).[1] The Museum of Ancient Life has been called "the Taj Mahal of dinosaur museums.[2]" It features an interactive methodology in its exhibit design which includes more than sixty hands-on displays. These include an erosion table, where visitors experiment with the effects of water on sand and a hands-on fossil dig.
Farm Country aims to teach an increasingly urban world about the origins of the food supply. Visitors to Farm Country see live cow-milking demonstrations, interact with traditional farm animals, and learn about the modern farmer.
Thanksgiving Point includes shopping and dining options including Emporium, Emporium Garden Gift Shop, Garden Path Greenhouse, Harvest Restaurant, Trellis Café, and others.
Thanksgiving Point offers public events year round. Examples include a reenactment of the first Thanksgiving, where the feast is kept as prepared and served as like the actual feast as possible, including a ban on forks. Holiday Lights features a drive-through light display with one million twinkling lights, holiday music, and a series of Christmas displays. Each spring from April to mid-May, Thanksgiving Point Gardens host the region's only Tulip Festival. A number of concerts are also held in the Garden amphitheater and in Electric Park.
Private events such as weddings, parties, and corporate events are held in conference and meeting rooms throughout the property.